Creator Area
Sign in Creator Area

Progressive Rock Guitar

85 songs · 25 artists

Progressive rock pushes boundaries. Odd time signatures, long compositions, complex arrangements and virtuoso playing define the genre. If you want to challenge yourself as a guitarist and a musician, prog is where you go.

Pink Floyd dominates our prog collection with their atmospheric, emotion-driven approach. You'll also find Rush, Kansas and Dream Theater for more technically demanding material.

Songs to Start With

Pink Floyd - Comfortably NumbRush - YYZKansas - Carry On Wayward Son
A
Alcest 1
  1. 1 Percées de Lumière TAB 2012
View all Alcest songs →
C
Castlevania 2 1
  1. 1 Simon's Quest Medley TAB 1988
View all Castlevania 2 songs →
Classical Guitar 1
  1. 1 Bach Prelude BWV 999 LESSON
View all Classical Guitar songs →
D
Daft Punk 1
  1. 1 Giorgio by Moroder COVER 2013
View all Daft Punk songs →
David Gilmour 4
  1. 1 Between Two Points LESSON 2023
  2. 2 Black Cat LESSON 2023
  3. 3 On An Island LESSON 2006
  4. 4 Scattered LESSON 2023
View all David Gilmour songs →
Dream Theater 9
  1. 1 A Savior in the square TAB
  2. 2 Another Day TAB
  3. 3 Carpe Diem TAB 1997
  4. 4 Learning To Live _ TAB 1994
  5. 5 Learning to Live #1 TAB 1994
  6. 6 Pull Me Under TAB 1992
  7. 7 Surrounded TAB 1998
  8. 8 The Best of Times TAB 2009
  9. 9 The Spirit Carries On TAB 1999
View all Dream Theater songs →
F
Francisco Tarrega 1
  1. 1 Etude - Classical COVER
View all Francisco Tarrega songs →
K
Kansas 1
  1. 1 Carry On Wayward Son TAB 1976
View all Kansas songs →
Kfir Ochaion 1
  1. 1 Toccata and Fugue - - TC Electronic Plethora COVER
View all Kfir Ochaion songs →
L
Ludwig Van Beethoven 2
  1. 1 Moonlight Sonata COVER
  2. 2 Moonlight Sonata - MIDI COVER
View all Ludwig Van Beethoven songs →
M
Marillion 6
  1. 1 Chelsea Monday TAB 1994
  2. 2 Easter TAB 1989
  3. 3 Incubus TAB 1992
  4. 4 Jigsaw TAB 1983
  5. 5 Kayleigh TAB 1985
  6. 6 Sugar Mice TAB 1987
View all Marillion songs →
Mediterranean Sundance 1
  1. 1 by Kfir Ochaion ft. Hans Platz - Guitcon 2018 COVER 2018
View all Mediterranean Sundance songs →
Mike Oldfield 1
  1. 1 Moonlight Shadow TAB 1986
View all Mike Oldfield songs →
Moving Waves 1
  1. 1 Focus TAB 1971
View all Moving Waves songs →
P
Pink Floyd 36
  1. 1 Another Brick in the Wall TAB 1979
  2. 2 Atom Heart Mother TAB 1970
  3. 3 Brain Damage LESSON 1973
  4. 4 Breathe LESSON 1973
  5. 5 Comfortably Numb TAB 1979
  6. 6 Comfortably Numb Instrumental LESSON 1987
  7. 7 Dogs TAB 1977
  8. 8 Eclipse LESSON 1973
  9. 9 Fat Old Sun TAB 1971
  10. 10 Goodbye Blue Sky COVER 1979
  11. 11 Have a Cigar TAB 1975
  12. 12 Hey Hey Rise Up TAB 2022
  13. 13 Hey You TAB 1979
  14. 14 High Hopes LESSON 1994
  15. 15 In the Flesh? LESSON 1979
  16. 16 Is There Anybody Out There & Performance TAB 1979
  17. 17 Is There Anybody Out There? LESSON 1979
  18. 18 Marooned COVER 1994
  19. 19 Money TAB 1973
  20. 20 Mother TAB 1979
  21. 21 Nobody Home LESSON 1979
  22. 22 Pigs TAB 1976
  23. 23 Run Like Hell COVER 1979
  24. 24 Shine On You Crazy Diamond COVER 1975
  25. 25 Shine On You Crazy Diamond part II TAB 1975
  26. 26 Shine On You Crazy Diamond part III TAB 1975
  27. 27 The Final Cut LESSON 1983
  28. 28 The Fletcher Memorial Home TAB 1981
  29. 29 The Great Gig in the Sky COVER 1973
  30. 30 The Thin Ice LESSON 1979
  31. 31 Time TAB 1973
  32. 32 Time Guitar Solo Lesson - Famous Solos LESSON 1973
  33. 33 Us and Them LESSON 1973
  34. 34 Welcome to the Machine LESSON 1975
  35. 35 Wish You Were Here TAB 1975
  36. 36 Young Lust LESSON 1979
View all Pink Floyd songs →
R
Rush 9
  1. 1 Alex Lifeson's EPIC La Villa Strangiato Solos TAB 1979
  2. 2 Closer To The Heart LESSON 1977
  3. 3 Freewill TAB 1980
  4. 4 La Villa Strangiato TAB 1978
  5. 5 Limelight TAB 1981
  6. 6 Red Barchetta TAB 1981
  7. 7 The Spirit of Radio LESSON 1980
  8. 8 Tom Sawyer TAB 1981
  9. 9 YYZ TAB 1981
View all Rush songs →
S
Star Wars 1
  1. 1 The Imperial March COVER 1980
View all Star Wars songs →
Star Wars Medley 1
  1. 1 by Kfir Ochaion COVER
View all Star Wars Medley songs →
Symphony X 1
  1. 1 Damnation Game Intro TAB 1997
View all Symphony X songs →
T
The Forgotten Pt2 1
  1. 1 Joe Satriani TAB 2005
View all The Forgotten Pt2 songs →
Tony Macalpine 1
  1. 1 Edge of Insanity TAB 1986
View all Tony Macalpine songs →
U
Uli Jon Roth 1
  1. 1 Still So Many Lives Away TAB
View all Uli Jon Roth songs →
Undertale 1
  1. 1 Megalovania COVER 2015
View all Undertale songs →
W
Westworld HBO Theme 1
  1. 1 by Kfir Ochaion COVER 2016
View all Westworld HBO Theme songs →
Z
Zelda's Lullaby 1
  1. 1 Ocarina of Time TAB 1998
View all Zelda's Lullaby songs →

Progressive Rock Guitar: Beyond the Basics

Prog rock demands more than pentatonic scales and power chords. You'll encounter modes (Dorian, Mixolydian, Lydian), irregular time signatures (7/8, 5/4, alternating meters), and extended chord voicings. Tone matters too: prog guitarists often use a wide range of effects, from delay and reverb to rotary speakers and synth-like patches.

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour is famous for his melodic, emotional soloing. The solo in Comfortably Numb is considered one of the greatest ever recorded. Rush's Alex Lifeson combined jazz chords with hard rock power. Dream Theater's John Petrucci pushed technique to its absolute limit.

Start with Gilmour's phrasing if you want to develop feel. Move to YYZ when you're ready for odd-time rhythm work. For the ultimate prog challenge, explore Dream Theater's catalog.

Related: Progressive Metal, Instrumental Rock. Or browse 70s music for the golden era of prog.