Practice Studio

Randy Rhoads - Dee and Performance - Guitar Lesson

Sections · Loop · Speed · Metronome

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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.

About Dee and Performance


Few pieces in Heavy Metal demand this kind of quiet discipline: "Dee and Performance" strips away the distortion entirely and asks you to play fingerstyle classical guitar in standard tuning. The challenge is not speed or power but tone control, clean note separation, and keeping each finger independent through the arpeggiated passages. Every note rings in the open acoustic space, so any buzzing, muting, or timing hesitation is immediately obvious. Work through the piece in small sections and use the Practice Toolbar to loop the trickiest arpeggios slowed down, listening carefully to whether each note sustains fully before the next one sounds. The right-hand fingering pattern deserves as much attention as the left-hand fretting: decide on a consistent finger assignment for each string and commit to it from the start. Randy Rhoads wrote this as a personal piece, and that intimacy comes through, so a relaxed, even touch will serve you far better than a heavy hand.

  • The piece is played fingerstyle on acoustic guitar in E Standard tuning, so no altered tuning or pick technique is required.
  • Clean note separation is the primary technical demand, making slow, looped practice of the arpeggio patterns the most productive approach.
  • Consistent right-hand finger assignments across the repeated arpeggios are essential for building the muscle memory this piece requires.

How to Play Dee and Performance

Tuning: E Standard

Use the section loop to isolate a passage and drop the speed to build each section up to tempo.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

While Randy primarily used a Les Paul Custom, the Standard shares the same tonal DNA with warm, resonant humbuckers that deliver the thick, singing lead tone heard on Blizzard of Ozz.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Randy's 1974 Les Paul Custom with stock Gibson T-Top humbuckers was his primary studio guitar for Blizzard of Ozz, providing the warm, articulate sustain that cut through Ozzy's mix while maintaining clarity during fast legato passages.

Gibson Flying V
Guitar

Gibson Flying V

Randy's custom Karl Sandoval-built Flying V with 24.75-inch scale and set neck defined his V-shaped aesthetic and enabled rapid upper-fret access, becoming the blueprint for his signature Jackson Randy Rhoads model.

Marshall Plexi (1959 Super Lead)
Amp

Marshall Plexi (1959 Super Lead)

Randy cranked Marshall 1959 Super Lead heads to push the power tubes into natural saturation, creating harmonic-rich distortion with punch and clarity that became the foundation of his aggressive yet articulate lead tone.

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

Randy used the Cry Baby wah as a dynamic solo accent, most notably on passages like the intro to 'Mr. Crowley,' adding expressive movement while maintaining the clarity essential to his rapid-fire legato runs.

Play with Backing Track

Play with Backing Track

Solo (Backing Track)

Solo (Backing Track)