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Def Leppard - Hysteria - Guitar Lesson

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Key E minor
Def Leppard - Hysteria guitar lesson video
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Classic Rock

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Hysteria album cover
Hysteria
1987 5:55
Listen on Spotify
Def Leppard Hard Rock 1987 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Hysteria

Few Hard Rock tracks lean this hard on a single bass-driven riff, and on guitar your job is to lock tightly into that groove rather than dominate it. The main riff sits in E minor and moves at a steady 116 BPM, which feels relaxed until you try to keep every note clean and evenly weighted across a full take. E Standard tuning means no retuning headaches, but the real challenge is tone and touch: too much attack and the part loses its hypnotic, rolling quality. The chorus work asks for smooth chord transitions that land exactly on the beat, so any hesitation shows immediately. Pick out the trickiest transitions and use the Practice Toolbar to loop them slowed down until the movement feels automatic. Def Leppard built the track around layered production, so on a single guitar you need to choose carefully which part carries the song and commit to it fully.

  • The song is in E Standard tuning and E minor, so no alternate tuning is needed before you start playing.
  • At 116 BPM the main riff feels mid-paced, but keeping every note even and the groove consistent is harder than the tempo suggests.
  • Smooth, on-the-beat chord transitions in the chorus are the key technique to drill, ideally looped slowed down with the Practice Toolbar.

How to Play Hysteria

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 116 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 116 BPM to build it up to tempo.

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