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U2 - I Will Follow - Guitar Lesson

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Key A major
U2 - I Will Follow guitar lesson video
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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
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Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
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U2 Post Punk A major
Capo Advisor 0 A major · Original key

About I Will Follow

The opening riff of "I Will Follow" is one of the most recognisable guitar parts of the early 1980s, and learning it properly is a genuine workout in right-hand precision. The Edge plays a driving, palm-muted single-note figure rooted in A major that relies heavily on tight alternate picking and a crisp, clean-to-slightly-overdriven tone. At 120 BPM in E Standard tuning, the tempo is brisk enough that any sloppiness in the pick attack becomes very audible, so use the Practice Toolbar to loop the main riff slowed down before you try it at full speed. The challenge is not the note choice but the consistency: keeping the muted notes tight while letting the accented notes ring with clarity. U2 built their early sound on this kind of skeletal, rhythmically charged Post-Punk guitar work, and this song is a perfect entry point into that style. Get the right hand locked in before worrying about tone or effects.

  • The signature riff is a palm-muted, single-note pattern in A major that demands consistent alternate picking at a steady 120 BPM.
  • E Standard tuning is used throughout, so no retuning is needed, but tone matters: a bright, slightly overdriven clean sound sits best.
  • The main technical hurdle is right-hand control, keeping muted notes tight while accented notes ring clearly at full tempo.

How to Play I Will Follow

Tuning: E Standard · Key: A major · Tempo: 120 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 120 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

The Edge uses American Vintage Stratocasters for their bright single-coil sparkle, delivering the glassy chime essential to clean arpeggios like 'One' where delay patterns need absolute clarity. The articulate tone lets every note ring distinctly through his dense effects chain.

Fender Telecaster
Guitar

Fender Telecaster

The Edge's 1975 Fender Telecaster Custom provides crisp, chimey tones for cleaner passages, offering single-coil brightness that cuts through his signature delay textures without losing note definition.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

While less documented than his Explorer, the Les Paul Standard's humbucker warmth and sustain complement The Edge's heavier, distorted textures on tracks requiring thicker tonal body.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

The Edge deploys the Gibson Les Paul Custom for specific heavier tracks, using its humbucker output to generate warmer, more sustained tones that anchor driving rhythms with midrange punch.

Gibson Explorer
Guitar

Gibson Explorer

The Edge's 1976 Gibson Explorer with modified bridge humbucker is his signature guitar, providing the midrange punch and sustain needed for his iconic dotted-eighth delay patterns on 'Where The Streets Have No Name' and 'Pride'.

Fender Deluxe Reverb
Amp

Fender Deluxe Reverb

The Edge uses Fender Deluxe Reverbs alongside his Vox AC30s for pristine clean tones and lush reverb textures, creating stereo width that showcases his delay-driven arpeggios with spatial depth.

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