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Kansas - Dust In The Wind Pt.3 - Solo - Guitar Lesson

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Kansas - Dust In The Wind Pt.3 - Solo guitar lesson video
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Classic Rock

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Kansas Progressive Rock

About Dust In The Wind Pt.3 - Solo

The solo section of "Dust in the Wind" asks for something deceptively simple: clean fingerpicked arpeggios played with patience and precision. Kansas built the whole track around a repeating fingerpicking pattern, and the solo passage strips that idea down further, demanding steady right-hand control and smooth left-hand fretting with no electric crunch to hide behind. Running at 100 BPM in E Standard, the tempo feels relaxed, but that spaciousness is exactly what exposes any unevenness in your picking. The notes need to ring cleanly and decay naturally, so muting or rushing even slightly is audible. If the arpeggio roll feels uneven, use the Practice Toolbar to loop it slowed down until your fingers find a consistent rhythm. This is a Progressive Rock track that rewards players who are willing to work on tone and touch rather than speed, making it a genuinely useful study in fingerstyle control for acoustic guitar.

  • The entire song is built on a fingerpicked arpeggio pattern, so clean right-hand technique and consistent string separation are the core skills to develop.
  • Running at 100 BPM in E Standard tuning, the tempo is moderate but leaves every note exposed, making precise fretting essential.
  • Because there is no distortion or overdrive to mask mistakes, practising this solo on an acoustic or clean electric is highly recommended.

How to Play Dust In The Wind Pt.3 - Solo

Tuning: E Standard · Tempo: 100 BPM

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

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Kerry Livgren's primary weapon for Kansas's classic era, the Les Paul Standard delivered thick humbucker warmth and sustain essential for both the crushing riffs of 'Carry On Wayward Son' and intricate lead passages. Its moderate-output PAF pickups maintained clarity and dynamics even when pushed through cranked Marshalls, letting every picked note cut through live.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Rich Williams relied on the Les Paul Custom's dual-humbucker platform to anchor Kansas's dual-guitar attack with warm, articulate tone that complemented Livgren's lead work. The Custom's versatility and noise-rejecting humbuckers made it ideal for both driving rhythm parts and soaring melodic solos in the band's complex arrangements.

MXR Phase 90
Pedal

MXR Phase 90

Livgren deployed the MXR Phase 90 sparingly for textural color on rhythm guitar passages, adding subtle swirling movement to Kansas's layered arrangements without cluttering the core Marshall-driven tone. This minimal-effects philosophy kept the focus on the guitarist's technique and the natural breakup of tube amplification.

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