Stray Cats - Rock This Town - Guitar Lesson

About Rock This Town

Few songs demand that a guitarist hit the ground running quite like "Rock This Town." At 180 BPM in A major, the tempo is relentless, and the real challenge is keeping your pick attack clean and consistent while the song drives forward without a moment to breathe. The signature rockabilly riff sits low on the neck and leans hard on rhythmic chunk and dead-note accents, two techniques that feel simple at a glance but expose any sloppiness the moment you push the speed up. Brian Setzer's right hand is doing a lot of work here, combining flatpicking with a loose, swinging attack that owes more to vintage country and rockabilly than to Punk Rock, even if the energy feels that raw. Stray Cats built the whole track on feel, so getting the timing to sit slightly behind the beat is just as important as nailing the notes. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the main riff slowed down until the dead-note muting is second nature, then gradually bring it back up to tempo.

• The main riff relies heavily on dead-note muting and rhythmic chunk, core rockabilly right-hand techniques that require precise pick-hand control.
• At 180 BPM in A major and E Standard tuning, tempo control is the primary hurdle, so practise the riff at half speed before pushing it up.
• Brian Setzer's playing combines flatpicking with a swinging, behind-the-beat feel, so locking in the rhythmic placement matters as much as the notes themselves.