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Rory Gallagher - Bad Penny - Guitar Lesson

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Key E minor
Rory Gallagher - Bad Penny guitar lesson video
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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
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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.
Top Priority (Remastered 2017) album cover
Top Priority (Remastered 2017)
1979 4:05
Listen on Spotify
Rory Gallagher Blues Rock 1979 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Bad Penny

Few guitarists made E minor feel as lived-in as Rory Gallagher, and "Bad Penny" from the 1979 album Top Priority is a strong example of why. The song sits in E Standard tuning and drives hard at 120 BPM, so your picking hand needs to stay locked in and aggressive without rushing the groove. The core of the track is a tough, repetitive blues-rock riff built around the low strings in E minor, the kind of part that sounds simple until you try to give it the same grit and forward momentum Gallagher does. Tone and attitude carry this riff as much as technique: you want a slight edge of overdrive and a confident, slightly behind-the-beat attack. If you are working on the turnaround or any of the lead fills, use the Practice Toolbar to loop those sections slowed down until the phrasing sits naturally in your hands. Blues Rock playing like this rewards patience with feel over speed.

  • The riff centres on the low strings in E minor, so clean fretting-hand muting is essential to keep the groove tight and punchy.
  • At 120 BPM in E Standard, the tempo is demanding enough that any sloppy pick attack will be obvious, making consistent right-hand control a key focus.
  • Gallagher's lead fills draw on minor pentatonic phrasing with a raw, overdriven tone, so dialling in a gritty but responsive overdrive sound is part of nailing the song.

How to Play Bad Penny

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E minor · 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

Rory's worn 1961 Strat with stock alnico V pickups delivered that cutting, nasal snarl essential to his blues-rock attack. The low-output single-coils preserved his dynamic pick work and responded beautifully to volume-knob rolloffs and cranked tube amp saturation.

Fender Telecaster
Guitar

Fender Telecaster

Gallagher deployed this 1966 Tele on select recordings to add brighter, more direct bite to his tone palette. Its sharper attack complemented his fingerstyle precision and worked particularly well for punchy, articulate rhythm work.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

This amp's natural headroom and reverb tank gave Gallagher spacious, clean tones when not pushed hard, but cranked it delivered the tube breakup he needed without master volume softening. The twin-reverb became his go-to for studio sessions requiring both clarity and controllable overdrive.

Vox AC30
Amp

Vox AC30

The AC30's legendary natural breakup and midrange bark defined Rory's signature tone when pushed to stage volume. Its top boost control shaped his treble-cut character, transforming his single-coils into that iconic snarl without pedal intervention.

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah
Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

Gallagher used wah sparingly but strategically to add expressive vocal quality to his lead phrases. The pedal's narrow frequency sweep complemented his bridge-pickup snarl, never muddying his tightly wound tone.

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9
Pedal

Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9

This mid-focused booster pushed his cranked tube amps into heavier overdrive while preserving note clarity and his natural pick dynamics. The TS9 was seasoning on Rory's pedalboard, intensifying existing tone rather than creating it.

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