Creator Area
Sign in Creator Area

Practice Studio

The Police - Roxanne - Guitar Lesson

Sections · Loop · Speed · Metronome

Not in tune?

Select a Loop

Start of your loop
End of your loop

Speed Control

Speed
100%

Tools

BPM
Key G minor
The Police - Roxanne guitar lesson video
Guitar 365
Guitar 365 Top Contributor
YouTube: 1.6Msubs 303Kviews
Creator Page →
PLAY WITH BACKING TRACK
·
–50¢ 0 +50¢
· Tap to start

Your browser will ask for microphone permission.

Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

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.
Listen on Spotify
The Police Punk Rock G minor
Capo Advisor 0 G minor · Original key

About Roxanne

Few songs nail a groove this efficiently: "Roxanne" runs at 96 BPM in G minor, and the tension comes not from speed but from feel. The signature opening chord stab and the reggae-influenced skank rhythm that drives the verses ask you to play with real restraint, keeping the strums tight and behind the beat rather than pushing forward. The Police blend Punk Rock energy with reggae and new wave textures, and on guitar that means switching between clipped upstroke rhythms and fuller chord swells without losing the pocket. The chorus lift is deceptively simple but easy to rush, so use the Practice Toolbar to loop it slowed down until the dynamic shift feels natural rather than forced. E Standard tuning keeps everything accessible, but the real work is in your right hand: muting, timing, and knowing exactly when to let a chord ring.

  • The reggae-style skank rhythm in the verses relies on precise upstroke muting, making right-hand control the main technical challenge.
  • Running at 96 BPM in G minor, the song sits at a moderate tempo where feel and groove matter far more than speed.
  • The chord progression is beginner-friendly in E Standard tuning, but nailing the dynamic contrast between verse and chorus takes focused practice.

How to Play Roxanne

Tuning: E Standard · Key: G minor · Tempo: 96 BPM

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 96 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Andy Summers used the Strat on select Police tracks for its smooth, singing sustain and contoured body comfort during intricate fingerpicking passages. Its versatile pickup switching complemented his hybrid Tele's spiky attack, offering warmer mid-range tones for atmospheric arrangements.

Fender Telecaster
Guitar

Fender Telecaster

Summers' modified 1961 Tele Custom with Gibson humbucker in the neck and Fender single-coil bridge became his signature weapon, delivering both cutting reggae arpeggios and warm, sustained chords that defined The Police's distinctive sonic character.

Gibson ES-335
Guitar

Gibson ES-335

The ES-335's warm, woody tone and semi-hollow body resonance gave Summers jazzier options in the studio, adding sophisticated harmonic depth to Police tracks that required softer, more organic textures beyond the Tele's angular attack.

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

Summers pushed the JCM800 just past breakup for crunch rather than full distortion, pairing it in stereo with his clean Roland to create The Police's signature wide, layered guitar image with grit and clarity coexisting.

MXR Phase 90
Pedal

MXR Phase 90

This swirling phaser added jet-like, psychedelic textures to Summers' clean tones, occasionally used to enhance the shimmering, otherworldly quality of Police arrangements without overwhelming their reggae-influenced rhythmic precision.

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay
Pedal

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay

The MXR Carbon Copy's warm analog delay provided rhythmic slapback and lush atmospheric repeats essential to Summers' compositional approach, where effects functioned as fundamental song elements rather than decorative flourishes.

Recommended for You

Play with Backing Track

Play with Backing Track

Solo (Backing Track)

Solo (Backing Track)