Rush - The Spirit of Radio - Guitar Lesson

Permanent Waves

1980 4:56

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About The Spirit of Radio

Few rock songs from 1980 demand this much from a single guitarist right out of the gate. The opening riff of "The Spirit of Radio" by Rush is a clean, articulate fingerpicked passage in E minor that immediately shifts into a driving, picked groove, so your right-hand technique needs to switch gears fast. At 120 BPM in E Standard tuning, the tempo is not brutal, but the riff is deceptively tricky because the picking pattern, the string skipping, and the rhythmic feel all have to lock together precisely. Later in the track, the feel shifts dramatically across sections, including a reggae-inflected passage that catches many players off guard. Use the Practice Toolbar to isolate the opening riff slowed down until your pick attack is clean and even on every note. Within Progressive Rock, this song sits at the more approachable end, but nailing the tone and the note-for-note accuracy of that intro riff is a genuine challenge worth the time.

• The opening riff combines fingerpicking and flatpicking in E minor, requiring a quick and clean transition between two distinct right-hand techniques.
• At 120 BPM in E Standard tuning, the song includes a reggae-feel section mid-track that demands a sharp shift in rhythm guitar approach.
• Practise the intro riff at reduced speed first, focusing on even pick attack and clean string separation before bringing it up to tempo.