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Aerosmith - Walk This Way - Guitar Tab

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Key C major
Aerosmith - Walk This Way guitar tab video
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Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
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Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
Toys In The Attic album cover
Toys In The Attic
1975 3:40
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Aerosmith Hard Rock 1975 C major
Capo Advisor 0 C major · Original key

About Walk This Way

Few riffs in Hard Rock are as immediately recognizable as the opening figure of "Walk This Way," and learning it properly is a real technique workout. The core riff sits in a syncopated, percussive groove built around a repeating single-note line that demands tight, muted picking and a strong sense of rhythm. Getting that choppy, funky feel right matters more than speed here at 104 BPM, and rushing it is the most common mistake. The riff lives in C, and keeping your fretting hand relaxed while muting unused strings is the key to making it sound clean rather than muddy. Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry plays the part with a loose, behind-the-beat confidence that takes real practice to internalize. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the main riff slowed down until your pick attack and muting are locked in before you bring it back up to tempo. The verse transitions and drum-matched stop-starts are worth isolating as separate loops too.

  • The signature riff relies on tight palm muting and precise single-note picking, so clean string muting technique is the main thing to nail.
  • At 104 BPM, the groove feels deceptively relaxed, but the syncopated rhythm requires careful attention to avoid rushing the riff.
  • Playing in E Standard tuning in the key of C means the riff sits in a comfortable range, but the string-skipping movements can catch beginners off guard.

How to Play Walk This Way

The song moves through: Intro, Verse 1, Pre-Chorus 1, Verse 2, Pre-Chorus 2, Outro Solo.

Tuning: E Standard · Key: C major · Tempo: 104 BPM · Difficulty: Medium

The heart of this song is Joe Perry's opening riff, a syncopated blues-based figure that sits in C and demands precise right-hand rhythm control as much as left-hand accuracy. The syncopation is where most players stumble, rushing or flattening the groove, so isolate the intro riff and lock it to a metronome at a tempo well below 108 bpm before bringing it up to speed. The verse riff repeats with slight variations, so once you have the core pattern under your fingers, the rest of the song builds naturally from that foundation. Pay close attention to the percussive, almost staccato attack Perry uses; playing it legato kills the funk character entirely.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 104 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Joe Perry uses a late-1950s Strat for cleaner, snappier tones on tracks like 'Walk This Way', providing brighter single-coil bite that contrasts with his heavier Les Paul work. The Strat's tonal versatility lets him achieve crisp rhythm parts and articulate lead passages without the thick humbucker warmth.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Perry's 1959 Les Paul Standard, his 'Holy Grail' guitar, delivers the thick, singing sustain and natural harmonic bloom central to Aerosmith's classic rock sound. Its PAF humbuckers respond beautifully to his expressive bending and vibrato technique, especially through cranked Marshalls.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

Perry's Custom Shop Les Paul reissues replicate his vintage instrument's tone with modern reliability, maintaining the smooth, responsive humbucker character that lets his playing dynamics shine through. These guitars are essential for capturing his signature fat lead tone on stage and in the studio.

Gibson ES-335
Guitar

Gibson ES-335

Brad Whitford's semi-hollow ES-335 provides warm, compressed breakup with enhanced midrange that cuts through Aerosmith's thick dual-guitar arrangements. The semi-hollow body's natural resonance adds depth to his rhythm playing when paired with his Marshall and Mesa/Boogie stack.

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

Joe Perry's modified JCM800 has been his core amp for decades, delivering natural tube saturation at high volume with a presence-peaked treble that defines Aerosmith's aggressive, sustaining lead tone. The amp's responsiveness to his volume knob control and pickup selection is crucial to his expressive playing approach.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Perry uses the Fender Twin Reverb for cleaner studio tones and textures, providing headroom and natural reverb that balances the JCM800's darker aggression. The Twin's clarity preserves his picking precision and note articulation for rhythm parts and cleaner passages.

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