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Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way - Guitar Tab

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Key E minor
Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My 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.
Are You Gonna Go My Way album cover
Are You Gonna Go My Way
1993 3:32
Listen on Spotify
Lenny Kravitz Hard Rock 1993 E minor
Capo Advisor 0 E minor · Original key

About Are You Gonna Go My Way

Few riffs in Hard Rock are as immediately recognisable as the one that opens this track. Lenny Kravitz built the whole song around a single-string, heavily distorted E-based riff that sits right in the pocket at 128 BPM, so locking in with the groove is just as important as getting the notes right. The riff runs in E minor and lives low on the neck, making it approachable for intermediate players, but nailing the attitude means keeping your pick attack consistent and your timing tight against that driving drum pattern. The bigger challenge is sustaining that energy through the whole song without letting your picking hand tense up. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the main riff slowed down until the rhythm feels completely natural before bringing it back up to tempo. Once the riff is solid, pay attention to how the chords in the chorus fill out the low-end roar that defines the song's character.

  • The signature riff is built almost entirely on single-string picking in E minor, making right-hand rhythm and pick attack the main things to get right.
  • At 128 BPM in E Standard tuning, the groove demands a steady, relaxed picking hand so the riff does not tighten up over repeated cycles.
  • Keeping the distortion tone thick but controlled is key to the sound, so spend time dialling your gain before working on the full-speed riff.

How to Play Are You Gonna Go My Way

The song moves through: Intro, Verse, Interlude, Chorus, Bridge, Solo.

Tuning: E Standard · Key: E minor · Tempo: 128 BPM · Difficulty: Medium

The arrangement runs through 6 distinct sections, and the solo is the steepest jump, so isolate it on its own.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 128 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Kravitz uses vintage Stratocasters with their glassy single-coil tone for funkier rhythm work and cleaner passages, as heard on tracks like 'Fly Away.' Their responsiveness to picking dynamics complements his minimalist effects philosophy.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

A frequent choice alongside his Flying V, Kravitz's 1959 Les Paul Standard delivers warm, woody tones from original PAF humbuckers that respond dynamically to his attack and volume knob adjustments.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

While less documented than his Standard, the Custom variant offers Kravitz similar tonal warmth and versatility through its PAF-style humbuckers, fitting his preference for vintage instruments with rich harmonic character.

Gibson Flying V
Guitar

Gibson Flying V

Kravitz's signature instrument for heavy, riff-driven tracks, his 1967 Flying V with stock PAF humbuckers feeds into cranked Marshall Plexis to create the thick, harmonically saturated overdrive that defines his sound.

Marshall Plexi (1959 Super Lead)
Amp

Marshall Plexi (1959 Super Lead)

His 1968 Marshall Super Lead 100-watt Plexi cranked to natural breakup is the backbone of Kravitz's tone, providing the thick, tube-driven overdrive that comes from volume rather than pedal-based gain.

Fender Twin Reverb
Amp

Fender Twin Reverb

Kravitz uses the Twin Reverb's clean, articulate platform for softer passages and layered studio recordings, complementing the Marshall's aggression while maintaining his preference for warm, vintage tube tone.

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