Practice Studio

Marillion - Jigsaw - Guitar Solo Tab

Sections · Loop · Speed · Metronome

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Select a Loop

Start of your loop
End of your loop

Speed Control

Speed
100%

Tools

BPM
Key A minor
PLAY WITH BACKING TRACK
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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.

Essential Collection album cover
Essential Collection
1996 6:48
Capo Advisor 0 A minor · Original key

About Jigsaw


Jigsaw sits in A minor at a steady 120 BPM in E Standard tuning, which keeps the technical demands manageable while still giving you plenty to think about in terms of phrasing and texture. Marillion built their sound on layered, atmospheric arrangements, and the guitar work here reflects that: clean to lightly driven tones carry melodic lines that need to breathe rather than push hard. The real challenge is keeping your picking relaxed and your note lengths deliberate so the parts lock into the rhythmic pulse without sounding stiff. The A minor tonality invites some expressive bending and vibrato, so focus on making those small ornaments sound intentional rather than automatic. If any picking pattern or melodic phrase is giving you trouble, pull up the Practice Toolbar, loop that section, and slow it down until your fingers know exactly where they are going. Progressive Rock guitar often rewards patience over speed, and this track is a good example of that principle in practice.

  • Running at 120 BPM in E Standard, the tempo is approachable but demands consistent right-hand control to keep melodic lines even throughout.
  • The A minor key opens up expressive vibrato and bending opportunities, so clean intonation on those ornaments is worth isolating in practice.
  • Tonal subtlety matters here: a clean or lightly overdriven guitar tone will let the melodic phrasing come through far more clearly than a heavy distortion setting.

How to Play Jigsaw

Tuning: E Standard · Key: A 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

Steve Rothery's primary instrument for Marillion's classic sound, the Strat delivers the glassy single-coil tone and dynamic range essential to his swelling passages and biting solos on albums like 'Misplaced Childhood.' Its responsive volume knob allows him to transition seamlessly from whisper-soft clean textures to cutting leads.

Gibson Les Paul Standard
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Rothery deploys the Les Paul's thicker humbucker tone for heavier, more saturated sections within Marillion's progressive arrangements, providing harmonic weight while maintaining the clarity he demands from moderate-output pickups.

Gibson Les Paul Custom
Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

The Custom variant offers Rothery enhanced versatility for darker, weightier tones in Marillion's heavier passages, with its construction supporting the sustained, compressed character needed to cut through dense layered arrangements.

Boss DD-3 Digital Delay
Pedal

Boss DD-3 Digital Delay

Rothery uses this tempo-synced delay to create the shimmering, repeating textures and atmospheric depth that define Marillion's sound, layering it with chorus and reverb for lush, spacious soundscapes.

Play with Backing Track

Play with Backing Track

Solo (Backing Track)

Solo (Backing Track)