“Santeria” is also full of SoCal imagery, and will take you to Long Beach wherever you play it!
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Are you celebrating Galentine’s Day this year? If your girl gang is into making music, check out these songs made for jamming out to – that you can learn with Fret Zealot.
https://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/12203816/AdobeStock_185597216-scaled.jpeg14402560Kaley Lynchhttps://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo.pngKaley Lynch2025-02-12 20:45:452025-02-12 20:45:45Top songs for Galentine’s Day to learn on guitar with Fret Zealot
Australian rock band AC/DC formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, as well as Colin Burgess (drums), Larry Van Kriedt (bass guitar) and Dave Evans (lead vocals). The band went through several line-up changes before releasing their debut album, High Voltage (1975). After the release of Let There Be Rock (1977), the lineup was set with the Young brothers, Phil Rudd on drums, Cliff Williams on bass guitar and Bon Scott on lead vocals. Scott died of alcohol poisoning only seven months after the release of Highway to Hell in 1979. The band tapped English singer Brian Johnson as their new frontman for 1980’s Back in Black – dedicated to Scott’s memory, and the second best-selling record of all time!
Check out these AC/DC songs you can learn with Fret Zealot.
“Highway to Hell” is about the exhausting nature of constant touring, which Angus Young referred to as the “Highway to Hell”. Australia’s Canning Highway also was part of the song’s namesake.
This song was included on AC/DC’s fourth album, 1977’s Let There Be Rock. “Hell Ain’t A Bad Place to Be” also shares its name with a 2012 biography of the band.
One of AC/DC’s most recognizable songs gets its name from a childhood toy of the Young brothers. In the liner notes of The Razor’s Edge 2003 re-release, Young said that they were searching for a name for the song when they came up with the “thunder” motif, based on their childhood toy Thunderstreak. “It seemed to have a good ring to it. AC/DC = Power. That’s the basic idea,” he wrote.
This song begins with the tolling of a bell – an actual, 2,000 lb. bronze bell made by John Taylor & Co. Bellfounders in England. The bell sound was recorded in a mobile studio inside of the bell foundry after the tracking sessions for “Back in Black” were complete.
“All Screwed Up” was featured on AC/DC’s 2000 album Stiff Upper Lip. This album was the last one produced by Malcolm and Angus Young’s older brother George Young, who died in 2017.
One of AC/DC’s most popular songs, “Whole Lotta Rosie’ started off as another song entirely. The main riff was featured on an earlier recording called “Dirty Eyes”, which had a different chorus chord progression and a slower tempo. It was recorded in 1976 for an EP that got scrapped and later recrafted into “Whole Lotta Rosie”.
You might not associate AC/DC with classical literature, but Angus Young said that one of the inspirations for the lyrics of this 1981 track was gleaned from a story by poet and novelist Robert Graves. Young explained that the story was about gladiators in Ancient Rome preparing to fight in the Coliseum, who used the salute “Ave, Caesar, morituri te salutant” (“Hail Caesar, those who are about to die salute you”).
“The Jack” (Australian slang for a venereal disease) was created when Malcolm Young, jamming out with Bon Scott, received a note from a woman who said she contracted it from Malcolm. Bon Scott began teasing Young with a blues riff with the phrase – and “The Jack” was born.
Did you know that “Beatin’ Around the Bush” off of AC/DC’s 1979 album Highway to Hell is a cover? The song was originally recorded by Australian blues, rock and R&B band Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons. It was released in July 1976 and was featured on the soundtrack to the 1976 film Oz.
https://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/30163447/acdc-cc0.jpg482640Kaley Lynchhttps://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo.pngKaley Lynch2025-01-30 16:36:082025-01-30 19:55:29Learn these AC/DC songs with Fret Zealot
Be honest – what’s the last time you changed the strings on your guitar? String mileage varies – some guitar players change them religiously every month, while others allow their strings to get “seasoned” a bit more. Whatever your preference is, here are five signs that it’s definitely time to change your strings:
They look bad
Strings that need to be changed may look dull, tarnished, or pitted. They might also look or feel dirty.
They don’t sound as good as they should
Strings may start to buzz or rattle near the end of their lifetime, and their tone might sound dull or flat.
It hurts to play
Old strings don’t bend as easily as fresh ones, so you might find yourself exerting extra strength to play.
They won’t stay in tune
If you find yourself reaching for a tuner more frequently than usual, it might be time to change your strings. Bear in mind that new strings may take a few days to stretch, so aim to do it a couple of days before any performances if possible.
You have a broken string
Breaks are a sign that it’s time for new strings – so if you have time, restring the entire guitar.
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With only three chords and a simple strum pattern, this 1993z song by 4 Non Blondes should be a quick learn – but it’s guaranteed to get the crowd singing along.
This well-known 2012 arena rock hit by Imagine Dragons is a great pick to shake up your setlist!
https://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/22155036/AdobeStock_357101263-scaled.jpeg17392560Kaley Lynchhttps://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo.pngKaley Lynch2025-01-22 15:51:162025-01-22 15:51:16Top songs you can learn with Fret Zealot to add to your setlist
British rock band Queen is one of the most commercially successful bands of all time, selling over 300 million albums around the world. They formed in 1970 and had multiple huge hits, including “Bohemian Rhapsody”, “We Will Rock You”, and “Don’t Stop Me Now”.
Check out these Queen songs you can learn with Fret Zealot!
A song written by Freddie Mercury as a tribute to his musical inspirations, Elvis Presley and Sir Cliff Richard, Mercury said he wrote “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” in five to ten minutes. “I did that on the guitar, which I can’t play for nuts, and in one way it was quite a good thing because I was restricted, knowing only a few chords,” he told Melody Maker magazine in 1981. “It’s a good discipline because I simply had to write within a small framework. I couldn’t work through too many chords and because of that restriction I wrote a good song, I think.”
A favorite song for sporting events, “We Will Rock You” is usually followed by “We Are the Champions”. They were the last two songs Queen performed at Live Aid in 1985. The song is nearly completely a cappella except for a 30 second solo by May toward the end. The “stamping” effects were made by the band.
Queen’s 1975 six-minute “mock opera” dominated the charts in England and took the number one spot in a dozen other countries when it was released – but in the U.S., it never made it past #9. When Wayne’s World came out in 1992, the car scene featuring “Bohemian Rhapsody” helped shoot the track to #2 on the Billboard chart.
Don’t Stop Me Now didn’t chart very high when it was released as a single in 1979, but time has been very kind to it. The song has become more popular over the years thanks to consistent airplay, use in TV shows, ads, and movies, and through cover versions.
Featuring a simple but insanely catchy bassline, “Another One Bites the Dust” was written by Queen bassist John Deacon. Deacon had been hanging out in the studio with disco band Chic, which inspired him to write the funky line.
https://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/22153832/queen.jpg10201600Kaley Lynchhttps://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo.pngKaley Lynch2025-01-22 15:40:302025-01-22 15:40:30Learn these songs by Queen with Fret Zealot
Have you ever wondered where various musical scales come from? Here are the origins of some of the most popular guitar scales.
Major
G Major Scale on Musical Keyboard.svg
The major scale, based on a specific pattern of whole and half steps, traces its origins back to Ancient Greece. Philosophers including Pythagoras examined the mathematical relationships between pitches and developed diatonic scale systems, including Lydian and Phrygian.
Minor
A melodic minor scale ascending
Minor scales are made up of seven stepwise pitches that form an octave arranged in one of three possible sequences which all have a half-step in common. Like the major scales, the minor scales developed from the ancient Greek modes. Ancient mathematician Ptolemy described the seven Greek modes as Dorian, Hypodorian, Phrygian, Hypophrygian, Lydian, Hypolydian, and Mixolydian. More modes were described in the 16th century.
Pentatonic
Minor pentatonic blues scale on A.
The five-note scale that’s so essential to rock and blues music is one of the oldest scales in the world, and seems to have been developed independently by ancient cultures all around the world, including China, West Africa, India, South America, and Indigenous Americans. Archaeologists have found flutes in Germany made of vulture bones that are 30 to 40 thousand years old and are tuned to the pentatonic scale.
Chromatic
Chromatic scale.
The chromatic scale utilizes 12 half notes in a scale, which can add tension and resolution into a piece of music. The word “chromatic” comes from the Greek word “khrōmatikos” (relating to color). The ancient Chinese also created a 12-note scale called Shí-èr-lǜ, a set of 12 fundamental notes from which other scales can be derived.
Arabic
Arabic music is based on maqams – groups of notes that are used together with the rules determining the relationships between them and their melodic pattern. Arabic scales are tuned differently than Western classical music – 5th notes are tuned based on the 3rd harmonic and the rest of the notes are tuned depending on which maqam you are in. The Arabian scale has its origins in the 9th century CE, by scholars including al-Mawsili and al-Kindi.
You can find every scale in the Fret Zealot app!
https://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/14170026/scales.jpg9381864Kaley Lynchhttps://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo.pngKaley Lynch2025-01-14 17:02:502025-01-14 17:02:50The history and origins of popular guitar scales
In this complete beginner’s course, you get one lesson to follow per day for 30 days. If you’re new to guitar this is the ultimate crash course to get you started!
This course focuses specifically on chord and rhythm playing for electric guitar players. This series of courses (levels 1 – 3) is absolutely essential for beginners who love the electric guitar as they will give you the necessary foundations to build upon as you progress.
This course will take you through your first chords, how to strum, how to play full songs, how to master basic theory and everything else you need as a beginner guitar student that loves acoustic guitar.
This introductory course is geared towards people who have either never played or haven’t picked it up in a long time. So even if you’ve struggled before, you will learn everything you need to know to start playing!
This course puts the “fun” into “music theory fundamentals”! These lessons cover everything you need to know about music theory, from knowing and naming all 12 notes to understanding keys and triads.
https://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/27152931/2516335_Top5Courses2024_1_122324.jpg7201280Kaley Lynchhttps://fz-wp-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo.pngKaley Lynch2024-12-27 15:30:242024-12-27 15:30:24Fret Zealot’s Top Courses of 2024
Winter – the perfect time of year to stay inside and pick up a new hobby. If you want to learn how to play guitar, there’s no better time to start than winter, when you’re spending less time outside and more time at home.
Here are a few reasons why winter is the perfect time to pick up a guitar and start learning:
There’s not much else going on
Especially if you live in an area that gets cold in the winter, there are fewer social obligations and less fun stuff happening outside during winter. Why not direct your energy toward learning a new skill while staying cozy?
It’s the perfect activity for Dry January
In 2024, about a quarter of Americans participated in “Dry January”, cutting out alcohol for the entire first month of the year. If you’re one of those folks this year, you can spend your Saturday nights learning how to play your favorite songs on guitar rather than out at a bar!
Utilize New Year’s resolutions
Learning how to play guitar is a great New Year’s resolution – and it can be much easier than “completing a marathon” or “cutting out sugar completely”. You can set small, tangible goals for yourself while learning guitar, like memorizing six chords or playing a simple song – and that will help to keep you motivated!
You can learn from your couch
Who doesn’t love a hobby that you can participate in from the comfort of your own home?
You’ll have a cool new skill to show off by springtime
Everyone learns at their own pace – however, if you dedicate even a half hour a day to learning guitar, you can develop real guitar skills pretty quickly!
Try this 30 Day Beginner Challenge to get you from absolute beginner to being able to play a guitar solo in a month!
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