The Prisoner by Iron Maiden – Guitar Lesson

Dive into the heart of classic British metal with our note-for-note guitar lesson of “The Prisoner” by Iron Maiden. Originally released on the legendary 1982 album The Number of the Beast, this track blends melodic intensity, intricate arrangement, and powerful guitar work—making it a perfect study piece for any guitarist aiming to sharpen their rhythm and lead playing.

From the dramatic spoken-word intro to the driving riffs and soaring solos, The Prisoner showcases the strength of Iron Maiden’s songwriting and their ability to combine melody with aggression. This comprehensive LickLibrary guitar lesson walks you through every section of the song in detail, focusing on core techniques like arpeggios, palm muting, string bending, and hammer-ons—each carefully broken down to help you play with accuracy, power, and expression. This lesson is taught by Danny Gill.

Technique Focus

Arpeggios

The song opens with clean, melodic arpeggios, establishing a reflective tone before launching into the heavy riffing that follows. These arpeggios are played with clarity and control, demanding both right-hand precision and left-hand chordal awareness.

Learning benefit: Practicing arpeggios helps develop fretboard knowledge, improves picking accuracy, and teaches you how to outline chord progressions melodically. It's a key technique for clean intros, breakdowns, and solo fills.

Palm Muting

Palm muting is used extensively throughout the song’s rhythm guitar sections to give a tight, percussive quality to the riffing. It’s particularly effective in the verses and transitional passages, creating contrast between open and muted textures.

Learning benefit: Working on palm muting sharpens your right-hand control and tightens your rhythm playing. It’s essential for achieving the aggressive but clean tone that defines Maiden’s sound.

String Bending

In the solo and melodic leads, string bending plays a major role in delivering expressive, vocal-like phrasing. Adrian Smith and Dave Murray use a variety of bend types—full, half, and pre-bends—to add drama and emotion to their solos.

Learning benefit: Practicing string bending improves your pitch control and finger strength, helping you create more expressive and emotionally resonant solos.

Hammer-Ons

Throughout the track, particularly in lead fills and transitions, hammer-ons are used to create fluid melodic lines and faster legato passages without relying solely on picking.

Learning benefit: Working on hammer-ons enhances your fretting-hand speed and dexterity, allowing you to play smoother phrases with greater efficiency and musicality.

Why Learn This Song?

The Prisoner is the perfect balance of melodic storytelling and metal energy. It gives you the opportunity to improve your rhythm tightness, lead expressiveness, and understanding of dynamic arrangement in a band context. The combination of clean arpeggios, heavy riffs, harmonised leads, and emotionally charged solos makes it a complete study for any serious rock or metal guitarist.

By mastering this song, you’ll not only build core guitar skills—you’ll also gain a deeper appreciation for how great composition and guitar technique can work hand-in-hand. Whether you’re playing live, recording, or just developing your own musical style, this lesson is a valuable addition to your skill set.

About the Song and Iron Maiden’s Guitarists

The Prisoner features the dual guitar brilliance of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, whose complementary styles helped shape Iron Maiden’s unmistakable sound. Murray’s legato-rich, fluid phrasing contrasts beautifully with Smith’s tighter, blues-based attack. Together, their harmonised leads, counter-riffs, and melodic solos laid the groundwork for the twin-guitar tradition in heavy metal.

Iron Maiden’s influence on rock and metal guitar playing cannot be overstated. Their ability to combine technical proficiency with melodic storytelling has inspired generations of guitarists. Learning The Prisoner provides invaluable insight into their arrangement techniques, phrasing, and mastery of light-and-shade dynamics within a heavy metal framework.

What You’ll Learn in This Lesson

In this in-depth guitar lesson, you’ll learn every detail of The Prisoner—from the clean arpeggiated intro and the tightly locked rhythm parts to the harmonised leads and dramatic solo sections. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of timing, muting, dynamic control, and how to bring out the melodic voice of your instrument. This lesson is ideal for intermediate to advanced players who want to blend technical mastery with musicality.

Techniques Used in This Lesson

• Arpeggios
• Palm Muting
• String Bending
• Hammer-Ons

Unlock the musical and technical power of The Prisoner with this complete LickLibrary lesson—an essential track for fans of Iron Maiden and players looking to take their rhythm and lead playing to the next level.