"Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey

Experience the magic of "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey with our comprehensive, note-for-note guitar lesson at LickLibrary.com. This classic anthem, featuring powerful guitar techniques and memorable riffs, is one of the defining songs of rock. Our lesson dives into each nuance of the song, helping you master its unforgettable sound with expert guidance. This tutorial covers techniques used by Journey's legendary guitarists, offering viewers a chance to learn, practice, and implement skills essential for developing a strong foundation in rock guitar playing. Jamie Humphries breaks down this classic track in this exclusive Lick Library video tutorial.

About Journey and Their Guitar Influence

Journey, one of the iconic rock bands of the 1970s and '80s, is renowned for its powerful compositions and skillful guitar work. Guitarists Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain are central to Journey's sound, bringing a mix of melody and rock edge that has influenced countless guitarists worldwide. Neal Schon's soaring solos and meticulous attention to melody offer a timeless quality, combining emotion with technical prowess. Cain’s rhythmic style and complementary leads add depth to the harmony, creating a full, rich sound. Learning the techniques featured in "Don't Stop Believin'" provides insight into the stylistic elements that define classic rock guitar and Schon’s distinct guitar voice.

Key Guitar Techniques Covered in "Don't Stop Believin'"

1. String Bending

String bending is fundamental in rock guitar, and "Don't Stop Believin'" showcases this technique to great effect. Bending allows the guitarist to manipulate pitch, adding expressiveness and tension to solos. In this lesson, we explore both standard and bluesy bends, showing you how to achieve a powerful, emotional sound. Mastering bending enhances your ability to add soul to any lead part and is especially effective in rock and blues genres.

2. Vibrato

Vibrato adds warmth and sustain to held notes, which gives solos a voice-like quality. In Journey’s song, vibrato is applied to sustain and highlight key notes. This technique is essential for creating a professional and polished sound, as it enhances note duration and emotional depth. Practicing vibrato helps you refine control over pitch and dynamics, a valuable skill for any guitar player aiming to develop an expressive playing style.

3. Alternate Picking

"Don't Stop Believin'" incorporates alternate picking to maintain smooth, even rhythm during faster passages. This technique involves alternating between downstrokes and upstrokes, allowing for speed and precision. Practicing alternate picking will improve your timing and help develop agility across strings, a necessary skill for achieving clarity in faster sections.

4. Arpeggios

Arpeggios play a key role in the song’s rhythm sections and give the chords a melodic quality. Arpeggiating chords allows each note to ring out individually, creating texture in the music. In our lesson, we break down arpeggiated chord progressions, a useful skill for playing both rhythm and lead parts. Mastering arpeggios enhances your ability to create full, rich harmonic backdrops in your music.

5. Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs

Hammer-ons and pull-offs provide a smooth, legato sound in the song’s main riff, making transitions between notes seamless. These techniques allow for quick shifts without picking each note, adding a fluid, connected feel to phrases. Practicing these will enhance your legato playing, helping you achieve smoother, more connected musical lines.

6. Slides

Slides are a prominent feature in "Don't Stop Believin'," allowing the guitarist to transition between notes with a gliding motion. This technique adds a smooth, expressive quality to playing, making shifts between notes sound effortless. Mastering slides allows for quick transitions across the fretboard, a valuable skill for creating smooth and dynamic lead lines.

7. Unison Bends

Unison bends are a powerful technique that brings a full, harmonised quality to solos by bending two notes to the same pitch. In our lesson, we explore unison bends as used in "Don't Stop Believin'," giving the song a characteristic rock edge. This skill enhances your control over pitch and helps you create harmonised melodies in solos.

8. Double-Stop Bends

Double-stop bends involve bending two strings simultaneously, creating a rich, harmonised sound. This technique is essential in rock guitar for adding intensity and fullness to solos. Double-stop bends, as featured in this song, allow you to produce a unique sound that cuts through the mix, giving you more expressive range.

9. Chord Progressions

The chord progressions in "Don't Stop Believin'" are iconic, contributing to its catchy and memorable structure. This lesson covers the primary chords used in the song, which are foundational in rock music. Learning these chord progressions will strengthen your rhythm playing and help you understand the structure of many rock and pop songs.

10. Power Chords

Power chords are essential to rock guitar, providing the backbone of "Don't Stop Believin'" with their powerful, straightforward sound. This lesson includes tips on playing power chords cleanly and transitioning smoothly. Power chords are easy to learn and apply across the fretboard, making them a vital skill for any guitarist looking to master rock rhythms.

Techniques List with Links

• Vibrato
• Alternate Picking
• Arpeggios
• Hammer-Ons
• Pull-Offs
• Slides
• Unison Bends
• Double-Stop Bends
• Chord Progressions
• Power Chords
• String Bending

This lesson on "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey is designed to enhance your rock guitar skills through focused practice on these core techniques.