TV Dinners by ZZ Top – Guitar Lesson Breakdown

ZZ Top’s TV Dinners is a slow-cooked slice of Texas blues-rock that blends greasy groove with sharp guitar tone and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Found on the band’s groundbreaking 1983 album Eliminator, this track offers a stripped-back, mid-tempo swagger that showcases Billy Gibbons’ signature guitar touch. At LickLibrary.com, our note-for-note guitar lesson gives you everything you need to master TV Dinners in true Gibbons style—covering every riff, fill, and expressive nuance with detailed breakdowns.

This lesson places a strong focus on four core guitar techniques that define the sound and feel of TV Dinners: alternate picking, slides, string bending, and vibrato. Each technique is not only demonstrated in the context of the song but also broken down to help you understand the mechanics behind the tone and touch. This lesson is taught by Danny Gill.

Techniques Used

Alternate Picking

Gibbons uses alternate picking throughout the song to articulate riffs with clarity and consistency. This is especially noticeable in the tighter, syncopated rhythm figures where picking precision is essential for locking in with the groove.

Benefit to the player: Mastering alternate picking improves speed, accuracy, and rhythmic consistency. It also reduces hand fatigue and helps guitarists maintain clean articulation even in more complex or syncopated parts.

Slides

Slides are used in both the rhythm and lead parts of TV Dinners to add movement and expressiveness. Whether it’s sliding into a riff or between notes in a melodic phrase, Gibbons uses this technique to keep things fluid and bluesy.

Benefit to the player: Slides enhance fretboard navigation and provide a smoother, more vocal quality to your playing. They help develop hand coordination and phrasing control, making your leads sound more natural and emotive.

String Bending

No ZZ Top song would be complete without soulful string bending—and TV Dinners delivers. Gibbons uses bends of varying widths to emphasise phrases and create a vocal, expressive tone that’s full of grit and feeling.

Benefit to the player: String bending improves pitch control and finger strength. It’s an essential part of any blues or rock guitarist’s toolkit, allowing you to express emotion and create dynamic tension in your solos.

Vibrato

Gibbons’ vibrato in this song is wide, slow, and dripping with character. It’s particularly effective at the end of sustained notes, adding that extra layer of soul and sustain to his already rich tone.

Benefit to the player: Vibrato is one of the most personal and expressive techniques you can master. It adds life and movement to your notes and helps you develop a unique voice on the guitar. A strong vibrato can turn a simple phrase into something unforgettable.

About the Song and Guitar Style

TV Dinners is pure attitude. With its minimal arrangement and spacious groove, it’s a song that relies heavily on phrasing and tone. Billy Gibbons doesn’t overplay—he chooses each note with intention, making use of bluesy licks and expressive techniques that keep the listener hooked. The laid-back tempo allows for wide vibrato, dramatic bends, and phrasing that feels almost conversational. It's ZZ Top at their most deliberate and stylish.

The guitar tone is classic Gibbons—warm and fuzzy with just enough grit. The riffs are simple but catchy, and the soloing is melodic, expressive, and dripping with blues authenticity. This makes TV Dinners an ideal learning piece for guitarists who want to develop their feel, timing, and touch while soaking in some of the best tone-based blues-rock playing ever recorded.

About the Guitar Player – Billy Gibbons

Billy Gibbons is the undisputed master of tone and phrasing in blues-rock guitar. His playing is never flashy for the sake of it—instead, it’s calculated, soulful, and bursting with character. With his laid-back approach and deep understanding of blues roots, Gibbons helped define the sound of ZZ Top and left an indelible mark on the world of electric guitar.

In TV Dinners, Gibbons trades in flashy speed for style and substance. Every slide, bend, and shake of vibrato is used to serve the song. Studying this track gives guitarists a direct window into the power of playing with feel over flash. It’s a valuable lesson in how to make every note matter.

Summary

Our TV Dinners guitar lesson at LickLibrary.com is the perfect deep-dive into the slower, funkier side of ZZ Top’s catalogue. With its stripped-back groove and expressive guitar work, the track is a masterclass in tone, touch, and phrasing. Whether you’re refining your vibrato or learning how to lock in alternate picking within a laid-back groove, this lesson will level up your technique and your musical sensibilities.

This lesson focuses on techniques that are essential to expressive guitar playing: alternate picking for clarity and control, slides for smoother transitions, string bending for emotion and tone shaping, and vibrato for personal flair. Together, they form the core of Gibbons’ approach—and learning them through this track gives you real insight into what makes his playing so effective and iconic.

Techniques Used in This Lesson

• Alternate Picking
• Slides
• String Bending
• Vibrato

Fire up TV Dinners with our full lesson at LickLibrary.com, and learn how to bring blues-rock tone, phrasing, and groove to your playing—straight from the world of Billy Gibbons and ZZ Top.