One new technique at a time
Each new technique arrives in a song written around it: the hammer-on song has more hammer-ons than anything else on the Tour.
- Melodic
- Learn guitar
Learn guitar from scratch, one song at a time
The Tour is a guitar course built into a game. Eight venues and 67 songs take you from your first open string to a tapping solo, one technique at a time, with a guitar that listens to every note you play.
The story
You answered the flyer
A band’s guitarist quit a week before their tour. You answered the flyer, and Mags, the tour manager, hands you the setlist. Before the van leaves you learn the basics at the Broken String before its doors open, one song and one trick at a time. Pass them and you’re in the band.
From there the tour crosses eight venues, each on its own stage, and every one but the last teaches something new. By the last show there are no lessons left, just everything you’ve learned, played better than ever.
How it teaches
Built to actually teach you
Never ahead of you
No song uses a technique before the Tour has taught it, so every new song only asks for what you already know, plus one thing.
Up the neck, step by step
Your hand moves up the neck venue by venue: the first five frets at rehearsals, fret 7 at the Broken String’s gigs, fret 10 at Club Noir, and all the way to fret 22.
Slow to start
The rehearsal songs run at 76 to 92 beats a minute, about one note a second, with half and quarter notes and room to find the next string.
Songs worth playing
Garage rock, country, glam, blues, grunge, surf, funk, thrash and prog: real keys, real progressions, riffs the whole band plays and solos that go somewhere.
A tour manager on your side
Mags calls out a new technique the first times it comes up, and after every gig tells you what to work on: your weakest technique or section.
Lessons
Lessons that wait for you, then fade away
At the first two stops, every new technique gets a full lesson: what it looks like, drawn live on the real highway; how to play it, step by step; what to watch out for; and a drill that plays a few notes and waits at the strings until your guitar plays each one.
As you get better, the lessons get shorter
By the end of the Tour you don’t need them: that’s the point.
- Rehearsal NightFull lessons with drills
- The Broken StringFull lessons with drills
- Club NoirA lesson card and a drill
- Mirage FestivalA lesson card and a drill
- The FoundryA short card
- Monolith ArenaA tip on the gig card
- Channel 9 LiveA tip on the gig card
- Event HorizonNothing: you’re ready
Want more time on one technique?
Almost every technique the Tour teaches has a drill of its own in Training, with a level that follows you rep by rep. When one technique costs you a gig, the gig report offers its drill.
Gigs
Pass the gig, open the next
Every song is a gig. Hit enough of its notes to pass it and the next one opens: 60% at rehearsals, rising venue by venue to 78% at Event Horizon. Two and three stars take more. Pass a venue’s headliner and the van moves on.
From the Foundry on, a hype meter fills with every hit and drains with every miss. Let it run dry and the show stops.
- Practise slower first. Play any gig at 50–90% speed from its card, or slow down mid-song. Slow runs earn XP but only full-speed runs pass.
- A report after every gig: your accuracy against the pass mark, stars, streak and score, accuracy per technique, the XP you earned line by line, and what to work on next.
The venues
Eight venues, 67 songs
Every song on the Tour is an original, written for Melodic to teach. Here’s the whole setlist, and what each venue teaches.
Stop 1 of 8
Rehearsal Night The Broken String
Our guitarist quit a week before the tour, and you answered the flyer on the wall of the Broken String. The bar’s ours until the doors open: you learn the basics right there, one song and one trick at a time, with a tune you already know between lessons.
- Teaches
- Open strings, Fretted notes, Power chords, Hammer-ons, Pull-offs, Slides
- Frets
- 1–5
- Tempo
- 76–92 BPM
- To pass
- 60% of the notes (★★ 80%, ★★★ 92%)
- Lessons
- Full lessons with drills
| # | Song | Style | Teaches | BPM | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Two Tin CansA slow one-riff garage stomper played on open strings only: the easiest way to learn how the highway works. | Garage Rock | Open strings | 76 | 1:57 |
| 2 | Gravel RoadAn easy-going country boogie: walk the boogie line through a 12-bar blues, one fretted note at a time. | Country | Fretted notes | 80 | 2:00 |
| 3 | Amazing GraceThe old hymn as a slow gospel waltz: a tune you already know, on the first three frets. | Gospel | — | 80 | 1:57 |
| 4 | Glitter & GasolineA glam-rock stomp built on one-finger power chords: the first chords of the tour. | Glam Rock | Power chords | 76 | 1:57 |
| 5 | Drunken SailorThe sea shanty as a stomping singalong: stomp its two chords in the verses, play the “way hay” tune in the chorus. | Folk Rock | — | 84 | 1:51 |
| 6 | Whiskey HammerA slow, shuffling 12-bar blues whose one lick hammers the blue note up into the chord. | Blues | Hammer-ons | 84 | 1:56 |
| 7 | Ode to JoyBeethoven’s tune as a sixties guitar instrumental: the melody on two strings, a hammer-on in the middle, and chords between. | Instrumental Rock | — | 80 | 2:18 |
| 8 | Lanterns DownOpen-position classic rock: a riff where each fretted note pulls off to the open string below. | Classic Rock | Pull-offs | 80 | 2:03 |
| 9 | DriftwoodMellow soft rock: a clean guitar hook that slides up into its high notes over strummed acoustics. | Soft Rock | Slides | 76 | 2:09 |
| 10 | GreensleevesThe old English air as a folk-rock waltz: every turn of the tune is a hammer-on, a pull-off or a slide. | Folk Rock | — | 84 | 2:11 |
| 11 | When the Saints Go Marching InThe last song of rehearsals: the old march as brass-band rock and roll, played plain, then with slides, pull-offs and hammer-ons, then with power chords. | Rock and Roll | Headliner: everything so far | 92 | 2:42 |
Stop 2 of 8
The Broken String Main Street
The doors are open: two sets at the dive bar on Main Street. The regulars want songs they know, played all the way through, and one new trick: palm muting.
- Teaches
- Palm muting
- Frets
- 1–7
- Tempo
- 72–116 BPM
- To pass
- 62% of the notes (★★ 81%, ★★★ 92%)
- Lessons
- Full lessons with drills
| # | Song | Style | Teaches | BPM | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | First NightYour first night on a real stage: a rock anthem with a riff, big chords and a first-position solo. | Rock | — | 96 | 3:05 |
| 2 | Last Slow DanceA fifties slow-dance ballad: pick the four chords every beginner learns as rolling arpeggios, then play the tune. | Doo-Wop | — | 72 | 3:10 |
| 3 | Tide PoolA twangy surf instrumental: the tune rolls along the low strings, then the band stabs and slides. | Surf Rock | — | 116 | 3:00 |
| 4 | In the Hall of the Mountain KingGrieg’s creeping troll march as hard rock: palm-mute the tune on the low strings while the band speeds up around you. | Hard Rock | Palm muting | 84 | 3:25 |
| 5 | Boxcar BlueA country train song: palm-mute the boom-chicka bass notes, then slide into a twangy chorus hook. | Country | — | 100 | 3:10 |
| 6 | Last OrdersA pub-punk singalong for closing time: chug palm-muted power chords, then hit the shout-along chorus. | Punk Rock | — | 112 | 3:04 |
| 7 | Penny Whistle RiotA reel let loose in a bar band: take the tune with the tin whistle, then drive the band with palm-muted power chords. | Celtic Rock | — | 116 | 3:06 |
| 8 | Jukebox ShuffleA greasy twelve-bar shuffle on the riff every guitarist learns: the palm-muted boogie, root to fifth, sixth and seventh. | Blues Rock | — | 88 | 3:41 |
| 9 | Für EliseBeethoven’s famous piano piece as a moody rock waltz: the running theme in fourth position, then power chords. | Classical Rock | — | 75 | 3:10 |
| 10 | Ballad of the Broken StringThe Broken String finale: a bar-band anthem with a hammered riff, palm-muted verses, a big chorus and a solo. | Heartland Rock | Headliner: everything so far | 104 | 3:16 |
Stop 3 of 8
Club Noir Rain City
A basement club where it never stops raining. They want long notes that sing and bends that cry.
- Frets
- 1–10
- Tempo
- 72–120 BPM
- To pass
- 65% of the notes (★★ 83%, ★★★ 93%)
- Lessons
- Lesson cards with drills
| # | Song | Style | Teaches | BPM | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wet PavementSpy-movie rock in the rain: a palm-muted riff that sneaks along the low strings, and power chords answered by slides. | Spy Rock | — | 100 | 3:14 |
| 2 | Umbrella WeatherA soft-rock ballad of shimmering double stops and runs, every phrase ending on a note that sings with vibrato. | Soft Rock | Vibrato | 80 | 3:15 |
| 3 | Smoke RingsA torch song for a basement club: climb each chord and hold the top note with vibrato, then pick the chords as slow arpeggios. | Torch Song | — | 76 | 3:16 |
| 4 | Rain City BluesA slow minor blues after midnight: every lick bends up into a note of the chord, then walks down and lands. | Blues | Bends | 72 | 3:20 |
| 5 | Velvet AlibiA slinky minor groove: a riff that climbs D minor and bends its way home, and a chorus answered by bent notes. | Noir Rock | — | 96 | 3:03 |
| 6 | KorobeinikiThe old Russian peddlers’ song as gypsy noir: a dance that speeds up, the tune with bends and vibrato, and a rhythm guitar chorus. | Gypsy Jazz | — | 72 | 3:15 |
| 7 | Back Alley WaltzA dark jazz waltz up at the seventh fret: a tune that bends into its high notes, a waltz to keep going, and a solo in eighths. | Jazz Waltz | — | 104 | 3:05 |
| 8 | Cold CoffeeA slow-burning noir rocker in 6/8: clean picked verses, a distorted chorus of ringing and chugging chords, and a solo full of bends. | Noir Rock | — | 84 | 3:15 |
| 9 | Last Train OutThe Club Noir finale: a palm-muted train riff, ringing chords, a chorus answered by bends, and a solo up the neck. | Noir Rock | Headliner: everything so far | 120 | 3:14 |
Stop 4 of 8
Mirage Festival The Dune Sea
Three days under a desert sky: big open chords, rhythm you can feel in the sand, and harmonics that ring out for miles.
- Teaches
- Open chords, Muted strums, Harmonics
- Frets
- 1–12
- Tempo
- 66–116 BPM
- To pass
- 68% of the notes (★★ 84%, ★★★ 94%)
- Lessons
- Lesson cards with drills
| # | Song | Style | Teaches | BPM | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SidewinderOpen-chord hard rock: hit E, D and A hard and cut them dead, and let the silence groove. | Hard Rock | Open chords | 96 | 3:23 |
| 2 | Scarborough FairThe old English ballad as desert folk rock in 3/4: strum the open chords, then play the tune with hammer-ons, slides and vibrato. | Desert Folk Rock | — | 100 | 3:09 |
| 3 | Burnt SugarBoogie blues rock: the band stops on every chord and you answer with licks that bend up into the chord. | Blues Rock | — | 116 | 3:04 |
| 4 | Dust Devil StrutDesert funk built on muted strums: hit the chord, scratch it twice, hit it again, and answer with a strutting riff. | Desert Funk | Muted strums | 98 | 3:18 |
| 5 | Graveyard ShiftHard rock built on a palm-muted pedal-tone riff: chug the low E between the melody notes. | Hard Rock | — | 112 | 3:15 |
| 6 | Mirage BellsDesert rock where the hook is a run of chiming harmonics, and the chorus is a fuzzed-out riff. | Desert Rock | Harmonics | 88 | 3:19 |
| 7 | Morning MoodGrieg's sunrise as symphonic rock in 6/8: harmonics chime at dawn, the theme passes from flute to guitar, and the band rises to a big rock sunrise. | Symphonic Rock | — | 100 | 3:25 |
| 8 | The Long AscentThe Mirage finale: an epic that only climbs, from fingerpicked arpeggios to strummed chords, an electric riff, a solo and a heavy summit. | Classic Rock | Headliner: everything so far | 66 | 4:16 |
Stop 5 of 8
The Foundry Steel Town
A working foundry where the bands play fast and heavy. From here the hype meter counts: let it run dry and the show stops.
- Teaches
- Bend and release, Pinch harmonics
- Frets
- 1–15
- Tempo
- 68–138 BPM
- To pass
- 70% of the notes (★★ 85%, ★★★ 94%)
- Lessons
- Short lesson cards
| # | Song | Style | Teaches | BPM | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Song of the Volga BoatmenThe Foundry's opener: the barge-haulers' heave-ho as slow, crushing Drop D sludge, a riff of power chords and chugs. | Sludge Metal | — | 76 | 4:03 |
| 2 | Chrome HornsA Texas boogie: answer every bar of the band with a lick that bends up a whole step and lets it back down. | Boogie Rock | Bend and release | 128 | 3:17 |
| 3 | When Johnny Comes Marching HomeThe Civil War march as galloping heavy metal: the tune as a low riff, twin guitars in thirds, a chorus of power chords and a solo that bends and releases. | Twin-Guitar Metal | — | 138 | 4:03 |
| 4 | Neon RainDark alternative rock in the rain: palm-muted verses, ringing choruses answered by bends and vibrato, and a solo up the neck. | Alternative Rock | — | 124 | 3:43 |
| 5 | Dies IraeThe medieval chant of the day of wrath as doom that turns to thrash: a slow ringing riff, then the same notes doubled up and palm-muted. | Doom Thrash | — | 68 | 3:42 |
| 6 | Scrap Iron GospelDrop D groove metal: a low-D riff whose answering notes squeal with pinch harmonics. | Groove Metal | Pinch harmonics | 104 | 3:44 |
| 7 | White HeatThe Foundry finale: a heavy metal anthem of palm-muted riffs, pinch squeals, bends let back down, a big chorus and a solo that peaks once. | Heavy Metal | Headliner: everything so far | 138 | 4:33 |
Stop 6 of 8
Monolith Arena The Concrete City
An arena of raw concrete. A room this size needs barre chords, tremolo picking and runs that fill it.
- Teaches
- Tremolo picking, Barre chords
- Frets
- 1–17
- Tempo
- 76–168 BPM
- To pass
- 72% of the notes (★★ 86%, ★★★ 94%)
- Lessons
- Tips on the gig card
| # | Song | Style | Teaches | BPM | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riptide RadioSurf rock: shake the pick as fast as you can on every long note, and ride the low-string riff. | Surf Rock | Tremolo picking | 168 | 3:09 |
| 2 | Magnolia BurnSouthern rock: a riff that hammers up into the chords, open-chord verses, twin guitars in harmony and a long solo. | Southern Rock | — | 132 | 3:25 |
| 3 | Wide Awake WireAlternative rock built on barre chords: move one shape up and down the neck, strumming eighths that never stop. | Alternative | Barre chords | 150 | 3:15 |
| 4 | Streetlight HymnA ballad of little triads on the top strings, dressed up with hammer-ons and pull-offs, and big strummed choruses. | Alternative Ballad | — | 76 | 3:25 |
| 5 | Thunder in the RaftersArena rock: palm-muted verses that drive, barre-chord choruses strummed wide open, a soaring solo and a singalong breakdown. | Arena Rock | — | 124 | 3:41 |
| 6 | Paper LungsGrunge: power chords with muted scratches between them, quiet verses and loud choruses. | Grunge | — | 116 | 3:12 |
| 7 | Salt & SilverThe Monolith Arena finale: a fingerpicked ballad that grows into a storm of tremolo, twin leads and a fast solo. | Power Ballad | Headliner: everything so far | 76 | 4:46 |
Stop 7 of 8
Channel 9 Live The Broadcast Tower
Live television, no second takes. Speed, funk and a tapping solo for the big finish.
- Teaches
- Tapping
- Frets
- 1–20
- Tempo
- 96–184 BPM
- To pass
- 75% of the notes (★★ 88%, ★★★ 95%)
- Lessons
- Tips on the gig card
| # | Song | Style | Teaches | BPM | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paper SatellitesMath rock: hold a chord shape, tap a note high up the string and pull off to it, so the arpeggios chime. | Math Rock | Tapping | 132 | 3:15 |
| 2 | Rust Belt ProphetDrop D alternative metal: a syncopated low-D riff, clean ringing verses, pushed choruses, a tapped bridge and a breakdown. | Alternative Metal | — | 96 | 3:43 |
| 3 | Glitter TaxFunk rock: a sixteenth-note riff full of ghost notes, chicken-scratch ninth chords, horns and slap bass. | Funk Rock | — | 104 | 3:35 |
| 4 | Tailfin BoogieFast rockabilly: hammered blue notes and double stops through a 12-bar, stop-time choruses and slapped upright bass. | Rockabilly | — | 176 | 3:14 |
| 5 | Suburban StaticFast pop punk: palm-muted power chords that never stop, opening up into ringing choruses. | Pop Punk | — | 172 | 3:06 |
| 6 | William Tell OvertureRossini's gallop as a breakneck surf-rock TV theme: a trumpet-call fanfare, the galloping theme picked at full speed, tremolo-picked surf and a tapping break. | Surf Rock | — | 126 | 3:45 |
| 7 | Sirens in the StaticFast melodic hardcore: palm-muted verses that break open, an octave hook, a chorus built to shout along to and a breakdown. | Melodic Hardcore | — | 184 | 3:30 |
| 8 | Satellite SweetheartThe Channel 9 finale: a string-skipping riff, a big chorus, a melodic solo and a tapping solo for the big finish. | Hard Rock | Headliner: everything so far | 124 | 4:17 |
Stop 8 of 8
Event Horizon The Edge of Everything
The last show, at the edge of a black hole where time runs slow. Everything you’ve learned, played better than ever, in 7/8 among other things.
- Teaches
- Nothing new: everything so far
- Frets
- 1–22
- Tempo
- 66–184 BPM
- To pass
- 78% of the notes (★★ 89%, ★★★ 96%)
- Lessons
- No lessons: everything you’ve learned
| # | Song | Style | Teaches | BPM | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clockwork RequiemNeoclassical metal: a pedal-tone riff, galloping verses, a baroque interlude of sequences and a solo of legato runs. | Neoclassical Metal | — | 138 | 4:12 |
| 2 | Anvil HeartA heavy metal epic: a clean intro, a galloping riff, pushing choruses, a squealing solo and twin-guitar harmonies. | Heavy Metal | — | 76 | 4:21 |
| 3 | Ashen CrownSlow, crushing doom in Drop D: a riff through the flattened fifth, chords shaken with wide vibrato, a gallop at double speed and a weeping solo. | Doom Metal | — | 66 | 4:40 |
| 4 | StarforgedTriumphant power metal: a twin-guitar fanfare, galloping riffs, a major-key chorus over double bass, and a solo that runs, sweeps and taps. | Power Metal | — | 168 | 4:01 |
| 5 | Dead Star CrusadeDownpicked thrash: a creeping chromatic riff, galloping verses, a clean harmonized middle and a solo at full speed. | Thrash Metal | — | 184 | 4:34 |
| 6 | Orbit of GlassAn instrumental showcase: singing themes, a pedal riff, a shred section of legato, tapping and sequences, harmonics and a twin-guitar finale. | Instrumental Rock | — | 116 | 3:56 |
| 7 | Where Time Runs SlowThe last song of the tour: arpeggios and harmonics, a riff in 7/8, pinch squeals, barre chords, tapping, twin leads and one last solo. | Progressive Metal | Headliner: everything so far | 70 | 4:55 |
Career
From Bedroom Player to Living Legend
Everything you play earns XP: every minute of playing, songs finished, gigs passed, new stars, venues completed, streaks and accuracy, lessons finished and levels climbed in training (and a little for practice time, when you play without note detection). The levels never run out, each a little longer than the last, with titles on the way up, and 122 achievements each have a badge to collect, from bronze to diamond, from your first gig to a hundred-note streak and the top of every drill.
Your career page keeps your lifetime stats, how far along the Tour you are and how many notes of each technique you’ve hit.
The van leaves when you’re ready
Start with six open strings and one riff. Mags will take it from there.
Start the Tour free See every technique first