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. Seven venues and 37 original 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 in the Garage, one song and one trick at a time. Pass them and you’re in the band.
From there the tour crosses seven 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 in the Garage, fret 10 at Club Noir, and all the way to fret 22.
Slow to start
The Garage songs run at 76 to 96 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
In the Garage, 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.
- The GarageFull 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
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% in the Garage, 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
Seven venues, 37 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 7
The Garage Rehearsal night
Our guitarist quit a week before the tour, and you answered the flyer. Before we hit the road you learn the basics, one song and one trick at a time.
- Teaches
- Open strings, Fretted notes, Power chords, Hammer-ons, Pull-offs, Slides
- Frets
- 1–5
- Tempo
- 76–96 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 | Glitter & GasolineA glam-rock stomp built on one-finger power chords: the first chords of the tour. | Glam Rock | Power chords | 76 | 1:57 |
| 4 | Whiskey HammerA slow, shuffling 12-bar blues whose one lick hammers the blue note up into the chord. | Blues | Hammer-ons | 84 | 1:56 |
| 5 | 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 |
| 6 | DriftwoodMellow soft rock: a clean guitar hook that slides up into its high notes over strummed acoustics. | Soft Rock | Slides | 76 | 2:09 |
| 7 | First NightThe Garage finale: a rock anthem with a riff, big chords and a first-position solo, everything so far. | Rock | Headliner: everything so far | 96 | 2:15 |
Stop 2 of 7
Club Noir Rain City
A basement club where it never stops raining. They want palm-muted grooves, long notes that sing and bends that cry.
- Teaches
- Palm muting, Vibrato, Bends
- Frets
- 1–10
- Tempo
- 80–124 BPM
- To pass
- 65% of the notes (★★ 83%, ★★★ 93%)
- Lessons
- Lesson cards with drills
| # | Song | Style | Teaches | BPM | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Graveyard ShiftHard rock built on a palm-muted pedal-tone riff: chug the low E between the melody notes. | Hard Rock | Palm muting | 112 | 3:15 |
| 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 | Burnt SugarBoogie blues rock: the band stops on every chord and you answer with licks that bend up into the chord. | Blues Rock | Bends | 116 | 3:04 |
| 4 | Neon RainThe Club Noir finale: palm-muted verses, ringing choruses answered by bends and vibrato, and a solo up the neck. | Alternative Rock | Headliner: everything so far | 124 | 3:43 |
Stop 3 of 7
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 | Paper LungsGrunge: power chords with muted scratches between them, quiet verses and loud choruses. | Grunge | Muted strums | 116 | 3:12 |
| 3 | 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 |
| 4 | 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 4 of 7
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
- 76–172 BPM
- To pass
- 70% of the notes (★★ 85%, ★★★ 94%)
- Lessons
- Short lesson cards
| # | Song | Style | Teaches | BPM | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 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 |
| 2 | Scrap Iron GospelDrop D groove metal: a low-D riff whose answering notes squeal with pinch harmonics. | Groove Metal | Pinch harmonics | 104 | 3:44 |
| 3 | Suburban StaticFast pop punk: palm-muted power chords that never stop, opening up into ringing choruses. | Pop Punk | — | 172 | 3:06 |
| 4 | Anvil HeartThe Foundry finale: a clean intro, a galloping riff, pushing choruses, a squealing solo and twin-guitar harmonies. | Heavy Metal | Headliner: everything so far | 76 | 4:21 |
Stop 5 of 7
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 | 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 |
| 3 | 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 |
| 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 | 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 |
| 6 | 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 6 of 7
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 | 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 |
| 3 | Tailfin BoogieFast rockabilly: hammered blue notes and double stops through a 12-bar, stop-time choruses and slapped upright bass. | Rockabilly | — | 176 | 3:14 |
| 4 | Glitter TaxFunk rock: a sixteenth-note riff full of ghost notes, chicken-scratch ninth chords, horns and slap bass. | Funk Rock | — | 104 | 3:35 |
| 5 | 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 |
| 6 | 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 7 of 7
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 | 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 |
| 2 | 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 |
| 3 | 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 |
| 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 | 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 |
| 6 | 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: notes hit, songs finished, gigs passed, new stars, venues completed, streaks and accuracy (and practice time, when you play without note detection). Fifty levels come with titles on the way up, and 53 achievements are rubber stamps to collect in your stamp book, from your first gig to a hundred-note streak.
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