The ULTIMATE RUSH Chord Lesson!!

[@TheProgSchool]

The 'Alex Lifeson' chord is actually an F#7(add11), or a F#11. It can't technically be a suspended chord because of the presence of the 3rd. Same thing is true of the Bsus, it's a Badd11. These corrections will be made in the PDF as well! Apologies for the confusion!!

[@c3vette47]

I believe John Petrucci named that chord the Alex Lifeson chord

[@TheProgSchool]

@@c3vette47 he might have been the first one. He’s obviously a massive Rush fan!

[@stratcat3216]

My fav chord progression of his: Red Sector A

[@TheProgSchool]

@@stratcat3216 that’s a good one!

[@TheRealcdawg22]

​@c3vette47 I am older than Petrucci, and I have always called it "The Hemispheres Chord".

[@tedburke8187]

I agree. He's deserves a lot more credit. He's fantastic

[@TheProgSchool]

Indeed he is!!

[@mindseyemusicreview]

Notes built high like a mountain or notes that fall.. gently... like rain 🎶 His chord voicings are second to none. The icy yet frantic work on Grace Under Pressure (afterimage, between the wheels, distant early warning, enemy within) his bluesy earlier work on Necromancer, 2112, selftitled Bytor and The Snowdog. Ugh hes just so good. I love his playing

[@TheProgSchool]

One of my favorites!!

[@em-dashman4404]

Yeah. Liquid or wot?! Love it.

[@ak47dragunov]

Fantastic vid. Alex's voicings are so ingrained in my fingers from years of cutting my teeth on Rush, that to this day when writing I can't get away from em. And they still sound fresh and colorful with and without distortion.

[@TheProgSchool]

Thanks! These voicings always sound good in so many different contexts, These are chords everyone should know!

[@ts8lemonade]

Great video. Alex is probably my favorite guitarist of all time because of just how interesting his guitar parts always are. Xanadu for example is an absolute masterpiece in music. I love how the parts transition from one to the other.

[@TheProgSchool]

Thanks! Xanadu is one of my favorite Rush tunes, so good!

[@rickdaniels1789]

I go back with RUSH to 1978. Grew up reading all the guitar mags of the late '70's and '80's. I don't recall Alex ever having been underrated or overlooked. He was on the cover of many a guitar mag.

[@TheProgSchool]

That's probably true, but I think he's often underrated these days. At least that's been my experience as someone who grew up in the 2000's.

[@rickdaniels1789]

@@TheProgSchool He's just from an older time with a band whose peak years were '78 to around '90, although they enjoyed a resurgence in Brazil during the R30 era, as they'd never played in Brazil, never knowing they had such a huge and dedicated fan base there.

[@levnik7739]

what a great video man! thanks for the deep insight on alexs use of extensions, thats one of the mainreasons why rush sounds so complete being a 3 man band.

[@TheProgSchool]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@jasonkeith9317]

Rush is the greatest band of all time. RIP Professor.

[@63mckenzie]

Alex has to be one of the most imaginative guitarists of all time.

[@stratdx]

I’d love to see this PDF. Amazing guitar player. Full, lush sound and chops for days!

[@TheProgSchool]

Thanks! If you sign up for the mailing list I’ll be sending out the PDF soon!

[@michaelwiley1429]

Wow! A torrent of Alex chords! You covered so much ground in so little time! Thank you!

[@TheProgSchool]

You’re welcome!

[@cygnals524]

I just came across this video today & really enjoyed watching it. My favorite band is Rush and I am a guitar player so I have been plugging away at Rush songs for many years now. I have seen them 16 times over 14 different tours with my first show being on the Signals tour in 1982 when I was 16 years old. I had 2112 & Fly By Night in my LP collection & bought Hemispheres in 1978 when I was 12 years old and they have been my favorite band ever since. I also started waiting for their new releases and buying them the day they were released starting from Permanent Waves on. You did an excellent job covering & naming the chords Alex uses. I have seen a few other videos on this subject & I think you did the best job out of the videos I have seen. I do recall one "Alex" chord I don't think you mentioned. On the song "Making Memories" from the "Fly By Night" LP Alex starts off by using 3 chords which the first 2 you mentioned it is the 3rd one I don't recall seeing. The first 2 are "D" & "F/D" which is just the "D" shape moved up to the 5th fret, the 3rd chord is a "CaddD" which is basically a "C Major" chord with an open "D" string rather than fretting the 2nd fret of the "D" string in a normal "C Major" chord. I also think of a few other chords when I think of Alex & Rush. On the track "Time & Motion" from the "Test For Echo" release he plays classic "Alex riffs" (maybe a topic for another video?) but after the solo he plays this very cool Rush sounding chord in between playing an open E5 power chord. He arpeggiates the "Dmin7(6)" chord and it sounds amazing! He is using this version of the "Dmin7(6)" chord x5350x Sometimes he just plays 5,3,5,0 & other times he plays 5,3,5,0,5,3 I haven't listened to it in a while so I can't remember exactly but I also play quite a bit of this song on guitar as well. The opening chords to the track "Where's My Thing" from "Roll The Bones" has Rush chord written all over it. I could also list dozens of Alex/Rush riffs as well which helped create the Rush sound. I think of the song "The Anarchist" from "Clockwork Angels" Alex starts off with 4 chords that are definitely Rush chords & then launches into a killer Rush riff that I use for a stretching exercise when I am warming up. I did join your mailing list BUT, I had issues trying to enter my birthday. It wouldn't let me enter it and wouldn't complete the form without it. I also would LOVE to get a copy of your tablature file for this. I did scribble down the chords the best I could in my own tab notebooks I create but it is a bit messy and not as easy to use as a tab file is. I look forward to watching more of your videos now that I have completed this one. Thanks for taking the time to do this and put it out free for guys like me.

[@TheProgSchool]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing a few more chords, by no means was this a 100% complete list of Alex Lifeson chords. There are too many to cover! I checked the mailing list link and it seemed to work fine for me. If you are still having trouble shoot me an email at [e-mail] and I’ll get you the chord sheet ASAP!

[@dreamscuba]

I love this video. You are so right that Alex is underrated. I didn’t realize that I use some of these chords. But I need to learn more as his chordal work is my favourite. I love how he can build chordal progressions that also carry melody that negate the need for lead guitar on top, other than the breaks in songs where he soloes.

[@TheProgSchool]

You're welcome, glad you find some useful info in this one!

[@sdouty1566]

Just discovered this great video! Thanks for saving so much time figuring out Alex's amazing sound. Would love to get the PDF.

[@TheProgSchool]

Email me at [e-mail] and I can get you the PDF!

[@em-dashman4404]

Ok. Wow! Been playing Rush songs for *years* and now my mind is blown 😂 I knew a lot of these chords, but some are real eye-openers. Thanks 🤘👍

[@TheProgSchool]

You're welcome!!

[@misterfbl]

Amazing lesson. So much crammed into that 15 minutes!

[@TheProgSchool]

@@misterfbl thank you! I don’t like to waste anyone’s time.

[@misterfbl]

@@TheProgSchool part of what I really liked about this was your playing all these amazing chords on an acoustic without any fx - you really get to hear their tonal beauty. The chord charts and breakdown also very helpful. Great work. And yes, getting straight into it without a ten minute waffly preamble was very refreshing!

[@trenthogan4212]

Excellent! I'd love to see all of the chords for The Camera Eye. Love Alex's playing

[@TheProgSchool]

That would be a good lesson!

[@rhugh02]

Love this! As a Intermediate player and huge Rush fan, most Rush songs are to dam hard. Will work on some of these cords. Thanks and subscribed.

[@TheProgSchool]

Thanks, glad I could help!

[@davistribe]

Awesome. One of the first songs I ever attempted to learn on my own was Xanadu! Bit off more than I could chew at the time. Would have helped to know these chords back then. That was way before internet days!! Wore out my album playing it over and over trying to hear the notes. Thanks for the lesson.

[@TheProgSchool]

Nice! That’s a tough song to attempt as a beginner.

[@davistribe]

@@TheProgSchool could I get a pdf of those chords?

[@TheProgSchool]

@@davistribe email me at [e-mail] and I’ll send it your way!

[@jacquidickinson2559]

Thank you so much for this! I have subscribed to your mailing list. I'm also a choral singer and absolutely love what Alex does with chord voicings to make the sound huge! 😎

[@TheProgSchool]

You’re welcome!

[@jacquidickinson2559]

I know he took a lot from Pete Townshend, but I can just imagine Alex dropping fingers out of chord shapes to hear how it sounds. He must have a tremendous 'ear' for harmony & dissonance. I wonder if it's related to Serbian music with exotic scales heard at home!

[@davep8221]

I remember when Hemispheres came out. I listened to it so many times I wore the grooves smooth. That vinyl is embedded in my synapses.

[@TheProgSchool]

Nice! It’s my favorite Rush album.

[@davep8221]

@@TheProgSchool And _La Villa Strangiato_ is my fave Rush ditty. I wish there had been many more "Exercises in Self Indulgence."

[@GMAtheory]

Wow...that is a LOT of information...thanks for putting that all together and sharing it with us...Prog On!🤘

[@TheProgSchool]

I don’t mess around! And you’re welcome!

[@davidsnow6771]

I would love a pdf of Alex’s’ chords

[@TheProgSchool]

Shoot me an email at [e-mail] and I’ll send it your way!

[@zezinhocambalhota972]

Great video. It's really cool to hear how Alex influenced John Petrucci on the chordwork. Also, a lot of those chords make me think of Porcupine Tree as well. Also, that's a lovely sounding acoustic

[@TheProgSchool]

Thanks! There is a lot of crossover between Lifeson and Petrucci.

[@jimkingjr3311]

Great job very informational

[@TheProgSchool]

Thank you! Always happen to share what information I know!

[@KM-co5mx]

Very cool vid ⭐️ Alex’s chord progression at the bridge leading up to the solo in The Trees always blew my mind. The sound is other worldly… I could never figure out what he was playing 😉 😉 One of my all time favorite songs 🤗

[@TheProgSchool]

Thanks! The Trees is a good one for sure!

[@Snowdog070]

Thanks for this. Non-musician here but I like to try to understand the composition of the music that changed me.

[@rrdee8138]

Excellent lesson thx

[@TheProgSchool]

You're welcome, glad you enjoyed it!!

[@SkuppyVincenzo]

Hey man great lesson, cheers , I have subscribed to your mailing list, please send the PDF, thanks

[@TheProgSchool]

I send out the mailing list emails on Friday’s. If you’d like it sooner you can email me directly, I have my email listed in the videos description. Thanks!

[@Rocinante1963]

Thank you! Nicely done.

[@TheProgSchool]

You’re welcome!!

[@MB-en3do]

great stuff

[@TheProgSchool]

Thanks!!

[@DrumminDoc]

Nice job!

[@TheProgSchool]

Thanks!

[@scottgraham2041]

Great video! I would love to see pdf. Thanks!

[@TheProgSchool]

If you follow the link in the description and join the mailing list I’ll be sending it out soon!

[@enigma00]

The A7sus4 chord you mention in Tom Sawyer (although you notate it slightly wrong, I think it's |X-0-2-2-3-3|) he used a TON in the 80s and 90s. See e.g., Force 10, Roll the Bones, Promise (from the Victor album), and a bunch of others I can't think of right now. But to me that chord is the runner-up for The Alex Lifeson Chord to the F#11. Great video! Agree Alex is incredibly under-rated, and without his chord choices and arpeggios, Rush would not have been Rush.

[@TheProgSchool]

That’s one he likes for sure! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@TheProgSchool]

Btw I used this lesson from Alex himself as reference kzbin.info/www/bejne/aoDXh5JodpuZidE He plays the A7sus4 how I have it notated at 21:00, but I’m sure he uses the other voicing as well in different songs.

[@enigma00]

@@TheProgSchool To my eyes (and ears) he's barring the d and g strings with the same finger in that video, but I'm sure he does play it both ways in various places.

[@TheProgSchool]

@@enigma00 I think you're right, but it's a little hard to tell. I know for sure he's used both of the chords at some point in Rush's music!

[@davep8221]

I also love his arpeggios and tone. My first Rush album was _All the World's a Stage_, and that set for me Alex's "default" tone, and that became the sound of Rush for me. So crunchy and often dripping with echo. The sequence of _Lakeside Park_ into 2112 is my favorite part and shows their diverse sounds. And then _Bytor..._ blasting out of nowhere is perfect. Geddy has said this is his least favorite [live?] album and doesn't like the sound, but, sorry dude, you are wrong! He also doesn't like the version of _Lakeside Park_; but like every other song, I prefer the live versions on this album. Mmmm... crunchy, arrrgggghhhhl!

[@donaldbutcher1260]

In the Fly by Night section you refer to the C maj chord as a C sus 2, I think it is actually a C add 9 since you are playing the 2 above the tonic but I could be wrong I almost always am.

[@TheProgSchool]

If you play the whole chord it is a Cadd9, but the way he picks it he doesn't play the third making it a Csus2. 2 and 9 can kind of be used interchangeably, though technically it depends on what octave the extended note is in.

[@domenicabianco]

bravo❤👍

[@TheProgSchool]

Thanks!

[@davidbrassard9125]

Pls and do the same with the Roll the bones album. Thumbs up

[@tomflynn924]

FYI the link to the mailing displays an error message. When you get this working please supply the corrected url and I'll join the mailing list.

[@TheProgSchool]

Interesting, I just tried it and it worked fine for me. I’ll check it out though

[@MarsGuitarOfficial]

Great breakdown!!! Thank you 🙏

[@TheProgSchool]

You’re welcome!

[@davidrapant6398]

I'm really having trouble playing the G#m11 chord. I can't get that F# note on the D string to ring clearly. its always muted. by my middle finger holding down the D# note on the A string.

[@TheProgSchool]

@@davidrapant6398 it’s important to keep your fingers super curved, and try moving your thumb lower on the neck to give yourself some more reach

[@davidrapant6398]

@@TheProgSchool Alex is one of my favorite players all time. I'm 57. I refuse to give up and thanks for the tips! Probably one of those things like when your first learning everything is impossible 😂. Keep the Rush stuff coming. I learned Presentation off 2112 by ear and such cool chords. Rush was the best. Got to see Signals Tour and I was mesmerized and blown away.

[@156pick]

Hi how can I get the Rush Chord lesson PDF, thanks in advance...

[@TheProgSchool]

Shoot me an email at [e-mail] and I’ll send it your way

[@caseysniper308]

Yes I think that is what got him to that level. It's a lost art.

[@TheProgSchool]

indeed

[@Birkguitars]

All that and no mention of Xanadu - the E major shape moved up two frets.

[@TheProgSchool]

Xanadu is one of my favorites, but there’s only so many songs I can cover.

[@Birkguitars]

@@TheProgSchool And you did a brilliant job. Xanadu could justify a video all on its own. I have been a Rush fan since the late seventies and I will definitely be picking out a few of these ideas to expand my repertoire. I recall reading an interview with Alex from the early eighties responding to a question about his use of extended chords saying that he just tried as much mileage as possible from six strings. He was never a shred style player so I think has not had the recognition he deserved as a technically brilliant and musically creative performer.

[@TheProgSchool]

@@Birkguitars thanks! I definitely agree with all of that, and hopefully I few of these ideas are useful for you.

[@milescunningham288]

Please send me the Chords pdf. TY

[@TheProgSchool]

If you follow my mailing list at this link eepurl.com/h9xLhT I'll be sending the PDF out soon

[@HandbrakeBiscuit]

Excellent video - I just learned a ton. Also, I always thought Alex sounded kind of sus!

[@TheProgSchool]

Haha, glad you enjoyed it!

[@DanaVastman]

Beautifully EXQUISITE

[@TheProgSchool]

Thanks!!

[@mindseyemusicreview]

Hemisphere is arguably my favorite rush album. I really need some work on more rhythm playing. I can solo pretty well but rhythmically I'm in basic chord and power chord territory

[@TheProgSchool]

It’s one of my favorites as well!

[@TheMeJustMe75]

Jimmy Page was the first person that I can remember hearing that used these voicings of chords. Alex is an awesome guitar player!

[@TheProgSchool]

I’m sure Alex took a few of these from Jimmy as he was a big fan!

[@localescomercialesrentaven9542]

Hello bro, Thank You for all the teachings and knowledge you share. Please send me the Chords pdf. TY

[@TheProgSchool]

You’re welcome! If you sign up for the mailing list in the description I can get them to you right away.

[@caseysniper308]

my guess is Alex learned these sounds from classical guitar. I'm good with learning that to achieve this sound. send the intel, thanks

[@TheProgSchool]

He probably did get some of these from classical guitar

[@michaeld2716]

Interesting.

[@TheProgSchool]

@@michaeld2716 👍

[@joebiondo6898]

No disrespect to Alex, but this is how I imagine a lot of these were invented: Alex (high AF): Ged, check it out! I play this chord, and slide it up to here! Geddy: That sounds cool! I'll write a bass riff to go along with it! 🤣🤣🤣

[@TheProgSchool]

You’re probably right haha

[@randyroberts4239]

You know he's under rated when Rolling Stone Magazine put Bruce Springsteen ahead of him in the top 100 guitarists article.....

[@duaneraymond4252]

Man, couldn't you give us a chord chart diagram that we could understand???

[@TheProgSchool]

I did explain each chord separately and include notation and tablature. I suppose I could have included chord diagrams as well, but I made this video for free and it took a lot of time as it is. If you'd like I can send you a PDF of these chords if you want to see them all in one place.

[@mrobsolete530x4]

I thought Alex passed too?

[@TheProgSchool]

No, he's very much alive!!

[@pschroeter1]

Underated? By who? In my appraisal Alex is second only to Steve Howe.

[@TheProgSchool]

I think he gets overlooked in relation to Geddy and Neil

[@CtrlAltDelite]

Came for the chords. Had to sit thru another Stacy Abrams bs ad trying to legitimize herself as competent. She is not. Just another diversity hire candidate. Now, back to why I came here. Ruuuuuuush!

[@TheProgSchool]

Unfortunately I can’t control the ads!

[@CtrlAltDelite]

@@TheProgSchool understood, brother. It is YT and these political campaigns that set me off. Fantastic lesson! Back in the 80's I would have to find guys who had decoded "the Secrets" to Alex's chording. Thank you for your videos. Subbed!

[@TheProgSchool]

@@CtrlAltDelite you’re welcome!

[@stevenseganjr.2874]

talk too fast for me to learn anything,sorry.

[@paultinta7280]

I hear you on that. This content is technical, and for me, it is extremely challenging and I too have the same struggles.