Rory Gallagher's Lead Guitar Riffs & Pickup Trick | Reverb Learn to Play

[@obscurebandfan]

In my opinion Rory was the guitarist's guitarist. Heavy riffs, jazzy runs, melodic Celtic inspired minor and modal scales, country inspired pedal steel bends, funky rhythms, killer vibrato, basic tapping, amazing slide playing, great hybrid picking acoustic work: you'll find it all if you delve into his catalog. Sorry I get a little passionate when it comes to Rory.

[@CorantinSegal]

You are spot on though!

[@radieuseaurore]

I agree

[@robroy4058]

And probably the greatest rock front man of all time. He was and always will be the REAL DEAL.

[@jamesryan5436]

spot on . he was shit hot end of story .

[@18JR78]

I don’t blame you

[@buellosaurusrex]

The fact that Rory not only played so many different types of guitar; acoustic, slide, steel, fingerpicking, as well as saxophone, harmonica, mandolin, but that he was a master of all of them says it all. Not to mention the fact that he was a brilliant lyricist and a great vocalist, combined with a killer Strat tone that nobody has equaled since, really puts him at the top of the hill compared to others who might have been masters of only one genre. Rory did it all, with a dynamic energy that few have ever matched and none have exceeded.

[@rickmoore7501]

nobody better than Rory,terribly underrated guitarist,strat master.

[@phillippehrson4908]

If you ever saw Rory live you would know that there was nothing like it, back then or even today. His energy could work the crowd into a frenzy. Best live show ever. And I have seen them all.

[@Deliquescentinsight]

Rory Gallagher had such an expressive approach, he managed to blend folk, blues and jazz guitar elements, but he was totally unique, and he reached the heart.

[@tacobell6826]

I was lucky enough to interview him once as a college student. Cork 1983. Real gent.

[@Brandon-pf9wg]

man I gotta ask, what was he like as a person?

[@MichaelandCathy1999]

Been a fan since I heard “Tattoo’d Lady”, ran out to my local music store, bought Tattoo and before long went to 2 concerts by the band, once at the Burlington, Vermont College, I’m thinking early ‘70’s, and then right here in Montreal at the old Forum, where the “new” band “Rainbow” opened for Rory et al. What a night that was. Imagine, 3 bands that night, Argent, Rainbow and Rory Gallagher, all for the grand total of $8.50 a ticket, NEVER would you see that again. A terrible loss and I remember that day when I heard on our local rock music radio station that Rory has passed after going through a liver transplant and not beating a viral/septic infection. Loss to music and a generation, glad I was there to see the Man.🤘🤘

[@iamrichrocker]

Irish Tour '74..walked in a record store back late 70's.this incredible song was on Cradle Rock.and BAM..i rushed up to the counter and asked the dude who that was..and i fell in love with this Lad..and yes..he is so neglected in history..but ask any good guitarist..and they will mostly name Rory as one of their favorites..or at least..admired him..RIP Rory..play on in Peace...

[@hopsnbarley8309]

My favorite guitarist of all time. It’s a shame that’s he’s rarely mentioned alongside Clapton, Jimi, SRV etc... watch his live version of Moonchild and prepare to be blown away!

[@djas1840]

The folk that know guitar including the boys you mentions know who he is, and you do too! Fuck em.

[@eoghainmurphy4441]

He's my favourite too!!! His live version of For The Last Time is unbelievable!!!

[@classicrock71]

A million miles away is my Fav!!!

[@WOHBuckeye]

I don't get it really. So ahead of his time.

[@lamblore5639]

Seen him play once, was blown away, one of my Fav Rory songs is Fuel to the fire, its a shame there aren't many live versions of it, but the album version is amazing, when i listen to it, it moves me

[@the_grube5782]

He's even wearing a Rory Gallagher style shirt

[@gilbert3768]

some say he even drank his blood

[@kennethparker1032]

As someone else has stated, Irish/celtic music is, in general, modal, so it is now surprise Rory's music is as well. When you slow down some of his riffs, then compare them to Horslips, you realize they come from the some roots. And I, for one, am deeply grateful. The greatest shows I ever saw. Rory, Gerry, and the disposable drummer.

[@clgmafnas]

Rory is a LEGEND... nobody plays like him, NOBODY 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@johnw5734]

You really have some of his sound. When I listen to Rory's live stuff I can hear how rough a guitar player he was. He let it all hang out, just dry distortion. He was one of a kind.

[@kynyrdskynyrd]

Great video. In my opinion Rory will never be forgotten and his legend keeps on growing especially among all of us who play.

[@goldwold]

Man I'm not into "guitar god" type players but I love Rory. His shit just hits me man. Thank you for making this this vid.

[@bojanboskovic6744]

Rory - Sunburst 1961 Stratocaster (Serial Number 64351) Strait Strat and Blue Heart! Perfect!

[@bojanboskovic6744]

burst!

[@bristolfashion4421]

what a player ! I was lucky enough to see him a couple of times when I lived in London, back in the '70s - he played his heart out every gig.

[@Ireland-bc2gx]

Have been a rory fan for years and ,it is great too see guys like you look at his music, I seen him in Ireland unbelievable, RIP rory

[@youssefkasim7556]

I don’t think anyone in the world ever played in the style of Rory Gallagher, everyone would play like Hendrix and BB king which is fine, but Rory is just something else.

[@chrisfertnig5259]

Love Jeff’s videos. Rory is so worth discovering for younger players.

[@rorymcclellan3740]

Man props to you Jeff! Keeping Rorys glories afloat with modern times! Its unspeakable the joy this content brings!!!

[@PaddyByrne931]

Rory is a abesolute legend, one of the best ever

[@jacksutherland846]

That's great man. He was so instinctive. That's what made his playing so interesting and enjoyable. He was pretty shy and reserved until the magic took hold of him. And then look out! He was such a treasure, and I'm so happy he's not forgotten and we work hard as players to figure him out. And it's so cool when you get a smidge or two. Thanks for the riff! Great vid!

[@mrbr4587]

What strikes me most about Rory is not his excellence as a guitarist. This is obvious, and he was one of the Greats. The guy was a "monster" on the guitar (and it was just his Strato, his amps and his fingers ...). What strikes me most is his "anti-mainstream" stance, absolutely humble, complete. A guy who does a damn miss ... No wonder he is deified in his homeland and so many people speak of him with sympathy and affection ... Few were like him: Simple, humble, lover of the stage and his audience, intense and great guitarist. One of the biggest! Rory Gallagher!

[@samuellangley1162]

Dude, this video was SO helpful! It's cool to see Rory represented. It feels like sometimes he isn't talked about enough. Dude, I'm gonna get RIGHT to tryin out these licks.

[@purplecowideal]

A maniac for sure. I enjoy watching the guitar masters on KZbin talk about Rory.

[@fifteenstone]

Thanks for the great video...I was lucky enough to meet the great man, in Toronto...on top of of being an astonishing player/performer, he was a very kind and humble human being. RIP Rory, and Thank You.

[@bak1386]

Great point about the greats possibly not thinking in terms of theory. I agree pretty much, I think a lot of them played what they felt no matter what mode or scale or whatever. I'm guessing they used that stuff as a working template and just did their thing. Of course everyone is different, but I think most of the greats just played what their soul felt at the time and went from there

[@nicholaswoolfenden5254]

So underrated. I saw the young Rory in 1972. Perfect. I like his Celtic tinged blues. He'd play A Dorian over a blues in G. Unique. Nice job thanks. AC30 in those days.

[@truckerdiablo5819]

People who listen to music have never heard of the great Rory Gallagher. People who know music know he was a guitar legend and in my opinion the greatest guitarist I have ever heard or seen.

[@TomTobin67]

Rory was one of the greats!

[@cosmicowboy111]

Great video man, love the licks, information, tricks, and history. He's definitely my favorite player, sadly underrated ... thanks for sharing!

[@20valver]

Great Vid! in Ireland, for the most, Rory's name is pronounced Gall-ahhh-her

[@jimmydaodao1997]

Those licks sound to me like the live stuff he does on "laundromat". But yeah, you nailed a good example of Rorys uniqueness. Some of the "guitar gods" of the time (to me anyway) just ended up sounding REALLY repetitive, which i think is why many people lapped up Rorys brilliantly original fresh sounding techniques and sounds. Look at live in Europe "I wonder who"..what could of been a normal regular old boring blues tune, but what he does in that song..lol its just jawdropping !

[@gojoe36]

FREAKING AWESOME stuff. Jeff Massey is a great teacher because he is a great student

[@tomcrean4980]

Wow rory would be proud of you. Well done

[@whatwouldhousedo5136]

Great to see some Rory love- what a master. And you really nailed the shirt!

[@markrobinson8410]

love rory gallaghers music!

[@peterbrazeal7171]

Rory just plays amazing blues shanty motifs, end of story

[@vacayooper4728]

Saw him in San Fransisco in the mid eighties, can't remember the venue. Incredible show.

[@bryanmannoia8410]

wow, what a cool and eye opening lesson. thank you!

[@Mrs.3617]

yeah his fingers look like a spider going up and down the fretboard crazy amazing never seen another guitarist look like that

[@brandonwooldridge1877]

That first lick is from his song Laundromat. That lick is actually in A

[@roof2093]

more rory please

[@morganmonnot7330]

This is great man!! Very much appreciate the breakdown of what’s going on in some of his playing..

[@lathumpipe]

Amen! I love Mr. Rory...someone mentioned Moonchild but also take a look at Cradle Rock (he's wearing a red checkered shirt in this particular video). He owns that audience.

[@djas1840]

Awesome! Thank You! Hats Off Brother! NICE~ . I played Air Guitar Next to Rory on Stage at Metro!! Now I am playing his Tribute Guitar using the licks you just taught me! You rock!

[@marcellino1956]

I was at that show......I still have the pick rory gave me from that show...was just using it the other day

[@lukecassidy6300]

Amazing guitar music ! Long live Rory.

[@fernandoazevedoneckeljr.2771]

Please, do a slide lesson of his style, the world needs it :)

[@shakeyourguitartutorials]

Well explained ,thumb up , I did aa few lessons on "Shadow Play" and "Bad Penny" (in french...) The scale he uses the more is D minor (a sort of minor penta with a major second) Dorian very few a time (excuse my english ) and for "Shadow play it's eolian because of the b flat played by the rythme guitar( but he never plays the sixth ) Very good video . Cheers from France .

[@belindadrake5487]

RORY WILL FOREVER BE THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME. NOBODY TOUCHES HIM. MY MENTOR, MY BROTHER, MY ALL, MY WORLD. THE ABSOLUTE GREATEST EVER. NAH, NOBODY WILL GET NEAR HIM. LOVE YOU FOREVER RORY. I HOPE I CAN DO YOU SOME JUSTICE WITH MY PLAYING.... 🎸💚👑💞☘️

[@diddlytube]

The toggle / bend thing was one way he'd get the wah without wah, but I've watched him for decades and he also frequently used tone control wah. Not sure if his tone control was wired as a master for all 3 pickups, but he'd do that when he was using the neck or middle, which definitely would have been connected to the tone. Usually he'd do this without picking. Instead he'd be doing pull-offs and spinning the tone pot with the side of his hand. Some of the runaway ape-shit live versions of Moonchild and Follow Me might be good places to look for this. It's like a combination of a train doppler sound, a volume swell, and a wah all at once.

[@MyTube4Utoo]

Rory! Gary Moore, too.

[@patch1415]

Simply the best ever.

[@massimosoddu8683]

techic of rory Gallagher first period-molto bello-Molto bravo-thanks for this video-this is the true technic of rory-with the taste and then-bravo

[@jaZZjaZZ54]

Thanks for this!

[@KudosCultureCartel]

Saw a video of Rory where he did a harmonic at the 7th fret then bent it behind the nut. Most impressive thing iv ever seen anyone do and the face he pulled as he did it is something id get tattooed on me. I love in Dublin and in town his brown guitar is bolted to the wall in Temple Bar

[@keiran110]

replicate of his guitar,

[@WOHBuckeye]

I wish I could do that. Pushing the string down behind the nut is a bitch

[@MK_2023.]

Yeah that's a bronze replica of his strat on the wall in Temple Bar.

[@phoenixrising5088]

@@keiran110 a few replicates have been made. A friend of mine bought one.

[@royandergoogle3012]

Read in an interview that he had a bent nail up behind the nut for that trick still no easy task.

[@robertpirsig5011]

Listen to irish tour, it's a masterpiece.

[@MikeCindyWhite]

Awesome man! Thanks, Rory rocks!!!

[@ramspace]

Thanks

[@SGVB22]

these are challenging but i will learn them!!!!

[@gaelenmckee6400]

I often feel like the guys on Reverb doing this show don't really know what they're talking about, but this guy did a really good job. He got the a lot of the right hand dynamics, and the pinch harmonics. I'd like to direct anyone who wants to learn more about Rory's playing to Dave Simpson's channel, where he has an ongoing series going into great detail about his playing and tone: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXmpi6yhlKqIj9k

[@grahamkelly8299]

Rory had the best ears in the biznes at that time!

[@tidepoolbay]

Nice work Jeff!

[@VoodooLoveChild]

Check out Jeff Massey's band THE STEEPWATER BAND. They slay!!! And he's one of the nicest guys ever.

[@mattmurray517]

Blackmore does that pickup switch trick all the time. Gives it a slight, quick wah like sound

[@t.giddey4080]

The Irish Hurricane Rory Gallagher .... Do You Read Me !!

[@JeremyS86]

his guitar was all wired differently too. he like, has all 3 pickups controlled by 1 tone pot. so he just had a volume knob and 1 master tone knob

[@stephenwhoriskeymusic3492]

Rory mainly used the middle+bridge pickups for his cords and some lead. Hed move down then to bridge only for pinch harmonics and for harsher lead bits like that mental shadow play solo in montreux i think it was

[@Fretlessness]

"I'm doing a 9-11, 9-11..."

[@therodeoflip]

Great teaching style 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@petermitchell6348]

Messin' with the kid? That was the lead break to Laundromat!

[@robertveith3400]

I'm glad you show a lot things on a strat i play a strat and it works well for me thank yoy

[@Mulder2008a]

Great video. What song does the opening riff come from? I have been going through my Rory Gallagher CD's, but haven't found it yet.

[@galagherman]

Rory was umbilically influenced by Irish Trad licks which he heard all around him whilst growing up. Irish Trad melodies incorporate a lot of triplets etc hence his style.

[@BV_Beve]

Nice video ! Great pedal Scotty !

[@Bluesmusicno1]

A lot of his riffs have a celtic style Irish blues hence pinky

[@a8anasios666]

Check out all around man live on the old grey whistle

[@willemdefouw3605]

Rory rules. No one like him.

[@tommynilsson2560]

Not near..please .we love Rory..dont try !

[@paulphaze]

Thanks enjoyed it

[@JoeCiliberto]

It would be an interesting comparison between Rory's licks and bluegrass pickers licks. Their roots are similar - maybe jigs and reels-based?. Great lesson thank you.

[@harmoniclivechromatic7698]

theres a video of rory jamming with bela fleck

[@devtank]

Very cool!

[@johnmirabile3535]

That lick in thr boogie sound to me like irish bagpipes....i can definitly hear the irish note choice in his playing

[@bubbaluvv]

When asked by a reporter how it felt to be the greatest guitarist ever Jimi Hendrix said "i dont know, go ask Rory Gallagher". That says it all baby

[@youreatoilet]

I love Rory but the quote is made up, it's been chopped and changed over the years and if you look into it there is no clear origin or proof he ever said it. Some sources say he said hit on a TV show but there is no proof that it actually happened

[@johndrum6613]

Jeff. Thanks. Can I ask a favour. Would you kindly have a listen to an Aussie guitarist called Ian Moss (Cold Chisel) and a song called "The Rising Sun". Mate I really want to get a handle on the rockabilly style in the work.

[@bluejeansandchucks]

Does anyone know which song riff 1 is from/played in? it’s been stuck in my head and I want to associate the lick with the song haha

[@jottailirik9581]

It's a riff from Laundromat, somewhere in the middle of the song. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pXylq2RpZZylq5Y

[@jottailirik9581]

But Rory's riff is faster, cleaner with a different dynamic.

[@grantdickey]

This is amazing! #Nashville loves you #reverb

[@Shredsofeden]

That Tone man!🤪

[@Bluesmusicno1]

He brought a lottle bit of green to the blues said by comedian and fellow scotsmen billy connolly

[@johnw5734]

When I came back to learn some riffs, I though this Jeff guy is all laid back like Mitch Hedberg. Then I realized I had the playback speed set to 75%, ha.

[@A14b19]

THE BEST.....

[@exzaviorw]

Every fricken time he does that lick i think hes gonna play Jessica by Allman brothers😂😂, but hes a fantastic player one of my favs

[@andydaniels6363]

Ritchie Blackmore often switched pickups while holding a note.

[@pcollenyt3683]

Rory's lead note selections were strongly influenced by Gaelic music mixed with blues. Think of the Irish Reel music, often with violin and accordion., that he must have heard often as a boy.

[@maxcuthbert100]

PCollen YT he would have heard mostly polkas growing up.Cork and Kerry are well known for them.

[@Bluesmusicno1]

Rory used a range master treble boost and ac30 vox

[@seanmutlu7819]

4:41 "and I'm doin a 9/11 9/11 hammerin on up into a bend"

[@robnertculp8430]

how about some lessons on pops staples

[@patrickmccutcheon8860]

“I just listened to ‘Messin’ With the Kid’ so here’s how Rory Gallagher plays every solo..”

[@macandmefoley3037]

Can't recreate the soul Rory had..