Stranglehold Guitar Lesson (Ted Nugent)

If you want to learn to play guitar like a thunderous rock god.

Here's a powerful riff to help set you on your way. 

In fact, few guitar riffs hold as much raw energy as this one. It blends elements of the blues with searing rock guitar solos. 

I’m going to share its most iconic moments in this post. 

So grab your guitar and let’s dive into this “Stranglehold” guitar lesson.

Who wrote Stranglehold?

“Stranglehold” was written by American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Ted Nugent.  While Ted is often credited with the song, Rob Grange, the bassist, also played a significant role in its creation. 

Apparently "Stranglehold" is a song that evolved from a spontaneous jam session. The riff came about during a rehearsal, and then quickly took shape as the band experimented with different musical ideas. 

The recording captured the band's live energy, with Nugent's guitar work being a standout feature. His extended guitar solo, which lasts several minutes, is a central feature of the track.

"Stranglehold" was released in 1975 on Ted Nugent's self-titled debut solo album, "Ted Nugent." The album marked the beginning of Nugent's solo career.

What tuning is Stranglehold in?

The original version is in standard tuning however throughout the years there have been many live versions where Ted plays tuned down ½ step to E flat standard.

As many performers age, or if they are touring night after night, they will often lower the keys on songs. Sometimes the record key sounds great and is possible to nail in the studio one time. But when you set out on the road, performing in the record key can be incredibly difficult to maintain show after show. This often becomes the reason for different tunings and key changes for a live show.

What key is Stranglehold in?

Stranglehold as recorded by Ted Nugent is in the key of A major. But modulates to the key of F# for the bass solo. Then back to A major for the ending.

Stranglehold Guitar Chords

The main riff is essentially built around just 4 chords, A5, C5, D5, and G5.

Notice that these are all 5 chords, also known as power chords.

A power chord is a simplified chord used quite often in rock, punk, and metal music. It consists of either 2 or 3 notes: the root note and the fifth, and sometimes the octave of the root. Power chords are neither major nor minor because they lack the third, which determines the chord quality.

Let’s take a look at how to play the first power chord A5. For this, I use just my index finger and bar in the second position like this:

C5 is played in the third position, here I just use 2 fingers like this:

Note: for 2-note power chords I often use my index and pinky fingers.

For D5, just shift up the fretboard 2 frets, but keep the grip the same like this:

Finally, G5 is again the same grip, just shifted to a different string:

Those are the core shapes for the main progression to the song. However, later in the tune for the bass solo, we’ll modulate to the key of F#. Here we’ll bring in a couple of new shapes.

F#5 I play at the 2nd fret like this:

Notice the use now of the 3-note power chord. This shape sounds a little bit fuller and stronger than the 2-note power chord. It’s a nice choice for the key change.

Then we have an A5 that can be played in the 5th position like this:

And the last chord you’ll need to know is B5 like this:

Let’s look at the main progression used for the intro and verse. It’s just a 2 bar finger. It starts off with 3 beats of A5. Then on beat 4, there are 2 eighth-note strums, one on a C5 and the next on a D5.

|A5  C5 D5|

Then you copy the same rhythm again but with different chords like this:

|A5  G5 A5| 

All together the progression goes:

|A5  C5 D5| A5  G5 A5| 

The chord progression and melody that Ted sings on top is a classic example of how the blues influenced rock. This progress here is built from the blues scale. If you don’t know your blues scale yet, anywhere on the neck. Get your hands on my free blues scale guide below that makes this a cinch:

Getting The Timing

If you want to play this song like the recording one of the most important parts to get right is the groove and timing. The underlying subdivision of this song is a 16th-note pulse.  

Sixteenth note rhythms are a rhythmic subdivision where each beat in a measure is divided into four equal parts. In 4/4 time, there are four beats per measure, and each beat can be further subdivided into four sixteenth notes. 

If you count the strong beats those are the numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4. 

Yet each beat can be subdivided into four equal parts, representing sixteenth notes. To count these subdivisions, you can use "1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a, 3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a."

The numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) represent the quarter note beats. The "e" and "a" represent the first and second sixteenth notes within each beat. And the "and" represents the third sixteenth note within each beat.

Try counting through a bar of sixteenth-notes:

1   e   +   a   2   e   +   a   3   e   +   a   4   e   +   a

Sixteenth-note rhythms add rhythmic complexity and energy to music. But they take time to get the feel for. Counting them out is key.

Stranglehold Intro Tab

Now that you have the basic feel and pulse of the song. Try playing in the iconic riff: 

Conclusion:

To wrap it up, "Stranglehold" is more than just any old guitar riff—it's a thunderous anthem. It blends elements of the blues with blistering rock guitar solos and continues to inspire guitarists all over the world. 

The progression and riff are yet another example of the undeniable influence blues music has had on rock. If you’re not familiar with the blues scale or how to start soloing over this iconic groove like Ted. Get your hands on my free blues scale PDF guide right here:

Jon MacLennan