It's Still Rock And Roll To Me - Guitar Lessonby Billy Joel

Billy Joel's witty anthem offers much more than a catchy chorus. Neil explores palm muting, shuffle rhythms, power chords, barre chords, and smooth transitions between bass-note grooves and full strumming. It's an excellent lesson in classic rock rhythm guitar while showing why Billy Joel's music continues to stand the test of time.

It’s Still Rock And Roll To Me is one of the few Billy Joel songs that features the guitar rather than the piano. The song appeared on his 1980 album, Glass Houses and is written from the point-of-view of an aging artist who is pressured by his label or manager to get with the times. Typical of a Billy Joel song, It’s Still Rock And Roll uses a wide range of chords, including some bar chords and some power chords. The power chords can be played using the common shuffle pattern that moves from the 5th of the chord to the 6th of the chord on beats 2 and 4 in each measure. The song opens with single bass notes played using the palm mute technique. Half way through the verse it starts strumming, then continues with a combination of the two techniques.