Learn Songs by 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees with Fret Zealot

The newest legends of rock music have been chosen – and you can learn their songs. 

Cyndi Lauper, White Stripes, and Soundgarden are among the musicians chosen for this year’s honor. You can learn their most famous songs step-by-step with Fret Zealot lessons.

 

Cyndi Lauper

Time After Time 

Cyndi Lauper’s signature song “Time After Time” was written after the rest of her debut album She’s So Unusual (1983) was already written – including “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, “She Bop”, and “All Through the Night”. The writing started with the title, which Cyndi had seen in TV Guide – the 1979 action movie Time After Time. 


Soundgarden

Black Hole Sun

“Black Hole Sun” originated during a car ride. Released in 1994, it’s considered to be Seattle-based grunge rock band Soundgarden’s signature song. Lead singer Chris Cornell wrote the song – he said in 2014 that he came up with the concept and the melody while driving home from the studio after he thought he heard a radio news anchor say “Black hole sun”.


White Stripes

Seven Nation Army 

White Stripes singer and guitarist Jack White originally wrote the iconic riff for “Seven Nation Army” in a Melbourne hotel room while on tour in Australia. He showed it to a label executive, who didn’t see much potential in the riff. White planned to save the riff for a James Bond theme song – if he ever had the opportunity to write one. Eventually, he incorporated the riff into “Seven Nation Army” after giving up on that dream – only to write and perform “Another Way to Die” ft.  Alicia Keys five years later as the theme for 2008 Bond film Quantum of Solace. 

 

Carol Kaye

These Boots are Made For Walkin

Legendary session musician Carol Kaye is known as the most-recorded bassist in history‘. She played on the tracks of some of the most notable artists of all time, including Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, fellow 2025 RRHoF inductee Joe Cocker, and The Beach Boys. Carol provided the sliding bassline hook for “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”, Nancy Sinatra’s 1966 hit. 

 

Outkast 

Hip hop duo Outkast achieved both critical admiration and commercial success in the early 2000s with albums like Stankonia (2000) and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003) dominating airwaves and making waves in the sonic landscape of America.

You can learn their smash hit Roses with these Fret Zealot tabs.
Roses (fingerstyle)

 

Find the full list of 2025 RRHoF inductees here. 

 

Songs about unions and workers you can learn with Fret Zealot

May 1 is International Workers’ Day, a celebration of laborers and the working class around the world. 

Musicians and bands throughout time have shown their support for unions and working people through their songs. Here are some songs about workers that you can find tabs for in the Fret Zealot app. 

 

“Working Class Hero” – John Lennon 

John Lennon released this anthem about the differences between social classes in 1970 on his first album following the breakup of The Beatles. The song has been covered many times, including by Green Day, Ozzy Osbourne, and Marianne Faithful. 

 

“9 to 5” – Dolly Parton 

Country music legend Dolly Parton “poured herself a cup of ambition” with this late 1980 track, written for the film 9 to 5  starring Parton in her film debut. The film follows three working women taking on their company’s sexist vice president. The name of the song and the film come from the 9to5 organization, which was created in 1973 to advocate for fair pay for working women. 

 

“There is Power in a Union” –  Street Dogs 

Originally written and released by singer/songwriter and activist Billy Bragg in 1986, Street Dogs covered this pro-union song in 2006. 

 

“Working Man” – Rush 

Canadian band Rush’s 1974 song “Working Man” helped put them on the map in the United States, as the pro-working class song resonated with audiences in Cleveland, Ohio after getting radio play there. 

 

“Workin’ Man Blues” – Merle Haggard 

Released in 1969, “Workin’ Man Blues” pays tribute to the American blue collar worker, who made up a significant part of his fanbase in the late 1960s. 

 

 

“Sixteen Tons” – Johnny Cash 

Johnny Cash released his version of “Sixteen Tons” – a song about a Kentucky coal miner – in 1987. It was written by Merle Travis and recorded in 1946. 

Famous protest songs that you can learn with Fret Zealot

Music has been used for protest for centuries – especially in America. According to the First Amendment Museum, some of the earliest protest songs in the United States were popular songs with altered lyrics to reflect the sentiments of the time, since there was no recording technology available. 

When radio, records, and other recording technology in the early 20th century helped bring popular music to the forefront of culture, music became an outlet for expressing protest against racism, sexism, war, pollution, and other systems. 

Here are some famous protest songs you can learn with Fret Zealot. 

 

Blowin’ in the Wind

One of legendary American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s best-known songs, “Blowin’ in the Wind” became one of the signature tracks of the 1960s and cultural revolution taking place among young people, including the protest against the Vietnam War. The music was derived from the African-American spiritual song, “No More Auction Block.” 

 

Sunday Bloody Sunday

“Sunday Bloody Sunday” is one of iconic Irish rock band U2’s signature songs, and it’s one of their most political songs. The lyrics are from the point of view of “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland, focusing on the “Bloody Sunday” event of 1972 when British military shot and killed unarmed protesters in Derry. 

 

Another Brick in the Wall, pt. 2 

Part of a three-part composition on Pink Floyd’s 1979 album The Wall, “Another Brick in the Wall pt. 2” is a a protest song against corporal punishment and rigid and abusive schooling. The song was used by Black students in South Africa to protest their education under apartheid, leading to the song and its album to be banned there in 1980. 

 

Buffalo Soldier

The term “Buffalo Soldier” refers to a member of the Black U.S. cavalry regiment known as the “Buffalo Soldiers, who fought in the Native American Wars (expanding American territories) after 1866. Those soldiers were given less than optimal supplies and even less recognition for their work. Bob Marley linked the fight of those soldiers to a fight for survival, and cast them as a symbol of Black resistance. 

 

Crazy Train 

While not a traditional protest song, the lyrics of “Crazy Train” reflect the Cold War and the pervasive fear of nuclear annihilation that defined that time period. 

How to improve your strumming and fingerpicking

Strumming and fingerpicking are crucial elements of playing rhythm guitar. Both are skills that you can make lots of improvement on with simple practices. 

What’s the difference?

Strumming involves hitting multiple strings at the same time to create a rhythmic pattern. You can use your fingers or a pick to strum, and there are multiple patterns you can use to get different sounds, including all downstrokes, all upstrokes, or any combination of up and down. 

 

Example: “Take Me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver 

Fingerstyle involves plucking individual strings with your fingers. Fingerstyle playing often incorporates using the thumb for bass notes and the other fingers for higher notes. This gives you the ability to play complex melodies and harmonies. 

Example: “Norwegian Wood” – The Beatles 

Here are some tips to improve your strumming: 

 

Practice your timing 

You can use a metronome to practice staying in rhythm, or play along with the track to make sure your timing is right. If you’re using a metronome, try starting slower and gradually increase your speed. 

 

Make sure your wrist is loose 

 Your strumming wrist should be relaxed, not stiff. Nerves can make your muscles stiffen up. Try limbering up before practice with some stretches. 

 

Grip your pick correctly 

 Hold the pick between your thumb and index finger. Don’t grab it too tight (it can cause your arm muscles to stiffen) and don’t grab it too loosely, because you may drop it. Try out some different pick sizes to see what works best for you. 

 

Count out loud 

You can practice saying the beats out loud for strumming patterns – like “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &”. This will help you understand where the beats should fall. 

 

Try different strumming patterns 

If you’re feeling stuck with the basic “up and down” patterns, check out these strumming patterns for everyone from The Beatles to Green Day. 

 

Here are some tips to improve your fingerstyle 

 

Mind your hand positioning 

Your strumming hand should be relaxed and placed so that your fingers naturally fall onto the strings. Your thumb (denoted as p) will handle the bass strings (low E, A, and D), while index (i) plucks the G, middle (m) plucks the B, and ring (a) plucks the high E string. It takes some time to develop this muscle memory, but with regular practice you’ll be on your way! 

 

Let your thumb be independent 

 Your thumb should be moving differently than your fingers. While holding a chord, try letting your fingers pluck out the melody while you play a bassline with your thumb. 

 

Use a metronome 

Just like with strumming, a metronome will make sure that your timing is even, and will build up your rhythm skills. 

 

Stay relaxed 

Hand tension will slow you down – especially if your hand cramps up. Try establishing a stretching routine to limber up your hands before you get to practicing. 

 

Try a course 

Let the experts walk you through! Acoustic Fingerstyle 1 and 2 will teach you all of the fundamental techniques and ideas you need to become a great fingerstyle guitar player. 

 

How to read tablature and chord charts

When you’re starting out playing guitar, tablature and chord charts can look like another language. They’re fairly easy to learn and understand – and they’ll make playing guitar so much easier for you.

Chord charts 

In a chord chart, the six vertical lines represent the guitar strings, from low E on the left to high E on the right. 

The horizontal lines represent the frets, starting with the second one from the top (the top of the fretboard is called the nut). 

There will be circles on the fretboard that represent where your fingers go. Sometimes, they will include numbers. Each number corresponds to a finger – 1 for pointer, 2 for middle, 3 for ring, and 4 for pinky. 

At the top of the chart, you’ll see Xs and Os. They don’t stand for “kisses and hugs” – they tell you whether or not to play the strings that are “open” – not fretted. X stands for “don’t play” and O stands for “play”. 

A sidebar on barre chords 

If you see a horizontal line over more than one fret, it represents a barre chord, where you put your pointer finger horizontally across the fret and hold down however many strings are indicated. Sometimes, there will be letters on the right hand of the diagram that says “[number]fr”. This indicates that the barre is played on a certain fret – in this case, the fourth fret, and the circles underneath it are played on the sixth and fifth frets. 

Public domain

Barre chords can be challenging, so don’t worry if it takes you a while to master this skill!

Tablature 

Tablature makes it easy to play solos, riffs, and other song parts without having to understand sheet music. 

Also known as “tabs”, tablature is easy to find for many songs (including in the Fret Zealot app). 

A tab consists of a graph with six horizontal lines, each representing a guitar string. The bottom line represents the low E string and the top represents the high E string. Numbers on each line indicate that the string is played, and the numbers correspond to each fret. A zero means that the string is played open. 

Tabs are read from left to right, and when multiple numbers are stacked on top of each other, that indicates a chord. 

Tablature makes it possible to learn even the most complicated riff simply by reading it.

Tuning tips for guitar beginners

Playing in tune is absolutely critical to sounding good on the guitar. However, learning to tune your instrument is a skill that can take some time to develop. 

Here are some tips for guitar beginners to make sure you get perfect pitch every time. 

 

Pick your tuning device 

There are lots of devices to help you tune your instrument. You can use a keyboard or piano to match the notes, or you can use a device like a clip-on tuner or tuning pedal. The Fret Zealot app comes with a digital built-in tuner, making it the perfect on-the-go option to tune your instrument anywhere. 

 

Tune every time you play 

There are lots of reasons guitars go out of tune – older strings, environmental conditions, or just playing hard. Even if you don’t think you need to, give your guitar a tune each time you pick it up. 

 

Tune the sixth string first 

The sixth string (or low E) has the most tension, and can affect the pitch of other strings when it’s changed due to the increased or decreased tension it puts on the neck. 

 

Tune slowly 

You want to tune each string up incrementally. This will ensure that you get the pitch correct while reducing the risk of string breakage. 

 

Tune in a quiet place 

The tuner can pick up other sounds, so make sure you’re tuning in a quiet place. 

 

Listen 

Even if you’re using a tuner, listen to the pitch of the strings as you loosen or tighten them. This will help you develop your ear. 

 

Repeat

After tuning all the strings, go through them again at least once. Oftentimes you’ll find that certain strings (especially the low E) need to be tuned up again. This is caused by the tightening of the other strings ever so slightly bending your guitar neck, which then loosens the lower strings.

Essential guitar chords for beginners

Just starting out playing guitar?

One of the first things you should master are the essential guitar chords. With just eight chords under your belt, you’ll be able to play many different songs! 

You can use these chord charts to learn – or use the Fret Zealot app to get the chords at your fingertips with colors that coordinate with each finger! 

Blue = pointer

Green = middle

Yellow = Ring finger

Pink = pinky

There are many different variations on how to play each chord – including barre chords. You can focus on these open positions (the easiest ones to play) first. 

To read chord diagrams: 

The far left vertical line represents the low E string, and the far right vertical line represents the high E string. Each vertical line in the middle represents each string from the bottom up. 

An X over a string means not to play that string. The O means leave the string unfretted, but play it. Each dot represents a fret which you should hold down with a finger. Some diagrams include numbers at the bottom of the diagram, which represent which finger should be on which string (1 for index, 2 for middle, etc.) 

Here are some other essential chords:

 

 

G

 

Am

Dm

Em

 

How to build an effective guitar practice routine

Whatever your level of experience with guitar is, practice is crucial to level up your skills, or just to stay in shape. Just like having a fitness routine, having a guitar practice routine is a good habit, and will ensure that your guitar skills stick around. 

Here’s how to build an effective practice routine: 

 

Define your goals 

 

 

Do you want to master the guitar solo for “Thunderstruck”? Are you trying to learn a setlist of songs you can perform at an open mic or gig? Having concrete goals can help give you a reason to practice. 

Try writing down a list of short-term five goals you’d like to achieve in guitar, like playing an entire song fingerstyle or learning how to read tabs, and long term goals, like playing in public and starting a band. Put it somewhere you can see it to help motivate you to practice. 

 

Break it down 

An easy way to make a practice routine feel less daunting is to break it down into small sections. You can set a timer on your phone for each section if you’d like to. 

 

Here’s a sample practice breakdown:

 

Warm-up (five to ten minutes) 

Start with some basic scales or chord changes to warm up your fingers. 

 

Technical Exercises (15-20 minutes):

Play through scales, arpeggios and riffs. You can use a metronome to help with your timing. 

 

Repertoire Practice (15-20 minutes):
Practice learning new songs. If you have an issue with a part of the song, break them into smaller parts and play through them slowly, gradually bringing them back up to speed. 

 

Creative or Improvisation Time (five to ten minutes):
Let your brain be creative and work on riffs or songs of your own. 

 

Review (five minutes): 

Review what you’ve practiced and make a note of what you’d like to improve on or try next time. 

 

Tips: 

 

Be consistent 

Even if you only have 20 to 30 minutes a day for practice, it can really add up. Check out these methods of making time to practice. 

 

Work on what needs improvement

Overcoming a challenging portion of a song or finally nailing that tough riff will give you confidence in your guitar ability. 

 

Incorporate Fret Zealot courses

Fret Zealot has hundreds of guitar courses – everything from song lessons, to strumming patterns, to player studies. Learning something new is a great way to practice. 

 

Record yourself 

You can use the record app on your phone to record your session and hear how you’re sounding. Hearing improvement in your playing is the best feeling! 

 

Keep it fun 

Learn what you’re interested in playing, whether it’s classical pieces or the latest trending song on TikTok. 

Learn these songs on guitar to take you to a warmer place

Learn these songs on guitar to take you to a warmer place 

It’s February, you probably haven’t seen the sun in months, and it’s still cold out. What do you do?

Learn these warm-weather inspired songs to transport you to a warmer place – at least until spring shows up! 

 

Havana

This salsa-inspired 2017 hit will transport you to its Cuban city namesake – at least mentally. 

 

Island in the Sun

This 2001 hit from Weezer is like a 3:20 long trip to sunny Southern California. 

 

Hotel California

You may not be able to leave the mythical hotel this Eagles’ track is about, but at least you won’t need a parka. 

 

 

Californication 

“Californication” is the title track of the RHCP’s 1999 album. Its lyrics are full of SoCal imagery. 

 

Santeria

“Santeria” is also full of SoCal imagery, and will take you to Long Beach wherever you play it! 

 

 

Top songs for Galentine’s Day to learn on guitar with Fret Zealot

Are you celebrating Galentine’s Day this year? If your girl gang is into making music, check out these songs made for jamming out to – that you can learn with Fret Zealot. 

 

“Dancing Queen” – ABBA

 

“What’s Up?” – 4 Non Blondes

 

“Love Story” – Taylor Swift

 

“Time After Time” – Cyndi Lauper

 

“These Boots Are Made For Walking” – Nancy Sinatra

 

“Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” – Shania Twain

 

“Juice” – Lizzo

 

“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” – Kelly Clarkson