Rock of Ages

How to play Rock of Ages by Def Leppard on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 7 you play A, G, Em, Am, C, D and more, the shapes the player above shows.

Rock Of Ages is a strong, driving song to learn if you want a riffy rock feel with a steady pulse. It sits in a comfortable mid-tempo groove, so you can focus on locking in the changes and making the rhythm feel confident and tight.

Most of the chart uses open shapes, with Bm as the main barre shape to watch. The opening move E - D - Bm - D is the key change to get smooth, since the shift into Bm can slow you down if you rush it. Keep your hand relaxed and aim for clean transitions.

Start by looping E - D - Bm - D slowly until the shape changes feel automatic. Then add the rest of the open chords in small groups, keeping the same steady count. Once the changes are clean, bring it up to tempo and play through the full song without stopping.

Use the play-along above to follow each chord change in time with the music, or learn the shapes first with the chord diagrams below.