Stranglehold

How to play Stranglehold by Ted Nugent on guitar

“Stranglehold” is a great riff-driven song to learn because it keeps you locked into a steady, heavy groove. You get to focus on clean changes and timing, and the repeating cycle makes it feel powerful once it starts to click.

You can lean on the open shapes A, Am, and G, but F# is the harder barre shape, so that change is the one to watch. The move between A and Am is especially important because it gives the progression its tension, and the jump to F# will test your hand position.

Start by looping just A to Am until the switch feels automatic, then add A and F# in the opening progression. After that, practice the full cycle slowly with a metronome, and only speed up when every change lands cleanly.

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.