What is it, exactly, that defines a hero? When it comes to guitar, Chet Atkins may have answered this question best when he stated simply that if it weren’t for his hero, Merle Travis, he’d probably still be “looking at the rear end of a mule.”

See, by loose definition, a guitar hero can be merely daring, dazzling, inventive, entertaining, and inspiring. (Travis certainly was all of these things to Atkins). But really, that’s not enough. To qualify as a true hero in any field, you must also actually save someone from something terrible (or, at least, highly unpleasant).

For example, to Atkins—who grew up “so far out in the sticks you wouldn’t believe it”—Travis was a hero not just because he demonstrated the musical glory that can be achieved with six strings and a thumbpick, but also because, in the process, he revealed a path out of the boonies. Travis’ innovative playing was so encouraging, it gave young Chester the escape velocity he needed to avoid a lifetime spent with a plow, not a guitar, in his hands.

Additionally, real heroes are those people whose heroics are so influential, they engender other heroes. Travis not only gave the world a valuable style that helped many players launch their own careers, he also motivated his protégé (and eventual bosom buddy) Atkins to take his fretboard feats to the next level and become arguably the greatest fingerstylist of all time. (For the record, though, Travis once boasted playfully, “If I’d spent as much time practicing the guitar as I did chasing pretty girls, I’da been Chet Atkins.”)

If you like practicing at least some of the time, the following pages offer something very special—lessons on the playing styles of 26 true heroes who have collectively helped save the guitar from ever getting stale. While none of these lessons can offer a complete dissertation on a given player’s style and technique, they each, like that magical closet that leads to Narnia, offer a portal into a singular world created by singular guitar talent. Hopefully, they will lead you on some exciting and rewarding fretboard adventures upon which you never imagined you’d embark. Who knows? With the right spark of inspiration, you just may become the next guitar hero.

Chet Atkins
Jeff Beck
Eric Clapton
Dick Dale
Duane Eddy
Robert Fripp
Freddie Green
Jimi Hendrix
Tony Iommi
Elmore James
Jimmy Page
Mark Knopfler
Albert Lee
Brian May
Roy Nichols
Shuggie Otis 
Robert Quine
Randy Rhoads
Carlos Santana
Phil Upchurch
Pete Townshend 
Muddy Waters
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Billy Zoom of X
Angus & Malcolm Young
Frank Zappa