Walking After You – Foo Fighters
Discover the emotional nuance and subtle textures of Walking After You by Foo Fighters with this in-depth, note-for-note guitar lesson from LickLibrary.com. This track showcases a softer side of the band, providing guitarists with the opportunity to study expressive playing, melodic layering, and dynamic control. Whether you're a long-time Foo Fighters fan or simply want to improve your musicality, this lesson delivers a rewarding and immersive learning experience. Richard Shaw breaks down this classic track in this exclusive Lick Library video tutorial.
About the Song and Its Guitar Style
Originally released on the Foo Fighters' 1997 album The Colour and the Shape, Walking After You stands as one of the band’s most delicate and emotionally resonant tracks. Stripped of the high-gain aggression found in much of their catalogue, this song leans into minimalism, melody, and space. It’s a perfect song to learn if you want to explore feel-based playing, subtle embellishments, and effective use of dynamics.
This lesson walks you through every section of the track, from the atmospheric intro and flowing verse arpeggios to the soft, textured choruses and tasteful guitar fills. Each phrase is broken down note-for-note, helping you replicate the song exactly as performed — with the added bonus of improving your broader guitar skillset along the way.
Guitar Techniques Explored
Arpeggios
One of the foundational elements of this song’s guitar work is the use of arpeggios. The picking of individual notes within chords creates a flowing, melodic quality, allowing each note to ring out clearly and blend into the overall mood of the track.
Why it's useful: Practicing arpeggios enhances your fretboard awareness and picking precision, essential for both lead and rhythm playing in softer, more melodic contexts.
Slides
Slides are used throughout the song to connect melodic notes and shift between chord voicings with a smooth, expressive quality. These transitions add character to the guitar lines and give the piece a natural, almost vocal-like flow.
Why it's useful: Slides improve fretboard mobility and phrasing skills, helping you create more connected, fluid melodies.
Hammer-ons and Pull-offs
The lesson features several sections where hammer-ons and pull-offs come into play, especially in the transitions between arpeggiated passages and melodic fills. These legato techniques are crucial for adding smoothness and speed to your playing without relying solely on picking.
Why it's useful: Learning these techniques helps develop finger strength, control, and a more expressive, fluid style.
Chord Progressions
The structure of Walking After You is built on carefully crafted chord progressions that evolve throughout the song. These progressions shift subtly to mirror the changing emotional tone, offering an excellent exercise in timing, voicing, and chordal awareness.
Why it's useful: Working with chord progressions deepens your understanding of song structure, harmony, and how different chords create different moods and textures.
Finger-Picking
The gentle intro and verse parts rely heavily on finger-picking, allowing for a more intimate sound and dynamic control. This technique is key to replicating the soft and emotional feel of the original recording.
Why it's useful: Finger-picking increases independence between your fingers and improves dynamics, making your playing more expressive and stylistically versatile.
About the Guitarists: Dave Grohl and Pat Smear
While Dave Grohl is more commonly associated with thunderous riffs and aggressive rhythm work, his performance on Walking After You reveals a sensitive, restrained approach. His use of space, feel, and delicate phrasing is a lesson in emotional guitar playing. Grohl’s clean tones and understated style in this track highlight the power of simplicity.
Pat Smear, Grohl’s longtime guitar counterpart, complements the track with subtle textures and ambient layering, enriching the arrangement without overpowering it. His approach adds depth to the song, blending acoustic warmth and electric ambiance seamlessly.
Together, Grohl and Smear create a guitar landscape that serves the song’s mood perfectly — something all guitarists can learn from and apply to their own playing.
Guitar Techniques Used in This Lesson
This guitar lesson for Walking After You is more than a breakdown of a classic Foo Fighters track — it's a study in subtlety, tone, and emotional expression. Perfect for intermediate players looking to deepen their musical understanding, this lesson will expand your technique and give you fresh tools to express yourself more authentically on the guitar.
About The Tutor
Tutor Profile
Rich Shaw
Richard is most well known as the guitarist and co-songwriter for UK metal band, Cradle of Filth, from 2014 until 2022. In his time with the band, he co-wrote and performed on the albums ‘Hammer of the Witches’ (2015), ‘Cryptoriana - The Seductiveness of Decay’ (2017), and ‘Existence is Futile’...