Kickstart My Heart by Motley Crue
Kickstart My Heart was released on the 1987 Motley Crue album Girls, Girls, Girls and quickly became one of the band's most enduring anthems. The song's turbocharged riff and high-octane rhythm helped define late-80s hard rock and made it a staple on arenas, radio, and guitar lessons worldwide. The track is celebrated for its fearless energy and crowd-pleasing chorus that invites players to push speed and precision on every take.
The track is widely associated with Nikki Sixx's near-fatal overdose in 1987 and his subsequent revival, which inspired its title and the band’s celebrated embrace of adrenaline-fueled performance. Its blistering tempo, chugging power chords, and memorable chorus give players a textbook example of how attitude, precision, and groove come together in a crowd-pleasing rock track.
🎸 Want to know the techniques, practice tips, and lesson details? Scroll below the lesson!
What You'll Learn
In this lesson you’ll learn the signature fast, palm-muted riff built on driving power chords, plus the verse and chorus shapes that drive the song’s momentum. We’ll break down the galloping rhythm that defines the groove, cover clean alternate-picking technique, and add a simple lead fill to bridge sections. You’ll also get a practical plan for keeping tempo at high speed and making transitions between sections tight. Watch out for staying locked to the beat at a rapid tempo, maintaining crisp palm muting, and moving smoothly between power chords and open-string voicings.
Intermediate; prior skills in power chords, palm muting, and clean alternate picking will be helpful for mastering the pace and precision of the riffs.
🎸 Techniques Used
Practice Tips
- 💡Break the main riff into two-bar phrases and loop each section slowly before combining them, then gradually increase the tempo with a metronome.
- 💡Start with a relaxed, consistent downstrocking pattern for the muting to lock in the groove; aim for tight rhythm rather than raw speed at first.
- 💡Use a metronome set near 80-90 BPM, then ramp up to the track tempo (~120 BPM) as your accuracy and timing improve.
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