Cat Scratch Fever by Ted Nugent
Released in 1977 on the Cat Scratch Fever album, this track cemented Ted Nugent's hard-rock persona. The iconic riff and high-energy performance helped fuel Nugent's rise to fame and turned Cat Scratch Fever into a staple of late-70s rock radio. The writing and recording captured the era's explosive, swaggering guitar-driven vibe, and the song quickly became one of Nugent's most recognizable anthems for aspiring players chasing a blistering, no-nonsense riff.
In the studio, Nugent's raw guitar tone and a tight rhythm section gave the track its relentless punch. Over the years, it has become a rite of passage for players aiming to nail a driving, pentatonic-based rock lick with confident, percussive muting and a fearless, high-energy approach to picking and phrasing.
🎸 Want to know the techniques, practice tips, and lesson details? Scroll below the lesson!
What You'll Learn
In this guitar tutorial, you'll learn the driving main riff that powers Cat Scratch Fever, how to lock in with a punchy verse-chorus groove built around power chords, and a glimpse at the blazing-style phrases that appear in the solo. We'll break down fingerings, picking patterns, and muting techniques to keep the riff tight and guitar tone aggressive without getting muddy. The lesson also covers a simple, blues-inflected approach to the lead phrasing, so you can capture the song's ferocious vibe while staying playable for an intermediate student. Watch out for tempo consistency and clean muting to avoid string noise during rapid runs.
Intermediate. Helpful prior skills include basic power chords, palm muting, alternate picking, and familiarity with blues-rock pentatonic phrasing.
🎸 Techniques Used
Practice Tips
- 💡Practice the main riff slowly with a metronome, then gradually increase speed while maintaining clean muting and precise finger placement.
- 💡Keep the lower strings muted to prevent unwanted noise; focus on a tight percussive attack to get that Nugent-like punch.
- 💡Aim for a balanced tone—enough crunch to sound powerful, but not so distorted that the muting and fast repeats become indistinct.
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