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The Police - Every Breath You Take - Guitar Lesson

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Key G major
The Police - Every Breath You Take guitar lesson video
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Amp Settings

Classic Rock

Gain6
Bass6
Mid7
Treble6
Presence5
Master7
AI tone preset

AI-selected preset based on genre and era — adjust the knobs to taste.

Roll back the gain slightly and pick near the neck for a warmer, more open crunch.
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The Police Pop Rock G major
Capo Advisor 0 G major · Original key

About Every Breath You Take

"Every Breath You Take" is a song by The Police, released on their fifth and final studio album Synchronicity in 1983. Written by Sting, it became the biggest American and Canadian hit of that year, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks. For electric guitarists, the song is a rewarding study in clean, arpeggiated chord work and the restrained, melodic style that defined The Police's signature sound.

  • The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks in 1983, making it one of the decade's most dominant singles.
  • BMI recognised it in May 2019 as the most played song in radio history, a testament to its enduring structure.
  • It was The Police's fifth UK No. 1 single and appeared on Synchronicity, the band's final studio album.

How to Play Every Breath You Take

Tuning: D Standard · Key: G major · Tempo: 117 BPM

Tuned a whole step down to D standard, the lower string tension makes bends feel looser, so keep an eye on your intonation.

Use the section loop to isolate a passage, drop the speed below 100%, and set the metronome to 117 BPM to build it up to tempo.

Fender Stratocaster
Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Andy Summers used the Strat on select Police tracks for its smooth, singing sustain and contoured body comfort during intricate fingerpicking passages. Its versatile pickup switching complemented his hybrid Tele's spiky attack, offering warmer mid-range tones for atmospheric arrangements.

Fender Telecaster
Guitar

Fender Telecaster

Summers' modified 1961 Tele Custom with Gibson humbucker in the neck and Fender single-coil bridge became his signature weapon, delivering both cutting reggae arpeggios and warm, sustained chords that defined The Police's distinctive sonic character.

Gibson ES-335
Guitar

Gibson ES-335

The ES-335's warm, woody tone and semi-hollow body resonance gave Summers jazzier options in the studio, adding sophisticated harmonic depth to Police tracks that required softer, more organic textures beyond the Tele's angular attack.

Marshall JCM800
Amp

Marshall JCM800

Summers pushed the JCM800 just past breakup for crunch rather than full distortion, pairing it in stereo with his clean Roland to create The Police's signature wide, layered guitar image with grit and clarity coexisting.

MXR Phase 90
Pedal

MXR Phase 90

This swirling phaser added jet-like, psychedelic textures to Summers' clean tones, occasionally used to enhance the shimmering, otherworldly quality of Police arrangements without overwhelming their reggae-influenced rhythmic precision.

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay
Pedal

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay

The MXR Carbon Copy's warm analog delay provided rhythmic slapback and lush atmospheric repeats essential to Summers' compositional approach, where effects functioned as fundamental song elements rather than decorative flourishes.

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