Everything needed for rockabilly guitar, from chord progressions to improvisation, can be learned by beginning with blues. Blues harmonies and techniques are simpler than those of jazz or more recent forms of rock. This simplicity sets a solid foundation for more stylish techniques. Blues also emphasizes the call-and-response vocals used frequently in rockabilly. Once a solid foundation of blues is established, move onto other guitar styles, such as country and jazz.
Improvisation, essential to rockabilly guitar, is meant to be liberating -- but it still needs to sound good. Improvisation typically uses either a vertical or horizontal approach. Horizontal improvisation stays within the current scale, while vertical stays in the current chord with occasional notes from the chord changes. While chances to be wild within an improvised solo exist, there should always be a degree of control and an eye on melody.
Rockabilly is essentially a retro genre of rock, more focused on expanding within its constraints than in moving into wild new spaces. Rockabilly does not use the same high levels of noise, distortion or experimentation as other rock genres like metal, punk or even some forms of alternative. As with blues, learning how to play simple techniques extremely well leaves plenty of room to impress during solos.
While the shape and design of the guitar may be seen as primarily a surface concern, rockabilly is heavily defined by a time and look. A round-, hollow- or semi-hollow-body guitar not only contributes to the rockabilly look, but also to its sound. Many classic rockabilly guitarists favor stock Gretsch models. Alternatives include Fenders, particularly the Telecaster models favored by country players, DeArmonds, which are cited as a favorite among classic players, and brands such as Epiphone and Guild.