GUITARHABITS

Free Quality Guitar Lessons

2 Gorgeous Country Guitar Licks

By 10 Comments

Now and then I learn some new country licks and incorporate them into my playing. Country licks always sound so fresh and uplifting. It’s really nice to have a couple of these under your belt.

Video Lesson

 

2 Gorgeous Country Guitar Licks

Today I’ll show you two gorgeous country guitar licks in the video lesson above. You can find the tablature in the post below. You can play the licks slow or fast, they sound great either way.

Sometimes I use these kind of licks at the end of a song. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be a country song. It can be a folk song or anything that has the same vibe as long as it sounds good to your ears.

Country guitar players often use a technique called the hybrid picking technique that involves picking with a pick and one or more fingers alternately or simultaneously.

I won’t be using the hybrid picking technique today, but I will play the licks with just a pick.

If you want to dive deeper into this style of playing then check out some these country guitar virtuosos:
Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Ray Flacke and Jerry Reed. They are the masters of country guitar.

Have fun ya’ll!

Tablature 


COUNTRY LICK #1 (G Major)
e--3--0-----------------------------------------------------|
B--------3--0-----------------------------------------------|
G--------------3--2--0--------------------------------------|
D------------------------3--2--0----------------------------|
A---------------------------------1h2-----------------------|
E--------------------------------------3--------------------|
 

COUNTRY LICK #2 (A Major)
e-------3---------------------------------------------------|
B--3bu-----3bd--1-------------------------------------------|
G------------------2--0-------0--------------2--------------|
D------------------------1h2-----2-1-0----------------------|
A---------------------------------------3h4------0--------0-|
E----------------------------------------------------2bd----|
 

4 Furious 4 Notes-Per-String Exercises!

By 10 Comments

I couldn’t resist the temptation to write one final post on notes-per-string licks.

I just love ‘m! They’re great for warm-ups and to work on your alternate picking.

Previously I wrote a post on 2-notes-per string called “10 Smoking 2 Notes-Per-String Licks to Rock On!” and a 3-notes-per strings article (my most popular post) “21 Cool 3 Notes-Per-String Exercises”, but today we’re gonna take it one step further and dive into some 4 notes-per-string exercises for the adventurers among us.

You can play all 4 notes on each string with all your four fingers, that would be a nice finger stretch exercise which is good for building strength and reach. Or you can play it a more easier way which feels and sounds really nice too. You can see below the tabs with which fingers to play each note.

i = indexfinger, m = middlefinger, r = ringfinger, p = pink

Building speed:
– First play the exercise slow a couple of times.
– Memorize the exercise.
– Gradually increase your tempo. (play the exercise a couple of times)
– Now play the exercise slow and accurately. (a couple of times)
– Increase your tempo a little more. (play the exercise a couple of times)Continue Reading

10 Smoking 2 Notes-Per-String Licks to Rock On!

By 18 Comments

Photo by John Hope
A lot of you who are working on “developing technique and increasing speed” have probably put some blood sweat and tears in my 21 Cool 3 Notes-Per-String Exercises.

If you haven’t and you got the nerve be sure to check it out.

But today I present to you 10 smoking 2 notes-per-string licks”.

A technique that feels different from the 3 notes per string and will definitely improve your technique in many ways if you work hard at it. Also the licks are perfect to incorporate into your improvisations.

While there are a lot of great guitar players known for their 3 notes-per-string, don’t underestimate what people like Zakk Wylde, Eric Johnson and John McLaughlin can do with 2 notes per string. They rock!

So let’s get your hands back in the dirt and work on these smoking licks.

Note: Don’t forget to use the alternate picking technique (up,down,up,down,up,down…)

Make yourself proud!


EXERCISE #1 (A minor pentatonic)
e--------------------------------------------------------5-8-|
B-----------------------------------------5-8-------5-8------|
G--------------------------5-7-------5-7-------5-7-----------|
D-----------5-7-------5-7-------5-7--------------------------|
A------5-7-------5-7-----------------------------------------|
E-5-8--------------------------------------------------------|
Continue Reading

5 Famous Repetitive Classic Blues Rock Metal Guitar Licks

By 9 Comments

Photo by Igor Giamoniano

When I was a kid I used to transcribe solos of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Guns ‘n Roses, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, etc. And all those famous blues, rock, metal guitar players had one thing in common. They used repetitive guitar licks.

Repetitive licks create a sound that makes it seem like you’re playing really fast. Well maybe you do :) Besides that they just sound really cool. Those licks have made history.

The trick is to use them occasionally, but certainly not too often assuming that you want your solos to sound fresh and don’t want people to get bored out of their minds.

Use them in the middle of your solos when you are working towards a climax or you feel like you’re on a roll. Something like that.

The best way is to listen to those rock n’ roll guitar players and see how they incorporate them into their solos.

Try not just to copy these licks but also change them around a bit. Create your own repetitive licks. Explore and evolve those licks.

These licks are played using A minor or A pentatonic scale.

You can use them over an Am chord progression or a blues rhythm in the key of A.

I always keep repeating this, because I think it’s important. First play the licks slow and make sure you can play each lick perfectly clear before you build up speed.

Good luck!Continue Reading