Genre-specific licks with tab notation, technique breakdown, and BPM guidance.
A 3-note sequence through the pentatonic scale — sounds musical immediately and is used by every great guitarist.
Alternate Picking · Sequences
A fast hybrid-picked run in D major. Pick handles the lower strings, middle and ring fingers snap the higher strings.
Hybrid Picking
An octave melody lick in the style of Wes Montgomery. Play both notes simultaneously.
Octaves · Fingerpicking
A G Mixolydian lick with the characteristic flat 7th (F natural). Classic country and Southern rock sound.
Alternate Picking · Modal Playing
A high-position blues lick in A minor pentatonic Box 4. The double-string bend creates a vocal, crying quality.
Bending · Double-String Bends
A chromatic approach lick targeting the root of a Cmaj7 chord. Chromatic passing tones create tension that resolves beautifully.
Chromatic Playing · Alternate Picking
An open-E slide lick with slides up to the 12th fret (octave). The / marks a slide up from below.
Slide Guitar
A string-skipping lick that jumps from the e string to the G string, skipping the B string entirely. Creates wide intervallic leaps.
String Skipping · Alternate Picking
A simple but effective open-string pull-off lick in E. The open strings ring out naturally, creating a cascading effect.
Pull-Offs
A D Dorian lick with the characteristic raised 6th (B natural). Great over Dm7 or funk grooves.
Alternate Picking · Modal Playing
A Van Halen-inspired two-hand tapping lick on the high e string. T = tap with right-hand index finger.
Tapping
A three-note-per-string legato run in G major. Use only hammer-ons and pull-offs — no picking after the first note per string.
Legato · Hammer-Ons · Pull-Offs
A 6-string Am sweep arpeggio. The pick sweeps in one continuous motion — no individual picking per string.
Sweep Picking
The foundational Travis picking pattern over a G chord. Thumb alternates bass strings while fingers pluck treble strings.
Fingerpicking · Thumb Independence
A classic gallop rhythm riff in E. The gallop feel comes from the 1/8th + 1/16th + 1/16th note grouping.
Downpicking · Palm Muting
A hybrid picking lick in G major with snap-and-pull technique. Middle finger snaps the high strings while the pick handles lower strings.
Hybrid Picking
A bebop-flavored lick over a ii-V-I progression in C major. Targets chord tones on strong beats.
Alternate Picking · Chord Tones
A descending two-notes-per-string pentatonic run in E minor. Great for building speed and fluidity across strings.
Alternate Picking
The signature B.B. King 'butterfly' vibrato lick. Wide, slow vibrato — let the note breathe.
Vibrato · Bending
A classic Albert King-style bend-and-release lick in A minor pentatonic. Focus on bending the G string up a full step with your ring finger supported by middle and index.
Bending · Vibrato
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