Chicken Pickin

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30-3133-3435-3637-3839-401 l

42-13

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50-55253-60

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61-6566-68

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t2-74

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16- l l

18-99

PREFACE

CHAPTER 1: SCALES

Major Pentatonic

CountryPentatonic

RootlessDominantPentatonic

Mixolydian #2

StringSkipping

CHAPTER 2: BENDING

VariousExamples

Playing hroughChordChanges

CHAPTER 3: OPEN.STRING LICKSG Major Scale

Key of E

Key of A

Key of D

Key of G

Key of C

Key of B

Playing hroughChordChanges

CHAPTER 4: DOUBLE.STOP LICKS

Harmonizing n Thirds

Harmonizing n Fourths

Harmonizingn Fifths

Harmonizingn Sixths

CombiningThirdsan dFourths

CombiningMajor and Minor Thirds

DoubleStopswith SingleNotes

DoubleStopswith Bends

DoubleStopswith PedalPoints

CHAPTER 5: REPETITIVE SEQUENCES

One-Measure hrases utlinins & IV Chords

Two-Measure hrasesOne-Measure ariations

One-Measure tring-Skipping ariations

over I, IV, andV Chords

Two-MeasurePhrases ver & IV Chords

One-String, ne-Measureariations

over , IV andV Chords

Two-Measure ariations ver I, IV and V Chords

Repetitive ouble-Stop icks

RepetitiveOpen-String icks

CHAPTER 6: CHROMATIC LICKS

GUITAR NOTATION LEGEND

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5

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8

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2021

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39



The termc'hicken ickin'describes styleof playingoftenused n (butnot imited o) countrymusic,an dplayedmostlyon a Telecaster-typeuitar.This stylewas irsrpopularizedn th e lftiesand sixtiesby playerssuchasJamesBurton, immyBryant.Roy Nichols MerleHaggarcl),nd Do n Rich (Buck owens). n theseventiesndeighties, uitaristsik e Albert Lee,Ray Flacke. i.ry Skaggs. nc lSteveWariner ook t toanotherevel' n thenineties. e heardexcitingne w deasan dplayingby singer/guitaristsuniorBrown andVinceGill, but you can't alk aboutcountrychicken-pickin'n itreninetieswithout he nameof BrentMasoncomingup ' Masonha s edeflnedhe possibilit ies nd aised he standardso whichotherplayers recom-pared' t wi l l beexcit ingo seewhat hisnextdecade il t hold or thechicken-pickin,ommunity.

Thisbook ouches n thebasic echniqueshatdef ine hechicken-pickin'ty le. ncluded resome calesthatcanhelp o inspire omenew deas. endings alsovery rnportantn nai l ing hechicken-pickin,ty le.(Thinkabout mulat inghesound f a pedal teel uitar . ; p.n-rtr ing icks ..ut a f lowing,cascadingsound hat s used eryoften n thisstyleof playing.Double-stopicks- l icks thatarepredominant lylayedwith tw o notesat a time-are alsocovered. he repetitive eqLlenccsregreatwarm-upexercises,ut arealsoparticularly ff'ectiven outliningchorcl hanges.

Th e purpose f thisbook s to giveyou ideas n whichvoLr r.rnto create ourown icks. hope hisbook nspires ou to clclrcchicken-pickin'enre.

expand. ake hesedeasand change heml.urthernto heexcit ing ndever-changing



I

SCALES

MAJORPENTATONIC

If therewereone scale hatdefined ountryguitar, t would

foundationrom which countryguitar s built andexpanded.

l t is the

Fig. I

z

/-:\

/':\\:./

Hereare some icks derived ro m these asicpatterns:

have to be the major pentatonic scale.

Here are the five basic patterns:

A

/-\/1

1

/-:\

,,:\

J

\:./

/:\

Fig.2C



These atterns an be combined o extend he rangeof your ines.Play hrough hese xamples:

F i g . 4

1

/-\\:./

/-\

/f

2

\://1

\:./

Herear esome icks ncorporatinghe combined atterns:

4

/-\

5

\:./

/a\

?

/'t



PENTATONIC

le is derived rom

a d s : b3 , 3 , , 6 .

COUNTRY

Thisnextsca

per. t now re

the major pentatonic cale. changed ne note

Here are he five basicpatterns:

to make t sounda little hip-

Fig.7

1

\./

Try these icks derived rom the countrypentatonic cale:

4

/:\

2

\://-\

/:\

3

g FiB^8

OFige



ROOTLESS OMINANT ENTATONIC

For hose f you with nquir ingminds, ere s an nterest ingcale hatwil l jazzup yourcountry inesa bit .Try thisone on a western wingor evena quick rain-beatyp . tune. t worksgreatl he pitches reas ol-lows:3. 5, 6. b1.9.Hereare he - ive asic atterns:

F i g . 0

1

/7

/:\

5\:./

\:/

Check out these icks cler ived rotn the root lcssdonr inantpentatonic:

F i g . l

A

F i g . 2

\://:\v

/.\\:./



MIXOLYDIAN2

Checkout how you can alter onenote andmake he Mixolydian mode

pitches re: , #2,3, 4, 5, 6,b7 Hereare he seven asicpatterns:

more usefulas a countryscale.The

Fig. 13

1

\_//-\

Try out some icks derived rom the Mixolydian #2 scale:

\:./

5

\:./

2

\:-/

6

/1

?

\:./

4

Fig. 15

A



STRINGSKIPPING

If you are ooking for someexcitingnew sounds hat will challenge ou technically,his is the section oryou.Play hrough hese xamples nd see.

F i g . 6

1

/l

/:\\.//a\

2

\:.//-\\:/

Herear esome icksbased n thisconcept:

4

5

/a\\:-/

?

/:\ \:-/\_-/

F ig . 8

1 0



BENDINGBendings approacheduitediff-erentlyn countryguitarplaying han n bluesor rock.The maindifference

is that n country.whenyou benda note,you will more ha n ikely hold thatnoteup andplay somenoteson

another tringwhileyo u ar eholding t. Herearea fe w examples. end hesecond egreeo the hird.Then.

on theadjacent igherstring,grab he ifth, then he ourth.

0i&':

t ll l

l l

hold bend

Try grabbing the fourth before

Fig.20

A

th e fif ih, with th e secondbent up to th e third:

n=t--^\,.-f a

l l- |

I 1I .

t uhold bend

Youca nalsobend he ourth o the ifth andgrab he root. he nadd he lat se renth:

gFig2r

hold bcnd

Or , yo u cangrab he lat seventh nd he n he root,with the ourthstill bent o the itth:

hold bend

1 1



Bend the flat seventhup to the root; grab the third above, hen the second:

with the flat seventh entup to the root,grab he second.hen he third:

hold bend

noteson adjacentstrings when you have a note alreadyon th e third string. Then grab the root an d then th e flat

bent.For example, ryseventh n the first

Fig.25A

With the samenotebent,substitutehe

Fis.26A

sixth or the la t seventh:

g nis21.-..----..--

You don't alwayshave o grabbending hesecondo the hirdstring:

Again, with th e

F ig .27A

samenotebend,grab he flat seventhirst, then he root:

hold bend



Here is another idea that you can

the fifth

F ig .28A

usewith the second ent o the third: try grabbing he sixth, hen

i6"'hold bend

ti,&

Or you can grab the fifth, then the sixth:

Fig.29A

hold bend

All of the bending icks covered erecanbeplayedwith harmonicso soundevenmore ike a pedalsteel

guitar.Another nterestingdeayo u can ry is to link someof these icks ogether ndwork your way hori-

zontallyup anddown heneck.Here'sa descendingdea:

Fig.30A

You can embellish this idea by adding extra notes:

F ig .3 l

A

hold bend

1 3

Try this idea usingnon-adjacent trings:



Unisonbendsarean effectiveway of getting rom oneendof the neck o theother:

r'iI-)

.{ -j

PLAYINGHROUGHHORD HANGES

Tr y this nextexerciseo testyour bending recision.We ar egoing o outline hreedifferent hords:E. A, and B. Over heE,chord,bend heFf to G#(secondo third)on rhe hird string, hengrab heE,to D (root o f-lat eventh) n the irst string.To outlineCJ (fifih to third)on the irststring.ou.1.he Bchord,bendF to F#(f1at ifth to fifih) on the hirclstringancl rab heDf thenCf (third o second) n th e

l l rs ts t r ins.

holc l bcnd h o ld h e n d

B

1 4

h o ld b e n dhold bcnd



OPEN.STRING LICKSThese icks aremadeup of openstrings inging out against rettednotes,creatinga cascading ffect.Here s

how you wouldplay a G majorscale:

Fig.35

G

Obviously,o play these ypes

The bestkeysar eE, A, D, G,

of each, n eachof these eys.

of runs,you need o play n keys ha tcontain he notesof the openstrings.

an dC. Certain icks work betterasascendinguns. will givea few examples

Here area coupleof descendingicks n thekey of E:

c o n td )

F ig .37

E

You can expandon that dea oo!

1 5



ocont. d)

Herearesomeascendinsuns n E:

F i g . 40

E

Thesedescendingdeas oundgood n the key'of A.

g Fis4r

Fig. 42

A0cont d)

1 6



Tn these scendingicks n A:

Fi_s.13A

OFig44[ u t d t

E2ztt]r Yt f

Il

In the key of D, you canplay these escendingdeas...

gFrg45

1 7



. . .or heseascending nes:

g Fig47

0cont d)

F i g . 4 8

D

Herear esome nteresting escendingicks n G...

0cont d)

1 8



. .and omeascendinsicks n G:

0o n l d )

i&'t

F ig .52

G

Plav hroush hese escendingicks n C...

Fig. 54

, ITTv. \r

, c o n td ) C

Fig. 53

1 9



. . .andhese scendinsnes:

F ig .56

(cont )a

Believe t or not, you cange t somepretty nterestin-uascading pen-stringicks n the key of B as well. Tr ythisdescendingxample:

F ig .57B

Here s an ascendinsick:

ocont d)

20



I cameup with a few repetitive icks thatoutlinechordchanges. ry theseexamplesn thekey of E over he

I and V chords:

OFiB5e,

Here s an exercisehat ncorporateshe deaswe've beendiscussingn thischapter, ls o n thekey of E

over he I and V chords.

21



DOUBLE.STOP LIGKSThe termdoublestop refers o two notesbeing

mostcommonlyusedare hirds, ourths, ifihs,in thirds:

played stopped) t the

andsixths. et 'sbegin

same ime.The ntervals

by harmonizinghe majorscale

Now let'sharmonizen fourths:

Fig.62

C

Now let'sharmonizen

Fig. 63

And last ,we' l l harmonizen sixths:

22

Fig.64



\\ 'ith thesentervals, ou ca ncreate om every nteresting olos.As we all know,however, nythin,g se d rl

excess anbecome oring.So what like to do is develop icks ha t ncorporate arious ifferent ntervals'

The rrst wo figuresareascendingicks (i n thekey of D) madeup of thirdsand ourths:

Next s a descendingick in A. madeup of major-and minor-third ntervals andalsoonemajor-second

interval):

F is .67

A lot of my licks ncorporate ne or moresinglenotesalongwith double-stop otes. hi s first on e s in the

key of A:

Fig.68

A

ttut dt

A,'-,----

23



Here's ne n G:

g[soo

Herear esome icks hat ncorporate endswith double-stopicks:

eFisTo

ocont d)

trirr 7 I' b . ' '

Da l , t / - - -

F ig .72

G

econt d)

24



Anothercool technique ou can ry is the

point is a note hat s repeatedwhile other

various eys:

F ig .74C

For thoseof you who don't knou'.apetlul

over,or around t. Herear esomeexanlplesnus eof pedalpoints.

notesmove under.

Fig. 75

G=-_

r l

25



These icks are all in the key ofA:

OFig78

26



REPETITIVE SEQUENCES

ln this section,we will focuson short,one-or two-measurehrasesha t epeat nd outline he chordsover

q.hichyou areplaying.These deaswork especially ell overquick rain-grooveunes.

The flrst two examples utline he I and V chords n the key of G:

F i g .8 lc

Th e next wo examples revariations n the irst two. Therear emanypossibilit ies...

Fig. 82

G

If you want to take his a step urther,herearea coupleexamplesn which I've added he sixthto spice t up

a bit. This lick covers he I and V chords n thekey of E, :

Fig. 83

fl

A

27



Hereare some wo-measure hrases. his exampleoutlines he I and V chords n thekey of G:

This oneoutlines he and V chords n E:

28



Herearesomeotherone-measureariationsn G. The first onecovers he I and V chords:

@o''. 8 8

The next three icks outline he I,

play at quick tempos:

Fig.89E

IV andV chords respectively)n the key of E, andarevery challenging o

Herearea coupleof two-measure hraseshatoutline he I and V chords n the key of C:

29



OFisel ,

You canplay somepretty nterestingepeating igureson one

Hereare hree deasyou canplay over the I, IV and V chords

string.These icks will require om estretching.

in theke y of E:

i

Herearesome wo-string epeatingigures hat outline he I. IV andV chords n the key of A:

If you are eelingup to somebi g stretches ndstringskipping, heckout these xamples hich againoutlinethe I, IV andV chords n the kev of E:

OFiee3,

BE t r t - - - - -

30



Here are some variations:

OFis 4,

Try these epetitivedouble-stopicks over he I and V chords n thekey of E:

OFiBe5u



If you like the soundof cascading pen-stringuns,checkout thesenext three epetitive icks over he I, IVandV chords n the key of E:

These icks outline he , IV an dV chords n the kev of D:

32



CHROMATIG LICKS

The icks n thischapter ontain hromati passing ones notes etweenheconventional

al l of these icks n keysother han hoseof theexamples.

The irst example s a descendingick thatbegins n the ifth in thekey of E:

scaleoncs) . rr

OFige*

The nextexample s an ascendingick thatbegins n the hird n thekey of D:

O'';

Here s an examplen thekey of E thatbeginswith a chromatic un :

@o'*

33



This lick, also n E, beginswith an ascending hromatic un off the fifth andquickly descendso

the third:

Tr y this ascendingick beginning n theroot.This ick is lesschromatic, et still very effective.

The nextexample eginswith a chromatic ine an d umps rom the hird to the irst string, hendescendswith chromatic assingones.

F ig .103

A

Here s a lick that weaves tself up anddou'n chromatically, eginningon the fifth in the key of G.

Fig.104G

34



This next ick is similar o the astone n that

in A:

i t beginson the f i f th and ciescenclshrtrt t lat ie l l i ' thr ' t l l l lC

The nextexampleascends hromatically rom the third' thenwinds ts way

of D:

back down to the root in thc-ker

Here s a lick in E thatbeginson a passing one(the la t third) andascends ith very few chromaticpassing

tones:

i t -t r tI I

--++

9u',

This nextexample s highrychromaticandhighly challenging.t beginson the fifth anddescendsn the ke1

of A.

Fig.108A

, : .a -

35



Checkout the way this next lick weaves ts way down from the third on the first string to the root on thesixth string (in the key of A).

Fig. 109

A

\t

Thesenext wo licks ncorporate omewider ntervals. he frrston eke y of A.

begins n therootand ascendsn the

Thesecondick begins n the ootanddescends.rso n A.

F i g . l I

A

d I , ( I

t-\\

Here s a descendingdea n rhekey of G. beginning n rh e ifth:

F ig. 12

G

36



These ext hreeexamples oundgreatoverswing-typeunes. hey all incorporate ide ntervalliceaps.

The irst ick, in the key of G, is rhythmicallymadeup of triplets.

F i e . 3

The second ick is built off the third in the key of D.

F i g . 14D

The third ick. also n D. is likewisebuilt off the hird,bu t s ve ry different.

37



The next our licks covera lot of groundvery quickly.The first is in the key of E, andbeginson theseventh:

The secondick, also n E. besinson th e hird:

e Fisrr'

Th e third ick, again, sin thekey of E. this inrebeginning n the ifth:

F i g . 18E

,9r'rr- -

The fourth ick is in the key of A, an dbegins n the hird:

F i g . 1 9

Ad l a /

- - -

38



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