Country Rock Riffs For Guitar (Play It Like It Is)

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Featuring:

Major, Minor & Pentatonic Country Licks Pedal Steel Effects

Chicken Pickin'

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Slide Licks

Four Complete Solos

Country Rock RiffS for Guitar IIY Mike levine

I

greatllit Copyright

© 1996 Cherry

Lane Music Company

International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved The music, text, design and graphics in this publication are protected by copyright law. Any duplication or transmission, by any means, electronic, mechanical, r photocopying, reco ding or otherwise, is an infringement of copyright.

§Jiil For a compr<Jhensive listing ofCh erry lane Music·s songbooks. sheet music. JfJstructional materials. videos andmore. check out our entire catalog on th& lnt9met. Our home page address Is: http://www.c/Jerrylane.com �

About The Author

Mike Levine

is a session guitarist, composer and producer

who lives and works in the New York City area. He plays guitar, pedal steel and dobra on many recording projects and nationally broadcast commercials, as well as for television shows including Sesame Street. He played in the Broadway and road productions of The Will Rogers Follies, and was a band member for the recent Off-Broadway musical Das Barbecue. As a commercial composer IarrangerIproducer, his most recent credits

include spots for MCI, Kool Aid and Advil. Although he now works pri­ marily in the studio, Mike spent years playing country and rock in clubs '

across North America.

-·-

. Acknowledgments

I'd like to thank the folks at Cherry Lane Music who helped guide me in putting this book together. I'm particularly grateful to Jon Chappell for choosing me for this project and getting me started, Mark Phllllps for all of his assistance with the details, and Arthur Rotfeld for answering my questions.

1 also want to thank my brother, Eric Levine, who taught me my first rtffs and started me off In the right direction

as a

guitarist. Finally, I'd

like to express my gratitude to Laura for all of the support she gave me while I was writing and recording for this project.

Contents

6

...

6.... Low Bend a Ia Pete Anderson 6....Double Stop lntro 7.... Rhythm Vamp 7.... Palm-Muted Melody

8

...

11

20...Chicken Pickin' 20....Basic Chicken Pickin' 20.... Descending Chicken 20....Fingerstyle Chicken Pickin'

Rockabilly & '50s Rock B.... Rockabilly Double Stops 8.... low & Nasty 9....Chuck Berry-Style Riff 9.... Rockabilly Solo

...

...

21

...

23

...

28

...

16

...

Pedal Steel-Style Riffs

16.... Pedal Steel E'nding lick 17.... IV-V-I Steel lntro

Fiashy Speed Riffs 23 .... low Puii-Qffs 24....Hot Chromatic Tag 24....Earl Scruggs-Style Banjo Lick 24.... Moveable Bluegrass Run 25....Bluegrass Fiddle Tune Run 25 ....Chromatic Speed Riff 25....Mixolydian Speed Riff 26....Vince Gill-Style Fast Open-String Riff 26... .Fast & Furious Solo

Siide

14....Duane Allman-Style Slide In Open E 14....Stondard Tuning Slide Lick 15.... Bonnie Raitt-Style Open A Slide 15 .... Lap Steel a Ia David Lindley

Lyrical Country Rock 21 ....Albert Lee-Style Lyrical Passage 21 ....Buchananesque 21 ....Siow, Soulful a Ia Vince Gill 22....Siow & Tasty Solo

Blues & Southern Rock

11 .... Rocked-Out Rhythm lntro ll.... Funky Minor Blues Lick 12 ....Dickey Betts-Style Passage'ln A 12 .... Dickey Belts-Style Passage In D 1 2 ....Allman Brothers-Style Dorian Phrase 1 3 ....Allman Brothers-Style Blues Licks 1 3....B. B. King-Style Blues Lick

14

17.... Descending 6ths 18.... Chromatic Steel Walk-Up 18....Ciarence White-Style Steel Solo

Ciassic Country

Tablature Explanation

If you asked musicians to define the phrase country rock,

with roo ts in folk, rock, country and bluegrass. The amaz­

most would probably say it referred to the period in the

ing Clarence White played guitar for the Byrds, and his

1970s and early 1980s, when

seminal acoustic and electric playing, as well as his pio­

acts like the Eagles, Poco, Pure

neering use of the string bender, were milestones in the

Prairie league and Emmylou

development of contemporary country guitar.

Country Rock R I f f S

I

INTRODUCTION F 0 R

Harris were at the peak of The 1 970s witnessed the heyday of country rock as a

their popularity.

genre. Artists such as linda Ronstadt and Jackson Although we will deal with riffs

Browne, among others, proved that this stylistic mixture

from that era, this book will use

could be a pop music gold mine. The guitar work in this

a looser definition of country rock that encompasses

period often leaned more toward rock-David lindley's

many different periods over the last 40 years as country

distorted lap steel playing on Browne's albums, for exam­

and rock have crossed paths. By using a broader brush,

ple, was a signature sound of the era.

GUITAR

we can touch upon many of the influences that have contributed t o making contemporary country the

Around the same time, in the town of Macon, Georgia,

stylistic melting pot that it is. After all, today' s country

the Allman Brothers were pioneering another hybrid form

music is really

o blend of country and

rock

(with

some

that was to become known as southern rock. Duane

R&B thrown in for good measure}, in which you're almost

Allmon and Dickey Betts' lengthy improvisations, harmo­

as likely to hear a distorted, bluesy slide solo as a twangy

nized lead lines and searing blues playing (with an occa­

Tele break. Ironically, while country was a significant

sional bit of country flavor) would hove o very tangible

factor in the early development of rock 'n' roll, rock

influence on modern country guitar playing.

music has now become a major influence in contemporary country.

In the late 1970s Albert lee began making country-rock gui­ tar history while playing with Emmylou Harris and the Hot

This book will present examples in many of the styles that

Bond. His inventive blend of lightning-fast runs, double-stop

make up the arsenal of a modern Nashville se·ssion gui­

bends and imaginative note selection is, to this day, the most

tarist. There are also examples in the styles of famous gui­

frequently imitated style in country guitar.

tarists, 'both past and present, such as Albert Lee, Vince Gill, Clarence White, Pete Anderson, Dickey Betts, Duane Allman and Roy Buchanan. But first, a little history.

.

. .

The mid 1980s sow the birth of the new traditionalist movement in popular country, which brought fiddles, steels and guitars bock to prominence. During this period

The earliest mixing of country and rock occurred in the

Ricky Skaggs helped bring a strong bluegrass influence

mid 1950s with the development of rockobi/ly, which is

into mainstream country, which resulted in many blazing

still an enduring influence on country. Elvis Presley, Jerry

guitar solos.

lee lewis and Bill Haley were among the artists who suc­ cessfully blended elements of country and R&B together­

In the 1990s a new breed of country singers and groups,

the guitar, of course, was an integral part of this union.

raised in the rock era, have changed country to a more youthful-sounding, contemporary genre. And guitar is, of

In the mid 1 960s the Byrds emerged as a popular band,

course, never Far from center stage.

HOW

TO

The chapters in this book are organized by concepts rather than by degree of difficulty. For

USE

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THIS

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riff is too fast for you, practice it slowly with a metronome until you are comfortable with it. After

those who wont to sample the different

a while, you should be able to play it

styles without having to deal with the

faster and faster until you've reached

more difficult riffs, I've put a relatively

the tempo on the recording.

easy example at the beginning of each section.

(CD

tracks ore indicated in the

black boxes.)

The shorter examples on the recording are generally repeated with another count-off (which is sometimes a partial

When learning an example, get com­

one, depending on where in the bar

fortable with the left-hand positions

the example ends). There are a few

first. Depending on your taste and

cases where a short example doesn't

style, figure out the right-hand consid­

repeat, because it would have been

erations next-whether you will be

musically awkward to do so.

using a pick, playing fingerstyle, or using a combination of a pick and fin­

As you work your way through the

gers. There are some examples in

examples in this book, you will find

which I've specified a method that I

yourself playing in the styles of some of

feel is necessary.

the world's most famous guitarists. Learning how these players approach a

Because this is not a beginner's book,

given musical situation is the first step

the recorded examples are played at

toward developing your own style.

authentic tempos, which can some­ times be pretty brisk. If you find that a

Good Luck!

CL A SSIC COUN T R Y

Low Bend a Ia Pete Anderson This example is similar to a riff Dwight Yoakam's guitarist Pete Anderson might play, and works well over a 1-IV-1 progression in E. The low range of this riff is characteristic of classic country guitar playing. Note that the lick in bar 3 is palm muted.

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'50s ROCK

Rockabilly Double Stops The diminished 5th interval used at the beginning of this riff adds tension and excitement. As with all rockabilly, make sure to play this one aggressively. Shume (n=J J>) -3-

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Rockabilly Solo This solo puts together some of the licks from earlier examples in the chapter, and then adds a few new tricks. It starts with the diminished 5th double stop, and then drops down for some low, chromatic, palm-muted lines. There are also Chuck Berry-style bending licks in bars 10-13. Be careful of the fast-moving chord sequence that starts in bar 14-to play it smoothly you need to use alternating strokes with your right hand. Shuffle (J:l=J

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BLUES

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Rocked-Out Rhythm lntro This sounds like it could be the intro to a Kentucky Headhunters song. Distorted rhythm parts like this are no longer heard only in rock-they have become common in country as well.

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Allman Brothers-Style Blues Licks The Allmans helped to prove that repetition can be a good thing. This blues phrase shows that repeating ideas can make a solo more memorable.

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SLIDE Duane Allman-Style Slide In Open E Notice how well this lick sits on the neck when played in open E tuning E ( BE G #B E). Shume (J:l=rl>l c

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IV-V-I Steel Intro A classic steel-type intro. Note the hammered double stops in bar 2. In addition to bends, hammer-ons are another good way to make your guitar sound like a steel. Shuffie ( fJ= J )! ) -3-

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F L A SH Y Low Pull-Offs

You can play this with a flat pick and palm mute it, or you can use your thumb and fingers and chicken pick it unmuted. 1\ .1.1

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Hot Chromatic Tag This bluegrass ending works equally well on electric or acoustic.

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Moveable Bluegrass Run This moveable riff has a first position bluegrass sound as well. Notice how the one slide in this run smooths out the whole passage-subtle variations such as this can make your playing much more interesting. '

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F#) that add a bluesy feel. D

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Vince Gill-Style Fast Open-String Riff This is typical of the kind of passage Vince Gill might play during a fast two-beat song. Here, the open D string creates a drone-like effect. D

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•

TABLATURE EXPLANATION/NOTATION LEGEND

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TABLATURE: A six-line staff that graphically represents the guitar fingerboard. By placing a number on the appropriate line, the string and the fret of any note can be indicated. For example:

Af-·

-f

-f

-f

string · ---; 3------; � � string · Low E'-'-'-G 5th Siting, 3rd lrel

2nd 10th fret and 3rd strtng, 9th !ret played together

open E chord

Definitions for Special Guitar Notations

BEND: Strikethenote andbend

VIBRATO: Vibrate the note by

PULL..()FF: Place both fingers

up :;, step (one fret).

rapidly bending and Mleaslng

on the notes tobesounded. Strike the first (higher) note, then sound

lr.

the string with a leff-hand finger.

the lower note by pulling the lin­

-------

PALM MUTE: With the right

hand, partially mu-te the note by lightly touching lt1e string just

before the bridge.

geroffthe highernote whilekeep­ ing.the lower note fretted.

BEND: Strike the note and bend up a whole step

(two frets).

Full

WIDE OR EXAGGERATED VI· BRATO: Vibrate the pitch to a greater degree with a left-hand finger or the 1remolo bar.

:

MUFFLED STRINGS Laythe left TRILL: Very rapidly allemate be· tween the note Indicated and the small note shown In parentheses by hammering on and pulling off.

hand across the strings wi1hout

depressingthem to thelf"Eit·board' strikelhestringswithlherighthand, producing a percussive sound.

,, _ _ _ _ _ _

"

BEND AND RELEASE: Strike the note and bend upY. (orwhole) step, then release the bend back tothe original nola. Alllhreenotes aretied: ontylhetirst note is s1rvck.

TAPPING:Hammer("tap")lhefret SLIDE: Strike the first note and then wilh the same left-hand finger move up the string to the second note. The second note

Indicatedw�hthe right-handindlex or midde finger and pull off to the

PICK SLIDE: Rub the pick edge

down the length of the string to produce a scratchy sound.

note fretted by the left hand.

Is not struck.

T p ..---._ ._,._, TREMOLO PICKING: Pick the

noteas rapidlyandcontinuoysty NATURAL HARMONIC: Witha

PRE·BEND: Bend the note up ;', (or whole) step, then strike it. 112c(II"Futl)

I

as possible.

left-hand finger, lighttytouch the string over the lret indicated,

t

SUOE: Same as above, except the second note is s ruck.

.