Análisis de las alternativas de intervención Tabla Nº 8 b

The final chapter in this book takes everything covered to the extreme, taking licks from the hundred, and applying them over an up-tempo country boogie.

The first step in developing licks and vocabulary for soloing over the track is to learn the chord progression. The basic idea is taken from Albert Lee’s Fun Ranch Boogie, but I’ve adapted it to work in a 32-bar form.

Here’s a basic rhythm guitar part to help you learn the chord progression. As with the previous chapter, this style of rhythm guitar is covered in more detail in my first book, Country Guitar for Beginners.

In order to learn this correctly, tackle it eight bars at a time.

The first lick outlines an E and A chord. While none of the 100 licks are this specific, it’s possible to easily adapt a lick to outline a chord.

To do this I took one of the Albert Lee licks (Example 2a) and moved just the third bar up a string set to fit an A chord.

Example 25b:

The next lick begins on an E major chord, and uses one of the Danny Gatton ideas (Example 7c) but played at an 1/8th note speed to fit the track.

After two bars the chords change to F# major and B major, so I’ve chosen to continue with the Danny idea, but adjusted it to fit the correct chords.

Example 25c:

This next idea begins with some Albert Lee (Example 2b) before transitioning to Brent Mason for the third bar (Example 4b) and then Johnny Hiland (the third bar of Example 15a).

After a few years of playing country guitar, you’ll soon find that fluidly combining and adapting ideas like this becomes quite simple.

Example 25d:

This lick ignores the B7 chord, using the bluesy colours to cover that sound. The lick is one of Redd Volkaert’s ideas (Example 17b) but now played using 1/8th notes instead of the 1/16th note framework it was

originally covered in.

Example 25e:

In the B section of the tune, I rely heavily on Brent Mason vocabulary (Examples 4a, and 4c). While I couldn’t think of any examples of Brent playing over this particular set of chord changes, it’s hard to not hear Hot Wired in the melody!

Example 25f:

To conclude the B section before returning to the first part, I’ve used a Hank Garland lick in bars one and two, (Example 10d) before adapting one of the Danny Gatton licks (the second half of Example 7a) to fit over F# major and B7.

Example 25g:

When returning to the first section, I’ve used the ending of a James Burton lick (Example 11a) to take you from the 2nd fret D down to the open E string.

The final lick uses some more Hank Garland (Example 10e) but using notes of the E Mixolydian scale before ending on an adapted Brent Mason lick (Example 4d).

Example 25i:

Once you have these licks down, use the backing track and play the solo in its entirety. It’s not an easy one, but it shows you just how much mileage you can get out of knowing licks. It’s entirely possible to turn licks into completely new ideas. We’re all using a shared language here, so don’t feel bad. As they say, good composers borrow… great composers steal!

Conclusion

Now you’ve got a big selection of licks in your arsenal, the most important thing is going out and using them in unique settings.

It’s possible that you may not be able to imagine how this is done, or even if it’s something that “real” country guitarists do. What I’d encourage you to do is listen to the greats like Albert Lee and Brent Mason and you’ll soon start hearing similar ideas coming up again and again.

As musicians, our ears are our most valuable tools, so it’s extremely

important to listen to as much music as possible to help you internalize the vocabulary.

When you’ve started to hear these types of licks in real music, the next step is to begin transcribing things you hear that you enjoy. Transcribing can mean many things to many people, but in reality you don’t need to be doing “proper” transcription (listening to music and writing it down), all you need to do is work out the bits you like! The most valuable tool I can recommend is the software called (fittingly) Transcribe!

Getting a copy of Transcribe means you’re able to loop music, slow things down, retune them, EQ them, etc. Anything that allows you to listen more closely to licks you like and work them out on the guitar is a must have. This is honestly the quickest way to develop your ears.

As a starting point, here are some album recommendations where you’ll hear countless great licks that are all worth transcribing.

Alan Jackson - The Greatest Hits Collection Albert Lee - Live at the Iridium

Brad Paisley - Time Well Wasted Brent Mason - Hot Wired

Buck Owens - The Very Best of Buck Owens - Vol. 1 Buddy Emmons - Amazing Steel Guitar

Chet Atkins - The Essential Chet Atkins Ernest Tubb - Texas Troubadour

Hank Williams - The Best of Hank Williams The Hellecasters - The Return of The Hellecasters The Hot Club Of Cowtown - What Makes Bob Holler

Jerry Reed - The Unbelievable Guitar and Voice Of Jerry Reed Keith Urban - Days Go By

Maddie & Tae - Start Here

Merle Haggard - The Very Best of Merle Haggard The Time Jumpers - The Time Jumpers

Good luck with your journey, I hope you've enjoyed these first steps, and I look forward to seeing you on the other side!

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