Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
Don't miss these
Davey Johnstone and Elton John are back-to-back as they perform live, with Johnstone playing his Captain Fantastic Les Paul Custom
Artists Davey Johnstone on the making of Elton John’s 1975 masterpiece, Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
Close up of a Taylor GS Mini acoustic guitar lying on a wooden floor
Acoustic Guitars Best acoustic guitars 2025: Super steel string acoustics for all players and budgets
Side profile of a person playing a drum kit
Drum Lessons & Tutorials 13 easy drum songs every beginner should learn
Jacob Collier
Artists Using his signature ‘DAEAD’ tuning, Jacob Collier recorded a 5-string acoustic guitar album in just four days
Van Morrison
Artists How Van Morrison recorded his greatest song
John McLaughlin
Artists “I don’t have many guitar players’ albums on my iPhone, but Jeff is there”: John McLaughlin on the magic of Jeff Beck
Jimi and Billy in 1968
Artists “I was playing the Fender Strat that Jimi Hendrix gave me”: Billy Gibbons on the making of ZZ Top's greatest blues song
The Rolling Stone The Last Time cover
Singles And Albums “It gave us a pathway of how to do it”: Sixty years of The Last Time – the Stones’ big breakthrough
Derek Trucks takes a slide solo on his Gibson SG as Tedeschi Trucks Band performs live at Madison Square Garden.
Artists Derek Trucks is one of the greatest slide players of all time – here’s how he decides when to use it
Jeff Porcaro
Artists Exploring the genius of Jeff Porcaro's Rosanna Shuffle
d'angelo
Artists “In the hands of lesser musicians, this would simply sound sloppy”: A music professor breaks down the genius of D'Angelo
Jason Isbell with his two new signature acoustics from Martin, the 0-17, a high-end replica of his 1940 model, and the 0-10E Retro, a more affordable version.
Artists Jason Isbell shares unorthodox tone tip for new acoustics as he reveals not one but two signature Martins – and a set of strings
Paul Gilbert
Recording Four big-name guitarists spill their recording secrets
Jeff Beck in 1969
Artists “Mickie says, ‘Jeff – where's your guitar?’ ‘Oh, it's on its way to Leeds!’”: When Donovan and Jeff Beck made magic
Loog Guitars x Gibson: these child-friendly 3-strings reimagine the Les Paul and SG for young beginners.
Guitars Gibson teams up with Loog for child-friendly 3-string versions of its most famous electric guitars
More
  • Radiohead's secret code
  • Blackbird
  • Spooky samples - free
  • 95k+ free music samples
  • Captain Fantastic
  1. Tutorials
  2. Guitar Lessons & Tutorials

Quick licks: easy #3

News
By Guitar Techniques ( Guitar Techniques ) published 6 July 2011

A James Taylor and Bob Marley-style lick duo

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Easy lick one: emotive fingerstyle acoustic

Easy lick one: emotive fingerstyle acoustic

The trick with this James Taylor style phrase is to get the picking hand percussive slap in bars 1 and 2 to bounce naturally. Use your thumb for the bass notes and your remaining three fingers for the upper part of each chord. Practise bar 3 until the chords become seamlessly smooth.

Page 1 of 2
Page 1 of 2
Easy lick two: Rasta Reggae grooves

Easy lick two: Rasta Reggae grooves

Think Bob Marley for this example. Follow the picking hand strumming patterns making sure you observe the chord staggered 'raking' where indicated, and get used to playing on the off beats to nail the reggae feel. A straight valve amp clean tone will make this one sail right to Jamaica!

Page 2 of 2
Page 2 of 2
Guitar Techniques
The worlds best high-quality guitar tuition from the UKs foremost teachers and players image
The worlds best high-quality guitar tuition from the UKs foremost teachers and players
Subscribe and save today!
More Info
Read more
Side profile of a person playing a drum kit
13 easy drum songs every beginner should learn
 
 
Jacob Collier
Using his signature ‘DAEAD’ tuning, Jacob Collier recorded a 5-string acoustic guitar album in just four days
 
 
Van Morrison
How Van Morrison recorded his greatest song
 
 
John McLaughlin
“I don’t have many guitar players’ albums on my iPhone, but Jeff is there”: John McLaughlin on the magic of Jeff Beck
 
 
Jimi and Billy in 1968
“I was playing the Fender Strat that Jimi Hendrix gave me”: Billy Gibbons on the making of ZZ Top's greatest blues song
 
 
The Rolling Stone The Last Time cover
“It gave us a pathway of how to do it”: Sixty years of The Last Time – the Stones’ big breakthrough
 
 
Latest in Guitar Lessons & Tutorials
Close up of a person holding an acoustic guitar bathed sunlight
Ignite your inner guitar god for just 27 cents a day with TrueFire’s July 4th sale - save 60% on online lessons
 
 
MusicNomad fret tuition
Can you fix your guitar's frets yourself? We try three innovative approaches from MusicNomad to investigate how they might conquer a major cause of fret buzz
 
 
George Harrison
How to play like George Harrison on The Beatles' Abbey Road
 
 
MusicNomad guitar fret cleaning
"You owe your guitar the chance to be its best": How to clean and polish your guitar frets a better way
 
 
Jimmy Page
Play like Jimmy Page! Exclusive video lesson
 
 
Music Theory
How learning and understanding chord symbols can prove a major benefit for sharing your musical ideas
 
 
Latest in News
Neal Schon
“I love John McLaughlin’s stuff. I admire real musicians”: Journey guitarist Neal Schon on the players who inspire him
 
 
Charli XCX and John Cale
"It made me cry”: Charli XCX on how she ended up collaborating with the Velvet Underground’s John Cale
 
 
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: The early Black Friday sales continue at Guitar Center, Sweetwater, Musician's Friend, Reverb and more
 
 
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 12: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Drake performs live on stage during day two of Wireless Festival 2025 at Finsbury Park on July 12, 2025 in London, England. Drake is headlining an unprecedented all three nights of Wireless Festival. (Photo by Simone Joyner/Getty Images for ABA)
Drake’s live sound engineer on why he has to be at the top of his game from first song to last
 
 
waves
Waves is teasing a free plugin release for Black Friday – sign up today to be first in line
 
 
Walrus Audio DFX-1 Percussion Processing Unit next to a cymbal
“For percussionists who want to take matters into their own hands”: Walrus launch the DFX-1, an effects unit built for drummers
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...