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
  • Superbooth 2026
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
More
  • Superbooth 2026
  • Kate Bush Army Dreamers
  • 95k+ free music samples
  • Theory of Feels
  1. Tutorials
  2. Guitar Lessons & Tutorials

Quick licks: easy #3

News
By 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
Read more
Scale
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials "Don't play scales just to get faster. Speed is a happy by-product of playing more accurately": Beginner Guitar Lessons - nailing scales
 
 
Cory Wong
Artists “My advice is play the song. Can you find a part that is tailored to the music”: Cory Wong’s tips for better rhythm guitar
 
 
Bob Marley
Artists “I wasn't prepared for what I saw that night”: How a classic song recorded live in London set Bob Marley on the path to global superstardom
 
 
Steely Dan
Artists From the Purdie shuffle to its extended jazz chords - analysing Steely Dan's Babylon Sisters
 
 
Human League
Artists Replicate the sonic magic of the Human League’s defining synth-pop anthem
 
 
Stevie Wonder
Artists Dissecting the musical magic of Superstition, the song Stevie Wonder just couldn’t let go
 
 
Latest in Guitar Lessons & Tutorials
Scale
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials "Don't play scales just to get faster. Speed is a happy by-product of playing more accurately": Beginner Guitar Lessons - nailing scales
 
 
Guitar maintenance
Guitars "There isn't one correct answer": 6 things you need you need know about how to clean and condition your guitar fretboard
 
 
Tom Morello
Artists How Tom Morello used his guitar to drill into the off-limits domain of the turntablist
 
 
Close up of a person playing guitar
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials With a massive 89% discount, $99 for a year's worth of Guitar Tricks online lessons is the best way to upgrade your guitar playing this Black Friday
 
 
Close up of a person holding an acoustic guitar bathed sunlight
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials 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
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials 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
 
 
Latest in News
[L-R] Khemmis' Phil Pendergast and Ben Hutcherson [inset] A Behringer Super Fuzz
Artists Khemmis just made one of the heavy metal records of the year using a $28 plastic fuzz pedal
 
 
Sir Robin Millar CBE, 2024
Producers & Engineers “Inclusion is not charity”: Blind producer takes action against firm he co-founded
 
 
Emily Green, Cameron Winter and Dominic DiGesu of Geese at Brooklyn Paramount on November 21, 2025 in New York, New York. (Photo by Griffin Lotz/Rolling Stone via Getty Images)
Artists Geese’s record label dismisses the suggestion that their success was contrived amid 'psyop' drama
 
 
behringer
Tech Behringer "leak" reveals 14 unreleased products, including E-mu SP-1200, Yamaha CS-80, EMS VCS 3 and Korg Mini-Pops 7 clones
 
 
R&B musician Stevie Wonder in the recording studio circa 1972.  (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
Artists Stevie Wonder’s '70s synth guru Robert Margouleff on the moment he knew their partnership was over
 
 
Gretsch Jim Dandy Parlor Ltd in Vintage White
Guitars Gretsch just released the most vibey acoustic guitar of the year and it’s only $249
 
 

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 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...