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Quick licks: intermediate #7

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By Guitar Techniques ( Guitar Techniques ) published 26 October 2011

Merle Travis picking and Clapton lead

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Intermediate lick one: Merle Travis picking

Intermediate lick one: Merle Travis picking

A Merle Travis influenced fingerstyle exercise that requires palm muting the bass notes to make them stand out. You'll want to create as much independence as possible between the treble and bass strings and give this exercise a relaxed swing at 95 bpm.

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Page 1 of 2
Intermediate lick two: Cream/Clapton lead

Intermediate lick two: Cream/Clapton lead

A gem in the style of Eric Clapton's classic Cream era. The entire lick is played an octave above where it is written at the 17th fret position in the A blues scale (A, C, D, Eb, E, G, A). Be sure to apply a singing vibrato where indicated. Bridge humbucker and Marshall distortion are ideal.

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Page 2 of 2
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