It’s time for a new lick! 🙂
In this lesson we’re going to look at a lick that uses a technique called hybrid-picking. This technique is used by guitarists like Zakk Wylde, Brett Garsed, and Guthrie Govan, and involves using both your pick and fingers to articulate various notes.
The cool thing about hybrid-picking is that it creates a very different sound than if you were to use just your pick. It also allows you to play musical ideas that would be very difficult, if not impossible, using only a pick.
Let’s check out the lick now…
Rock Guitar Lick 6: Bluesy Hybrid-Picking Lick
This lick uses the E Minor Blues scale, and has a really nice flowing quality to it. If you look at the TAB now, you might notice that a lot of the notes need to be articulated with the middle finger of your picking-hand. (These notes are shown in the TAB using the symbol m above them).
If you’ve never done hybrid-picking before, then it might feel very strange to use the middle finger to articulate notes. But I really recommend persevering with it, because it will help make you a more versatile guitarist. On the other hand, if you truly don’t like the sound of hybrid-picking, then I’m not going to force you to use it. Just use your pick for the entire lick. (If I was to do this, I would use an upstroke using my pick instead of the middle finger). It’s still a really nice lick to know, even if you decide not to use hybrid-picking. 🙂
Have fun!
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