20 Country Licks You Can't Live Without - Volume Two

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Erik Holmbom Tutor, Professional Guitarist

Course Content Overview

Licks 1-3 – Key of E

The course opens in the key of E with three licks that establish the expressive foundations of country lead playing. Erik Holmbom introduces bold string bending and vibrato as the primary tools for injecting vocal-like emotion into your phrases, demonstrating how even a single bent note can carry enormous feeling when delivered with the right touch. These licks draw on E major pentatonic shapes and combine them with slides and major-scale runs, giving you a sense of how country guitarists navigate the fretboard with ease and fluency. The focus throughout is on developing a singing, expressive quality in your playing that goes beyond mere note accuracy.

Licks 4-6 – Key of A

Moving into the key of A, Erik introduces double-stops, trills, and snappy alternate picking to create licks that balance bluesy grit with melodic elegance. Double-stops are a cornerstone of authentic country guitar, and these licks show you how to use them to add harmonic richness and rhythmic punch to your solos. Trills sharpen your finger independence and add a lively, ornamental quality to your lines, while alternate picking ensures your delivery is clean, precise, and rhythmically tight. These licks feel equally at home in a modern country context and in the more traditional styles that inspired them.

Licks 7-9 – Key of G

The key of G licks explore the fertile crossover territory between country and blues, featuring pull-offs, unison bends, and chromatic walk-ups that give your playing a distinctive, rootsy character. Pull-offs add a smooth, legato flow to your lines, while unison bends deliver the kind of intense, vocal-like expression that is central to authentic country guitar phrasing. The chromatic elements in these licks introduce a touch of harmonic colour and movement that keeps the listener engaged and gives your soloing a sense of forward momentum.

Licks 10-12 – Key of D

The D major licks bring hybrid picking and arpeggios to the foreground, alongside tasteful double-stop bends that lean into the flavour of classic Western swing. Hybrid picking—using both the pick and the fingers of the right hand—is one of the defining techniques of country guitar, giving your lines a sharper, more percussive attack and enabling you to execute complex patterns with speed and clarity. The arpeggios in these licks outline chord tones in a way that makes your soloing sound harmonically sophisticated and musically intentional, elevating your playing beyond pentatonic patterns.

Licks 13-15 – Key of A

Returning to the key of A, Erik presents three licks that focus on rhythmic phrasing and tonal variety. Slides and syncopated rhythms are used to create a sense of groove and forward motion within the solos, while pinched harmonics add dramatic texture and excitement to key moments in the phrases. These licks are a masterclass in how to vary your articulation and timing to keep your solos interesting and dynamic, demonstrating that great country guitar is as much about feel and phrasing as it is about technical proficiency.

Licks 16-17 – Key of E

These two licks return to the key of E with a deeper focus on expressive string bending and pre-bends. The emphasis here is on nuance and tone control—on landing bends accurately, sustaining them with conviction, and using pre-bends to create moments of surprise and tension in your solos. These are licks that reward careful listening and patient practice, and they will significantly improve your ability to play with sensitivity and emotional depth.

Licks 18-20 – Keys of A & D

The course closes with three licks that draw on both the key of A and the key of D, incorporating rakes, tapped harmonics, and open string riffs to create a memorable and technically adventurous finale. Tapped harmonics produce shimmering, bell-like tones that add a distinctive sonic texture to your playing, while rakes introduce a percussive, rhythmic quality that makes individual notes land with greater impact. The open string riffs in these final licks demonstrate how to use the natural resonance of the guitar to create licks that are both harmonically interesting and immediately evocative of the country sound.

This Course is Ideal for Players Who...

This course is designed for intermediate to advanced guitarists who want to develop a genuine command of country lead guitar. It is particularly well-suited to players who already have a solid foundation in guitar technique and are ready to explore the specific vocabulary, phrasing, and feel that define authentic country playing. Whether you are a guitarist looking to work in country music professionally, a rock or blues player wanting to broaden your stylistic range, or simply someone who loves the sound of great country guitar and wants to learn it properly, this course offers exactly the kind of focused, practical instruction you need. Erik Holmbom's clear, inspiring teaching style makes even the most challenging techniques approachable and immediately applicable.

What will I achieve from completing this course?

20 Country Licks You Can't Live Without – Volume Two works because it treats each lick as both a performance piece and a technical lesson. Rather than presenting licks in isolation, Erik Holmbom contextualises every phrase within the broader language of country guitar, explaining the techniques involved, the musical reasons behind the choices, and the ways in which each lick can be adapted and applied in different musical situations. This approach means that you are not just memorising patterns—you are building a genuine understanding of how country guitar works, which is far more valuable in the long run. Combined with LickLibrary's high-quality video instruction and comprehensive tablature, this course gives you everything you need to take your country guitar playing to the next level.