In this special feature Jon Bishop looks at six guitarists that defined hot country guitar. If you want to improve your picking then read on, it could be just the ticket!
The electric guitar is one of the key instruments in the country music ensemble, providing as it does the backbone of the groove and often playing exciting single-note solos. Country guitar is a blend of many styles including, jazz, blues, cowboy, swing and gospel styles.
In this feature we will focus in on three core picking techniques with a view to developing the facility required to play some hot country lead guitar. The first of these is flatpicking, the country name for picking with down and up (alternate) pick strokes.
The second is fingerstyle. Country guitarists often add a thumb pick as this accentuates the attack for the bass notes. The third technique is the country guitar favourite, hybrid picking. Hybrid picking combines the advantages of using the flat pick (plectrum) along with the extra facility and tone of the fingers.
To provide inspiration for our studies we have identified six highly influential country giants. We have written a one-page study piece in the style of each of our players, which puts a spotlight on the key aspects of their style and also provides an opportunity to work on one of the three picking techniques just discussed.
First up is Eldon Shamblin who remains one of the most influential guitarists in the western swing style. Shamblin used an early prototype Stratocaster given to him by Leo Fender for much of his career.
Our second axeman is ‘Mr Guitar’ Chet Atkins. Chet was a country guitar virtuoso and often used a thumb pick to accentuate the bass no
