DanielHolmes
Verified buyer
08/20/26
30 Modern Country Guitar Licks
The licks learned in this a very useful! Instruction clear and concise.
30 Modern Country Guitar Licks You MUST Know
Learn the techniques, sonic qualities, and creative approaches of modern country guitar!
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About this course
Country music has always been a very guitar-centric genre with truckloads of challenging techniques to keep we guitarists inspired and majorly busy in the shed. Today, many consider modern country music, with its heavier rock-influenced sound, to be the last bastion of guitar heroes as it’s one of the very few popular genres that consistently features blazing guitar solos.
In this collection of 30 Modern Country Licks from Corey Congilio, you’ll get a grip on the techniques, sonic qualities, and creative approaches that guitarists like Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Joe Don Rooney, Dan Huff and many others have made so popular.
Corey demonstrates all of the licks over modern country groove backing tracks and then breaks them down note-by-note emphasizing the techniques and creative approaches that you’ll need to play them correctly.
Corey will show you modern approaches for bending, chicken pickin' and pedal steel ideas. You'll learn how to craft searing lines for ballads, play sixths with a modern attitude, and incorporate triplets and Hendrix-style double-stops in your fills and improvisations. You'll work on flavoring your modern country solos with bluegrass-inspired lines, heavy rock phrases, and even a little shredding. And of course, you'll tackle several tasty modern lines and approaches inspired by modern country masters. Corey will also show you how to dial in just the right amount of distortion and overdrive to modernize your country sonic palette.
All of the licks are tabbed and notated for your practice, reference and study purposes. You’ll also get Guitar Pro files so that you can play, loop and/or slow down the tab and notation as you work through the lessons. Plus, Corey generously includes all of the rhythm tracks for you to work with on your own.
Grab your guitar and let’s cook up some modern country sounds with Corey Congilio!
In this collection of 30 Modern Country Licks from Corey Congilio, you’ll get a grip on the techniques, sonic qualities, and creative approaches that guitarists like Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Joe Don Rooney, Dan Huff and many others have made so popular.
"It's a no brainer with Corey Congilio's stuff! This guy is at the top of his game as a player and especially as an educator. You are going to learn the application of the approach to each lick, so it's SO much more then 30 licks! Corey is great in the way that he always explains the chord progression and the scales you are working out of and the 'why' it works instead of just the lick. I love this kind of 'here's why' teaching. This allows you to put it in your own repertoire, so you can use it later in your own playing. Again, like all of Corey's stuff, this is a no brainer purchase." - Manny Fufish, TrueFire Student"Country music is very near and dear to me. I'm a blues player at heart, but when I heard players like Albert Lee, Danny Gatton, Vince Gill, and Brent Mason, I knew there was so much to learn from country guitar players. Even though country music is progressing quickly, today's modern country guitarist must still embrace the techniques pioneered by those who've come before us. At the same time, the new crop of players and licks that we'll focus on in this course are to me, just as important as the greats I just mentioned. The guitar players in Nashville making music today are by far some of the greatest musicians on the planet. My goal here is to shed light on them and honor the tradition that permeates Nashville."
Corey demonstrates all of the licks over modern country groove backing tracks and then breaks them down note-by-note emphasizing the techniques and creative approaches that you’ll need to play them correctly.
Corey will show you modern approaches for bending, chicken pickin' and pedal steel ideas. You'll learn how to craft searing lines for ballads, play sixths with a modern attitude, and incorporate triplets and Hendrix-style double-stops in your fills and improvisations. You'll work on flavoring your modern country solos with bluegrass-inspired lines, heavy rock phrases, and even a little shredding. And of course, you'll tackle several tasty modern lines and approaches inspired by modern country masters. Corey will also show you how to dial in just the right amount of distortion and overdrive to modernize your country sonic palette.
All of the licks are tabbed and notated for your practice, reference and study purposes. You’ll also get Guitar Pro files so that you can play, loop and/or slow down the tab and notation as you work through the lessons. Plus, Corey generously includes all of the rhythm tracks for you to work with on your own.
Grab your guitar and let’s cook up some modern country sounds with Corey Congilio!
Corey Congilio's Preferred Gear
Below is a list of Corey Congilio's preferred gear including guitars, amps, pedals, accessories, and more. What you see in Corey's lessons may or may not be this actual gear, but if you are trying to capture Corey's sound and tone, the gear listed below is recommended by Corey and it's a great place to start!
Guitars
Amps
Pedals
- J. Rockett Tim Pierce Signature Overdrive Pedal
- DOD Carcosa Analog Fuzz Pedal
- Dunlop DVP4 Volume (X) Mini Pedal
- Universal Audio UAFX Golden Reverberator Pedal
- Universal Audio UAFX Starlight Echo Station Delay Pedal
- Universal Audio UAFX Astra Modulation Machine Pedal
- Korg Pitchblack Custom Pedal Tuner
Accessories & More
What you'll learn
- Execute a chicken picking pentatonic lick
- Master complex pull-off techniques
- Create melodic country/rock guitar licks
- Understand muting and hybrid picking techniques
- Develop expressive country guitar phrasing
Release date: 03/22/2017 • 2h 10m runtime
Sample lessons
Don't Lose Your Shirt
Lick 6
Bend Thing
Lick 11
The Good Half
Lick 13
Hot Bends
Lick 21
What's included
32 lessons • 30 charts • 30 Jam Tracks
30 Modern Country Licks
Hi, I'm Corey Congilio, and welcome to 30 Modern Country Licks You MUST Know! Country music has always been a very guitar-centric genre with a truck load of challenging techniques to keep guitarists inspired and busy in the shed. Today, many consider modern country music, with its heavier rock-influenced sound, to be the last bastion of guitar heroes as it’s one of the very few popular genres that consistently features blazing guitar solos. In this collection of 30 Modern Country Licks, we'll study the approaches that guitarists like Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Joe Don Rooney, and many others have made so popular.
For example, we’ll work on a modern approach for bending, look at how Brad Paisley is keeping chicken picking alive and well, work on some searing lines for ballads, and how a little distortion and gain can breathe new life into even traditional country licks.
We'll also work on some pedal steel licks that sound great over modern country grooves, channel Keith Urban in creating epic modern melodies over traditional country styles, and add a little more attitude using sixths.
I'll perform each of the licks over a jam track and then break it down for you note-by-note emphasizing the techniques to focus on. Everything is tabbed and notated, plus you'll get all of the backing tracks to work with on your own. Grab your guitar and let's dig in!
For example, we’ll work on a modern approach for bending, look at how Brad Paisley is keeping chicken picking alive and well, work on some searing lines for ballads, and how a little distortion and gain can breathe new life into even traditional country licks.
We'll also work on some pedal steel licks that sound great over modern country grooves, channel Keith Urban in creating epic modern melodies over traditional country styles, and add a little more attitude using sixths.
I'll perform each of the licks over a jam track and then break it down for you note-by-note emphasizing the techniques to focus on. Everything is tabbed and notated, plus you'll get all of the backing tracks to work with on your own. Grab your guitar and let's dig in!
Major One
When we talk about modern country guitar playing, we usually look to the early 90's. Country music was definitely shifting to more of a pop sound, and the guitar playing in particular was a driving force.
In this lick, we'll see how a traditional major country rock idea is played over the chords C, F, C, and G. In the Nashville Number System nomenclature, this progression would be 1415.
What we really want to take away from this example is the targeting of the C note root and the resolution. The lick is based around C major pentatonic and is easily transposed to any key. You'll notice that I've added a small amount of overdrive to the normally clean Tele tone. Adding more distortion and overdrive will continue to happen throughout the course to mimic the evolution of the modern country sound. For this example, I'm using a model of a Fender Deluxe Reverb combined with an Ibanez Tube Screamer.
In this lick, we'll see how a traditional major country rock idea is played over the chords C, F, C, and G. In the Nashville Number System nomenclature, this progression would be 1415.
What we really want to take away from this example is the targeting of the C note root and the resolution. The lick is based around C major pentatonic and is easily transposed to any key. You'll notice that I've added a small amount of overdrive to the normally clean Tele tone. Adding more distortion and overdrive will continue to happen throughout the course to mimic the evolution of the modern country sound. For this example, I'm using a model of a Fender Deluxe Reverb combined with an Ibanez Tube Screamer.
Impress Me Minor
One of the things I think is most "impressive" about country guitar playing in the early 90's is how the A list session musicians of the time adapted to the new music being created. Rock producers had infiltrated Nashville and brought their sound with them. Legendary session guitarists (who might be known for their chicken pickin') like Brent Mason showed that they could rock and play killer melodic ideas.
This example is a short homage to a lick I heard him play way back when. As always, the melody or a "hook" is always most important. Coming up with a memorable hook quickly in the studio is what makes session guitarists worth their weight in gold! This short example is a favorite of mine. It's in A minor, which is also C major, and uses minor pentatonic and natural minor ideas. The chord progression is Am-F-C-G or 6415. I've used the same type of tone as the previous example for this lick.
This example is a short homage to a lick I heard him play way back when. As always, the melody or a "hook" is always most important. Coming up with a memorable hook quickly in the studio is what makes session guitarists worth their weight in gold! This short example is a favorite of mine. It's in A minor, which is also C major, and uses minor pentatonic and natural minor ideas. The chord progression is Am-F-C-G or 6415. I've used the same type of tone as the previous example for this lick.
Pays To Begin
Brad Paisley is by far THE country guitar hero of our era. Brad came out of the gates firing on all cylinders and continues to shred faces. His first record blew me away and this lick is a nod to it.
In country music, it's common to start a solo on the 4 chord of the progression. Doing this mixes it up a bit and usually comes after a chorus. We're in the key of D, but the lick happens over a G chord and then resolves to the D.
For this example, I'm using a model of a Vox AC30, which is certainly a staple of the modern country sound.
In country music, it's common to start a solo on the 4 chord of the progression. Doing this mixes it up a bit and usually comes after a chorus. We're in the key of D, but the lick happens over a G chord and then resolves to the D.
For this example, I'm using a model of a Vox AC30, which is certainly a staple of the modern country sound.
Octaves Down Under
The "other" modern country guitar hero is of course, Keith Urban. Keith has been tearing it up for years and his early music is chock full of killer licks. This lick has some great repetition as you'll play the first idea in one octave and repeat in another. You're not repeating it verbatim, but you're hinting at it. The chord progression is G-D-G or 1511 in Nashville terms.
Here again, I'm using the Vox AC30 model to achieve the tone. This is certainly a more challenging idea, so take each section slowly then put it all together!
Here again, I'm using the Vox AC30 model to achieve the tone. This is certainly a more challenging idea, so take each section slowly then put it all together!
Triplet Stops
Incorporating triplets and "Hendrix" style double stops are some of my favorite things to play, and often times modern country songs lend themselves to these ideas. We're in the key of G here, but the lick starts on an Em chord. The chord progression will be Em-D-C-G. In numbers, it would be 6541. I'm back to the Deluxe and Ibanez Tube Screamer sound here.
Don't Lose Your Shirt
This is a Keith Urban lick I couldn't let go. The lick is super melodic and full of some flashy stuff. We're in the key of G, but the lick starts on Em. The chord progression is Em-C-D-G or 6451. I'm back to the AC30 sound here for the tone and the open string parts of the lick really sound great with this tone. Check out the song "You Look Good in My Shirt" to hear how Keith uses it.
+ 25 more lessons
Reviews
16 results
HarryFlashman
Verified buyer
01/28/25
Great sound likes taught by a great teacher
I have learned of these licks so far because they are quite challenging for me to play. But the licks sound great and Corey Congilo is a great teacher. I am learning a lot.
wtownsley
Verified buyer
01/14/25
Must have!
Outstanding! Cool modern licks!
rialcorrales
Verified buyer
01/13/22
Love the course
I love this course. Corey is an amazing player and knows how to explain the technics very well.
Darren J.
12/04/21
Cool Country Chops!
Corey is the man when it comes to bridging the gap between country and rock! Nobody does it any better. If you want to hear your chops on the radio someday, then take some tips from Corey, and you’ll be headed in the right direction. His attention to detail is phenomenal, take my word for it!
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