DanielHolmes
Verified buyer
07/30/26
Guitar Zen: Roots Rock Licks
Eric just has "that" way to teach! Showing us how to get some really good phrasing out of some familiar areas. Awesome course!!
Guitar Zen: Roots Rock Licks
Familiar scales, unexpected phrasing, and 21 licks that can get you unstuck.
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About this course
If you've ever found yourself searching for something fresh to play mid-solo, Eric Haugen's Guitar Zen: Roots Rock Licks delivers exactly what you need. These online video roots rock guitar lessons are built around a simple but powerful idea: familiar vocabulary, transformed by feel, phrasing, and just the right twist.
"I don't use licks — I listen to the melody. But sometimes you get stuck. That's when you reach for the ones that have always served you well. That's what this course is all about."
This step-by-step guitar course works through six distinct grooves — drawing from blues, major pentatonic, and a handful of useful modes — with licks inspired by players like B.B. King, Dickey Betts, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Wes Montgomery, and more. For each groove, Eric breaks down the licks and then shows how they connect inside a full solo etude, so you're learning how musical ideas actually live within a song, not just in isolation.
What makes these licks work isn't complexity — it's the details. A hidden bend, an unexpected rhythmic move, a double-stop landing in just the right place. Take your playing to the next level by mastering the kind of phrasing that makes simple material sound genuinely alive.
You'll practice and play with your instructor through the entire course at your own pace using TrueFire's intuitive playalongs, backing tracks, and learning tools. All of the demonstrations are tabbed, notated, and synced to the video, with controls for looping, slow motion, and fretboard animation.
Grab your guitar, and let's play roots rock guitar with Eric Haugen!
"I don't use licks — I listen to the melody. But sometimes you get stuck. That's when you reach for the ones that have always served you well. That's what this course is all about."
This step-by-step guitar course works through six distinct grooves — drawing from blues, major pentatonic, and a handful of useful modes — with licks inspired by players like B.B. King, Dickey Betts, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Wes Montgomery, and more. For each groove, Eric breaks down the licks and then shows how they connect inside a full solo etude, so you're learning how musical ideas actually live within a song, not just in isolation.
What makes these licks work isn't complexity — it's the details. A hidden bend, an unexpected rhythmic move, a double-stop landing in just the right place. Take your playing to the next level by mastering the kind of phrasing that makes simple material sound genuinely alive.
You'll practice and play with your instructor through the entire course at your own pace using TrueFire's intuitive playalongs, backing tracks, and learning tools. All of the demonstrations are tabbed, notated, and synced to the video, with controls for looping, slow motion, and fretboard animation.
Grab your guitar, and let's play roots rock guitar with Eric Haugen!
Release date: 07/02/2026 • 2h 07m runtime
Sample lessons
San Francisco Bear Solo Etude
Overview
San Francisco Bear Solo Etude
Performance
San Francisco Bear Solo Etude
Breakdown
What's included
48 lessons • 27 charts • 22 Jam Tracks
Guitar Zen: Roots Rock Licks
Hey, I’m Eric Haugen. The licks I like come from familiar places: blues, major pentatonic, and a few useful modes. It’s the kind of core vocabulary most guitar players already know, but the magic is in the phrasing. And so that’s what this course is all about, Roots Rock Licks.
The players I like all found ways to make that simple material sound fresh. A hidden extra bend, a slightly unpredictable rhythmic move, a crossover point between scales, a double stop that falls in just the right spot. We’re gonna dig into ideas inspired by players like B.B. King, Dickey Betts, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Wes Montgomery, Marc Ford, Robby Krieger, Angus Young, and more.
For each groove, I’m gonna walk you through the track, break down the licks, and then show you how they come together in a solo etude. All right, grab your guitar. Let’s get started.
The players I like all found ways to make that simple material sound fresh. A hidden extra bend, a slightly unpredictable rhythmic move, a crossover point between scales, a double stop that falls in just the right spot. We’re gonna dig into ideas inspired by players like B.B. King, Dickey Betts, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Wes Montgomery, Marc Ford, Robby Krieger, Angus Young, and more.
For each groove, I’m gonna walk you through the track, break down the licks, and then show you how they come together in a solo etude. All right, grab your guitar. Let’s get started.
How to Work with this Course
In this lesson, we’re going to talk about how to work through the course. We’ll look at these licks as useful, playable ideas you can keep in your back pocket, then we’ll drop them into grooves and connect them into real solos.
Groove One: Leavin' Bag
In this lesson, we’re going to talk about our first groove, Leavin’ Bag. It’s basically a happy 12 bar blues in A, and we’ll look at how B.B. King, Dickey Betts, Hendrix, and Dave Davies style ideas can all fit inside that kind of track.
The BB King Lick
In this lesson, we’re going to talk about a classic B.B. King style lick using major pentatonic. We’ll focus on the bend, the vibrato, and how much the picking hand helps keep everything clean while still sounding soulful.
The Betts Stutter Trick
In this lesson, we’re going to talk about the Dickey Betts stutter trick. It’s a small, syncopated pattern that gives your solo some movement without just running up and down the scale.
The Red House Lick
In this lesson, we’re going to talk about a Hendrix inspired Red House lick. We’ll look at that classic roots rock crossover between major pentatonic, minor pentatonic, Mixolydian, and blues.
Dave Davies Major Pentatonic Lick
In this lesson, we’re going to talk about a Dave Davies style major pentatonic lick. It sits in that snappy low to mid range area and shows how a simple major pentatonic idea can sound hooky and fresh.
+ 41 more lessons
Reviews
3 results
mrbrendo58
Verified buyer
07/29/26
Great course
I like the way Eric explains where all the notes come from. I also like how all the licks in this course are very player able for a wide range of students.
darrenvic
07/20/26
Killer course! More than advertised!
I am only halfway through this course, but I'm so impressed that I'm going to go ahead and leave a review anyway. I have taken all of Eric's Truefire courses (some of them twice). They are all stellar. Not all masterful guitarists are masterful teachers. Eric, however, is one of the few who have both sides of the term "guitar teacher" down pat. I can tell by his instruction that he has a firm grasp on the principles of education pedagogy; he's a master at providing succinct direct instruction, leading students with guided practice, and then providing guidance for independent practice. As a result, the learning sticks. And isn't that what we want as guitarists? Instruction that sticks with us rather than an eternal barrage of instructional videos we watch, forget, repeat, for what feels like forever. So, if you are hankering for some new licks to add to your toolbox, give this course a shot. You won't be disappointed.
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