Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
More
  • "She knew what she'd created": Back to Black
  • Trower's '80s supergroup
  • Music theory tricks
  • Stage Tour game
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Tutorials
  2. Guitar Lessons & Tutorials

Quick licks: advanced #16

News
By Guitar Techniques
Published 20 December 2012

Two tricky picking examples to test your technique

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Advanced lick one: Travis picking style

Advanced lick one: Travis picking style

Dial in a clear clean tone for this Travis picking example. Harmonically this one is close to Travis and Chet Atkin’s musical vocabulary featuring 6ths and 13ths on the dominant chords. The trick is to mute the bass tones whilst leaving the top voices ringing for their full value.

Page 1 of 2
Page 1 of 2
Advanced lick two: Faux classical pick style

Advanced lick two: Faux classical pick style

Try this pick workout. It’s designed to emulate classical fingerstyle technique. The chordal sequence and patterning is based on a Villa Lobos etude. Watch the quick change of direction of the pick to keep the tempo as even as possible and make sure the chord shifts are clean and accurate.

Page 2 of 2
Page 2 of 2
Guitar Techniques
Read more
Music theory basics: understanding intervals, and how they define the distance in pitch between two notes
Music Theory And Songwriting 10 music theory tricks every producer and songwriter should know
 
 
Guitar Picks
Electric Guitars Do you know that there's a right and wrong way to hold a guitar pick? How to best handle your plectrum while playing
 
 
Restringing your guitar
Electric Guitars Broken strings? Lifeless tone? Terrible playing? It’s not you… It’s your strings: How to restring a guitar fast to play and sound great again
 
 
Carlos Santana
Artists Carlos Santana on Miles and McLaughlin, Hendrix and SRV, and his quest for eternal melody
 
 
A guitar VST running in Kontakt player on a computer
Plugins Best guitar VSTs 2026: Get the best simulated guitar tones for your next production
 
 
Smiling woman in green jumper sits at a piano
Tutorials How to play a piano with both hands
 
 
Latest in Guitar Lessons & Tutorials
Guitar Tricks Summer Black Friday promo
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials Get almost $1k of guitar tuition from our number one online platform for only $99 with this epic Summer Black Friday deal – over 11,000 lessons, plus bonus gifts
 
 
Chords
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials Confused by guitar tabs and notation? Use this complete guide to reading music for guitar
 
 
Scale
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials "Don't play scales just to get faster. Speed is a happy by-product of playing more accurately": Beginner Guitar Lessons - nailing scales
 
 
Guitar maintenance
Guitars "There isn't one correct answer": 6 things you need you need know about how to clean and condition your guitar fretboard
 
 
Tom Morello
Artists How Tom Morello used his guitar to drill into the off-limits domain of the turntablist
 
 
Close up of a person playing guitar
Guitar Lessons & Tutorials With a massive 89% discount, $99 for a year's worth of Guitar Tricks online lessons is the best way to upgrade your guitar playing this Black Friday
 
 
Latest in News
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK - MAY 05:  Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood pose backstage during the exclusive launch event of The Rolling Stones new album “Foreign Tongues” at Weylin on May 5, 2026 in Brooklyn, NY. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for UMG)
Artists Andrew Watt says he kept thing loose when he produced the Stones, but also added a surprising synth sub-bass
 
 
Brian May
Guitarists “It blew me away so badly”: Brian May says that hearing Jimi Hendrix made him question whether he should be a guitar player
 
 
Prodigy
Samples Want to sound like The Prodigy? Download this free pack of Prodigy-style samples
 
 
(EDITORS NOTE: A special effects camera filter was used for this image.) Olivia Rodrigo at Daisy Chain Fields Festival 2026 held at Great Park on August 29, 2026 in Irvine, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images)
Artists Olivia Rodrigo on how being a "novice" guitarist led to a happy accident when she was writing The Cure
 
 
Jackso Pro Series Phil Collen PC1-E
Artists Phil Collen on why you can play anything on his new Jackson, and even nail those Hysteria tones
 
 
Oasis Dont' Look Back in Anger poster crop
Gigs & Festivals “Please remain vigilant”: Oasis warn against scammers in the forthcoming Live 27 ticketing bunfight
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...