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The modern rock guitar player has a lot of responsibilities to uphold when it comes to being great. The great rock guitarists have a grip on theory, influential styles, and technical playing skills that make them well-rounded. One of these styles that is undeniably unique and influential is country.

In his course, Countrified Rock Guitar Guidebook, Theo van Niel Jr. helps you focus on the facets of country guitar playing. These techniques and applications will serve as a prime supplement for your already growing knowledge of rock guitar.

Here are six video country rock guitar lessons from the course. For the full course, check out Theo van Niel Jr.’s Countrified Rock Guitar Guidebook on TrueFire!

Country Rock Guitar Lesson – Triplet Ghost Notes – Concept 5

One great way to make a single note sound cool: turn it into a triplet ghost note!

Country Rock Guitar Lesson – Slide Bends – Concept 7

This is a trick I borrowed from Jimmy Herring. You can trick the listener into believing you’re playing slide.

Country Rock Guitar Lesson – Run Along: Chorus – Introduction


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This is the chorus section of a song of mine called “Run Along”. I wrote this theme on a fast country train beat groove that we all know so well. The song is in the key of A and I’m using techniques that I discussed earlier like the triplet ghost notes and double stops.

Country Rock Guitar Lesson – Run Along: Chorus – Performance


Download the tab & notation for this country rock guitar lessons

Now, I’ll perform this one for you up to speed so you can hear how the techniques sound in context at the appropriate tempo.

Country Rock Guitar Lesson – Run Along: Chorus – Breakdown


Download the tab & notation for this country rock guitar lessons

Here, I’ll break “Run Along” down for you so you can hear these concepts at a slower pace.

Country Rock Guitar Lesson – Practiced Bravado – Performance


Download the tab & notation for this country rock guitar lessons

The next segment is a small excerpt from a track of mine called “Practiced Bravado”. It’s in the key of Am, and it’s a good example of how to mix in country based techniques into a uptempo modern rock environment.

On the second half, I’m gonna kick in a wah pedal, which gives the licks I’m playing a nice boost and a vocal quality. The way I use the wah pedal is quite subtle. I’m not moving the pedal wildy up and down, but I’m using it more to accent certain notes. I’m gonna start of by playing a two octave lick, based around the A minor pentatonic scale. After that, I’m gonna use some more chromatic notes, double bends, rakes and more to take this solo to the next level.

Digging these free video country rock guitar lessons? Check out Theo van Niel Jr.’s Countrified Rock Guitar Guidebook.