
Intermediate
Intermediate
- Develop a sense of how to substitute open strings for fretted notes.
- Create a cascading effect by playing as legato as possible.
- Understand how open strings fit into many different keys.
I’m not talking about playing in open position, but rather substituting and adding the flavor of open notes whenever possible into your lines. It creates extra tension and a cascading legato feel that’s so important to my style that I can’t play without it. It has become a pillar of my country guitar technique.
All you need to do is listen to the way Chet Atkins approaches this technique in his music like the ending to his version of “Blue Angel” (or better yet “Cascade”). Once I heard this technique, I had to understand it better. Other artists that come to mind that regularly use open-string licks are Danny Gatton, Merle Travis, Redd Volkaert, Jimmy Olander, and many others.
CHET ATKINS - Cascade 1977
Careless Love I Jimmy Olander
In this lesson I’ll get you going with some simple, and not so simple, ways to incorporate this technique and get you playing over major, minor, and dominant 7 chords. These are the three most common chords you’ll see in country and pop music so hopefully they’ll have an instant payoff. When I first started working on this it was painstakingly slow. So be patient, buckle up, and let’s dive in.
In Ex. 1 is a reimagined G major scale (G–A–B–C–D–E–F#). The intervals between the fretted and open notes will determine how much tension there is in your line. Minor and major seconds will typically have heavy tension, which is fine. Remember, tension is great in music and eventually wants to be resolved. You can use the pick for every note or use hybrid picking. Experiment and find what works for you. Using a pick will give more attack to the note but using the flesh or fingernail will give you more warmth and might be slightly easier at faster tempos.
Let the open notes and fretted notes “bleed” into one another as much as possible. This is how you get the cascading legato effect. Listen closely to the audio examples to match to phrasing and length of each note. Hold onto each note as long as possible to let the notes ring into each other.
Ex. 1
We reimagine a descending line for a D major scale (D–E–F#–G–A–B–C#) in Ex. 2. The larger the string skip, the more that interval creates contrast. Notice you are literally playing a descending scale with displaced intervals and substituting open strings whenever possible. This lick ends with some chords voiced with open strings as well.
Ex. 2
In Ex. 3 we move to the key of E major, which is great for open strings since you have two open-string root notes. This is a descending line that hits all the notes of the E major scale (E–F#–G#–A–B–C#–D#). You will need some good independence on your pinky finger to hold down certain notes but with practice, that should come. It’s all part of the technique.
Ex. 3
I like using open string licks for dominant 7 chords and Ex. 4 works great over an A7. We’ve moved from playing up and down the scale to working with chord tones and blue notes like the b5 found on the 4th fret of the 2nd string. The first three groupings are all triplets which works great on adjacent strings. I resolved this lick sliding up into nicely outlining the A7 ending in an open string. Use your ring finger to bend the note on the 3rd string and slide up with your index for maximum left-hand efficiency.
Ex. 4
In this bluesy lick over an Am chord (Ex. 5), you work your way down the neck all the while incorporating open strings. Use your pinky on the 10th fret of the 4th string and to end the lick on the 3rd fret of the 5th string. A quick and effective lick for playing over a minor tonality.
Ex. 5
Ex. 6 is a tricky lick over an F#m7 chord with some slides. Your index finger will slide first, then the ring finger on the left hand. It’s important to use those fingerings as they set up the ascending part of this lick. String skipping towards the back end of the lick is vital to really outline the open 1st and 2nd strings. Let all the open strings ring as long as you can without it sounding sloppy. Listen closely to the audio example for this one.
Ex. 6
I like this ascending lick (Ex. 7) over a G7 chord. Note that you’re playing only on the top four strings for this lick starting with two quick arpeggiated lines connected with some open strings. The back half of this lick is one of my favorite ways to do quick runs using open strings.
Ex. 7
You can also incorporate a chromatic approach to your lines while using open strings. In Ex. 8, which is over an E chord, I sneak in a few passing tones to add extra tension and create some ear-twisting fun.
Ex. 8
That’s but a brief snapshot of some ways to add open strings to create cool cascading musical lines. It can be a bit tricky to initially wrap your head around thinking this way, but once you do, the sky is the limit. I like incorporating open string licks for texture and then start to intertwine them with other techniques like double-stops, pedal bends, and chord voicings. Until next time, take care!!
- Cosmic Country: Spanky Double-Stops - Premier Guitar ›
- Why Was '90s Country Guitar So Cool? ›
- Pluck 'Em! A Crash Course in Country Guitar - Premier Guitar ›
- Chromatic Twang - Premier Guitar ›
PRS Guitars celebrates 40 years with the limited edition McCarty SC56. Featuring vintage-inspired design and modern innovations, this single-cutaway guitar pays tribute to Ted McCarty and his impact on the industry. With only 400 pieces available, this instrument is a must-have for collectors and performers alike.
PRS Guitars today announced the 40th Anniversary McCarty SC56 Limited Edition. With a classic PRS single-cutaway body shape and carefully chosen specifications, the McCarty SC56 is both a tribute to tradition and a reliable tool for the modern performer. Only 400 pieces will be made.
“The SC56, signifying Singlecut and 1956, model is our most recent tribute to my late mentor Ted McCarty and his impact on the guitar industry. We started with our take on a classic late ‘50s singlecut body. 1956 marks the year that Ted first had guitars made with his newly coined 'humbucker' pickups. It also happens to be the year I was born. Bringing vintage design into the modern era, we loaded this model with our McCarty III pickups, meticulously designed to deliver warm, clear, vintage tone with exceptional note separation and dynamics,” said PRS Guitars Founder & Managing General Partner, Paul Reed Smith.
Anchored by a maple top and mahogany back, the 24.594” scale length and 22-fret Pattern Vintage neck work with Phase III non-locking tuners and PRS two-piece bridge to promote its musical sustain. The PRS McCarty III pickups are controlled by a simple layout — two volume controls, two tone controls, and a three-way toggle on the upper bout.
Single-cutaway guitars are known to be heavier than their double-cutaway counterparts. The McCarty SC56 Limited Edition design incorporates weight-relief, decreasing the weight of the guitar by about 2/3 of a pound, while maintaining several points of attachment between the guitar top and back to eliminate the “hollow” sound of the cavities and promote tone transfer.
With appointments like binding on the fretboard, classic bird inlays, and a vintage-inspired nitrocellulose finish, the 40th Anniversary McCarty SC56 Limited Edition blends heritage and innovation into a timeless instrument.
PRS Guitars continues its schedule of launching new products each month in 2025.
For more information, please visit prsguitars.com.
40th Anniversary McCarty SC56 Limited Edition | Demo | PRS Guitars - YouTube
His credits include Miles Davis’ Jack Johnson and Herbie Mann—next to whom he performed in Questlove’s 2021 documentary, Summer of Soul—and his tunes have been covered by Santana and the Messthetics. But it’s as a bandleader and collaborator where Sharrock cut his wildest recordings. As groundbreaking as Sharrock’s music could be, his distorted tone and melodic tunes helped bring rock listeners into the jazz tent. Our callers let us know how much Sharrock meant to them and why he’s one of the “top guys of all time.”
Belltone Guitars has partnered Brickhouse Toneworks to create a one-of-a-kind, truly noiseless Strat/Tele-tone pickup in a standard Filter’Tron size format: the Single-Bell pickup.
The Single-Bell by Brickhouse Toneworks delivers bonafide single-coil Strat and Tele tones with the power of a P-90 and no 60-cycle hum. Unlike typical stacked hum-cancelling designs, Brickhouse Toneworks uses a proprietary ‘sidewind’ approach that cancels the 60-cycle hum without sacrificing any of the dynamics or top-end sparkle of a Fender-style single coil.
Get the best of both worlds with clear bell-like tones on the neck pickup, signature quack when combining the neck and bridge pickups, and pristine twang in the bridge position backed with the fullness and power of a P-90. Push these into overdrive and experience the hallmark blues tone with plenty of grit and harmonic sustain — all with completely noiseless performance.
Key Features of the Single-Bell:
- Cast Alnico 5 Magnet, designed to be used with 500k pots
- Voiced to capture that signature Fender-style single coil tone without the 60-cycle hum
- Lightly potted to minimize squeal
- Made in the USA with premium quality materials
The retail price for a Bridge and Neck matching set is $340.00 and they’re available directly and exclusively through Belltone® Guitars / Brickhouse Toneworks at belltoneguitars.com.
Designed for players who demand flexibility without sacrificing tone, the Aquanaut fuses the rich warmth of classic analog delay with the extended range and clarity of modern digital designs. Featuring up to 600 milliseconds of delay time, the Aquanaut easily covers everything from tight slapback echoes to lush, ambient textures and rhythmic soundscapes – all with a simple, intuitive control layout.
Unlike many digital delays that can sound sterile and detached, the Aquanaut retains an organic, analog-inspired voice. Repeats are smooth and musical, gently fading into the mix to create depth and dimension without overwhelming your dry signal. Whether you’re chasing vintage tape echo, adding subtle space to your solos, or building massive atmospheric layers, the Aquanaut keeps your tone clear, present, and inspiring.
Berserker Electronics Aquanaut Delay/Echo
Key features include:
- Up to 600ms of delay time for expanded creative possibilities
- Analog-voiced digital architecture for warm, natural-sounding repeats
- Ambient-style echo that enhances, not distracts from, your core tone
- Simple, intuitive controls for delay time, feedback, and blend
The Aquanaut is available direct at www.berserkerpedals.com and Reverb at a $149 street price.