Skip to main content Skip to navigation Skip to search
  • Lessons
  • Articles
Unlimited lessons, backing tracks, and more.

Watch anywhere for as low as $10/month. Cancel anytime.

Licks ala Eric Johnson: Intro & Lick 1

Mike Salow 210 lessons

Hi all!

Back with another tutorial! This time we'll be looking at three licks in the style of Eric Johnson. All of these licks will be focused around sixteenth note E minor pentatonic runs. The licks will include some alternate picking as well as some economy picking. Pay close attention to the tabs as they will contain the exact picking pattern, which is important in getting the EJ sound.

Starting with lick #1

This lick is the shortest of the three licks and contains what I'd call the essence of this style of playing. The lick starts with an eigth note alt-picked pentatonic run followed by a descending run of odd note groupings. These odd note groupings are typical in EJ runs and will show up quite a bit in the tutorial.

First, notice the 3-note grouping followed by two 5-note groupings landing on the tonic. Again, to fulfill the EJ sound the best be sure to follow the exact picking pattern.

Send this to a friend