Brad Paisley

I am a real Brad Paisley Fan and I'd like to learn to play some of his famous songs.

Does anybody have some knowledge about Brad's scales and licks he usually uses.

Hey guenterp62,
I have every cd, and have seen Brad live many times. If you want some insight into Brad's style, just start listening to guitar pickers, lol. That's exactly what he did, and then Vince Gill had him go to Belmont school of music in Nashville.

The guitarist to listen to are Danny Gatton, Albert Lee, James Burton, Roy Nichols, and of course Brent Mason, Redd Volkaertt, and Vince Gill. These are only a few of his influences, but it will get you started. This doesn't cover the bluegrass, blues, rock, and jazz guitarist, or western swing, and even metal influences.

He was a great picker even before he went to Belmont, that just made him better. The way he applies all styles to his playing, in one solo you can hear sweeps, eartwisting bends, double stops, and all at warp speed. I play some of Brad's stuff, and have even been able to explore the G bender recently. I'm a versatile guitarist, played most everything over the years. My band even played Crazy Train at the gig last night, and we finished our show with some latino to wish all a merry Christmas. To sum it up Brad's two biggest secrets are his versatility, and his many influences.

I can tell you how he does some of it, but copyright law prohibits us from posting anything. Yet......... Let me know if I can help you with something, and I do have lessons in the style of some of his influences.

Have a merry, and a happy, and keep on picking.

Brad is an amazing guitarist, one of my current favorite players right now! The reason why i think he's so great, and this kind of sort of answers your question, is his versatility. Listen to his "Play: The Guitar Album" and you'll hear that he can throw down in a number of styles. He's extremely well rounded.

Originally Posted by: JonChorbaBrad is an amazing guitarist, one of my current favorite players right now! The reason why i think he's so great, and this kind of sort of answers your question, is his versatility. Listen to his "Play: The Guitar Album" and you'll hear that he can throw down in a number of styles. He's extremely well rounded.

Agreed. Brad Paisley is a great guitarist that is often overlooked!

hybrid picking would be good to learn first ...yes ?

Hey stymye,
You're exactly right, hybrid picking is a must to learn Brad's style. Also chicken picking, rolls, string bending, sweeps would be a good start too.

This is why I mentioned the influences in my first post, and every one of those guys are hybrid pickers too. I have quite a bit on hybrid picking in my lessons, including exercises to get you started.

Here is a link to basic hybrid picking exercises
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=629

They also know the other techniques as well, and they are all versatile guitarist. I have chicken picking licks, and lots of double stop lessons, and also the basics on string bending.

Here is a link to the first tutorial on string bending
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=628

These are all on the B string, and then I did a couple with bends on the G string.

Another thing about Brad, these days he has bender on the G string. He used to have a B, and a G bender like the one Forrest Lee Jr. just built for me. I posted pics in this thread, check out this beatiful guitar.
http://www.guitartricks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32786


Here are the links to the B bender stuff

Introduction to a B bender
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=821

Using the B bender with chords
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=840

Also stuff on bending behind the nut which Brad also does sometimes. Let me know how it goes, and I'll help you guys any way I can.