50 licks that every player needs to know!

In this course, I break down and teach 50 licks and phrases covering multiple grooves and styles.

These are the genre-defining sounds that artists and producers ask for . . .
the musical vocabulary I have drawn upon throughout my career in the studio and on stage.

Build Your Vocabulary!

  • LEARN THE LANGUAGE

    Build your vocabulary with the classic & modern sounds of Country, Blues, Rock and Americana pedal steel.

  • GENERATE YOUR OWN LICKS

    Paul shows you his approach to analyzing and modifying ANY lick to instantly make it your own.

  • EXPAND YOUR MUSICIANSHIP

    Become a more expressive player by mastering the nuances and details in the language of Music.

Watch Course Highlights




The Full Course Curriculum

Check out the Free Preview Lessons!

    1. Welcome & How to Use This Course

    2. How to Navigate The Site - PDF

    1. 1 Modern Walk Down

    2. 2 60's Nashville Country Walk Up

    3. 3 Funky B&C

    4. 4 Four-chord Ending Lick

      FREE PREVIEW

    5. 5 PF Lick

    6. 6 Chicken Pickin' In F

    7. 7 Bakersfield Whammy

    8. 8 4 to 1 Melodic Lick

    9. 9 Chord Cluster Ending/Fill

    10. 10 Hot Wired

    1. 11 Diatonic Cascade

    2. 12 PF's Easy Speed Lick - 5dom7

    3. 13 Resolution Licks

    4. 14 Descending 4 to 1: Modern Harmony

    5. 15 Fast Banjo-style Lick

    6. 16 Minor Key Chord Lick

    7. 17 Aggressive Dom7th Chord Walk

    8. 18 70's Speed Sliding in G

    9. 19 Up The Scale

    10. 20 Open String Lick

    1. 21 Walk Of Life: 1 to 4

    2. 22 Bakersfield, Indiana

    3. 23 Wide-Grip Lick

    4. 24 Walk Down Lick in G

    5. 25 The Infamous Rake

    6. 26 Minor Walk-down Licks

    7. 27 Blues Rock Rake

    8. 28 90's Country Voicings

    9. 29 Jazz Up the E9th

    10. 30 G7th Chromatic: Combining 2 Licks

    1. 31 Nervous Breakdown

    2. 32 Loose Changes

    3. 33 Jeff Beck Whammy Lick

    4. 34 1 - 3dom7 - 6m Move

    5. 35 Ascending Trainbeat

    6. 36 90's Country Hats

      FREE PREVIEW

    7. 37 Pickups

    8. 38 Uptempo Intro

    9. 39 Lap Steel Vibe

    10. 40 Hook Lick

    1. 41 Time Jumpin' Ballad Lick

    2. 42 Unison Rake

    3. 43 Easy to Play Fast Lick

    4. 44 Blues Rock Ideas

    5. 45 Get Your Mind Right

    6. 46 Liquid Lick

    7. 47 Downward Sliding Cascade

    8. 48 Bottleneck Lick

    9. 49 Minor Chord Rake Lick

    10. 50 2-String Ballad Walk

About this course

  • $149.00
  • 59 lessons
  • 3 hours of video content

What Students Are Saying


  • "Great stuff Paul. It’s already got me looking for ways to expand on them to make them my own. Just killer stuff."


  • "These licks are making me circle back to the songs and hearing them in context then pulling them apart and putting them into action."


  • "It’s great to be able to learn and relearn these moves with the enhanced technique and awareness learned from the basics of this course. Part of the fun for me is taking a few of the licks and tying them together."


  • "As I watch these lick videos, I can see exactly what Paul has used to build each one of them and Im able to understand why each of them work."


  • "To have these licks now after going through the course allows me to view and analyze them in various situations and add or subtract to make more on my own. Bravo y’all!"


Enroll Now!
The purchase plan gives you immediate access to all the course lessons, with unlimited views.


One Payment of: $149

Course FAQ

  • What Is Paul Franklin's E9 Pedal Steel Vocabulary Course?

    This course is Paul's answer to the frequent requests he gets for "More Licks!" But it is much more than that.

    Instead of just playing 50 hot licks with no guidance on how or where to use them, Paul shows how to play the licks, where they came from, how he adapts and changes them to generate new licks, and gives valuable tips and insights on using them onstage or in the studio.

  • Can You Explain the Course Format?

    Paul Franklin's E9 Pedal Steel Vocabulary is a streaming video course hosted by Modern Music Masters. Your enrollment includes unlimited access.

    Unlike a private lesson, you can review the materials by watching the videos over and over, using the video player to slow things down as desired.

    The Course is composed of video content, shot directly from overhead and looking down on the neck so you get a great view of Paul's bar and pick movements.

    The course videos are available to stream online 24/7, and can be paused, fast-forwarded, slowed down.

  • Are there really 50 licks in this course?

    Actually, there are many more than that, as Paul often demonstrates variations on the main lick he is teaching in a particular lesson.

    These will keep you busy for a good long time, and serve to inspire your own creativity!

  • How Is This Different From Paul's Other Courses?

    E9 Pedal Steel Vocabulary is a stand-alone course. It featured all-new material at the time it was created, and it has now also been merged into the Paul Franklin Method course.

    Foundations: E9 Pedal Steel Basics, C6 Essentials, and Applications: E9 Pedal Steel Toolbox are composed of material taken from The Paul Franklin Method.

    In addition, Paul's other courses (E9 Foundations, C6 Essentials, Applications Toolbox, and The Paul Franklin Method) are 12-month access enrollments, while E9 Pedal Steel Vocabulary is unlimited access.

  • How Much Does Vocabulary Cost?

    The Paul Franklin's E9 Pedal Steel Vocabulary course is one single payment of $149.

    For that you get unlimited 24/7 access to the lessons.

  • Can I Apply The Purchase Price to The Paul Franklin Method In The Future?

    Since E9 Pedal Steel Vocabulary is offered as an unlimited access course, the enrollment fee is not transferable as a discount towards The Paul Franklin Method.

    As a special benefit for being in the Method, however, currently enrolled Paul Franklin Method students DO get free access to these lessons, for the length of their enrollment in The Method.

About Paul Franklin

Paul Franklin began playing steel guitar at age 8. Taking lessons from a Hawaiian guitar master, he quickly progressed and when pedal steel guitars came about, he got one immediately.

Paul was already gigging in local clubs at 11, and a member of the Musician’s Union. Soon calls came to the house asking for a pedal steel player for sessions in the thriving local music scene.



Not only were Pop, Motown and Jazz popular, but the “Hillbilly Highway” of Southerners heading North to build cars fueled a burgeoning Country music scene.

Paul got his first taste of national success as a teenager on Gallery’s “It’s So Nice To Be With You”, a #1 hit single. He also guested on Parliament’s “Country Boy” track and worked with Motown producer Dennis Coffey (of instrumental hit “Scorpio” fame).

The pedal steel was being embraced by Country music, and Nashville was the place for this young prodigy to be, so he headed to Tennessee as a senior in high school to join Barbara Mandrell’s band at the invitation of her father, Irby. He also toured with Dottie West, Lynn Anderson, and Donna Fargo.

Session steeler Pete Drake hired Paul to play on jingles and a few recordings. Franklin joined Jerry Reed’s band and recorded solo albums of original pedal steel instrumentals and Jazz standards. A long stint with Mel Tillis’ Statesiders playing classic country and honky-tonk with an excellent road band was next.

After leaving Tillis, his studio career took off and he was featured in many of the albums of the 1980’s-2000s. In 1991 he took a call from Mark Knopfler that led to playing on The Notting Hillbillies album and eventually with Dire Straits, touring the world and recording On Every Street with them.

In recent years, besides his busy studio schedule, Franklin is a member of Vince Gill’s touring band (and recorded the CMA- nominated "Bakersfield" album as a duo with Vince) and holds down the pedal steel seat with the Time Jumpers who showcase Western Swing and classic Country every Monday night at a local Nashville club.