Guitar Songs, Tabs & Lessons

Little Big Town

2 guitar songs · Tabs, Lessons & Tone Guide Folk Rock

Choose a Little Big Town Song to Play

Girl Crush - Guitar Lesson

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GuitarLessons365SongLessons Guitar Lesson

Girl Crush - Guitar Cover

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Kfir Ochaion Guitar Cover

Band Overview

Little Big Town formed in 1998 in Birmingham, Alabama, and quickly became one of country music's most distinctive vocal groups. The quartet consists of Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook, with Westbrook serving as the primary guitarist and a central force in shaping the band's instrumental identity. Their sound blends tight four-part harmonies with polished country-pop production, but underneath that vocal sheen lies a surprisingly versatile guitar foundation that ranges from clean fingerpicked passages to crunchy rhythm work rooted in heartland rock and Americana. For guitarists, Little Big Town offers an excellent entry point into modern country rhythm playing. Their catalog leans heavily on open chord voicings, tasteful capo usage, and clean-to-slightly-overdriven tones that prioritize dynamics and feel over flashy soloing. Songs like "Girl Crush" are masterclasses in restraint, proving that a simple, well-placed guitar part can carry enormous emotional weight. Jimi Westbrook's playing style is understated but highly effective; he favors arpeggiated patterns, hybrid picking, and subtle embellishments that serve the song without stepping on the vocals. If you are a guitarist who wants to learn how to play in a band context where the voice is king, studying Little Big Town's arrangements is invaluable. Overall difficulty sits in the beginner-to-intermediate range. Most of their songs use standard open chords (G, C, D, Am, Em) with a capo to match vocal keys. The real challenge is not in the fretting hand but in the strumming and picking dynamics. Getting that controlled, almost whispery fingerpick tone on ballads, or nailing the precise rhythmic feel on their uptempo tracks, requires a mature sense of touch. Their music teaches you that tone and timing matter far more than speed, making them a perfect study for guitarists looking to develop musicality over technique.

What Makes Little Big Town Essential for Guitar Players

Jimi Westbrook frequently uses a capo between the 2nd and 4th fret to match the vocal keys while keeping familiar open chord shapes. This is a fundamental technique for any aspiring country or singer-songwriter guitarist to master.
The guitar part on "Girl Crush" revolves around clean arpeggiated patterns using open Am, C, and G shapes. The key is letting each note ring out with sustain while controlling your pick attack to maintain a dark, moody dynamic throughout the verse.
Little Big Town's rhythm guitar work emphasizes dynamics over complexity. You will need to practice playing softly during verses and building intensity into choruses using strumming force and slight palm-muting variations rather than switching to distortion.
Hybrid picking (using a pick and fingers simultaneously) appears frequently in their acoustic-driven arrangements. This technique allows Westbrook to grab bass notes with the pick while plucking higher strings with the middle and ring fingers for a fuller sound.
Their live performances often feature a mix of acoustic and electric tones layered together. Learning to switch between a bright acoustic strum and a warm, clean electric tone with subtle chorus or reverb will help you replicate their signature layered sound.

Did You Know?

"Girl Crush" was considered controversial upon release because some listeners misunderstood the lyrics, but the sparse, almost bare guitar arrangement was intentionally designed to let the emotional tension of the song breathe without any distraction.

Jimi Westbrook is a self-taught guitarist who developed his style by playing along with classic country and Southern rock records, which explains the occasional Allman Brothers-style phrasing that sneaks into his fills.

The band frequently tunes their guitars to standard tuning with a capo rather than using alternate tunings, making their catalog very accessible for guitarists who want to learn songs quickly without retuning between tracks.

Producer Jay Joyce, who helmed several of their albums, is known for encouraging organic, first-take guitar performances. Many of the guitar parts you hear on their records were captured in just one or two passes to preserve a natural, unpolished feel.

Little Big Town's arrangement philosophy often calls for the electric guitar to sit behind the acoustic in the mix, using volume swells and reverb-drenched clean tones as texture rather than as a lead instrument.

Westbrook has been spotted playing both Gibson and Fender guitars on stage, switching between humbuckers for warmer rhythm parts and single-coils for brighter, jangly passages depending on the song's needs.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Pain Killer 2014

This is the album that features "Girl Crush" and represents Little Big Town at their most dynamic and guitar-conscious. The title track "Pain Killer" has a driving rhythmic feel that teaches aggressive acoustic strumming, while "Girl Crush" is one of the best songs to practice clean arpeggios and emotional dynamics on guitar. The album overall blends country with rock and pop textures, giving you a range of rhythm guitar styles to study.

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Tornado 2012

"Tornado" and "Pontoon" showcase a more upbeat, riff-driven side of the band's guitar work. "Pontoon" in particular has a fun, percussive strumming pattern with muted ghost strokes that will sharpen your right-hand rhythm technique. The album also features some great examples of layering acoustic and electric guitars in a modern country mix.

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The Breaker 2017

This album pushed Little Big Town into more experimental territory with songs like "Better Man" (written by Taylor Swift), which features beautifully restrained fingerpicking over open chords. It is an excellent record for guitarists who want to practice playing with space, using reverb-laden clean tones, and building arrangements that serve the vocal melody above all else.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Jimi Westbrook rotates between several guitars live and in the studio. He is frequently seen with a Gibson J-45 acoustic for the band's core rhythm sound, and he switches to a Fender Telecaster or Gibson ES-335 for electric parts. The Telecaster handles the brighter, twangier passages, while the ES-335 provides warmer, fuller tones for songs that need a rounder character. Acoustic work is central to their sound, so a quality dreadnought or slope-shoulder acoustic is essential for replicating their tone.

Amp

For electric tones, the band's guitar setup typically runs through a Fender Deluxe Reverb or similar low-to-mid wattage tube amp kept on a clean setting with the volume around 4 to 5. The goal is a warm, glassy clean tone that breaks up only slightly when you dig in with your pick. There is no heavy gain staging here; the amp stays clean and responsive, letting dynamics come from the player's touch rather than the amplifier's saturation.

Pickups

The Telecaster's stock single-coil pickups are key for the bright, cutting country tones heard on uptempo tracks. Neck position single-coils deliver a rounder, warmer sound for ballads. When playing the ES-335, the stock PAF-style humbuckers (moderate output, around 7-8k ohms) provide a smooth, warm tone that blends beautifully behind vocals without getting harsh. The lower output of these pickups keeps the dynamic range wide, which is critical for the band's soft-to-loud approach.

Effects & Chain

Effects are used sparingly and tastefully. A spring reverb (often from the amp itself) and a subtle analog delay set to short slapback times are the primary effects. Occasional use of a light chorus pedal adds shimmer to clean electric parts during ballads. There is no heavy distortion, fuzz, or wah in their signal chain. The philosophy is straight-ahead: guitar into a clean amp with just enough reverb to add space. If you want to replicate their tone on a pedalboard, a good reverb, a short delay, and a compressor for evening out dynamics will get you there.

Recommended Gear

Guitar

Fender Telecaster

Jimi Westbrook uses the Telecaster's bright single-coil pickups for Little Big Town's cutting country tones on uptempo tracks. The guitar's snap and twang cut through the band's vocal harmonies without requiring any gain or distortion.

Guitar

Gibson ES-335

The ES-335's moderate-output PAF-style humbuckers deliver the warm, smooth tones Westbrook layers behind ballads and softer passages. Its reduced output preserves dynamic range, letting the band's soft-to-loud approach shine without harshness.

Amp

Fender Deluxe Reverb

This tube amp's clean, glassy tone at volume 4 to 5 is essential for Little Big Town's transparent guitar character. The amp stays responsive to pick dynamics while adding subtle breakup, letting the player's touch drive expression rather than amplifier saturation.

Pedal

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay

The Carbon Copy's analog warmth delivers the slapback short delay that adds spacious depth to Little Big Town's clean electric parts. Its natural compression and subtle repeats complement the band's dynamics-first approach without clutter or artifacts.

How to Practice Little Big Town on GuitarZone

Every Little Big Town song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice Girl Crush - Guitar Lesson Practice Girl Crush - Guitar Cover