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Poultry in Motion by Bill Kirchen (Patreon)

Published:
2026-05-29 15:24:55
Edited:
2026-06-02 10:15:50
Imported:
2026-05

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Content

Hi everyone,

This week I'm taking a look at Poultry in Motion by Bill Kirchen - a Grammy-nominated tune from 2001 that sits somewhere between country, rockabilly and western swing. (I believe this one was quite recently requested by one or two discerning members of this very page.) Kirchen is one of the all time great Telecaster players, and this tune is an absolute goldmine of ideas: chicken picking, country bends, jazz chromaticism, the works.

As a complete piece it's seriously challenging, but throughout the video I've tried demonstrate that there are concepts, licks and techniques that players at any level can take away and use in their own playing - so please don't be put off if the full tune feels out of reach right now.

The YouTube video covers the main themes and techniques in reasonable detail, but as always there's plenty more to dig into. The full transcription and tab for the entire tune is available below, and I'll also be posting a bonus follow-up video in the next day or two going deeper into some of the extra licks and details that didn't make it into the main video.

Update: here's the link to the bonus video: https://youtu.be/VG4zh7iE-ME

Hope you enjoy it!

Adrian

Files

Poultry in Motion: A Goldmine of Licks, Techniques & Ideas from a Telecaster Master

Poultry in Motion by Bill Kirchen is an absolute masterclass of Telecaster playing, packed with chicken picking, country bends, jazz chromaticism and rockabilly swagger. In this video I break down the main themes, riffs and techniques so you can bring ideas directly into your own playing, even if you never learn the (very challenging!) full tune. What's covered: Chicken picking, including Bill Kirchen's specific approach Classic country bending phrases applied across chord changes Jazz-influenced chromatic licks and chord moves Using chord shapes as reference points for soloing Feel and phrasing across country, swing and rockabilly styles 🎸 Full tab + bonus breakdown video available on Patreon - link below. Gear: Fender '52 Telecaster Reissue (bridge pickup), Fender Princeton, MXR Dynacomp 🎸 Patreon (tabs & backing track): https://www.patreon.com/anyonecanplayguitar 📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acpgtr/ My in-depth course library: https://courses.anyonecanplayguitar.co.uk My latest album: https://zodiactoys.bandcamp.com/releases SUBSCRIBE for more: https://bit.ly/3Efy0W3 Check out my website: https://www.anyonecanplayguitar.co.uk Chapters Hi 00:00 Performance 00:46 About the 02:17 Chicken Pickin’ technique 04:06 Artificial harmonics trick 06:43 Basic chords 08:32 Main theme 09:03 B Theme 15:01 Bridge 17:40 Gear & Tone tips 21:48 Bye 22:41

Comments

Treden Wagoner

I grew up with my folks listening to Bill Kirchen. I have met him at shows a few times. I found him to be gracious and generous. Semi Truck is one of my favorites. It has some faux steel licks and a really interesting call and response. Would love you to tackle that one. Thanks Adrian.

Jeff

I really enjoyed this post, Adrian, even though it's way beyond my ability to play. You mention "Hot Rod Lincoln", a great tune. When I was a kid my parents had a collection of the old 78 rpm records that I got to listen to. My favorite was "Hot Rod Race" by Jimmie Dolan. This tune was the inspiration for "Hot Rod Lincoln" which followed. The guitar playing doesn't match Kirchen's on "Hot Rod Lincoln", but I think it's still worth a listen.

Jonathan Fowles

A classic of Bill’s is Hammer Of The Honky Tonk Gods. It’s his ode to the telecaster so seems pretty appropriate and is not too musically daunting, but has some fantastic fills, solo, and low string twang. Maybe worth a look…?

Joseph

Can't thank you enough for this! I was one of the ones requesting it in a recent post for a Don Rich song, since Don is one of Bill's favorite players. This one may take a while for me to learn, but I think it will be worthwhile. Just like Hot Rod Lincoln - I've been working on the main lick for well over a year, and I'm just now starting to get comfortable with it and strong enough to play it correctly. Would love to have you look other songs from Bill. Hot Rod, or course, and I second the request for Semi Truck. There are probably lots of good versions of Semi Truck, but I like the one on the album The Proper Years.

Epi

Damn it's fun making those clucking sounds. There goes my Saturday 🐔

Ryan Willis

Not only is Bill a nice person (he once said my band was good, which is objectively not true) Louise deserves partial credit for the Grammy Nomination... she was the one who convinced him to put the song on his record.

Matty

Wow...this is great. I think that might be the rest of 2026 for me!!!!!!

neill567

Fantastic lesson! Thank you so much!

Joseph

I believe there's a typo in the tab. Bar 15, second to last note should be on fret 7 instead of 6, which matches what's played in the video. Knowing it will take a while to do the harmonic plucks, and that I'm too impatient to wait, I'm starting with a simpler version, using hybrid picking. I can do muted notes, releasing my fretting fingers a little, instead of the harmonics in most cases, except for the ones in the pedal steel bends, like in bar 1. Not sure how I could mute the string while holding a bend. But even without the harmonics, it sounds great, and it's way too much fun to play. I'll add the harmonics later - if I don't chicken out.

Ristobop

My '67 Tele is buzzing with excitement… and so am I! Cheers ;)