Topic: Licks

I am practising some scales (pentatonic, major, blues)

but rtaher limited to running up and down the scales (and some string skipping)

i have tried learning licks but can never really get the right feel. Some of the licks in books just sound like random notes from the scale.

How do you use licks ?

What makes a good lick

Are there any good websites

2 (edited by cytania 2007-06-04 09:52:00)

Re: Licks

Getting the feel right is the hard bit John. You'll often find a lick are selected notes from a scale that sound dynamic together. So if you look at my post for 'Got To Hurry' you'll see the initial 5 note lick is selected notes from the Am pentatonic 'blues box' scale. Then the lick is played one down and then played back on the neck to correspond with a chord progression. I'm still struggling  to get the bouncy, driving, fun feel Clapton got with the Yardbirds, my version sounds leaden.

When you're doing your scales try stopping in the middle and repeat the last 2 or 3 notes, try to build up a musical sounding repetition, trios of notes (triplets) are often very effective. Listen to them and see if they sound like words or phrases or shouts, try and play them with expression to make them cry or moan. You should now be breaking out of simply walking through scales into solo playing. A real good player (like my tutor) can take a song they don't really know and build up a basic lick out of portions of the scale. So say the song's 'Sweet Home Chicago' (was practising this alot myself yesterday) then the expert player would pull out a lick, a portion of the scale, that echoes the melody 'sweet home' or 'chicago' or maybe 'baby do you wanna go' etc.

There's a site called Action Tab which uses animated run throughs to show classic song runs but these are particular to the big hits illustrated. A lick is more a monkey wrench it can be applied to a number of songs and still work, some lead guitarists just play the same lick for a whole set but their skill is in making it sound different and appropriate to each song.

'The sound of the city seems to disappear'

Re: Licks

Try doing wipeout the first & second verse mostly. it really got me playing faster.