What Is A Guitar Lick? A lick is basically a musical idea, but it is often quite incomplete. It is because it might be a fragment of a solo or a fraction of a riff. By itself, it doesn’t usually become thematic.
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If a lick forms a theme, it will essentially become a riff. A lick combines with another lick can build a musical idea. But since a lick is not the main theme, it doesn’t have the association with the song, which means that it is transferable.
Guitar Lick Explained
A guitar lick is a short musical idea made up of a series of notes that you can use or incorporate into your solo performances and a good improv. Good licks can add depth, magic, and drama, basically a roller coaster ride of emotions to your solo.
There are so many guitar licks any musicians should know or be aware of. Here are some of the guitar licks known for rock, blues, and more.
Blue Licks
Licks are musical phrases that can be played to create a fantastic in-depth solo or fill in a behind vocal phrase. It is particularly the truth for the blues genre. Blues are styles loosely based on the musical cliché that has been around for generations. Think about when you’re listening to Robert Johnson, Eric Clapton or Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Pentatonic licks are the primary key characteristics when you want to sound blue. Blue licks are typically inflected with fret-hand pitch bends, a vibrato frets hand, and legato that move like hammer-on and pull-offs.
Country Licks
For country music, you can find a lot of cliché licks additional worthy of assimilating in your next soloing performance. Country licks use the minor and major pentatonic sounds with Mixolydian shadings.
Beyond single notes and double stops, some of the most entertaining types of country licks result from copping the sounds of a pedal steel guitar. It requires ample use of held bends. These can be done by striking a note present in the lower string, bring it together to a particular pitch, and then holding that bend wile notes on the higher strings are sounded.
Jazz Licks
One of the most important things in proper jazz solo is the ability to change keys with single-note phrases. Generally, these lines are heavily based upon arpeggios relating to their chords.
To get the jazz vibe, as any style, you just need to be familiar with the prime sources of the language.
Rock Licks
Rock licks are spread out in the rock and sub rock categories. You can find minor pentatonic smear licks in every rock solo performance. Add the pentatonic sequence and some range maximizing legato slides to your flawless arsenal. You will be on your first track to your rock star life.
Some of the most notable rock artist that practice this kind of artistry includes classic rockers, Jimmy Page, and Jimi Hendrix. Even hard rock innovators like Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads and also some of the metalheads like Zakk Wylde and Dimebag Darrell.
Conclusion
To summarize, if you want to learn guitar licks and make your very own, connect them, play in the right key, find the perfect scales and positions to help you out. It will take some time and familiarity but keep on practicing and connect to other fellow musicians. They might have some general insights to make it easier for you.
