Clean guitar lick with delay and harmonics

This is a clean guitar lick I came up with after messing around with some open string chord voicings from an old guitar lesson. I haven't analyzed the voicings but I hear it as some variation on the root note of the chord. I would consider this as an Amaj9/C#7 sus2/B7 sus2 progression but there are different ways to look at the notes that make up the voicings. I just liked the progression at the end of the day so I didn't worry too much about the music theory underlying the chord progression.

Guitar Exercise Alternate Picking Technique

This is an alternate picking guitar exercise that alternates between the G Major Scale and the C Major Scale. There is also a C# not in either scale but I liked the transition it provided between the two scales. Try at first to keep strict alternate picking and practice this with a metronome. In the video especially for the second part I tend to lean towards some economy picking just because that's what feels right to me. You'll note that I tend to anchor my pinky of my picking hand on the guitar body. Lots of players do this but there is a lot of debate as to what technique is better. I suggest trying them both and see what works best for your individual style of guitar playing.

Tapping Rock Guitar Lick

Here's a cool sounding rock guitar lick that uses tapping. The backing track was 89
E Rocket Rock backing track from www.freejamtracks.com used with permission. You can download the track from that site to practice the lick over. I generally tap with only my index finger and for a basic lick like this one finger is all you need. I let the backing track groove decide the phrasing so use the tab as a rough guide only and let you ears be the final judge. Basically I played the first four notes faster than the last four in each 8 note sequence. In the tab it's written as 32nd then 16th notes but the real breakdown is not that different in rhythmic duration.

For some great advanced tapping with a similar major scale, upbeat kind of sound check out any album by Extreme with the awesome Nuno Bettencourt. In fact they have a new album out now or very soon. You can find the single at ultimate guitar. A great band that certainly deserves a listen if you've never heard them.

Funk Blues Guitar Lick #2

Here is another little funk blues guitar lick with an improv example that follows. The backing track I used on this example is the same one as the last post so refer to that for the url where you can download the backing track and try the lick and some soloing over it yourself. My little improv is centered around the F Minor Pentatonic scale but there are lots of chromatic passing tones - some intentional some otherwise. I just wanted to give you an example of what I would do with that lick given that particular backing track.

Funk Blues Guitar Lick in F

A short bluesy funk guitar lick in F. Backing track provided by www.freejamtracks.com The backing track I used for this guitar lick was called 47 F Cofibreyk's Bounce
Used with Permission. You can download the backing track from the site and try the lick yourself.

Beginner Funk Guitar Lick

Here's a basic funk guitar lick and some improv around it. The tab is a rough guide here and the actual phrasing I use is quite different so use you ears and play around with some grooves using different phrasing.

Country Guitar Lick #3

Another little country lick. The light source was a bit off so please excuse some of the video imperfections. This lick is based around the G Major Pentatonic scale and makes use of a lot of legato technique. Any questions just ask. Cheers.

Another Country Guitar Lick

This is another country guitar lick based on the major pentatonic scale.

Little Country Guitar Lick

This is a little country guitar lick I thought sounded cool.

Beginner Funk Rock Guitar Lick

Today's guitar lick to kick off the weekend is a funk rock lick that uses an A Minor Pentatonic Scale in two octaves. In the video example I've thrown in a few variations so you can hear how the lick might be used in context. Notice in particular how the rhythm of the guitar interplays against the funky keyboard lick. Have a great weekend.

Funk Rock Guitar Riff

Here's a little funk rock guitar riff I thought was kinda cool. If you want to hear some great funk rock material check out Funkadelic's "Super Stoopid" or for more rock flavor check out some Extreme.

Funk Guitar Lick Part 3 BLB Strut

Here is part three of a funk lick from BLB Strut. This completes the first part of the song. In upcoming guitar licks of the day we'll check out more riffs and solo ideas based around this song. Part three is primarily a single note 16th note part the descends based around the structure of that last two parts.

Funk Guitar BLB Strut Part Two

Today we look at another funk guitar lick from the upcoming song BLB Strut. The tab shows part two while the video shows a breakdown of part on and two slowly. Tomorrow we look at part three to complete the first part of the song.

Funk Guitar Lick from BLB strut

Here is a funk guitar lick from a new song I'm working on called BLB Strut. I used a royalty free backing track to demonstrate the lick but the actual song will probably be at a slightly slower tempo and swing a little more. The next couple of licks for guitar were gonna feature will be from this song.

Funk Guitar is all about the rhythm so really listen and focus on the muting and the picking hand. Most of the riff is in 16th notes and the picking hand is generally using alternate picking. Try experimenting with the degree of muting to alter the sound as well. You'll hear in parts of the example a light muting from the left hand will produce harmonics which can add some variation and interest to guitar licks if used appropriately.

Jazz Festival

An abbreviated week here at Lick of the Day as I set down the guitar for a couple days and check out some great jazz and blues guitar players at my local Jazz and Blues festival. Hopefully watching these great musicians will be inspiring and result in some exciting new licks. Updates will resume Monday. If your new to the blog I'd encourage you to check out some of the guitar licks from past posts.

Have a great weekend.
Cheers.

Tapping Guitar Lick in a blues context

This is an example guitar lick of holding a bend and playing some tapped notes while holding a bend in a blues context. After the tab example I messed around with a little improv to give you a few ideas of some licks that use this guitar technique. I used mainly left hand legato with very little right hand involvement aside from the tapping. It's a bit rough and gritty but I've always been a fan of a loose raw blues some players may want to use a cleaner sound and strive for a more polished use of the technique. Whatever sounds good to you is cool. Ok here it is some tapped blues guitar licks.

Jazz Blues Guitar Lick in G

Today's lick uses a combination of the G Mixolydian and G Major Scale over a G blues.
The lick starts with a mini sweep picking technique where the first three strings are played with a sweep using an upstroke. I repeated it over the progression so you could hear it against the different chords but you would definitely want to expand on this idea to incorporate it into a real blues.

A Country Jazz Blues GuitarLick

I call this guitar lick a country jazz blues lick because it draws on some country style playing during the first hammer on and pull off section then shifts into a bluesy feel and ends with a little jazz blues lick. The rhythmic notation illustrated in the standard notation section of the tab is a loose representation. Try listening to the slow breakdown for the phrasing. As always take any parts of this you like and try to develop your own material out of it. Any questions or comments let me know. Cheers.

Blues Guitar Sliding Lick

Happy Fourth of July. Celebrate by playing a bit of American music that embodies freedom and independence. This is a blues guitar lick that uses a repeating slide pattern to create a cool little feel that reminds me of a Santana kind of vibe. Hope you dig it.

Blues Guitar Lick

A beginner/ intermediate blues guitar lick using the D Minor Pentatonic Scale. For everyone from Canada I hope you enjoyed the long weekend and for all the US visitors have a Happy Fourth of July.