STEP LEARNING: A LICK

On this page I want to show you how to use Step Learning to break down a lick and play it better. Here is a blues lick. Try and play it with the pick directions shown, ie v meaning an upstroke, the goalpost for down. See Note*

Lets break it down . First, make all the notes equal length:

You can practice this by steps as in the scale practice page.

However, this lick has several main ingredients of lead guitar; sweeps, bends, and layovers.

The best way to practice them is to work on them individually.

Here is the lick broken down into four loops.

BEND LOOP-SWEEP LOOP-BEND DOWN LOOP-LAYOVER LOOP

Bend Loop.

Practice stepping on each one first, like this:

You can Break it down further by playing the left hand without picking.

Repeat each step until you`re comfortable with it before moving on to the next.

When you`re stepping, make sure that pick directions, fingering, etc are the same as in the piece.

Break this down to the right hand only. Damp strings with your left hand and pick:

Finally, practice playing looped (repeated):

Repeat the stepping procedure for each of the four loops as necessary before looping and repeating them. Then go back and play the top lick again.

*Note: these TAB examples are written in the key of F minor. This makes them easy to follow as the fret number and number of the finger used to play the note are the same. You should practice the examples in all keys by moving your left hand up and down the neck. I have played these in the key of A minor (5 th fret).

The exercises on this site are played at medium tempo (around 108 bpm). If you`re learning material that is new to you, practice slowly at first.

 

Email: ac@pickguitar.co.uk      Design by FRIEZE