I learned 1000 guitar licks, but I can't use them...
Hi Visitor,
One thing I hate with a passion are books/videos of licks. (*) You know "23 Blues licks", "37 Sax licks for guitar", "75 B*tching Bassons licks for guitar" etc...
Why?
Because yes, you may be learning lots of fancy new guitar licks, but somehow you end up not being able to use them in your playing. You sure do have the illusion you are getting better, but your soloing skills still stink.
But shouldn’t learning how to play a lick magically endow you with the ability to seamlessly put it in a solo, regardless of key, style, tempo, time signature, or placement?
Surprisingly, no.
Indeed, to integrate the licks you learn in your guitar playing in a way that feels convincing and natural, we’ll need to graduate beyond the ‘mimicry’ style of learning that is common in baboons, and certain types of birds.
Unlike birds, most humans do possess the ability to process and understand the things they see and hear (I say ‘most’ as this doesn’t include drummers and CAGED users (**) ).
The difficulty for most guitar players is that they genuinely do not know what to do to integrate licks into their playing. But don't worry, I'll show you how.
If you want to go beyond simple mimicry, and learn how to really use the licks that you learn, watch the video below. Let the fun begin!
Watch the video here: https://musictheoryforguitar.com/how-to-use-guitar-licks.html
(*) Yes, the people who have followed me for years know that I too wrote a book of guitar licks. You may notice, though, that it's not sold on my website. I took it out when I realized that books on licks are not helping guitarists play better. Sure, I could have made more $ by keeping it on sale, of course, but I do have this bad habit of putting my $ were my mouth is...
(**) CAGED users incidentally are the most common demographic who buys books on licks. There is a reason for that, but saying it out loud could get me cancelled once and for all! So I'll just notice that while I lumped together CAGED users and drummers, at least drummers use books on licks the right way: as a shim steady wobbly furniture (or drums!)
Enjoy!
Tommaso Zillio
Music Theory Education Expert
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