holiday guitar update & now on twitter

Enjoying a Christmas holiday with family and friends. I am fortunate enough to have a musically enlightened family and received some excellent musical gifts including two great cd's Miles Davis' classic modal jazz masterpiece 'Kind of Blue' with John Coltrane and country guitar whiz Brad Paisley's new guitar centric album simply called 'Play'. These should provide countless hours of inspiration and kickstart my guitar playing for the new year.

If you follow the blog and/ or guitar lessons site you'll know updates have been sporadic - entirely my fault - I appreciate your patience. I've joined twitter so if you'd like to follow my ramblings and updates you can do that here: http://twitter.com/jimifan

Here's wishing you all a guitar and music filled 2009!

updates on Guitar Licks

Been a hectic few weeks so I'm playing catch up with updating the blog. I'm loving the Line6 Floor Pod plus though and hope the licks based on presets can appeal to a wide range of guitar players. If you have any requests as always let me know. Cheers.

Delay and Volume Pedal Lick

A repeating pattern guitar lick that uses a delay and volume pedal. The effects are based on preset 3C on the Line6 Floor Pod plus ( *note all trademarks other intellectual rights are property of their respective owners - I am not affiliated with Line6 in any way) The pattern delays build on each other for a neat effect. When performing you want to use this with some discretion to avoid clashing with other instruments but used sparingly it can add some color to musical passages. I concentrated more on pattern than scale when coming up with this lick but you could think of it as being in D Mixolydian Mode from the derivative notes contained in the musical passage.

Sub Octave Effect - Guitar Lick

Here is a pretty basic lick using the E Minor Pentatonic scale spiced up with a sub octave effect and wah using preset 3B from the Line6 Floor Pod Plus.

Drop D Guitar Riff

More of a riff than a lick but I hope some people dig this. It is based on the line6 floor pod plus preset 3A "Raspy Tweed". I used the built in wah as well. I was shooting for an early Soundgarden feel kinda like "Loud Love". The tone on the preset is pretty clean compared to some of my usual settings and this lets the wah shine through a lot clearer. Anyway hope you have a bit of fun with this. Remember the tuning is drop D. Cheers.

Major Scale Guitar Lick

This guitar lick uses preset 2D Shreddy Metal on the Line6 Floor Pod. It is based around the A Major Scale.

70's vibe guitar lick

Here is a wah and phaser based guitar lick that to my ears has a 70's vibe. It is based around the D Minor Pentatonic scale. The Line6 Floor Pod preset was 2C "Slow Swirl".

Basic Diad Shapes

Today's guitar lick is simple but effective when used sparingly. It is based around two diad ( or two note) chord shapes. A classic rock example of this technique can be found in ACDC's intro to "For Those About to Rock".

Just a Jam

Just thought I'd share a little impov over a backing track in Eb from www.freejamtracks.com used with permission. This one was Eb Voodoo Vamp #27. I'm tuned to Eb. Just felt like jamming a little and thought I'd share. On a sad note I just heard of the very sad news about Mitch Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix's drummer, passing today. Mitch's contribution's with Jimi Hendrix are immeasurable in my opinion and his talent will be a loss to music lovers worldwide. RIP Mitch.

Guitar Lick with Delay Effect

Today's guitar lick was inspired from practicing the Buckethead
song "Soothsayer" which was transcribed in a recent Guitar World Magazine.
In the intro to the song there is a chord shape for a GMaj7 chord that sounded cool.
I came up with this lick after messing around with that chord shape.
The preset on the Line6 Floor Pod Plus is 2A "Mee 2" it is a delay based lick. To
encourage the delay to reall stand out in this lick I palm muted the strings
for the eighth ( and sixteenth) note sequence that follows the slower intro part to the lick.

Drop D Guitar Riff

Here is a Drop D tuning guitar riff using the1D preset "Gone Insane" on the Line6 Floor Pod Plus. Just a little simple riff but I think sometimes the more basic the riff the better.

Rock n Roll Guitar Lick

This is a classic rock n roll guitar lick using the B Minor Pentatonic Scale. It is using preset 1C "Mary Jane" on the Line6 Floor Pod Plus. It's pretty straight forward so I'll let the tab and video speak for itself - but if you have any questions let me know.

Major Scale Triad Guitar Lick

Today we look at a guitar lick using a rotary effect fromthe Line6 Floor pod plus preset 1B. This lick uses descending triad patterns from the A Major scale.

Classic Rock Riff

I got a new piece of Gear yesterday. A Line6 floor pod plus. I'm not associated with line 6 in anyway but I love their gear because it provides great guitar tones at prices that make it widely accessible. I thought it would be fun to do a guitar lick or riff with each preset on the model. I'll start at 1A and work up to 30D. So that's 120 licks and riffs total. If anyone uses different Line6 gear or effects pedals and wants more detailed info on the effects settings just drop me a message and I can discuss what the preset uses.

The first preset is 1A and it's called "Back in Black". Appropriately enough it is a classic rock tone suitable for its namesake AC DC's material and other 70's legends as well as modern garage rockers. The guitar riff I came up with is pretty basic and is centered around the A power chord. Cheers.

Legato Guitar Exercise

Took a little break for Halloween and tonight will be watching the election coverage but wanted to give you a legato guitar exercise for the left hand. This guitar exercise is played with hammer on and pull offs with the left hand only and entirely on the third string. Start slowly and count in an even eight note rhythm and gradually speed things up. Once you get it smooth practice alternating the tempo and volume to let it flow as a musical line.

Wah Guitar Lick

A little wah guitar lick using the B Minor Pentatonic Scale.

Caution Watch Out for Your Ears

I've been a bit down on playing lately. Preoccupied with lots of other things and just relatively uninspired. Today I sat down and just improvised over a backing track (from www.freejamtracks.com - used with permission) for the first time in a long time. The jam was pretty scalar in parts and downright atonal in others but it started to get my enthusiasm for playing back and thats why I wanted to share it mistakes and all. It's longer than most people will tolerate but maybe it'll inspire you to just pick up and jam along and not be too concerned about being perfect all the time. Normally my playing is a lot more bluesy but I this is just what I heard over this backing track so that's what I played. In my opinion you gotta try and let music flow through you and express what you feel - that was what I tried to do here.

Cheers.

Triplet Based Wah Guitar Lick

This is a tried and true variation of a classic minor Pentatonic guitar lick that
everyone from Jimmy Page to Kirk Hammett has used. It uses a triplet pattern that ascends the E Minor Pentatonic Scale. Practice coming up with your own patterns using triplets and try incorporating some doubled notes as well. Vary the use of the wah and palm muting to give this lick different sounds. This is a pretty basic cliche type rock lick but when used sparingly is a staple in most rock and metal guitarists arsenals.

Grab the wah Pedal

Here's a guitar lick in the style of Kirk Hammett that makes use of two trademarks Metallica's lead guitarist uses a lot. One is the wah pedal and the other is open string pull offs. I started with the C# Minor Pentatonic scale in mind but in the pull off section I just listened and played what sounded right to my ears.

Pentatonic Scale Lick in the Style of Kirk Hammett

Here's a B Minor Pentatonic Scale guitar lick that is inspired by Kirk's wah crazed licks and solos on Metallica's Black Album. I would recommend almost any track on the album as they contain lots of great licks and solos and some serious wah usuage. If your new to Metallica and love the wah pedal check out Enter Sandman for some awesome wah soloing based around the Minor Pentatonic Scale.

Melodic Guitar in the Style of Kirk Hammett

Today's guitar lick is a melodic based lick that is inspired by early musical interludes Metallica would frequently use in longer ballads. I've given this a bit a of a Celtic twist too. For excellent examples from the masters themselves I recommend "Fade to Black" from the great "Ride the Lightning" album. Frequently when Metallica use this type of melodic passage Kirk and James will play harmonized lines that give a fuller, richer sound to the overall composition. On studio recordings it is common to layer and harmonize several guitars for an almost orchestral sound.

Guitar Lesson site updates

Just a quick note. I apologize for not getting back into the daily swing as quickly as I had planned. I've had a number of commitments to attend to. New guitar lessons and daily guitar licks are being planned and I appreciate your patience. Thanks again for all the great feedback and requests. Your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciated. For new visitors please check out the guitar licks already posted that may be new to you. For everyone else thanks for putting up with the recent sporadic frequency of posts. Thanks again.

Keep strumming.

Kirk Hammett Style Guitar Lick

Here's a guitar lick in the style of Kirk Hammett's playing hearkening back to Metallica's black album days. It is a moderate tempo piece so I just played it through at regular speed. The guitar lick is based around the E Minor Pentatonic scale. Cheers.

Site Update and Happy Thanksgiving

Had a bit of an extended break from posting new guitar licks but plan to resume updates this week.I appreciate all the feedback on the site and all the positive comments. I've been enjoying the new Metallica album "Death Magnetic" and have enjoyed revisiting a lot of Kirk Hammett's playing on Metallica's back catalog. Inspired by Hammett's playing I've decided to dedicate the next group of guitar licks to some metal soloing primarily using the minor scale and minor pentatonic over some basic metal progressions. I hope to break out the wah pedal again and try to conjure up some old school metal for you. Again look for updates to get back to normal this week and if you your new to the site check out some prior posts for lots of Guitar Licks.

It's Thanksgiving here in Canada. So Happy Thanksgiving.

Drop A Metal Guitar Riff

Here is a metal guitar riff in Drop A tuning A E A D F# B. This lick has a kind of exotic sound that reminds me a bit of the phyrgian mode but I haven't analyzed the notes in terms of a particular scale this just sounded interesting to me. The video demonstrates the lick alone and over a drum backing track. There is also a right hand view and a slower speed demonstration. The bulk of the lick is made up of symmetrical legato patterns.

12 Bar Blues Guitar Lick and Improv Jam

Were are using the same backing track as yesterday's post for this guitar lick. Used with permission of www.freejamtracks.com. Again we are tuned down a half step so playing in the B position but sounding in Bb. We are using the same pentatonic scale form as yesterday which is the fourth form. The guitar lick begins in similar fashion to the last lick but then we revert to the first pentatonic form to finish the lick with a common variation on blues phrasing.

Bb 12 Bar Blues Lick

Here is another 12 bar blues guitar lick over the backing track from the last post. Used with permission of www.freejamtracks.com

This guitar lick is based around the 4th shape of the minor pentatonic scale for a more advanced use of this position you can hear Eric Clapton use this a lot in his later blues material. We are in the key of Bb but playing in the B position because the guitar is tuned down a half step. If you don't want to tune down you can play everything on fret lower on the guitar and still accompany the backing track.

Blues Guitar Tapping Lick

This is a blues guitar lick that uses the Bb Minor Pentatonic Scale ( I'm tuned down a half step so I play in the seventh position). It's a tapping lick that to my ears sounds best over the turnaround section in the following 12 bar blues backing track #51 Bb Rocket Blues.Backing track from www.freejamtracks.com used with permission.Guitar tuned down a half step.

Metal Guitar Riff Drop B Tuning

This is the last in our series of guitar licks and riffs in Drop B tuning. This mini guitar lesson looks at a metal riff played at two speeds that uses heavy palm muting. For the slower tempo example I recommend using all downstrokes and then when you want to increase the speed for the faster example use alternate picking.
I hope you've enjoyed some of the heavier licks and riffs. Next week we are going to check out some additional tapping guitar licks. I've also been planning a few licks demonstrating some double stop techniques as requested by a viewer. If you have any requests or suggestions please let me know. You can find my email on the main web site or message me on youtube. Have a great music filled weekend.

Drop B Guitar Riff

I've been meaning to get back to a few tapped guitar licks but I've grown to really dig the drop b tuning I've been using over the last few posts so I thought I'd finish out the week with a few more licks in that tuning from low to high B,Gb,B,E,Ab,Db

Try altering the phrasing and speed of this riff and come up with variations of your own.

Guitar Lesson Epistaxis Solo Part 2

This is part two of a scratch solo over the rhythm guitar track we have been looking at. Again the guitar is tuned to a modified Drop B tuning. The video demonstrates the lead guitar part first them breaks down the second part in slower segments. If you missed the first part please check yesterday's post. Hope you dig it.

Guitar Lesson Epistaxis Solo Part 1

Today we are going to look at a "scratch" guitar solo I did over the riff from the song Epistaxis. The tuning is the same as the last posts a modified Drop B. The riff we are using is the riff from yesterdays post. The video presents the whole guitar solo and then breaks down part one into slower demonstrations. Part 2 is up tomorrow.

I didn't sit down and work this solo out I just played over the backing track and this is what I came up with. Theory wise I'm hearing mainly E Phyrgian Mode but there are chromatic moments in there as well. Try improvising your own solos over this progression and determine what works and sounds good to your ears.

Guitar Lesson - Epistaxis Riff

Here is a rhythm part to the song epistaxis we have been looking at. We are still using the Drop B Tuning as discussed in the last couple of posts. After writing this riff it kinda reminds me a bit of Orion by Metallica which I thought was pretty cool. This is a great riff to practice your 16th note riffing if your new to this style of playing. Hope you enjoy it. The next couple of posts will look at some solo lead guitar over this riff.

Guitar Lesson - Epistaxis Intro Part 2

Here is part 2 to the guitar intro to the song Epistaxis. Were are still in the Drop B tuning discussed in the last two posts. The guitar here is playing a modified version of the first intro part but here the chord forms are being played with a more elaborate picking sequence. I've broken the video down to include a right hand view and slower tempo so you can pick up what's going on in conjunction with you study of the tab and standard notation. Any questions, comments let me know. Cheers.

Guitar Lesson - Epistaxis Intro Riff

We are still in the same Drop B tuning discussed in the last post. This is the clean intro part to the song Epistaxis. There can be a bit of a stretch to this so practice slowly and warmup first. Stop if you feel any pain or discomfort. If you feel the stretch is too big lift your fingers more instead of letting the notes ring out as much.

Guitar Lesson "Epistaxis"

This is a guitar lesson demonstrating a riff to a song I'm writing called "Epistaxis". The guitar is in the same tuning as yesterday's lick from low to high Drop B down a step and a half - B,Gb,B,E,Ab,Db. I hope you dig it - I just came up with the riff so it needs some tweaking but I think it has potential. I did not notate in the tab where the pinch harmonics occur. I basically threw them in on the slower notes along the A string when I felt like it.

The next couple of days we will check out guitar licks for variations on the chord progression from the songs intro. Which involves a cleaner tone and slower rhythm.

Drop B Metal Lick

This guitar lick uses a tuning Tommi Iommi from Black Sabbath made famous except here we drop the 6th string to a B. The tuning is B, Gb, B, E, Ab, Db. This really fattens up the guitar sounds and can make ordinary sounding riffs a lot heavier. I've got pretty light gauge strings on so you can hear a bit of extraneous noise. To tighten up the sound and make it even heavier I'd recommend a thicker set of strings if you play to make regular use of this tuning.

Drop C Metal Guitar Riff

I had planned to do a few more tapping licks before some metal guitar riffs but listening to some of the new Metallica tracks has put me in more of a metal mood. So here is a Drop C down a whole step metal guitar riff to check out. It's a fair tempo so I demonstrated the right and left hands at slow speed. This is a pretty straight forward rhythm and fairly basic as metal riffs go. For some more advanced material you can't go wrong with Metallica, Pantera or Black Label Society in my book. I'm showing my age a bit but for "newer" bands I like what I've heard from Lamb of God and Trivium and the new Slipkot album sounds awesome. If this video is too easy or you didn't like it let me know. Feedback really helps me improve the content. Cheers.

Guitar Lesson Tapping Etude Part 5

Here is the fifth and final guitar lesson that wraps up our look into the instrumental solo guitar tapped introduction to "Ascending". This is the most difficult guitar part of the composition and require more movement from both the fretting hand and tapping hand. The notes are outlined in the first two bars of this part and then in the final bars the same notes are played in a different sequence with quicker transition between musical phrases than before.

I hope you enjoy practicing this and that it provided an introduction for those guitar players who were not familiar with basic tapping for guitar. There are a few more tapped licks slated for next week then by request we'll revisit some heavier material in drop D and C tuning.

Guitar Lesson Tapping Etude Part 4

Today's guitar lick is part 4 of a guitar lesson looking at a rock guitar instrumental I'm working on. If you have progressed through the composition this far this part of the lesson should be pretty straight forward. We begin with a tapping sequence on the 20th fret where the tapped note stays fixed and the hammer on and pull offs from the fretting hand ascend. The sequence finishes with a longer sequence of notes which begins on the 19th fret. Guitar is tuned down a half step if you want to play along. The next lesson gets a bit harder but should be manageable if you have got the first four parts down.

Guitar Lesson Tapping Etude Part 3

Today's guitar lick of the day looks at part 3 of our guitar lesson on the tapping étude "Ascending". Part three relies a lot on repetition and a variation of a tapped sequence. Even within a short musical introduction like this the use of repetition and variation can help a listener focus in on a piece and gain their attention. Classical music frequently employs this technique as does many modern rock guitar solos and songs.

Guitar Lesson Tapping etude part 2

Here is the second part of a solo rock guitar lesson on the instrumental I'm working on called "Ascending". This example as with the first guitar lick is played with legato technique using tapping and hammer on and pull offs on the fourth string. There is no picking involved. The guitar example in the video is tuned down a half step so if you want to play along you'll need to tune down.

Guitar Lesson - Tapping Etude Part 1

Here is part one of a guitar lesson looking at a rock guitar tapping étude I'm working on called "Ascending". The video will present you with the complete first section of the piece then over the week each segment will be broken down and presented so you can focus on 5 guitar licks within the song.

Part one focuses on the first guitar lick in the song. It is played entirely on the fourth string. Technique wise you will be using tapping and hammer on and pull offs as the piece is played with legato technique. There is no picking during the song. I prefer to use my index finger to tap the guitar fretboard but guitar players also use their ring finger and sometimes their pick as well - experiment and see what works best for you.

Preview of September Week One

We are gonna kick of September's Guitar Lick of the Day by looking at a solo rock guitar instrumental called "Ascending" that I'm working on. For the next five days I'll breakdown a section of the piece and as always provide tab to follow along. The piece is played with tapping and legato and entirely on the D string. Here is a video of the musical composition with and without a delay effect. I hope you enjoy this and hopefully it may encourage you to explore some basic tapping techniques.

If your really into tapping there are some amazing players who incorporate some multi-finger string crossing madness you should check out. Some of my favorite tappers are: Nuno Bettencourt from Extreme ( they just released a new album too!)
Joe Satriani
Eddie Van Halen

Blues Lick in A

A little blues guitar lick in A. Backing track used was 91 Shuffle in A from www.freejamtracks.com used with permission. You can download you own copy of the backing track and try out some blues guitar licks in the key of A.

Chromatic blues pentatonic scale guitar lick

This is a chromatic blues pentatonic scale lick in the key of E. It's played over backing track #93 E Smell that Funk - used with permission. You can download a free copy of this guitar and/or bass backing track from www.freejamtracks.com

This lick is fairly straight forward and is based around eighth and quarter note phrasing. For beginner and intermediate players I hope it provides a jumping off point to add a little chromatic spice to your 12 bar blues guitar soloing using the pentatonic or blues scales.

Rock Guitar Pentatonic Scale Tapping Lick

Today's guitar lick is a tapping lick that uses notes from the E Minor Pentatonic scale. It is played over a backing track from www.freejamtracks.com used with permission. You can download your own guitar backing track from the site. This example uses track #105 E Metal Mayhem. Note the the guitar lick taps the first A note ate the 17th fret in the lick but then hammers the A note the second time it is played.

Rock Guitar tapping lick

Today's guitar lick is a legato lick that uses tapping and sliding along with hammer on and pull offs. There is no picking at all on this lick.

Drop C Rock Guitar Lick

Ok Olympics are over so things are getting back to normal. The first lick to kick things back into gear is a basic repeating rock guitar riff using Drop C tuning down a whole step. So the Guitar is tuned from low to high C,G,C,F,A,D. I went a little overboard on the distortion settings so both the C notes on the 6th and 5th strings tended to bleed into each other. You might want to experiment with a bit less distortion and maybe a bit of palm muting for more definition in the lick.

help the olypmics ate my brain!

Ok not really but I've been caught up in the spirit of the Olympic games ( and the late night viewing) and decided to take a break for the duration of the games. Those of you not as enamored with amateur sport and looking for some neat guitar licks to pass the time are encouraged to go back though some guitar lick of the day posts you may have missed, or if your anything like me forgot. Best of luck to your respective countries here is wishing the world a safe, exciting, competitive Olympics.

In the interim feel free to leave a message with requests or questions.

P.S. Many longer events such as soccer and field hockey are great to combine with some guitar exercises while watching the events.

Metal Guitar Riff Drop D Tuning

Today we look at a metal guitar riff and lick in drop D tuning. The lick is composed of chromatic sextuplets. This is similar but much more simplified and slower idea in the style of Zakk Wylde with Black Label Society.

Alternate Picking Guitar Exercise

Here is a little alternate picking guitar lick that is based on a six note sextuplet pattern played primarily on the B string. The open B string acts as a pedal point. To experiment with this lick a little try different delay settings and see what happens.

Jazz Blues Guitar Lick in F#

Here's a jazz blues guitar lick in F# for you. Coming from a blues background I really have limited experience with jazz guitar so I approached this with a F# Minor pentatonic scale position and just used my ears to figure out what chromatic licks could spice up the good old minor pentatonic scale. You can download the guitar backing track at www.freejamtracks.com The track used was 97- F# Jazz Hack on the loose - used with permission. An appropriate title. My two favorite players in the jazz blues genre are Grant Green and Kenny Burrell. For some great licks by two legends make sure to check out there playing.

Modern Rock Guitar Lick in D

Today's guitar lick is a modern rock guitar lick that uses legato. It's in the Key of D. You can download a backing track for this lick at www.freejamtracks.com. The guitar backing track used in this example was 85 D EVH Rocks the World( or 86 D with no bass as heard here)used with permission.

Texas Blues Guitar Lick

Here's a little Texas Blues Guitar Lick for you. Guitar in this example is tuned down a half step. You can download the backing track and play along. The backing tracks for this guitar lick is 25 - Eb Medium Texas Thang it is from www.freejamtracks.com - used with permission.

The lick and example improv following it are based around the E Minor Pentatonic Scale. If you find this lick too easy or boring the King of this style of playing is Stevie Ray Vaughan. A great place to start with the study of his playing is "Pride and Joy".

Descending Chord Progression

This is a little descending chromatic chord progression I came up with after checking out a lesson from Acoustic Guitar Magazine. It decends though D to C#,C then B. The underlying chord shape starts as a full D then moves into a partial G chord.

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.