Guitar Lick Update

Frequent readers will notice I've been slacking off with the posts lately. I've been busy settling into a new house and struggling to find motivation to play which is in my opinion essential to maintain creativity with the posts. I think most guitarists go through phases where they just don't feel the inspiration to create and play. It's odd that no matter how much I love music I cannot seem to play if I'm not in the right mood or mindset. Thanks for the continued suggestions and I hope that I'll get that creative spark again soon. If your in Canada have a Happy Thanksgiving weekend. Cheers.

Guitar Exercise Week

Since it is time for back to School for a lot of students I decided the theme this week would be guitar exercises. This exercise can be incorporated into your practice regime to help with your alternate picking guitar technique. Use strict alternate picking and a metronome. Start slowly at a tempo you can play in time without making a mistake and gradually increase the tempo. Happy practicing!

Deathcore Guitar Lick #3

Deathcore Week. Tuning B F B E G# C#. A lower tuning deathcore guitar lick.Ideally you would play this with thicker strings and humbucking pickups.

Deathcore Guitar Lick #2

Our second deathcore core guitar lick. Same drop tuning as the last one C G C F A D.
Again deathcore is not really my thing - love getting requests though - but I tried to create an interesting guitar lick that was accessible and somewhat reflected the genre.

Deathcore Guitar Lick #1

By request a few Deathcore guitar licks to kick of September's Guitar Lick of the Day. This is a genre I am not that familiar with but I listened to some of the bands the user suggested and tried to come up with some suitable guitar licks and riffs. The tuning I used is Drop D down a whole step C,G,C,F,A,D. I find this style of metal is very angular and stiff to my ears. The next couple licks will be in this genre. If I'm way off base I am sure there will be a few youtube users to comment.

Update for September Guitar Licks

Taking the week off to gear up for a theme based September. Each week in September we are gonna look at a different guitar style and riffs and licks from each genre. First up by request Deathcore. Since I don't know any Deathcore licks I'm in for a bit of a learning curve but hopefully I can create some licks you all will dig. Cheers.

On a side note I wish Zakk Wylde a speedy recovery.

"Blues for Les' Jazz Blues Guitar Lick

A little jazz blues guitar lick called " Blues for Les" which is a nod to the great Les Paul (RIP). Listen to the video for the phrasing as the tab was meant to demonstrate note choice only the standard notation is not rhythmically correct.

Univibe Guitar Lick

A chromatic guitar lick using a (simulated)uni-vibe effect. I phrased it a bit differently through out the video so treat the tab as a rough guide and experiment with your own phrasing to create different feels. Starts off in the key of E but uses a lot of chromatic notes.

Basic Rock Guitar Pull Off Lick

A basic rock guitar pull off lick over a rhythm pattern in E. Drums courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks Riffworks Instant Drummer. The lick uses 16th note sextuplets that are played with pull offs. The lick is played entirely on the G string with the first note in the three note pattern being picked and the rest legato.

Guitar Riff in G

A basic guitar riff in G. Tuned down a half step. Drums courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks Riffworks Instant Drummer. Based around a descending pattern using two note diad shapes in the key of G.

Drop D Rock Guitar Lick

A rock guitar lick in Drop D tuning ( down a half step). Nothin too fancy just a riff I liked. If you find the stretch too wide use a position shift with the left hand instead of fretting the 10th fret with your pinky.

Whole Lotta Flange

A basic 16th note alternate picked guitar lick with a wee bit of flange effect.

Guitar Break from "Walk in Sorrow"

This is a guitar part from a song I'm currently writing called "Walk in Sorrow". It's a pretty simple part but I like how it loops around and sounds good repeating. It works well on acoustic or electric guitar. Based around the A Minor to C chord change. The tab rhythm is approximate so listen to the audio for a better idea of how it should sound.

Celtic Inspired Guitar Lick

This is the guitar intro from " A Walk in the Heather" a song I'm working on.
Tuning is down a half step. The guitar lick draws a lot from traditional Celtic music and uses a fair bit of cross picking so it also makes a great guitar exercise. Drums courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks Riffworks Instant Drummer.

movin on up

Moving over the next week so updates for the "Lick of the Day" will be a bit sporadic. In other news my video for "Apple Blood" was picked as the Riffworks video of the month for July, 2009. Here's the link:

http://www.sonomawireworks.com/news-2009-07.php

Jazz Blues Guitar Lick in A

A chromatic jazz blues guitar lick based around the Bb Minor Pentatonic scale. Sounds in A because I and tuned down a half step. The lick is based around a pattern of 16th notes played with alternate picking. Backing track , "A Minor Affair", courtesy of Pete Anderson Used with permission.

Shred This ( to Pieces) Take Two

Proposed shred guitar track take two for the truth in shredding contest. I won't submit it officially until I make sure I am not gonna change my mind again. I think I prefer this version because it has a bit better flow and is more funky. I know neither one will win but I would like to submit the best version. Let me know which take you prefer if you are tolerant enough to listen to both versions. Cheers.

Guitar Lick from Shred This Contest

This is based on the guitar lick that starts off my entry to the "Shred This Contest" by Truth in Shredding. It is based around the B Minor Pentatonic Scale ( note I'm tuned down a half step). Pretty basic but I like the way it sounds. My contest entry is in the last post if you want to check it out. Cheers.

Shred This ( to Pieces)

My entry for shred this guitar contest by Truth in Shredding. I do not have the technical skills to call myself a shredder but I can't pass up a guitar contest and a chance to play to a cool new backing track. Listen at you own risk. Have a great weekend! Cheers.

Modern Blues Guitar Lick

This is a modern sounding blues lick in A ( played again in A# because I'm tuned down a half step). This lick was inspired by an interval pattern Scott Henderson mentioned in a recent video I watched ( I believe it was posted at Guitar Noize but no 100% on that) The basic concept is to play a sequence of fifths then to move up a half step and continue with another sequence. Over a major key you move would be up a whole step rather than half.I thought it produced a cool modern sounding blues guitar lick. Check out the tab below for when the half step modulation occurs.

Backing track "A Minor Affair" courtesy of Pete Anderson Used with permission.

An Affair with the blues

A blues guitar lick in A# ( sounds in A because tuned down a half step). Based around the second box of the minor pentatonic scale and focusing on the root note of the scale over the four chord. Backing track "A Minor Affair" used with permission of Pete Anderson

Great News - new blues tracks coming

I received permission from Grammy award winning blues guitarist and producer Pete Anderson to use some of his backing tracks for blues licks on my lick of the day blog and my video guitar lesson site. A big shout out to Mr. Anderson. Thanks again.

In other news I've created a facebook page. Become a fan:

jimifan on Facebook

Rock Guitar Riff and Lick Drop D

A rock guitar riff and lick in Drop D tuning ( down a half step). Nothing too fancy here just a straight forward riff that incorporates the Open D 6th string for some wide intervals and a run at the end of the riff that uses muted alternate picked 16th notes.

Classic Rock Guitar Lick in E

A classic rock guitar lick using the E Minor Pentatonic Scale. The rhythm track is over a progression that goes E/G/D/A you can follow the lead guitar using the tab. I tabbed out the first lick and did a bit of improvising the second time around on the video. If you want to play along the guitars are tuned down a half step. Drums are courtesy Sonoma Wireworks RIffworks.

Rock Guitar Lick - B Minor Pentatonic Scale

A classic rock guitar lick using a B Minor Pentatonic scale. Tab and video on the blog as usual. Tuned down a half step if you want to play along. The chord progression is E/B/F# G/ Drums courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks Riffworks. Have a happy fourth of July Weekend.

Beginner Blues Guitar Lick A Minor Pentatonic Scale

A basic blues guitar lick using the A Minor Pentatonic Scale. Just a straight forward blues lick over the I chord in a twelve bar blues. Cheers.

Drop D Metal Guitar Lick #2

Another Drop D tuning metal guitar lick (down a half step). This one makes a good alternate picking exercise as it involves a lot of string crossing. Tab is provided so this should be fairly straight forward for beginner and inetermediate players. Try altering the amount of palm muting and the tempo for a different sound. Cheers.
Happy Canada Day!

Metal Guitar Riff - Drop D Tuning

A triplet based metal guitar riff in Drop D tuning ( down a half step). Just a fun riff for the day before Canada Day. Try altering the palm muting for a different sound. Also try experimenting with different tempos as this riff works well at slower and faster tempos. Drums courtesy of Riffworks by Sonoma Wireworks a great program.

Rock Guitar Lick - D Minor Pentatonic Scale

A basic guitar riff using the D Minor Pentatonic Scale and using a bend and hold technique where diads are held over a bent note. The tab is a basic guideline here so listen and watch the video to get a feel for where the lick comes in. Drums are courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks Riffworks.

Classic Rock Guitar Lick A Minor Pentatonic Scale

The A Minor Pentatonic scale is a staple in rock guitar playing and the foundation of many classic rock guitarists. Today we kick off the weekend with a basic rock guitar lick using this scale. This is a straight forward rock guitar lick that should be within range of beginner and intermediate players.

Rock Guitar Lick and short improv example

This is a guitar lick from the song "Apple Blood" off my new EP. This lick is based on the album version but not exactly the same. For demonstration purposes I've added a little improv at the end of the video that is not in the guitar tab. For extra credit see the prior blog post with the rhythm guitar tab and create a backing track to practice soloing over. I tend to think of this mainly in the key of A Minor when soloing over it but freely add chromatic notes when it sounds appropriate to my ears.

Apple Blood title track from guitar ep Hits #1

The title track to my forthcoming instrumental rock guitar EP "Apple Blood" hit #1 in the rock charts on Soundclick. Thanks to everyone who listened. I know it's not Rolling Stone but I am proud of this song and appreciate everyone taking time to check out my music. You can visit my soundclick page here: www.soundclick.com/adave

Drop D Metal Guitar Lick

A Drop D tuning metal guitar lick. Drums courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks

Neo Classical Guitar Lick - Alternate Picking

A little alternate picking guitar lick with a slight neo-classical tinge. I've used the same notes ( see the tab) in the video demonstration but changed the phrasing slightly over the rhythm section to demonstrate a few different phrasing options. Use the tab as a guideline but listen to the demonstration for the rhythm. Cheers.

Guitar Instrumental - Faded Memories

I posted another track from my upcoming Guitar EP "Apple Blood" on my myspace page experimental guitar. It's called "faded memories". A pretty atmospheric vibe which I dig and I hope some people enjoy too. Let me know what you think.

Melodic Death Metal Guitar Lick #2

A second look at a melodic "death metal" guitar riff/lick. This is using Drop B tuning down a half step. I figured if I put on a set of Dunlop Zakk Wylde strings with .60 low E I had better include a drop tuning lick. Again this was by request. Well outside my normal rock guitar playing style but I hope listeners can enjoy it and use the riff as a springboard for their own ideas. Note the muting on the low B. I used a diad inversion to give the riff a slightly different feel than with normal power chords. Ended with a little neo-classical style lick that I hear in this genre in my limited experience. Thanks for the request. Keep em Comin.

Till Death do Us part - Melodic Death Metal Guitar

By request this is a quick attempt at a "death metal" melodic guitar lick. I don't listen to much death metal ( as you may be able to tell from the lick) but a viewer requested a lick in this genre and gave me Children of Bodom as a reference. Now Alexi Laiho can really play. But being from an older school I hear a lot of Randy Rhoads in his playing. So I decided to do a quick guitar lick Friday and then listen and try to compose a longer and more genuine attempt at a death metal guitar lick Monday.

I stuck to a neo classical influences scalar run with a repeating riff for the quick attempt today. Nothin fancy but I think it sounds pretty cool. Hopefully Monday will be more a more accurate melodic example. Thanks for listening and commenting.

Not your usual Guitar Lick

This is a pretty unusual sounding guitar lick. It kind of reminds me of something you would hear in a soundtrack from an early horror movie. Anyway I kinda like this and thought it would be cool for the guitar lick of the day so here it is.