Open Guitar Chords with major scale run

I hope everyone had a Merry (and musical) Christmas. For those of you who found a guitar under the tree you may be wondering where to begin your music making journey. Most guitarists start with the open chords. Today's guitar lick is based around the open D and C add9 Major chords. The guitar lick is based on a repeating picking pattern you can see in the tab. The bass note changes from G to F to C with some hammer ons to spice up the lick a little bit. The lick ends with a major scale run based on the G Major scale.
A great way for any guitarist to learn some great open  based chord licks and guitar runs is to study bluegrass players. Bluegrass is great because a lot of the runs are based around open position chords and lower position scale patterns that beginners often start out with - but they can be very technical, fast and precise so advanced players learn a lot too.

World Guitar Lick

Today's guitar lick is a world guitar lick. It draws on rhytmic phrases typically found in so called world music. The tab is as close as I could get to the rhythm in the guitar video. Try creating your own phrasing with these notes and experiment with mixing these patterns to come up with your own musical lines.

Guitar Exercise - Cross Picking

Here is a guitar practice exercise that will help improve your alternate picking while crossing strings - called cross picking. Start slowly with a metronome. You can practice this guitar lick using a variety of rhythms. I would recommend triplets and eighth notes. Use alternate picking throughout.

Single String Guitar Lick#3

Here is a single string guitar lick again based on the high E string. This guitar lick is based around the notes of the D major scale but with the use of the high E as a repeating pedal point lick you could consider this lick to be based on the E Dorian Mode. The lick begins on the B note at the seventh fret and continues down the neck using a descending sequence. The rhythm of the lick is 16th notes. All the notes are played with alternate picking. Once you get familiar with the guitar lick try concentrating on accenting the  fretted note that starts each sequence.

Single String Guitar Lick - Videos

Here are the single string guitar lick videos that match the tab in the last two posts. Both guitar licks are played using 16th notes and alternate picking on the high e string. The guitar tab for both licks is in the prior posts for today.

Single String Guitar Lick #2

Here is another single string guitar lick played again on  the high E string and using 16th notes. Guitar licks like these are great warm up exercises and can be a good addition to a guitar practice schedule.

Single String Guitar Lick

Here is a guitar lick based on a 16th note rhythm played entirely on the high E string. Like our last guitar lick this one can be repeated and sounds good looped over a static rhythm pattern.

Circular Motion Guitar Lick

I love guitar licks that have a feel that they can be repeated ad infinitum. The best guitar licks in my opinion ( and musical licks in general) within this category are bebop licks especially as derived from the bebop scale. That is a bit of a digression though because today's guitar lick is a basic rock lick. It utilizes lots of open strings and is triplet based although the last note of each bar is held slightly longer. I apologize for the choppy  audio quality my computer has decided to get a bit temperamental and seems to be working at a 50% capacity.

Pentatonic Madness

The minor pentatonic scale for metal, rock and blues guitarists is an essential 5 note scale that forms the foundation of most modern guitar music. Although it only has five notes it has been combined in many different ways to yield some amazing music. From blues and rock players like Hendrix and Vaughan to modern masters like Eric Johnson and Zakk Wylde the pentatonic scale has been the basis for many of their greatest guitar licks and solos. Today's guitar lick is comprised of  a 5 note grouped sequence made up of notes from the A Minor Pentatonic scale.

Guitar Lick -Melodic Sextuplets

This is a guitar lick using a sextuplet pattern. In this lick the guitar is tuned down a whole step. The pattern is based around a D shaped triad but here I move from the D chord at the 14th fret and instead play this a half step lower. I use alternate picking but this can also work with sweep picking if you are so inclined.

Rhythm and Lead Guitar Together

This is a guitar lick based on the tab from the last post. It starts with a very similar guitar lick and expands the idea a little bit. A key component of these licks is playing with the thumb wrapped around the neck so you can fret the 6th string with your thumb. It makes it easier to play the chord shapes that way. If you haven't tried this before it can take a bit of getting used to. Start slowly and remember stop if you feel any pain.

Greatness never goes out of date.

Yesterday would have been Jimi Hendrix's 68th birthday. We lost a great musician much too early but it is a testament to his musical genius and soulful playing that his music is as relevant and inspiring at is was over 40 years ago. Great art whether is is poetry,art , sculpture or music lives much beyond the life of the artist because it expresses in many ways timeless concepts that touch people deeply. Today's guitar lick looks at a style of playing that Jimi learned on the Chitlin circuit. It is a style of playing Curtis Mayfield popularized which involves playing rhythm and lead simultaneously. Typically a phrase is developed around a chord shape and lead fills are incorporated to make a musical phrase. There are many examples of how Jimi  developed this style into his own in such compositions as "Little Wing" and "Castles Made of Sand". The guitar lick is based around the C major scale and uses chord shapes from G, C and F. You can experiment with the rhythmic values a bit but as I play it the chord roots C ( 8th fret 6th string) and F (8th fret 5th string) are meant to come in on the prior bars upbeat and then held longer into the next measure. Here is the guitar lick:

Acoustic Guitar Alternate Picking

Our guitar lick today is part of the opening guitar intro for a song I'm working on called "Hand of Sorrow". Each guitar lick here is played twice as marked in the guitar tab with x2. The rhythm is 16th notes although you can let the open strings ring for a fuller sound. The title for this song comes from the lyrics of a new song Zakk Wylde  of Black Label Society released on "Order of the Black" called "Darkest Days". I've been struggling with inspiration lately but this album is really full of great guitar and really strong emotional playing that makes me want to get back to playing more guitar. Anyway enough of a rant here is the guitar lick.

Circular Guitar Lick #2

Here is another circular guitar lick. This one has a kinda flamenco(ish) Spanish influence. The rhythm is based on two 6 note patterns then a four note sequence with each notes duration equal. Try using varying degrees of palm muting to accent different notes during each repetition. This guitar lick will work well on acoustic and electrics and makes for a good alternate picking exercise in your guitar practice sessions.

Circular Guitar Lick

Our guitar lick today looks at what I call a circular lick. A guitar lick that begs to be repeated over and over and has a feeling of continuing around from beginning to end. This guitar lick is a triplet based rhythm that to my ears has  a Celtic feel. Once this is under your fingers experiment with improvising using a similar rhythm but alter the notes.

Tiny Guitar Lick of Terror

Happy Halloween! I've finally been able to get back to picking up the guitar post surgery. To celebrate Halloween here is a  tiny guitar lick of terror. It is an ascending chromatic guitar lick played in 6th note grouped sextuplets.  Repeat each section marked x2 and them repeat the entire sequence. Use palm muting and distortion to amp up the terror factor.

Guitar Lick - Open String Pull Offs

This is a guitar lick that alternates between a legato open string hammer and pull section based around the open E string and then switches to a similar pattern with the open B string. With the exception of the final note in each pattern the notes are 16th notes. Repeat each section twice before proceeding to the next string set.

Legato Guitar Lick

This is a legato guitar lick based around the A Minor Scale. Strive for the hammer on and pull offs to be even in both note duration, volume and clarity.  The rhythm is primarily in triplets.

Unison Bend Guitar Lick

Our tinylick guitar lick today uses Unison Bends. Unison bends are where two  different notes are played and then one note is bent up to the same note as the other starting note. Here we are using the A Minor Pentatonic scale as a basis point. We are starting with a unison bend progression that goes from E to G to A with fills added using notes  from the minor pentatonic scale. Jimi Hendrix uses a similar pattern of unison bends in "Manic Depression". In that songs he begins at the A 5th fret position and moves us the neck with unison bends until the solo kicks in at the 17th fret A position an octave higher.

Palm Muted 16th Note Guitar Lick

This guitar lick is based around the C# Minor Pentatonic Scale and uses a repeating 16th note alternate picked pattern. Use varying degrees of palm muting in conjunction with distortion to beef up the sound. Start slowly with a metronome 4 notes for each quarter note beat.

Guitar Altered Tuning "Irish Purr"

I've been trying to get a creative spark going that seems to have fizzled a bit as of late. I was reading the latest "Guitar World" magazine about an alternate tuning Jimmy Page used on Led Zeppelin III and thought I'd mess around with it. The tuning Page discusses in the magazine was "low to high C A C G C E" I altered this a bit and tuned C A C G C C  ( all down tuned except the B string which is up a half fret - be gentle or you will break this string). This little musical phrase stuck in my head so I thought I'd share.

Hendrix and the E7#9 Chord

Today is the 40th anniversary of the death of Jimi Hendrix. It reminds me of the tragically young life lost and the immensity and enduring power of his music and its message. I thought I'd share a guitar lick based around the E7#9 chord he made famous in "Purple Haze". RIP Jimi. I hope your jammin with Mitch and Noel upstairs.

Guitar Practice - A Confession

Ok so I have a little confession to make. I play guitar quite regularly which is cool. I learn new tunes occasionally and jam with friends or backing tracks as well. I also write original material a fair bit and create guitar licks and lessons too. What I don't do is abide by a regular structured guitar practice regime including scales, chords, rhythm etc. I'm going to try and change that. While there are excellent musicians on both sides of the practice question in the past a diligent practice routine has improved my playing and fostered greater creativity. So in that spirit I'm going to share with you a new warm up exercise that works on left and right hand synchronization and string crossing. It is written in eighth notes. Try strict alternate picking and work slowly until you can play it correctly to a metronome. It is a variation on some of the left hand permutations but randomized ( to some extent) and spread over multiple strings.
Happy Practicing.

Drop Tuning Guitar Lick

Today's guitar lick is in a drop tuning used by rock and metal players. I was learning a tune off the new Black Label Society album "Order of the Black" where Zakk Wylde uses this tuning. It is a drop tuning from low to high A E A D F# B for best results use strings made specifically for this low detuned type of music ( I admit I didn't here but they do sound a lot better and hold their tension well). The guitar lick is played over a backing track in the key of D Minor and uses notes from that scale.

A little Pentatonic Chromatic Chaos

This tiny guitar lick is based on the minor pentatonic scale shape but ascends the guitar neck in chromatic steps finally settling in the D Minor Pentatonic scale first position. It is played using alternate picking and in a 16th note rhythm.

Blues Guitar Solo in G - Lick #5

The final lick in our basic blues guitar solo in G. The backing track is from Pete Anderson called "Talking My Baby Down". It is one of his contributions to the blues guitar backing tracks for the King of The Blues competition. Used with permission. You can download the backing track and chord progression here: http://gc.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues/tracks/ To hear some of Pete's great blues guitar playing check out his website:http://www.peteanderson.com/ Thanks to Pete for letting me use this great track.Our final guitar lick is played over the G6 and Eb9 and D9  chords in the 11th and 12th  bars in this 12 bar blues. The lick begins with a double stop and uses hammer ons to spice things up a bit. The solo ends by playing the chord shapes in the last bar.

Blues Guitar Solo in G - Lick #4

The next few guitar licks will be put together to form a basic blues guitar solo in G. The backing track is from Pete Anderson called "Talking My Baby Down". It is one of his contributions to the blues guitar backing tracks for the King of The Blues Competition. Used with permission. You can download the backing track and chord progression here: http://gc.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues/tracks/  To hear some of Pete's great blues guitar playing check out his website:http://www.peteanderson.com/ Thanks to Pete for letting me use this great track.
Our fourth guitar lick is played over the  Amin7 and Adim/D9 chords in the 9th and 10th  bars in this 12 bar blues. The lick begins with a descending chromatic passage starting  on the seventh of the A chord the G note.

Blues Guitar Solo in G - Lick #3

The next few guitar licks will be put together to form a basic blues guitar solo in G. The backing track is from Pete Anderson  called "Talking My Baby Down". It is one of his contributions to the blues guitar backing tracks for the King of The Blues Competition. Used with permission. You can download the backing track and chord progression here: http://gc.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues/tracks/  To hear some of Pete's great blues guitar playing check out his website:http://www.peteanderson.com/ Thanks to Pete for letting me use this great track.

Our third guitar lick is played over the  G6 chord the 8th and 9th bars in this 12 bar blues. The lick begins by carrying over the root note for the fisrt bar and then adds a chromatic flourish based around the G Blues scale.

Blues Guitar Solo in G - Lick #2

The next few guitar licks will be put together to form a basic blues guitar solo in G. The backing track is from Pete Anderson  called "Talking My Baby Down". It is one of his contributions to the blues guitar backing tracks for the King of The Blues Competition. Used with permission. You can download the backing track and chord  progression here: http://gc.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues/tracks/  To hear some of Pete's great blues guitar playing check out his website:http://www.peteanderson.com/ Thanks to Pete for letting me  use this great track.
Our second guitar lick is played over the  C9 chord the fifth and sixth bars in this 12 bar blues. The lick begins by leading into the C9 chord a half step above the chord and then employs notes from the G Blues scale finally resolving to the G note which is the fifth of the C chord.

Blues Guitar Solo in G - Lick #1

The next few guitar licks will be put together to form a basic blues guitar solo in G. The backing track is from Pete Anderson called "Talking My Baby Down". It is one of his contributions to the blues guitar backing tracks for the King of The Blues Competition. Used with permission. You can download the backing track and chord progression here: http://gc.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues/tracks/ To hear some of Pete's great blues guitar playing check out his website:http://www.peteanderson.com/ Thanks to Pete for letting me use this great track.

So our guitar lick today is meant to be played over the first four bars in this 12 bar blues. In this case the chord is a G6. The guitar lick is played with pick and fingers and  starts off with the G note played on the high E string is held down while the pinky slides from the C to Db ( the blues note - flat fifth). Then there is a repeating lick played within the notes of the G Minor Pentatonic Scale.

Review: Jeff Loomis "Extreme Lead Guitar"

I really didn't know what to expect when I opened up this 2 DVD set. I'd never listened to Nevermore and although I was aware Jeff Loomis had a solo cd had never listened to it. I have to admit that a little part of me was expecting a mishmash of treble laden dissonance and little if any melodic sense. Happily I was very wrong indeed and my misconceptions entirely unfounded. The guitar tone throughout the DVD was stellar. Really beautiful - every note was articulate and the sound cut through the mix well. To my ears Mr. Loomis studied a lot of Yngwie Malmsteen not only because of his clean arpeggios but his vibrato was so great.

Rockhouse in my opinion has been very progressive in it approach to instruction not only recruiting cutting edge musicians who also teach well but by providing access to their website where you can download backing tracks for the exercises and compositions on the DVD - as well as enjoy the other lessons and membership benefits.

Jeff Loomis  is a great instructor on this two DVD set clearly breaking down each section and explaining his reasoning behind scale and chord choices. Not only does he demonstrate scales, riffs and leads but he imparts knowledge that will allow the guitarist to begin to utilize these concepts in their own playing.The DVD covers scales that rock and metal players may not be well versed in such as the whole tone scale. the diminished scale and an Yngwie favorite the Harmonic Minor scale. The scales are demonstrated with reference to Jeff's music. Next there is a technique section that discusses arpeggios, string skipping and more. The final section of the DVD has a breakdown of several complete leads that are well explained and presented in regular and slow speeds.

The DVD's include a tab ebook that is 58 pages and has tab for all the exercises, riffs and solos on both DVD's. The tab is very accurate and easy to read but I did miss the standard notation to assist with the rhythmic values. Although the slow sections of the DVD certainly demonstrate the rhythms adequately.

Fans of Nevermore and Jeff Loomis who play guitar will love this DVD set. It provides great insight into the playing technique and song composition and will teach you some great music. Guitarists who like Metal or just admire great playing will also benefit from this disc. The songs are really very melodic and although they employ some progressive scale choices and techniques the riffs and solos are very pleasing to the ear while still being metal.  I really loved this DVD set and now have got to get down to practicing some of the great material it presents. For more information on this visit:www.rockhousemethod.com

Tried and True Beginner Blues Guitar Licks

Beginning guitar players sometimes have the temptation to delve right into rock or metal playing without considering the foundations upon which much of this music rests - the blues. I think some basic foundational knowledge of the blues makes even the best rock player better and for the beginner I think it is a great jumping off point for learning rhythm, scales and improvisation. Like any great music true mastery takes years of dedicated practice but there are some great basic blues guitar licks that will bolster the mojo of even novice guitar players. There is no video example with this lick but I'll try to answer  any questions or comments. Here are two standard blues phrases in the Key of A using eighth note triplets. Triplets receive three notes per beat so count these 1 and a 2 and 2 etc.

Noodlin for a PRS - Jamplay contest

This is a contest entry for a PRS from Jamplay.com. Noodlin over a backing track in C ( although I used an F# lots because it sounded cool to me). Cheers.

Guitar Exercise - Fretting Hand Permutations

This is an alternate picking guitar exercise using two 3 note left hand permutations 134 and 124 in combination. The notes are  16th notes grouped in sextuplets. Use strict alternate picking throughout.

Blue Noize - Guitar Noize Blues Solo Contest Entry

Just thought I'd share my contest entry for the guitar noize "Blue Noize" blues guitar solo contest. It's an improvisation on the backing track provided by jamtrackcentral.com. A bit rambling at some points but there are definitely sections I like and hope you will too. Thanks for listening.

Fretboard Exercises - Permutations

Next week we are going to look at some guitar exercises and licks based upon four and three finger left hand permutations. This first lick uses a sextuplet pattern and two three finger permutation that each use two overlapping notes as you can see from the tab. Our first video next week will begin by building on this lick.

Guitar Lick Inspired by Randy Rhoads

Today's guitar lick is inspired by one of my favorite rock guitar players of all time the great Randy Rhoads (RIP). This is a legato riff played with seven note groupings using the A dorian mode which contains the notes in the G Major Scale. Which is all natural notes with the exception of the F#. Before the riff I establish a bit of a typical 80's metal rhythm in the video by playing a diad progression in A using movable power chords. To hear some absolutely brilliant legato playing I recommend checking out the live "Tribute" album featuring Randy Rhoads with Ozzy. Randy's studio material was awesome but his live playing is really beyond description his legato was so fluid and seemless and there is a real sense of emotion and passion in his playing that few other people have ever matched. I've listened to this album thousands of times and never tire of hearing this masterful guitar playing.

Beginner Tapping Guitar Exercise #2

This is a more elaborate version of the guitar lick we looked at yesterday. It involves the same basic lick and triplet pattern except the tapped note alternates bewteeen the B note and the A# on the 12th and 11th frets of the B string. I apologize the sync in the video seems to be way off. Trying to fix this.

Beginner Guitar Tapping Exercise

Another bonus guitar lick for the weekend tabbed with Tiny Lick. No video for this lick but it is pretty straight forward. This is the first tapping guitar lick I ever learned. It is a basic triplet pattern played on the B string. Eddie Van Halen uses a simliar lick in the outro guitar solo on "Eruption". You start by tapping the 12th fret of the B string with your index finger of your picking hand (although some people prefer the middle or ring) use a gentle and slight downward motion to flick of the string and sound the 5th fret E note on the B string that your left hand will already be fretting. I think of this motion just like a pull off. If you are just starting tapping be careful to keep the string in tune when flicking off with the tapping finger. Once the E note is sounded you hammer on the the F# - do this twice. Repeat this except next time hammer onto the G on the 8th fret instead of the F#.  Practice this using a metronome and with a triplet rhythm. Monday we will look at a slight varitation of this exercise where the note being tapped alternates as well.

Bonus Guitar Licks - Three Note Creativity Exercise

A special weekend segment of "Lick of the Day' tabbed using a cool site called Tiny Lick. In the video I use three notes only in one position on the B string the notes F#,G# and A. Limiting yourself to a few notes can be a great exercise and will improve your improvisation skills and enhance creativity. That or drive your neighbors crazy. I've tabbed out a few licks from the video. Try creating your own three note improvs. Have fun. For the best example ever of a three note repeating phrase check out John Frusciante's outro solo on "Don't Forget Me" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The notes on that are A, G and E on the high E string.
Drums courtesy of Sonoma WireWorks Riffworks Instant Drummer.

Pentatonic Guitar Lick #5

Friday's guitar lick is our last repeating lick based around the C# Minor Pentatonic scale and played over a chord progression of C7#9/B/A which is similar to "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix. The major difference being that "Watchtower" uses a Cminor chord not the 7#9. I left a bit of improv on both ends of the video for an example of how it would fit into a musical phrase. First uploaded video didn't sync so this is the second attempt.
Drums courtesy of Sonoma WireWorks Riffworks Instant Drummer.

Pentatonic Guitar Lick #4

Yet another repeating guitar lick based around the C# Minor Pentatonic scale and played over a chord progression of C7#9/B/A which is similar to "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix. The major difference being that "Watchtower" uses a Cminor chord not the 7#9. I left a bit of improv on both ends of the video for an example of how it would fit into a musical phrase. The guitar lick as notated in the tab begins at the 15 second mark but note that I use a variation of it in the early section of the video.

Drums courtesy of Sonoma WireWorks Riffworks Instant Drummer.

Pentatonic Guitar Lick #3

Another repeating guitar lickbased around the C# Minor Pentatonic scale and played over a chord progression of C7#9/B/A which is similar to "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix. The major difference being that "Watchtower" uses a Cminor chord not the 7#9. I left a bit of improv on both ends of the video for an example of how it would fit into a musical phrase. During the improvised section I also used the B note which is not in the scale. try altering the phrasing and tempo of the five note sequence and experiment with different accent notes.

Drums courtesy of Sonoma WireWorks Riffworks Instant Drummer.

Pentatonic Guitar Lick #2

A repeating triplet based riff based around the C# Minor Pentatonic scale and played over a chord progression of C7#9/B/A which is similar to "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix. The major difference being that "Watchtower" uses a Cminor chord not the 7#9. I left a bit of improv on both ends of the video for an example of how it would fit into a musical phrase. Drums for the backing track used for the next few licks courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks Riffworks Instant Drummer.

Pentatonic Guitar Licks

Back from a break for summer and the World Cup. Our next couple of guitar licks will be based around the C# Minor Pentatonic scale and played over a chord progression of C7#9/B/A which is similar to "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix. The major difference being that "Watchtower" uses a Cminor chord not the 7#9.

Review: Alex Skolnick's Jazz Guitar: Breaking the Traditional Barriers

For a rock and metal guitar player like myself approaching jazz guitar can be a daunting task. The chords, scales and rhythms can seem overwhelming and can be so intimidating that many guitarists simply give up before getting a handle on this music. So when The Rock House Method www.rockhousemethod.com asked me to review this new DVD set I was pretty excited.

Alex Skolnick is a great metal and rock guitarist best known for his playing in Testament. Alex has branched out musically though to study jazz guitar and head his own jazz trio " The Alex Skolnick Trio". He has even arranged metal classics for Jazz guitar. One example included on this DVD is the Scorpions tune "Still Loving You" which features a lesson as well as a live performance.

You can read more about the details of the DVD on the rock house site but you get a 3 DVD set which includes a printable PDF tab e-book with all the musical examples ( over 50 pages). You also get some great online extras that Rock House is known for inlcuding downloadable backing tracks, extra lessons and free lifetime membership to their members only website. For those of you on the go the set includes ipod ready video.

What I loved about this video was the quality and clarity of the instruction. Alex is really a great teacher. He clearly explains each concept and presents the material in a logical order that allows you to steadily build on prior lessons. He begins with some blues progressions and expands into standard jazz progressions like the ii-V-I and traditional jazz changes. He breaks down the basics of triads and modes and show you the fundamentals of using these in a jazz context.  The examples build in complexity and introduce concepts like chromaticism and targeting chord tones and playing over changes. Many examples on the DVD include a trio playing  the examples first with Alex and again with no guitar so you can practice over them.

Then he breaks down a classic Jazz Standard "Autumn Leaves" with a look at both the chord changes and a solo. The arrangement is explained very clearly and Alex demonstrates how and why the chords and solos are arranged. The DVD also touches on other Jazz Rhythms and how Alex arranges.

My only criticism of the DVD was that the tab did not include standard notation. I think especially with the more complex examples it would have helped to learn the phrasing quicker. In fairness though more complex examples are broken down slowly and Alex explains the phrasing well.

I would recommend this DVD to any rock and metal players who want to branch into Jazz guitar and are not quite sure where to start. I think this is suitable for beginner/intermediate to intermediate level guitarists. Alex clearly has some Jazz chops as the live performances attest to. I hope his schedule allows for a Jazz Guitar II that can continue where this leaves off.

On a side note I've been caught up in world cup fever so the regular guitar licks have gotten a bit delayed. Six hours of football daily can definitely eat up the free time. Thanks for being patient.

DADGAD Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle Lick #5

Our final DADGAD acoustic guitar lick is made up of a simple fingerstyle pattern using lots of out available open strings. It ends with a little pull off lick. In the video I resolve this to a A note which is not in the guitar
tab notation.

DADGAD Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle Lick #4

Our fourth DADGAD acoustic guitar lick this week is a short little lick that may be useful for an intro to a song. It uses some hammer on and pull offs to add a little bit of speed to the lick. Pretty basic but I enjoy this type of sound on acoustic.

DADGAD Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle Lick #3

Our third DADGAD acoustic guitar lick is based on a lick I came up with from a voicing of the Dadd9 chord. I am a big fan of Guitar Techniques magazine and Stuart Ryan has a current column called "Celtic Guitar". I'm in Canada so I am always a few issues behind but in the latest issue I have he uses a cool  voicing of a Dadd9 chord in an arrangement of a Turlough O'Carolan song. I liked the sound of this voicing so I started my guitar lick of with this chord played in single notes. After that I tried to come up with a celtic flavored sound that was basic yet sounded interesting.

DADGAD Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle Lick #2

Our second DADGAD acoustic guitar lick again utilizes the open string possibilites this tuning prvoides. This is a basic fingerstyle lick that uses some double stops and hammer on and slides.

DADGAD Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle Lick #1

It's DADGAD tuning acoustic fingerstyle guitar licks for this week. Our first guitar lick is a triplet based pattern that takes advantage of the open strings this tuning allows. DADGAD tuning is a popular acoustic guitar tuning where the high and low E strings are down tuned to a D and the second string is dropped from a B to and A note.

DADGAD Acoustic Guitar Lick

Next week were are going to look at acoustic guitar licks using DADGAD tuning.DADGAD tuning is a popular acoustic guitar tuning where the high and low E strings are down tuned to a D and the second string is dropped from a B to and A note. I came up with an interesting cross picking guitar lick that  I thought sounded cool. When you are playing this note that the fretting hand index finger is reserved to play the F# on the high D string. The licks for next week are all played fingerstyle in contrast to this one that is played with a pick.

Tremolo Picking Guitar Lick

Today's guitar lick uses tremolo picking. We are still using the E minor scale and the backing track we have been looking at all week. Tremolo picking involves rapidly picking the same note. The best  example I can think of to demonstrate true mastery of this guitar technique is Eddie Van Halen's tremolo picking run in "Eruption" from Van Halen's first album.



If you are interested here is a guitar improv I did using some of the licks we have looked at this week over the backing track:

Have a great weekend!