Learning Guitar Licks

A lick is simply a musical phrase. The more licks we know, the more musical statements we can make.

Learning licks for different styles of music is a valuable part of learning to improvise. This is as true for blues and rock, as it is for jazz.

When learning licks however, it’s not enough to simply perform each lick exactly as it was learned. It is far more effective to be able to play many different variations of each lick. This extends both our musical vocabulary and our creativity.

There are many ways to vary licks, which you will study in your guitar lessons. The end result will be the ability to improvise extensively, with a coherent musical theme. Improvising with themes is a common characteristic of many great solos performed by the masters, and one that you can learn too!