geordiebluesman
591 posts
Jun 06, 2012
11:44 AM
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Hi guys, I have been working through Dave Barretts incredible Improvisation lessons on his website and he strongly advises building up a mental library of blues licks that you can dipp into when improvising and i was wondering if anyone had done this in a formal way and if so how they decided on and found the licks to sudy?
I would like to have at least twenty classic licks to work with to start to get that classic Chicagoe sound,can anyone suggest some favourites that might fill the bill?
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FMWoodeye
361 posts
Jun 06, 2012
12:09 PM
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I recently downloaded a "fast blues licks" audio lesson from Ronnie Shellist's site. He dissects about 20 (15?) separate licks. It's nice to keep some of these audio and video lessons handy as an electronic library in conjunction with your cerebral library. They're easy to access in this format, too, instead of listening to a CD and trying to steal...uh...emulate them.
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Joe_L
1870 posts
Jun 07, 2012
7:47 AM
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Is listening to Blues music and finding music that moves you out of the question? Having a bunch of licks is great, but you need to know the context in which those kicks are used. You also need to know how to "play what fits".
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The Blues Photo Gallery
Last Edited by on Jun 07, 2012 7:48 AM
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hvyj
2449 posts
Jun 07, 2012
8:04 AM
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Personally, i don't practice licks as such. I'll run through different scales (and recently I'm starting to do it with arpeggios) and then fool around playing with the scale notes to generate licks out of the particular scale. i think this makes my playing more fluid and allows me to move in and out of licks more melodically.
Of course, some tunes have heads or hooks that are licks and i'll practice those note-for-note because if you don't play them right, you're not playing the tune correctly. then i'll see if i can duplicate that line in all 3 registers (sometimes you can, other times you can't) and then sometimes, for exercise, I'll try to transpose it to other positions, which really helps you find what notes are where so you can construct your own licks,
IMHO, there are few things more uninspiring than a harp player trying to force ft memorized blues licks over whatever material happens to be getting played at a jam
Last Edited by on Jun 07, 2012 8:10 AM
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geordiebluesman
592 posts
Jun 07, 2012
8:58 AM
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Hi JoeL, no listening to blues music is'nt out of the question and of course i do that every day,but that's part of the problem the amount of music available now is overwhelming, maybe a better question would be, what should i be studying to get that Chicago sound into my lick library so that i can use that knowlege to make interesting bluesy music of my own?
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Joe_L
1871 posts
Jun 07, 2012
6:48 PM
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If you want to sound like a Chicago player, I would recommend listening to guys who lived there. I would start by listening to Muddy Waters and anyone that played with Muddy Waters.
If you are on David Barretts site, I would consult his list.
Second thought, I would start with Sonny Boy I, he started it all.
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The Blues Photo Gallery
Last Edited by on Jun 07, 2012 6:54 PM
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KingoBad
1109 posts
Jun 07, 2012
10:18 PM
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I would suggest picking one guy and learning a WHOLE song. Licks are partial thoughts. You may string some together, but it will sound like you are speaking in broken English. The ideas will not flow.
Like JoeL said, you need context. As you pick up WHOLE songs, you will pick up context, and THAT you can use. The more whole songs you add, the greater your mastery will be of the licks in their anticipation and context.
When I say WHOLE songs, I mean singing too. You need a feel for where the music fits with the singer. Even if you never sing in public, you will truly understand where the playing fits.
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Danny
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