Stop Learning Licks Like This(Do this instead)

Yo, today we're going to be talking about why the way that most people learn and memorize licks is not good. Alright, let's just take this lick for an example. I'm going to play it over to blues. It's like. And so I'm going to play this blues backing track. And like most people, it's like you kind of have it in your one little, like, pentatonic box, you know what I'm saying? Maybe a different rhythm, you know, like, maybe you bend it. But the problem with this is that, like, you have it just in this one area. And it's like when you go somewhere else, like, what if I was on this. If I was on this area of the fretboard, how would I play it? You know? Would you know how, or do you only know that specific shape? And so what we're going to talk about today is how to use it in a more effective way. And so now I'm going to play the same backing track, but I'm going to show you how to, first of all, how to think about that lick and how once you have an understanding of the actual construction of the lick, not just a fretboard, numbers and geometry, that it can actually teach you something. So this lick, just before we get into it, is 3, 2, 1, 2, 1, 6, 5, 6. I conceptualize songs in minor based around 6. You probably should too, if you want to learn from me. And so now that I know that 3, 2, 1, 2, 1, 6, 5, 6. I can play that anywhere, you know, so first I played it, I could play it instead of. Instead of going back down, I could go, oh, that's nice. I had that little. It's a little different than, you know, when I played before. So if this is my six, I can find that up here. Now. 3, 2, 1, 2, 1, 6, 5, 6. And so now this is not just like a lick in one position, but it's like a piece of language. So this is my two. I can play it down here. Here. 3, 2, 1, 2, 1, 6, 5, 6. You know, with some of the open strings. The bottom line is, most of y' all don't even know what to call your lyrics. You don't even know what it is. You're just like, it's this, or you're like one level above where it's like you're conceptualizing minor as one. But then when it's time to play those licks in major, they don't work. And so this is a beautiful way to get the most bang out of your bug for both major and minor. So. So yes, let's break down how to actually do this. So first of all, take your song if it's in minor, for example, just in B minor, you're going to put that B as 6. If you're in major and it's like D major, D is going to be one. Those are the same key, by the way. And so first things first is like, if you haven't numbered your pentatonic scale, you're already on step negative one, right? So we have to be able to say, you know, six, one. I'm playing B minor pentatonic right now. Six one, two, three, five, six. One, two, three, five, six, one. And so after you have that, all of your licks that you play, you know, if you're gonna play that now is not just. It's now 6, 6, 5, 3. It's kind of like a bend in the 2, 1, 6. And so with that knowledge, anytime you have a 3 anywhere on your fretboard, right? So that's A. Or anytime you have a six, right? So that's one, six. Now I could play the same like an octave down, right? Six, six, five, three. Bend it to 1 6, right? Maybe that's. That would be more accurate. But it's like, it's the same look but played in a different spot. And most of you guys probably aren't even aware that the licks that you play higher in one position, you could also play in the same position and oct it down because you're just not even aware of what to call these freaking numbers. If you're still like completely new to this idea. I said, watch some of my earlier videos where I break down these ideas about the tonal map. But what's cool is that like now it's like not just only in that box, anytime I have a six, I'm just gonna play a random note. That's a. That's a six. I can play it up here. Six, six, five, three. You know, bended into one six, I'll find another one. This is the same lick. And the reason I don't ever have to guess and I don't mess it up is because I'm always thinking 6, 6, 5, 3, bended 2, 1, 6. And so know what your licks are made of that. Then it also teaches you ear training. Anytime you hear that, you know that six, six, five. And those things will start to seep in and you'll be able to pick it up faster and faster and faster. And so how can you Actually apply this. Take a little phrase that you know. You can even start with something really simple like 1, 2, 3. Okay, let's start with 1, 2, 3. Even in this position, you can play 1, 2, 3. So many different ways. You can play all in the same string. 1, 2, 3. You could play 1, 2, and then up to the. To the B string. You could play 1, 2 on the B string, 3. You could play all in the B string, 1, 2, 3. All these different ways. You can even play. So this is my three. This is my two. I could play one on my one on my D string 12th fret, two on my G string, 9th fret, and then three on my B string, 7th fret. This is like the most inefficient, but that's all the same lick. And you can just get so much more bang out of your buck by knowing what the heck you're doing and not just being in space and playing these random shapes. If this clicked with you and you're interested in making your solos sound like you like music, like the stuff that's actually going on, that beautiful stuff inside your head, I got you. Go into the bio. I've got, like, a free chord ear starter pack that's gonna get you introduced to how to apply this way of thinking and how to actually put it into your playing. Attached there will also be another page showing how I actually do this with my students. And if that's something you're interested in, you can find out more there. Anyways, see y'. All. Leave any more questions or video requests in the comments. Adios.