1a. The following lick is a common idea used by players such as Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Tony Iommi, and Angus Young. It is one beat long. The basic mechanic is a downstroke/pull-off/upstroke. It is our Building Block that we can add to and manipulate to create additional licks!

Simple Variations

1c. By changing just one note we can create a new variation - notice that the "mechanic" is still the same!

2a. This is another variation, created by combining all of the notes used in the previous examples. Because we now have four notes, the rhythm has changed. Changing the rhythm of a lick is a great way to get more "mileage" out of it! We will re-visit this lick later on.

Isolate the Mechanic

1d. This is an extension of Lick 1c. It is actually a three note sequence, repeated so that we can isolate the picking (mechanic). Often, longer ideas can seem daunting and difficult. If you apply the concept to a simpler lick, it is easier to breakdown, and you will get a useful lick quicker! Once you have the basic "mechanic", you can then apply it to more complex applications.

Create More Complex Variations

1e. In this example we extend the idea across adjacent strings to create a more complex lick. The are three different endings indicated, again creating variations to make things more interesting. Each of the endings is a different chord tone/target note - a great way to finish a lick!

1f. Here we take the basic idea even further, creating a longer sequence that lasts two bars. Just like the previous example, you can experiment with the note you resolve to in the third bar.

Rhythmic Variations

3a. This lick was created by adding a hammer on to Lick 1c. The lick is still one beat long and is picked the same way.

3b. This variation was created by simply moving the idea from strings 1 & 2 to strings 2 & 3, while remaining within the scale shape.

3b. And this lick is the result of moving the original idea across further pairs of strings within the scale shape.

Lick 2 (Slight Return)

2b. As promised, we are looking back at Lick 2a. We are again creating variations by moving our basic one beat Building Block across the strings. Lick 2b sees us repeat the idea on a lower string each time.

2c. This time we are expanding the basic idea across three strings, and then repeating the idea one string lower on each repeat.

Lick 4 - Ascending

4a. For the sake of thoroughness, here a few ascending example to demonstrate that an idea can be transferred higher also. The basic Building Block in again one beat long, and the pattern is; note, lower note, original note.

4b. This lick demonstrates moving the idea up to the next note of the scale a couple times.

4c. This example takes the original Building Block and moves through each note of the scale to create an impressive two bar sequence!

4d. You don't have to be a "slave" to a pattern - you can change it however you like! For example, I didn't like the way the previous example finished (the last two notes are both E). So, I have edited the last beat of the second bar to provide a more pleasing end to the phrase. Notice that the beat I have edited is from Lick 1d.

Re-contextualise the Lick

Let's look back at Lick 1c and see how else we can generate more ideas from it!

5a. One common thing we can do is move it to a different position - in the next example we have simply moved all the notes to a higher/adjacent scale position. The fingering changes, but the rhythm and the mechanic remain the same. We could have moved this lick to any of the other pentatonic positions.

5b. This example continues to expand upon the concept by incorporating a note from the next scale position also!

5c. The following lick is similar in approach to 1d, but utilises a hammer-on rather than a pull-off on the second beat.

5d. While this example is a combination of the previous two ideas.

6a. This example reverses the hammer-on and pull-off and moves to septuplets to create a "faster/busier' lick.

6b. This one incorporates the additional note we saw in 5d.

6c. The following lick is very similar to previous one, however, it has been simplified to only contain notes of an Em7 chord.

6d. This lick is the same as the previous idea, but the notes have been changed to fit a Cmaj7 chord - the pattern/contour/mechanic of the lick is exactly the same.

6e. This last lick demonstrates idea applied to a D7 chord.