lick

Our first variation via deletion is the most common one for this hook. Delete the third note...

I7 = 2 2" 2 > 2 2"

IV7 = 4+ 3' 4+ > 4+ 3'

V7 = 4 4+ 4 > 4 4+

Or on your Bb Harmonica in 3rd Position...

I7 = 4 4+ 4 > 4 4+

IV7 = 6+ 5 6+ > 6+ 5

V7 = 6 6+ 6 > 6 6+

Give this a try while playing the song and listen to the effect it has. Have a great weekend everyone... see you on Monday.

It's not guaranteed that a fast lick will have a movement pattern, breath pattern or both, but it's worth looking for... the discover of them can help make a fast lick much easier to play.

Your Tongue Block Study 3 song ("Gary's Blues") contains a great example in Bar 6 of Chorus 5. Note that each beat has you moving up one hole and coming back, all with the same breath. For the next beat you move down the scale and blow, then using the same movement. Rinse and repeat and you have the entire lick. This discovery will help you to play this lick much more easily. continue reading...

Fast licks can be challenging to learn due to the number of notes packed into a small amount of time. Difficulty is heightened with awkward breathing patterns or the addition of challenging techniques such as bending or note treatments (dip, cut, gliss, slap, flutter or octave for example). Students will struggle to fit all of the notes of a passage in time, and in their struggle they'll often unknowingly play a lick too fast in order to get to what's next in the music. continue reading...

A turnaround lick with the last note... the 1 draw in most cases... changed to 2 draw will commonly work great as an ending lick.

A student asked this question this morning: "Can most bluesy licks be used over any of the three chords but are there some licks that are just more suitable for the IV chord?"

The answer I feel is worth sharing...

"Yes, you are correct, most bluesy licks can be used over any of the three chords, and there are some licks that are more suitable for the IV7 Chord, and especially the V7 Chord. continue reading...

A great speed lick should still sound musical when slowed down.

This is the #1 challenge for new bands. At School of the Blues we CONSTANTLY work on this with our house bands.

The most common ending for blues is where the ending lick happens in Bar 11. There are two common ways to approach this ending:

1) If the leader (singer or last person to solo) looks back to the band at Bar 10 (the IV Chord) and nods there head or says "here we go," or saying something of that nature, then EVERYONE should play an ending lick. continue reading...