Licks Vocabulary
Hi David!!!
Your licks Vocabulary that uses in improvisation,
have written them down over time for remember them,
or have them in memory and come out during your performances? for example a lick you learned years ago,
come out spontaneous without having rehearsed it?
Thanks
Best Regards
Marko
David, as part of a practice routine, do you specifically focus on particular holes - ie. concentrate just on 4 draw licks? I've been thinking in terms of 'I chord licks' or 'IV chord licks' (though it's early days so my vocab's pretty limited) but would you also recommend thinking in terms of '3 draw licks', '4 draw licks', etc.?
Yes, absolutely.
Thanks David!!!
your answer has clarified my doubts :)
The licks we learn it's ok to transpose them in other keys in improvisation?
or it's better to leave them in their beginning key for not lose their feel?
Thanks
Best Regards
Marko
Yes, move them to different keys and grooves... the more you work with them the higher the likelihood they're show up in your improvising.
Hey, I know we're supposed to progress through the lessons and accumulate licks from lesson tunes; and I'm doing that. BUT, do you have a little list of licks that make you sound like you know what you're doing when you do a mike check or try to show off for your friends? You know, a few riffs that make you sound cool. I need a little list.
You're correct, the licks are in the songs. Listen to the songs that you feel are within your grasp technique-wise and when you hear a lick you like go in and get it... that's how it's done. Have fun lick harvesting!
Hi David!!
thanks for your answers!!!!
I have a question in addition to this topic :)
when you realize or what you feel ,when a lick entered in your long-term memory?
thanks
Best Regards
Marko
How long does it take for a lick to get into your longterm memory? This is a combination of the two things...
1) Repetitions - You need to play it many times... minimum of 50... most likely 200.
2) Context - In order to remember something you need to associate it with other things in your memory. This is why placing the lick into the Chorus Form conext (AAA, AAA with fills, AAB, AAB with Fills, A B/A C, etc.) is so important. Our memories are associative, and therefore the more you place the lick into the context of what we normally do in phrasing, the more success of it being there for you when improvising.
Please feel free to ask more questions if this was not clear enough, or if I didn't understand your question please let me know.
Yes, the licks that I play come from all of the songs I've studied in the past with the creativity of the moment to make them work in that improvising moment. I have not written them down (though I will when learning them commonly and will review them until they're in my long-term memory). It's also important to take the licks out of the songs you study and apply the Chorus Form process. When improvising, we, as harmonica soloists, commonly start on a hole and see where it takes us. We rarely know what we're going to play ahead of time. We have faith that if we start with a 4 draw that we've played/studied MANY licks in the past that start with the 4 draw and we have faith that something is going to burp out that works. It's also important that we study songs with different grooves; it's all about "been-there-done-that" and if you haven't explored a particular groove you'll find you don't have much to draw from.