Lick of the Day

Rock Guitar Lick - B Minor Pentatonic Scale

2009-07-03T07:51:00.001-07:00

A classic rock guitar lick using a B Minor Pentatonic scale. Tab and video on the blog as usual. Tuned down a half step if you want to play along. The chord progression is E/B/F# G/ Drums courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks Riffworks. Have a happy fourth of July Weekend.

Beginner Blues Guitar Lick A Minor Pentatonic Scale

2009-07-02T13:36:00.001-07:00

A basic blues guitar lick using the A Minor Pentatonic Scale. Just a straight forward blues lick over the I chord in a twelve bar blues. Cheers.

Drop D Metal Guitar Lick #2

2009-07-01T05:33:00.000-07:00

Another Drop D tuning metal guitar lick (down a half step). This one makes a good alternate picking exercise as it involves a lot of string crossing. Tab is provided so this should be fairly straight forward for beginner and inetermediate players. Try altering the amount of palm muting and the tempo for a different sound. Cheers.
Happy Canada Day!

Metal Guitar Riff - Drop D Tuning

2009-06-30T13:31:00.000-07:00

A triplet based metal guitar riff in Drop D tuning ( down a half step). Just a fun riff for the day before Canada Day. Try altering the palm muting for a different sound. Also try experimenting with different tempos as this riff works well at slower and faster tempos. Drums courtesy of Riffworks by Sonoma Wireworks a great program.

Rock Guitar Lick - D Minor Pentatonic Scale

2009-06-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

A basic guitar riff using the D Minor Pentatonic Scale and using a bend and hold technique where diads are held over a bent note. The tab is a basic guideline here so listen and watch the video to get a feel for where the lick comes in. Drums are courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks Riffworks.

Classic Rock Guitar Lick A Minor Pentatonic Scale

2009-06-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

The A Minor Pentatonic scale is a staple in rock guitar playing and the foundation of many classic rock guitarists. Today we kick off the weekend with a basic rock guitar lick using this scale. This is a straight forward rock guitar lick that should be within range of beginner and intermediate players.

Rock Guitar Lick and short improv example

2009-06-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

This is a guitar lick from the song "Apple Blood" off my new EP. This lick is based on the album version but not exactly the same. For demonstration purposes I've added a little improv at the end of the video that is not in the guitar tab. For extra credit see the prior blog post with the rhythm guitar tab and create a backing track to practice soloing over. I tend to think of this mainly in the key of A Minor when soloing over it but freely add chromatic notes when it sounds appropriate to my ears.

Apple Blood title track from guitar ep Hits #1

2009-06-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

The title track to my forthcoming instrumental rock guitar EP "Apple Blood" hit #1 in the rock charts on Soundclick. Thanks to everyone who listened. I know it's not Rolling Stone but I am proud of this song and appreciate everyone taking time to check out my music. You can visit my soundclick page here: www.soundclick.com/adave

Drop D Metal Guitar Lick

2009-06-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

A Drop D tuning metal guitar lick. Drums courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks

Neo Classical Guitar Lick - Alternate Picking

2009-06-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

A little alternate picking guitar lick with a slight neo-classical tinge. I've used the same notes ( see the tab) in the video demonstration but changed the phrasing slightly over the rhythm section to demonstrate a few different phrasing options. Use the tab as a guideline but listen to the demonstration for the rhythm. Cheers.

Guitar Instrumental - Faded Memories

2009-06-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

I posted another track from my upcoming Guitar EP "Apple Blood" on my myspace page experimental guitar. It's called "faded memories". A pretty atmospheric vibe which I dig and I hope some people enjoy too. Let me know what you think.

Melodic Death Metal Guitar Lick #2

2009-06-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

A second look at a melodic "death metal" guitar riff/lick. This is using Drop B tuning down a half step. I figured if I put on a set of Dunlop Zakk Wylde strings with .60 low E I had better include a drop tuning lick. Again this was by request. Well outside my normal rock guitar playing style but I hope listeners can enjoy it and use the riff as a springboard for their own ideas. Note the muting on the low B. I used a diad inversion to give the riff a slightly different feel than with normal power chords. Ended with a little neo-classical style lick that I hear in this genre in my limited experience. Thanks for the request. Keep em Comin.

Till Death do Us part - Melodic Death Metal Guitar

2009-06-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

By request this is a quick attempt at a "death metal" melodic guitar lick. I don't listen to much death metal ( as you may be able to tell from the lick) but a viewer requested a lick in this genre and gave me Children of Bodom as a reference. Now Alexi Laiho can really play. But being from an older school I hear a lot of Randy Rhoads in his playing. So I decided to do a quick guitar lick Friday and then listen and try to compose a longer and more genuine attempt at a death metal guitar lick Monday.

I stuck to a neo classical influences scalar run with a repeating riff for the quick attempt today. Nothin fancy but I think it sounds pretty cool. Hopefully Monday will be more a more accurate melodic example. Thanks for listening and commenting.

Not your usual Guitar Lick

2009-06-18T14:56:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty unusual sounding guitar lick. It kind of reminds me of something you would hear in a soundtrack from an early horror movie. Anyway I kinda like this and thought it would be cool for the guitar lick of the day so here it is.

Guitar Lick with Wah Pedal

2009-06-17T13:40:00.001-07:00

A straight forward wah infused guitar lick today that establishes some movement and melody with a repeating pattern where the bass note descends. Pretty straight forward but I'm hoping to develop this idea into a more complex one that can be used as the basis for a song.

Guitar Intro "Lost in Decay"

2009-06-16T13:32:00.001-07:00

Today's guitar lick is from the intro to a new song called "lost in Decay" from my upcoming guitar instrumental EP "Apple Blood". It is a pretty basic picking part but watch the video and see how I leave the index finger free to fret the G note on the high E string in the last bar of the intro tab. To do this I play the F note on the B string with my pinky. Try different fingerings and see what works for you.

Don't eat the Guitar "Leprechaun's Jelly"

2009-06-15T20:16:00.000-07:00

Ok track 2 from my instrumental guitar EP "Apple Blood" is finished. It is definitely the crazy experimental track on the record. I am really happy with the way it turned out and I hope some people enjoy it too. If you like it spread the word and tell a friend. I had a lousy evening but mixing this turned out great and really made my day. This track is called "Leprechaun's Jelly" mainly guitar run through some pretty crazy harmonizing effects. All the guitars and outrageous sounds emanating from said guitar are played by me the drums are courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks RiffWorks. Again I sometimes get bored with "audio only" as an internet surfer so I made a little video again with public domain footage. Cheers.

Guitar Riff - Chord Based Movement

2009-06-15T15:06:00.000-07:00

This is a fairly common type guitar riff that uses moveable chord shapes and arpeggios to outline the basic notes in the riff. The guitar part starts with an A minor chord and a common hammer on sequence from the open B string to the C note on the first fret. Then the riff incorporates open notes most noteably "G" as is moves up the fretboard using a moveable "C" and "D" chord shape.

Title Track to Instrumental Guitar EP

2009-06-13T17:03:00.000-07:00

Ok I finished the title track to my upcoming instrumental guitar EP "Apple Blood". I am hooked on "watching" music now so I uploaded some public domain video footage to accommodate a youtube post. Guitars are mine. Drums are courtesy of Sonoma Wireworks Riffworks Instant Drummer. Thanks for taking the time to listen. I hope some of you enjoy the song and the rest of the world can at least tolerate the noise.

If you are interested in updates on the EP you can follow me on twitter at:
twitter.com/jimifan If you'd like a copy of the song DM me on twitter. Donations (via paypal) are appreciated but this track is free upon request in digital form.

Cheers.

Guitar Riff in D

2009-06-12T15:54:00.000-07:00

A guitar riff in the key of D that uses and open D string pedal point and shifts between to triad versions of A and G chords. The lick uses a palm muting technique and a wah wah effect to accent desired single string notes on the B string.

Guitar Rhythm Intro - Apple Blood

2009-06-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

This is the rhythm guitar intro to the title track of the new EP I'm recording called "Apple Blood". The guitar intro is based on an arpeggio pattern that incorporates a moving bass line over a repeating pattern. In the video I give you a right hand pick view as well because I don't strictly alternate pick all the parts. In the tab on the notes that move from strings 1-3 consecutively I will play with a single upstroke but let the notes ring.

Chord Based Guitar Lick in G

2009-06-10T13:53:00.000-07:00

This guitar lick stylistically is along the same lines as the lick in D we looked at yesterday. Today's guitar lick is based in G. Again pretty heavily influenced by Hendrix here. You'll find much more advanced, beautiful and soulful examples of this style of playing in "Little Wing" and the "Wind Cries Mary" whose style this lick draws upon. I start the lick in G with a line using the treble strings from a G chord as a base position. Next I shift into a set of sliding chords that are a modified version of a shape that Hendrix used a lot. I muted the open string here to tighten up the sound but you'll find a lot of guitar players choose to let the open G ring out. After the sliding chords I move into a staple of this style of playing the triplet hammer on fills then end the lick on the root note G at the 10th position 5th string.

Guitar Lick with Rhythm Fills

2009-06-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

I had a request for some guitar licks similar to some of the Hendrix Style rhythm fills I looked at awhile ago on my main video guitar lessons website. I usually record my guitar lick of the day spontaneously. Today's lick in D uses some common rhythm fills and focuses on the D to A chord movement. While I was happy with the lick it came out a little less Hendrix influenced and a little more Black Crowes inspired in flavor - which is fine I just hope it meets the request. Anyway the next few guitar licks will look at my take on this style of rhythm/lead guitar playing using chord fills. A reminder as well you can follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/jimifan and get updates on my forthcoming instrumental guitar EP "Apple Blood".

Palm Muted Neo Classical Guitar Lick

2009-06-08T13:37:00.000-07:00

A basic but fun palm muted guitar lick that has a bit of a neo-classical flavor.

Instrumental Guitar EP "Apple Blood"

2009-06-07T19:47:00.001-07:00

I plan to release an all guitar instrumental Ep called "Apple Blood" mid July 2009.
If you'd like to be notified of it's release you can email me (wardwd@gmail.com) or DM me on twitter
www.twitter.com/jimifan
I anticipate digital downloads of some tracks will be available for free. It is a sombre album with a layered atmospheric vibe. I'm still working on cd artwork so if anyone has any ideas let me know.