In this lesson we’re going to take a look at another lydian mode guitar lick. Like the lick from the previous lesson, the lick we’re about to look at is also in the key of A Lydian, and makes extensive use of legato technique.
Because the lick in this lesson is more advanced than Lydian Legato Lick #1, I highly recommend getting comfortable with that lick before starting with the new one. Once you’ve become fluent with the first lydian legato lick, then you’re ready to tackle this one…
Rock Guitar Lick 20: Lydian Legato Lick #2
The lick shown above uses one of my favourite melodic patterns. It’s nine notes long, and if I draw a box around each repetition of the melodic pattern, you’ll be able to see that it’s repeated three times in a row…
If you look closely at the TAB, you might notice that I have used numerous left-hand taps. (These are also called “hammer-ons from nowhere”, and I have indicated them using the ) symbol). Each time you do a left-hand tap, be sure that you gently release the pressure of your index finger, so that it is left lightly touching the string. Doing this will help a lot with the muting process, and make it much easier for you to play the lick cleanly.
In my opinion, the lick is particularly challenging to play in time accurately. This is because you need to play the nine note melodic pattern using sixteenth note timing. Because of this, the melodic pattern is being displaced rhythmically so that each repetition of the melodic pattern starts on a different part of the beat. In other words…
- The first time the pattern is played, it starts on the first sixteenth note of the beat.
- The second time the pattern is played, it starts on the second sixteenth note of the beat.
- The third time the pattern is played, it begins on the third sixteenth note of the beat.
If you’re new to this sort of rhythmic insanity, then it would be a good idea to exercise extreme patience. 🙂
Have fun!
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