This week we have a simple blues lick, which is one of dozens of variations on the March 4 Lick of the Week.

Here’s a lick I first learned from a solo by tenor saxophonist Houston Person. He played it several times over rhythm changes when the tune goes to the Bb7. It works well in jazz, but also sounds great as a gritty blues or rock lick.

This weekend I’ll be traveling to Atlanta for the Gear Talk Expo and getting to hang with my good friend and guitarist Lance Seymour. Hopefully we’ll have time to play some guitar together between the expo festivities. Meanwhile, here’s a video from my last trip to Atlanta. Enjoy!

• 1pm – Peter Stroud. Iconic guitarist for Sheryl Crow, Don Henley, Sarah McLachlan, and others. Co-founder of 65 Amps. Peter will talk about his career as a sideman, his approach to gear, and will be answering questions from the audience.
• 3pm – Cameron Mizell. C0-Founder of MusicianWages.com and professional guitarist in New York City. Cameron will discuss what it takes for musicians to make a living in the current music industry and how musicians can organize their own careers to create reliable streams of income.
• 5pm – Josh Scott. Owner of JHS Pedals. Josh will be holding a Q&A session to answer your questions about guitar effects pedals.

The Gear Talk Expo will be held at Avatar Events Group, 503 Amsterdam Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30306.

All clinics will be next door at the Red Light Cafe, 553 Amsterdam Ave, Atlanta, GA 30306.

For more information, a full list of vendors, and to purchase tickets, visit geartalkexpo.com. Hope to see you there!

This lick uses an Em7(b5) arpeggio and a Bb diminished arpeggio pattern (over A7b9) to outline a ii-V-i in Dm. I originally learned a similar lick from a Pat Metheny solo.

Finger Picking Basics

Finger picking is used by classical and flamenco guitarists who have developed a notation and vocabulary for a variety of right hand techniques. Average acoustic guitar players, such as singer-songwriters, or even the vast majority of gigs I play, only require the most basic techniques. Those are:

Rest Strokes: Plucking the string and letting your finger or thumb come to a rest on the adjacent string. For example, pluck the B string with your first finger and let it come to a stop against the G string. This helps accent a particular note.

Free Strokes: Plucking a string without touching any other strings. This is the most common way to finger pick. You can use free strokes on all the exercises below and get a great sound.

Finger Markings: The fingers of your right hand (or plucking hand) are identified with the first letter of their Spanish names:

• p = Thumb
• i = Index
• m = Middle
• a = Ring

Fingernails: While they’re not necessary to play finger style guitar, well maintained fingernails will make your tone louder, brighter, and more expressive. Most well known guitarists, especially those that finger pick often, use their fingernails. Just like a guitar pick, you can adjust your attack to change the tone. Plucking the strings with the flesh of your fingertips only allows the option of picking hard or soft.

If you choose not to use your fingernails, it’s not a big deal, but your fingertips will need to build calluses  Practicing these exercises will probably hurt at first. Give it time, don’t do too much at once, and let your fingers toughen up.

Finger Picking Exercises

Use this video to hear and see each of the below exercises performed. Click here to download a PDF of the exercises.

Exercise A

This is a very common pattern. It is similar to a classical piano technique you’ve heard time and time again called Alberti bass, which is simply a way to break up a chord in the left hand accompaniment of a melody. Many finger picking patterns on guitar serve the same purpose.

If you have trouble with it, start with just your thumb. It plays on ever quarter note alternating strings. The thumb playing quarter notes is actually quite typical, as you’ll see in the other examples.

Exercise B

Exercise B is a variation on Exercise A. This time your thumb covers more ground, and your index and middle fingers play the B and E strings respectively.

Exercise C

In this pattern, the thumb only plays on beat one while the rest of your fingers get a work out. This pattern sounds great slow and fast. Try it slow at first, adding emphasis to the notes on the B and E strings and allowing the natural arc of the line to dictate the dynamics. As you speed it up, you’ll find the emphasis is best felt on beats 1 and 3.

Exercise D

Exercise D introduces a technique sometimes called “pinching,” where you pluck with your thumb and finger at the same time. This particular pattern is similar to the intro to “Dust In The Wind” by Kansas (though the chords in this example are different).

Once again, your thumb is playing quarter notes. Start with just the thumb, and then add the other fingers.

Exercise E

Here is another example using pinching, except this time it happens on beat 2. The thumb does the same thing as Exercise E, but the fingers have a more complex pattern.

Exercise F

This exercise is an introduction to the great Chet Atkins style of fingerpicking. The thumb plays eighth notes while the finger play a syncopated rhythm. Once you get the hang of it, try alternating the bass note between G and D.

Exercise G

Finally, Exercise G is a true test of finger dexterity! This is the pattern used in Heitor Villa-Lobos’ “Etude 1,” a veritable rite of passage for classical guitarists. Start slow, use a metronome, and gradually increase the speed.

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This week’s lick is one of my favorite jazz licks–it lays on the guitar so well and can be applied to several different progressions. I originally transcribed this from Joe Pass, playing over the a ii-V-i. In this case it would be in the key of Dm: Em7(b5) – A7(#5) – Dm7.

The lick uses the Super Locrian Scale, which is an intimidatingly awesome name for the last mode of the melodic minor scale, which also sounds a little intimidating. An easier way to think of it, perhaps, is “One, flat everything.” Here’s we’re using A Super Locrian, so the notes are A Bb C Db Eb F G. See how every note other than the first is half a step lower than a major scale? Another way to think of it is as an Ab major scale, but play an A natural instead of Ab.

I know that gets confusing, but that’s why licks like this are so convenient. It works over any altered dominant chord.

A nice little country guitar lick in A. I picked this one up from guitarist Lance Seymour, a good friend of mine who I trade ideas with all the time.

This lick is the type of thing I frequently play over long vamps on one chord. In this example, Bmin7. By using pentatonic shapes, scales, and arpeggios and connecting them with a little chromaticism, this lick hints at other chord changes and sounds more interesting than simply playing a B minor pentatonic.

For the most part, this lick starts with a descending F#m7 arpeggio and ends with an ascending Dmaj7 arpeggio. Everything else just connects all those notes!

Here’s a lick I picked up from a Dexter Gordon solo. He probably plays it a dozen times in one solo, but it always sounds great! Works well as a ii-V-I lick, or just on top of a major 7 chord.