Master Your Use Of Licks

This series is aimed at guitar players who're in a rut! Today, we explore chord-specific licks. Sounds kinda scary, but this really ignites your potential as a guitarist. :)

What Is A Chord-Specific Lick?

It's a lick containing notes that are likely to clash with other chords in the sequence, particularly in a blues. These licks sound great over some chords but horrible over others!

Knowing when certain licks sound good helps you use them in the proper context. It also means you can develop one lick into many others, adapting to each chord. Let's see how!

A Really Common Chord-Specific Lick

In the blues, there are loads of popular chord-specific licks. A typical example is the one we play in the video. In the key of G, it contains the notes b flat, b, d, and g.

When we play this lick over the G, it sounds great. But play it over the C chord (the IV chord in a G Blues) and it sounds terrible! Over the D chord, it's so-so. Try it for yourself. :)

This is all to do with the note b. It's part of the G Major chord (g b d) – that's why it works with the G chord. But it clashes with the others. So in general, the 3rd in the Major scale of the root note is chord-specific, meaning any licks containing it are chord-specific.

💡 More Chord-Specific Licks! Learn lots of chord-specific licks with my Blues Licks module.

How to Use Chord-Specific Licks

Definitely use the 3rd when you're playing the I chord, but avoid it on the IV chord and be careful on the V. In those cases, switch it for another note, then move back on the I. You can adapt your licks to the chords you're playing. :)

You can also move the entire lick up. In our lick in G, we use the notes g, b flat, b, and d. When the song changes to C, you can move this lick into C by moving up the neck. Start with the note e flat at fret 8 of string 3 and play the same shape. Can you figure out the names of the other notes?

Another option is to see the basic chord shape as you play and hit those notes. This is great for unusual chords, like a B Major chord in an A blues. Find a B Major chord on the fretboard, and play the notes from it. You can't go wrong!

💡 Quick Tip! I learned loads from transcribing artists like Chuck Berry and The Rolling Stones. You can clearly hear that they target chord shapes, like the B Major chord I mentioned.

Key Question: How Do I Know If A Lick Is Chord Specific?

You can't always move licks around as you please. Sometimes they'll just sound weird! Always ask yourself if a lick is chord specific, and use your ear as the final judge!

💡 Lee's Nugget of Wisdom: forget about the scales and chords, and LISTEN to what you're playing.

If it uses a lot of notes from the chord, it probably is, and you'll likely be able to use the same lick moved up and down the neck. If it doesn't, it probably isn't chord-specific, meaning you can't simply shift it as before. This is getting into advanced-level blues!

Jamming Game

This is a little jam game for two people! One plays rhythm guitar, using only major and minor chords for at least one bar on each. Do not use complex jazz chords!

The other player turns their back and tries to play solos without knowing the names of the chords that the rhythm guitarist is playing. That way, they really need to listen to the sound of the chords. Here's a tip that almost always works: you're only ever a semitone away from a good note! :)

The point? After doing this a lot, you start to develop your ear. You also realize whether you need to step up a semitone or a tone to get to a good note. And it stops you resorting to your favorite licks!

And as we talk about in the video, there is no such thing as a "wrong note." Context is king. If you play a note among other notes and with enough conviction, you can make it sound good in almost any context.

One Final Exercise!

A great exercise for blues playing is to write down all your pet licks – the ones you use ALL the time – on TAB. This shows you how many you have, which might be fewer than you think.

Figure out whether they're chord specific or not, and adapt them to other chords as you need to. Use this to expand your playing! I have blank TAB on my website – just follow the link.

Stick around for more Rut Busters and take your playing to the next level! Cheers. :)

💙 Now it's time to play like the masters! Check out my module Making The Blues Changes.

The Gear

I'm just waiting on some gear details, but will include links here to the guitars and amps (and effects) that Lee and I use in each video, and include serial numbers where possible in case you want the exact guitar we used :)

Justin's Guitar: I borrowed Pete's Gibson 335 (not for sale)
Lee's Guitar: Gray Guitars Emperor

Justin's Amp: Fender Deluxe
Lee's Amp: Victory?

About This Series

This video lives on the Anderton's YouTube Channel – this series alternates between that channel and my main one.

Anderton's Music
Anderton's is my local music store in Guildford (UK) and I got in touch with Lee to throw around some ideas for collaboration. It's a cool store and I buy most of my stuff there :) Big thanks also to Danish Pete for his editing expertise and fun hangs!