Advanced: 16 Blues Licks in A minor (Part 1)

I wanted to revisit this lesson because this was my first YouTube video that got popular. Thanks to these blues licks I decided to share more and more videos on YouTube and in Sound of Emotions too. I added 4 new licks (that actually a bit more jazzy then bluesy)
How to Practice these licks?
I. Like a Machine – I mean, don’t try to be creative just learn them one by one. Be sure that you master the first lick before you move on to the next one. The only creativity I allowed myself is to play them one octave higher too.
Intermediate – slowly, pay attention to your technique and fingering
Advanced – As fast as you can play it correctly with a metronome
II. Improvisation – How to apply these licks in the real world?
Sometimes licks sound forced when we add it to our free improvisation. It just does not blend in naturally. Here is how you can fix that issue:
  • Use the Play-Along track
  • Use only the A minor blues scale and Lick no. 1 for the next 5 minutes
  • Play variations on Lick No. 1 (change the ending, change the beginning, change the rhythm)
  • When you hear that Licks No. 1 sounds naturally good in your free improvisation, move to the Lick No 2.
One more tip: Don’t try to learn everything in one day. Choose one lick, have fun with it for weeks, and when you got tired of it, come back to this lesson and learn a new lick.
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