I have just started jamming with some other people and hoping to develop my leads. I have understanding the major and minor pentatonic scales and have knowledge of full scales although am not entirely comfortable moving all over the place as I still find it hard to keep the whole fret board straight while trying to concentrate on what I am doing. In one of the other threads it was mentioned that it is good to have a stock pile of licks and riffs. I was hoping people might be willing to share some licks and riffs they like that are fairly simple and work well in multiple keys. Also I was hoping maybe for some ideas for resources to learn more riffs and licks. I know Neil plays chords to solo over for his Melissa lesson in the key of E major I believe. If that is a helpful starting point. Also, for a song like that or any other really is there a recommended way to adopt the feel of the song besides just being in the right key?
Thanks for your help everyone,
Mike
Riff and Lick Ideas
Hey Mike! I know exactly where you are. There are many, many resources out there that teach licks and riffs. I suggest starting with Amazon. What I found is that most riff material is centered around the blues. That's okay I guess because a lot of rock uses the blues scales. But it wasn't exactly what I was looking for.
My point is you have to know what kind of riff or lick you want to learn. Obviously, if you are a folk or ballad player learning hard rock riffs may not help you much. While most riffs and licks are just pieces of patterns played in different combinations they do tend to have a certain feel to them depending on style.
Another resource, and I hope I'm not violating the TG standard for outside resources, is Homespun.com. They tend to be more acoustic and blues or country oriented but still a good place to start. I have Artie Traum's Essential Riffs book and it is excellent.
Finally, there are many internet resources that have riffs for free. There are also subscription sites just for riffs but with so much free stuff all I need is TARGET and a few books or DVD's.
Good luck with this. I went on this journey about two years ago and it can be frustrating finding what you really need.
Cheers! :cheer:
My point is you have to know what kind of riff or lick you want to learn. Obviously, if you are a folk or ballad player learning hard rock riffs may not help you much. While most riffs and licks are just pieces of patterns played in different combinations they do tend to have a certain feel to them depending on style.
Another resource, and I hope I'm not violating the TG standard for outside resources, is Homespun.com. They tend to be more acoustic and blues or country oriented but still a good place to start. I have Artie Traum's Essential Riffs book and it is excellent.
Finally, there are many internet resources that have riffs for free. There are also subscription sites just for riffs but with so much free stuff all I need is TARGET and a few books or DVD's.
Good luck with this. I went on this journey about two years ago and it can be frustrating finding what you really need.
Cheers! :cheer: