Table Of Contents Cool A Minor Pentatonic Lick With A Blue Note 3 Practice Method 10
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DoM - DVD 2 SOLO.mp4 Music by Steve Stine
Cool A Minor Pentatonic Lick with a Blue Note Here we have a really cool sounding lick that utilizes the first position of A minor pentatonic with a blues note towards the end. Steve performs the entire lick as follows:
Fast q = 140
P.M. P.M.
Ex.1
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At actual speed, the lick seems difficult to play. However, difficulty in learning such licks can be overcome by learning a small segment at a time, get used to the a particular segment, learn and add another segment, and then put them all together (practicing the entire lick at slow, manageable speed first and then eventually speeding up). We start learning the entire lick with this simple pull-off passage from the 7th to the 5th fret at the 5th string. Use a single downpicking stroke
Ex.2
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We now add the note at the 8th fret 6th string after the pull-off passage. It is important at this stage to take notice of the exact downpicking used by Steve in the example shown:
Ex.3
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It is important to mute the string above the one we are fretting with the 1st finger of the fretting hand to prevent unwanted string vibrations that bring up noise. The downpicking started at the 6th string provides need leverage to sweep down across the 6th and 5th strings to play the succeeding notes: 5th fret 5th string and then hammer-on to the 7th fret. We now have this five note pattern:
Ex.4
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We can then continue that single downpicking sweep to the 5th fret 4th string note:
Ex.5
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To complete our first pattern, perform the last two notes using an upward picking stroke to the 7th fret 5th string and then a pull-off to the 5th fret 5th string:
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Ex.6
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This lick is meant to be played fast. However it can be initially difficult. Some of the keys to playing fast are: 1. Synchronization between the picking and the fretting hand. 2. Efficient picking technique. This is why it is very important to practice the suggested picking patterns in this particular lick. We need SLOW PRACTICE in order to commit each movement of the lick to muscle memory so that it will be easier to learn and eventually use the lick in our own soloing efforts. The entire idea behind the first half of this lick is based on the pattern that we just studied. Practice Ex. 6 using proper fingering and picking SLOWLY a number of times before moving on to learn the next segment.
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Keep in mind that in performing this lick, we are actually thinking of going across the shape of the A minor pentatonic scale in the first position. In Ex. 6, we played a complete pattern that serves as a foundation for the first half of the lick. The second segment of the first half of the lick looks identical to the pattern in Ex. 6, except that we're playing the pattern starting on the 4th string (rather than the 5th) and then moves across the 5th, 4th and 3rd strings. This portion of the lick looks like this:
Ex.7
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We can now combine Ex. 6 and Ex. 7 together to come up with this portion of the lick. Try practicing this segment a number of times to get the feel of motion between two small portions of the lick:
Ex.8
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The next portion of the lick looks identical to Ex. 7 except that it starts at the 3rd string and moves across the 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings:
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Ex.9
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The next example shows all three patterns put together to form a run:
Ex.10 3rd Pattern P.M. P.M. P.M.
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2nd Pattern
1st Pattern
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The 4th pattern is tricky. While it follows the similar patterns as shown above, it involves starting at the 8th fret 2nd string note and then pulls off to the 5th fret. The four-fret distances feels unfamiliar compared to the examples above, a problem that can be solved through practice.
Ex.11
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Combining all four patterns now gives us the first half of the lick. Remember to first practice each pattern at a slow, comfortable speed and then put the patterns together:
Ex.12
P.M. 22
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2nd Pattern
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P.M. 3rd Pattern
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4th Pattern
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For notes that are found within the 6th, 5th and 4th strings, a little bit of palm-muting makes the lick sound like it's being picked all the way through rather than relying on hammer-ons and pull-offs. IMPORTANT TIP: The goal of the picking pattern suggested here is efficiency and comfort. While the suggested picking pattern is highly recommended, any picking pattern you can think of that is efficient and comfortable is okay. The second half of the lick is what we call a sequence. For Steve, a pattern is an established idea. A sequence is a pattern repeated over and over in different places. Here is the entire second half of the lick:
P.M. P.M. Ex.13
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We begin the second portion of the lick by playing the 1st string 8th fret, pull off to the 5th fret, downstroke through 2nd string 8th fret and 1st string 5th fret, and then upstroke 2nd string 8th fret plus pull off to 5th fret:
Ex.14
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7 We now add a blues note at the 3rd string 8th fret and a return to the 1st string 5th fret
Ex.15
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The last portion of the lick involves the mentioned blues note plus a major 3rd from A:
Ex.16
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Combine Ex. 15 and 16 to complete the entire second half of the lick. Combine the first and second parts together, and you get an awesome lick. You can also play around the the ideas behind the sequences so that you can come up with your own lick.
Ex.17
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Practice Method Set your metronome at a slow to moderate speed (60 to 100 bpm) and practice these series of notes. Complete the exercises step by step to acquire muscle memory for the lick. Practice each exercise repetitively using proper form and picking technique:
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Ex.18
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Practice the "push" picking technique for this next exercise:
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Ex.19
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Practice the complete 1st pattern as shown below. Count off four counts before repeating the pattern.
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Ex.20
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Once you are comfortable with the 1st pattern, cycle through the pattern a number of times without pause. This must be done within a metronome setting that will allow you to execute the pattern without mistake.
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Ex.21
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Next step is connect the 1st pattern to the 2nd pattern as shown below:
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Ex.22
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Once finished with Ex. 22, cycle through the 1st pattern and 2nd patterns completely.
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Ex.23
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10 The important thing about showing this particular practice method is for you to be able to see which aspects of your playing are very good and which aspects need further improvement. If, for example, you are having difficulty on a certain section of the lick, you need to pause the video and try to see where your technique needs work. Is it muting the strings? Picking? Fingering with the fretting hand? Is the speed of the metronome too high? Break down each component of the lick, figure out what's causing a problem, work on it, and then build it back up. We admit that practice can be difficult and frustrating, and this is why it is very important to take your time. Do not hurry and try to nail the lick in one go. Give your brain the time it needs to make every movement for the lick automatic. We need to encode each movement correctly so that as time passes by (after doing the work practicing), the lick becomes second nature. For this to be successful, patience is necessary. By practicing the patterns and building the lick through combining patterns and sequences together, you'll eventually be practicing the first half of the lick as shown below:
Ex.24
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1st Pattern
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2nd Pattern
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Once you become comfortable, add some slight palm-muting to the patterns involving the thicker strings e.g. 6th, 5th and 4th, to make the passage sound like each note is picked. Relax palm-muting when you approach the thinner strings until you reach the 1st string where you should not apply palm-muting at all.
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4th Pattern
3rd Pattern
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11 As for the second half of the lick, practice this portion first for a few cycles:
Ex.25
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Once you get used to practicing Ex. 25, extend the passage with the portion involving the blues note:
Ex.26
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Progress to the next exercise once comfortable by including the two pull-off portion:
8 5 5 8 8 5 5 8 8 7 5 Ex.27
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12 We can now complete the second part by adding in the "double 7s" plus our last blues note (major 3rd) before leading back to the root. Let's practice playing that passage first before playing the complete second part.
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Ex.28
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We can now try and practice the entire second part of the lick:
Ex.29
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P.M. 8
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P.M. 57
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This particular lick is meant to be played fast. You are reading it right. It's meant to sound impressive by being fast. The goal of practicing this lick slow is to be able to eventually play it fast.
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The beauty of this lick is that its two halves (or even portions of each) can work as entire licks themselves that you can use in your solos. For example, let's say you can only perform a half of the lick, you can use the patterns immediately for your guitar solo. While you're already comfortable with that half, you can continue working on the other half. There's no need to rush learning the lick. Once you've learned it and you're comfortable playing the lick, it would be easy to get it to speed. Let's the example played by Steve. Notice that he starts off his solo using another lick and then joins it with the first half of the lick we've been trying to learn:
Fast q = 140
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Ex.30
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P.M. P.M. P.M. P.M. P.M. P.M. 61
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P.M. P.M. P.M. P.M. P.M. P.M. 63
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Etc... P.M. P.M. P.M. P.M. P.M. P.M.
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If you have already gone this far and you're getting how each component of the lick goes, it may be time to take the challenge up a notch and practice at the licks original tempo. Perform the following lick components repetitively in eighth notes:
P.M. 5 7 5 5 7 7 5 8 67
Ex.31
P.M. 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 5
5 5 8 5 5 8 8 5 7 5 5 7 7 5 7 7 P.M. 69
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15 Once you become comfortable playing the lick components in eighth notes, speed it up by playing each lick component in 16th notes. Once playing 16th notes at 140 bpm can be carried out with ease, you can now play a variation of the lick this way:
P.M. P.M. 71
Ex.32
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Another challenge is to create variations of the lick based on the patterns learned e.g. play the pattern twice, going down to the floor and then up, etc.
A Few Final Words: The lick does look and sound intimidating, isn't it. It sounds really cool, impressive and "dangerous" when played fast At the same time, from a learner's perspective, it might seem impossible to learn. Fear not. Steve said that if he can learn how to play it well then so can you. "But he's Steve Stine!" you might retort. Steve will tell you that at first he thought that he can't play stuff like this. All that it takes for anyone to be able to play this awesome sequence is: 1. You don't have to play it exactly as written, and coming up with variations to the patterns are encouraged. 2. Take advantage of the fact that you can always go to the GuitarZoom website and ask Steve for help and assistance. 3. Use a proper practice method (practice slow first and in segments or sections before putting them together). 4. Practice on a constant basis. Be diligent and patient.
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