As guitar players we are always looking for arrangements of notes that we can use to impress our audience. There are several names given to these sequences of notes, such as lick, phrase, riff or hook. Each of these terms identifies a group of notes with a different function. A lick is a basic ingredient in a guitar player’s repertoire – kind of like spices in a kitchen – it can be used in many different ways to achieve many effects.

Blues music uses very simple melodies but solos, whether they be by a guitarist, trumpeter or keyboard player can depart from the simplicity of the main melody by means of the soloists use of licks. One thing about blues licks is that they are always easy. What grabs the attention of the listener is how the licks are strung together like pearls on a necklace.

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