What licks you learning right now...? +TIPS

57Deluxe

Is interesting that I can be listening to the radio or TV and hear something that I know so well in my head but never got down to pat on guitar and then set myself the task of getting it polished...

Right now I am half way through the two lead licks in 10cc's I'm Mandy Fly Me...

I use all the modern tools but the most important is the knowledge of where the notes are  and what they are as you can also uncover so much more of the song in the process...

Tools/procedure:

Youtube - grab url

Keep Vid - paste URL and save as FLV

Switch Sound File Converter - convert from FLV to WAV

Audacity - clipout just the part and save as WAV

Transcribe! - load clip and slow to suit

Get starting point... find a relevant note

Refer to Neck Notes chart

Put the legwork in...

Feel smug!

Bellycaster

That's great solo you're learning @57Deluxe ;

I remember it took me some effort to transcribe that one and I have to be right on top of my game to play it along to the record and get it right. It was even harder to transcribe the chords to that song and in the end had to cheat a little and look on t'internet for a few bits.

Songs like this IMO are the pinnacle of songwriting talent, absolute genius.

As for licks I'm learning, I tend not to do this too much, but like you said, it is more important that you don't just learn the lick, because it's useless unless you know in what context it's being played and how you can adapt it to different keys etc.

I have just finished transcribing this first section of playing here. When he is using the Strat, but mainly the phrases between 1:23 and 1:54.

This is because I want to spice up my soloing a bit and he is using some great chromatics here and I love the sound of that slightly "outside" playing. I know he is going from a D5 Chord(adding minor third and down to the b7) to the same riff on the A5 Chord, so I now need to analyse why he's choosing some of those outside notes. 

I can see that some of the positions are in the Dmin Pent and some of the notes correspond to the A min Pent, but he must be using b9's and #5's etc all over these licks, that's where it gets difficult. I could be totally out with this and would gladly be corrected for my own good, but I know which licks are over which chord, this is important to me.

Maybe the guy isn't thinking too much about "theory" and is just playing what he knows "sounds great" from years of experience, I don't know.

I'm up to 1:45 and it's been hard work to transcribe those chromatics bits as my ears are not used to it. 

As for tips. I just repeat and use the slider to keep listening over and over again in quick succession and soon the lick starts to separate itself into mini licks of the big lick, even counting the notes played. Sometimes working from the end of the lick backwards, sometimes repeating just a few notes of the lick over an over using the slider. I can still only play those chromatic style licks at 70% speed, but I'll keep plugging away.

I sometimes use Audacity if I've got the mp3 to slow down the track/solo etc.

This guy is a great player, I must say. I went to this demo due to the "Who's Tried a...." thread on here and I've just ordered the pedal too. Serendipity is wonderful.

John_P

I'm halfway through hotel california as this weeks tune...  I've got a few others I need to learn next week  (remind myself how to play black dog, why cant' this be love and go your own way).

I usualy put them on in the car to get the structure in my head,  then sit a play along via itunes or youtube to find the key and the chords then work at transcribing the lead parts.  If I'm not hearing a part then there a usually a zillion youtube videos as a back up but I enjoying trying to find it by ear..

Grunfeld

57Deluxe said:

Tools/procedure:

Youtube - grab url

Keep Vid - paste URL and save as FLV

Switch Sound File Converter - convert from FLV to WAV

Audacity - clipout just the part and save as WAV

Transcribe! - load clip and slow to suit

Get starting point... find a relevant note

Refer to Neck Notes chart

You may know this already but Transcribe! can play mov and mp4 files and show the video as well as playing the audio, and with all the usual slow down and pitch shift tools.

I don't use video much but every now and then it really helps because it shows you where on the neck it's played.

But what you usually find -- why, oh why is this? -- is that when the guitar player plays the solo the f*cking cameraman decides it's time to have a close up of the bassist. 

Are all cameramen part of some secret tribe of bassists?  They turn up at the TV studio, the producer holds up four fingers with a knowing look in his eye, the cameraman gives a little nod and wiggles two fingers on his right hand -- that's it, you're in son, no bastard guitar player will ever be filmed taking a solo on my watch!  

57Deluxe

/\ YES! - is like the music show producers/directors are members of some cult - like the Freemasons (FreeBASSmasons?) - and is part of their rites - like rolling up your right trouser leg - cos it has been going on since year dot!

I fcuking hate BASS guitarists...

ThePrettyDamned

I'm currently learning a few songs for fun. I've spent a long time writing riffs but feel a bit like I've hit a rut and a lot of my ideas sound alike.

So to branch away from thrashy stuff, I'm learning some alter bridge - metalingus and one day remains.

Both are because they're fucking awesome songs and because they're pushing my technique. Metalingus requires a strong little finger power chord riffing, which I'm awful at. One day remains seems okay, but requires very gentle palm muting and really, really accurate picking technique. Everyone says how he drenches in wah to hide mistakes, but you can only get away with it once! It's a major key riff, too, something I really don't use much.

Both are a bit thrashy though.

xSkarloey

Glad I hit on this thread.

My current goal is to play along with Black Rose by Thin Lizzy.

I have always just worked stuffout hit and miss by ear, but where this approach limits me is on the very demanding bit where Gary Moore plays the medley of jigs.

I'm doing my best to clock what position he's playing each section in via Youtube videos, but I might have to resort to some of the software you mention.

I can crack it. I just need a surer sense of which fingers need to go where!

ElectroDan

@Bellycaster there is a site called Yourepeat where you can search for Youtube vid's and set two sliders for where you want the repeat to start and end. I find it quite handy.

Bellycaster

Thanks @ElectroDan

Sounds a lot more convenient. I' m getting Vibration White Finger doing it my way.

:-)