Guitar Gymnastics – Lick of The Week #23

This week, Lee Chamberlain demonstrates some guitar gymnastics in this lick that leaps across the fretboard from octave to octave. Whilst the arpeggios here might be familiar, it’s the movement between them that will be the most challenging. Jumping between octaves on a single string can be challenging at any time, as there is little room for error. Land one fret too short or too far and the result can be painful on the ears. But this lick takes things even further with its pace and given how far up the fretboard it starts.

However, with slow and patient practice, this lick can be added to the catalogue of both intermediate and advanced players. Remember, though, use your little finger as the target note, as Lee suggests. Once you get things up to the faster speeds, paying attention to every note becomes impossible. But after enough practice, as long as you hit the correct note at the start of each arpeggio, the rest of the sequence should follow. Try this same idea with other arpeggios as well once you have the minor and major shapes mastered.

If you want to learn more about the scales and techniques used in this lick, you can find them in Level 3 of our online guitar syllabus. Our syllabus covers the six fundamentals of guitar playing over five levels and will take you from a beginner to expert. To find out more head over to our Syllabus page or our Online Shop to subscribe.

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