101 Amazing Licks - Lick 18

We all know a great lick when we hear one—Jimmy Page’s solo breaks in “Whole Lotta Love” and Mark Knopfler’s blistering triads in “Sultans of Swing,” for example. Moments like these grab your attention and aurally brand your ears forever. Or, sometimes it acts more subliminally: You suddenly find yourself playing a certain lick over and over again, wondering, Where have I heard this before?

Through the years, these licks have evolved into a vocabulary for the guitar. And like great writers who are always able to find the right word to make a point, great guitarists always have that essential lick at their disposal to express, in the moment, what they’re feeling. And whereas the best writers are able to string those words together to form remarkable prose, the best guitarists link their licks to form living, breathing, musical statements.

We called upon our mighty stable of instructional writers to assemble these 101 Amazing Guitar Licks, spanning over eight decades and ranging from rock, metal, and blues to jazz, country and bluegrass. Regardless of what style music you play, it will do your ears and your chops good to go through each of these licks. Learn them, master them, and keep them on file for the next time you’re looking for just the right way to say what’s in your soul.

ROCK

FIGURE 18

Origin: This slippery passage is just one of a seemingly inexhaustible collection of mind-boggling, modern-flash licks from Joe Satriani’s 1987 solo outing, Surfing with the Alien.

Theory: It’s a whole-step slide–fueled, open string–enhanced, lickety-split trip down from the nether regions of the fretboard to the mid-neck area, all courtesy of the E Dorian mode (E–F#–G–A–B–C#–D).

Playing Tip: Take your time with this knuckle buster! As with all of Satch’s musical statements, there’s a lot of finesse rubbed into this passage.

Check back next week for Figure 19!