Transform the A minor Key with a Simple Trick.

Licks Between Chords

Hey guys, today I want to show you how to spice up your guitar playing with this simple trick.

If you are fed up of playing chords and you need something to make your playing more interesting, this simple exercise will help you a lot!

We are going to add simple licks between chords so that you can get the most out of you playing, creativity and musicality.

This exercise is extremely beneficial for beginners and intermediate guitar players however playing licks between chords has a lot to do few really important points:

Memorize a chord progression.
Learn a simple scale.
Visualize a simple structure (Chords, melody, chords, melody).
Become solid with rhythmic guitar chops.

We are going to take things step by step and start by learning the simple chord progression in A minor then slowly add the licks between the chords.

I hope you enjoy the lesson!

Tab Available on Patreon!

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The Video

The Chord Progression

When getting this technique together, learning the cho

rd progression is probably one of the most important thing you’ll do.

In this exercise we are going to learn two simple chords, A minor and E minor which are going to be playing in Bar 1. Jam on it until you become confident enough. Remember that the chords will be played in a loop, so the chord change should become second nature.

Bar 1 in red: Chords.
Bar 2 in Yellow: Melody

The Scale

Second step, let’s look at the scale. You will need to learn the scale perfectly! In this video I am covering the A minor scale in two different positions.

In order to keep the exercise simple I decided to play the licks between chords only using the top three strings (G – B and E) so that we can narrow it down to just few notes (rather than playing on six strings).

About Playing Licks Between Chords

The fact is, unless you have been working on a similar exercise and you know how to play the scale and chords perfectly, the exercise will feel awkward at first.

We are going to start with very simple phrases so that you can learn the sound of the scale before trying something more difficult.

If one of your purpose for picking up the guitar in the first place was to learn a way to play chords and melodies you are going to need to spend time learning the scale and chords as they represent the language of the style we are learning today.

Of course guys, the licks I am showing you today are just a handful of simple sounding phrases. As you become better with the licks I am showing you today, you can then slowly change the notes and come up with different licks.

What is a Lick?

In popular music, a lick is a phrase consisting of a series of notes used in a solo or melodic idea that are based on a maximum of seven notes. One of the characteristic of the licks is that they are easy to memorize and change. There are certain licks that are blended together to develop a solo.