Favorite method of extracting licks from songs?

nico031

Hi people! This is my first post on the forum. I wonder what your favorite ways or methods of extracting the licks you learn from transcribing or learning Django solos so they stand on thier own, rather than being a small part of a whole tune. I'd love to hear from anyone who wants to share their oppinion. Since it's meant to be more of a "chatty"-subject rather than a "how to", it'd be fun to hear about stuff that didn't work out that well too

A little bit about myself, i'm a new player so I have so much to learn still it almost feels overwhelming at times but I try to focus on the fun stuff. Learning solos from soundslice or rosenberg academy is as simple as it gets and after memorizing about four or five solos i'm looking to break them apart so i can start experimenting and improvising. So I'm pretty much all over the place not knowing how to start but I guess im trying to find the chord/pattern the lick is based around and try to move it around to a rhythm track.

richter4208

checkout Gonzalo's how I learned book. It shows exactly how he extracted licks and patterns he learned/wrote to form solo etudes. After you get the general idea of how it works you can begin to try it yourself.

If you think learning a solo from the Rosenberg Academy is "simple as it gets" then you are well on your way. To truly learn one of these solos Stochelo performs involves many many skills that most beginners will take 3-4 years to develop, even players with lots of years of guitar experience other that gypsy style.

wim

Here's what I've found helpful - take some lick you like, figure it out, then try to re-use it in every solo you play. Choose something that really stuck out in a solo because it was so catchy. Something short, just 1 or 2 bars at most - so it's easily re-usable.

Now, you don't only play it on the same tune you stole it from, but you try to drop it in every tune. Every tempo. In any key. On any bar and even over the relevant substitutions. Transpose it horizontally or vertically on the strings, try it up or down and octave. Drop that lick in your solos until your bandmates hate it and never want to hear it again.

Maybe 6 months later, it should be internalized enough and absorbed in your technique to execute convincingly and with good timing - so you can start using it more tastefully and it will sound good. You'll also be comfortable enough to adapt it slightly, swap out one note for a different colour, adjust the phrasing by anticipating or delaying a note. Hopefully it doesn't sound like annoying "cut n paste" playing anymore, you're actually making music.

Rinse and repeat until you have 100 such licks in your tool belt.

And don't just take from Django either, steal from other players that you admire. Don't be ashamed. Guys like Adrien stole a tonne of licks from Bireli and polished them up. I've stolen so many licks from Olivier Kikteff that I should probably be in jail.

Here's a good one to start with, super catchy lick from Symphonie (1947). It's between 1:24-1:28, blink and you'll miss it. Works great anytime you're going from a I to a V chord. I think Django lifted this one originally too, from a Carmen Miranda tune that I can't recall the name of now..

MichaelHorowitz

I pretty much do what @Wim Glenn described above. As he said, it really takes a lot of time before a phrase really becomes part of your natural, improvisational vocabulary. It can easily take 1000s of repetitions.

Petrov

Yeah what @Wim Glenn said is a good way to go. I would add that you can steal licks from non guitar players like Louis Armstrong for example as well.

nico031

richter4208 wrote: »

If you think learning a solo from the Rosenberg Academy is "simple as it gets" then you are well on your way.

Oh yeah I didn't mean to come off as arrogant or anything but the tech really helps with slowdowns and looping. Now sounding close to or exact as Stochelo at 100% tempo..... let's just say that's a work in progress hehe! Thanks for the tip!

Wim! For some reason I didn't think of using solos i already know and modify them but instead i thought id have to start from scratch?? Anyway a bit of a lightbulb moment here for me then. I appreciate all the replies!

mac63000

I often mess around with the playback speed on videos I find on youtube to slowdown bits of songs that I want to learn. It's quick and easy to do from a computer or phone if you're on the go. It's also helpful if it's a video of someone playing because then you get a better visual of fingering and voicings. The only drawback is dip in sound quality, but if you know the key and the general tune, it's pretty handy. It's also free!

Matt

Elí Saúl

I wonder if anyone else practices this like me,
I essentially just listen to a lot of solos and when I hear a phrase that idk "feels" like it goes with me and such I just start singing it. Once I memorized it and can sing it without doubt I pass on to my guitar and learn it, then I analyze it and practice it over different chords progressions, then I kind of modify the phrase in variants that are based on the original phrase. Always singing them

This has helped me a lot, gives some kind of personal touch to things I've transcribed.

dennis

Elí Saúl wrote: »

I wonder if anyone else practices this like me,
I essentially just listen to a lot of solos and when I hear a phrase that idk "feels" like it goes with me and such I just start singing it. Once I memorized it and can sing it without doubt I pass on to my guitar and learn it, then I analyze it and practice it over different chords progressions, then I kind of modify the phrase in variants that are based on the original phrase. Always singing them

This has helped me a lot, gives some kind of personal touch to things I've transcribed.

that's mostly how i learn. I don't have a guitar in my hand. I just listen to Django and I hear what he plays and from years of transcribing, most of the time I understand what he's doing. Like if he plays Bbm over A7, I can hear it and understand it right away. Of course, in order to get to that level, I had to spend many years transcribing.

When I don't understand something, that's when I grab my instrument and figure it out, and then it's in my ears.

Bones

Haha, Eli. Yeah I sort of make it my own. Since I usually can't play it like the big boys do I just slow it down and cut out a bunch of notes...:-)

nomadgtr

Agreed with Eli and Dennis. Scat or sing it out loud first. If you can eventually hear it in your mind's ear without singing it out loud your fingers will find the way.