Miniseries #006, Scruggs Licks I

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Miniseries #006, Scruggs Licks I

Hi Everyone,

This is the introduction to a "Licks" section here on the Moose. Mark, Ryan, and myself are going to catalog many different licks in many different styles for the Banjo. I'm going to start off with the basic breakdown of a couple Scruggs style licks so you have an opportunity to see how a basic lick is constructed and the possibilities that can follow. We are going to be doing all kinds of licks, from Scruggs , Reno, Stanely,, Fleck and really any style type licks associated with any player. There will be Bluegrass, Jazz, Blues and just about any other Licks you may want to pursue.

Remember that Lick is a short musical phrase. Learning some of your favorite licks can help you in the improvisational process, especially in bluegrass banjo. It can give you an opportunity to "change up" different licks in different spots. A lot of these licks are interchangeable so you will have opportunity to hear how they can be interchanged and also strung together. We will also have different licks for different chords.

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT SENTENCE!!...........although we will be using licks to help in our improvisations...............IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO LEARN BASIC FOUNDATIONS OF THEORY that we have gone over so far and will continue to go over in the future. When you KNOW the notes of the fingerboard, when you KNOW how chords and scales are constructed, you will know where these Licks are coming from. Knowing the basics will also help you construct your own licks and eventually you wont be playing licks......you will be just PLAYING.

Rock On Everyone,

David