Why Hard Work on Guitar Isn’t Enough

Added: 2026-06-04

[00:00:00]When I first learned how to solo, I did two things, maybe kind of like you. I learned a few licks, Jimmy Page was my guy.

[00:00:09]You might know that one, and I also learned this scale pattern.

[00:00:13]>> [music] [music] >> Ah, yes, the minor pentatonic box. I'm sure you know it. And by the way, there's nothing wrong with that. You can do a lot with just that box and a few licks. But, if you're like me, you want more. So, you probably know about the five pentatonic boxes. That's all well and good, but as a long-time player and teacher, I've noticed a lot of people are only comfortable playing in that one box when they solo. And that was me for a long time, longer than I want to admit, despite the fact that I learned all kinds of licks and scale patterns all over the neck. I couldn't really use it that well. So, if that's you, I want to save you tons of frustration, maybe decades even, by showing you a simple method that actually works. It's musical, so it's fun, and actually makes you a better player, not a memorizing robot. And make sure you stick around to the end of the video because, as is typical, it's the last step that really makes the difference.

[00:01:14]>> [music] >> Okay, so how do you get comfortable making music in other scale positions? I mean, really comfortable. Well, I'm going to show you two things that people often try, myself included, and I'm going to show you these because they're relevant to the method that we'll actually use. So, it's worth hearing a little bit about it. First, there's this, just flat-out memorizing the five pentatonic shapes.

[00:01:36]Now, this is often associated with playing through these shapes on a daily basis, something like this.

[00:01:46]>> [music] [music] >> Etcetera and so forth. And we're supposed to do that every day, and apparently magic will eventually happen.

[00:02:00]But the magic never happens. At least it didn't happen for me, because it's just not musical. I found it so boring. I just got good at playing scale patterns.

[00:02:09]So, if scale patterns are non-musical and just too boring, what about the opposite? What about just learning a ton of licks?

[00:02:17]Oh, I tried that, too. Believe me. I even went as far as having flash cards, and I would shuffle these randomly, pick them out, put them together, and voila, a solo. Yeah, that didn't work, because it was all about the memorization game, and that's not going to help you on jam night. So, if memorizing scale patterns doesn't work, and memorizing licks doesn't work, what are we going to do?

[00:02:39]Well, we're going to use aspects of both of those ideas, but we're going to take out the repetitive memorization, and we're going to add just one simple ingredient into the mix to make it all work.

[00:02:50]The first step is to learn a lick in the new position that you really like the sound of. Now, here's an example for me.

[00:02:58]>> [music] >> Now, keep in mind, we're learning one lick, not 10. That's important.

[00:03:22]>> [music] >> And it's important not just to learn the notes, but to learn the phrasing, too.

[00:03:31]If you like that rake, make sure you learn how to do that. If you like the bends, >> [music] >> or the slides, or hammer-ons and pull-offs, vibrato, make sure you do that work to get the phrasing, as well as just the notes of the lick. Okay, so we know the lick. Most people stop there, but if you do, you're missing out on really integrating it into your play and expanding that lick into so much more.

[00:04:00]The next step is so easy, it only takes a few seconds, so make sure you always do it. Ready? This is really three mini steps. The first of the mini steps is to identify the last note of the lick.

[00:04:12]>> [music] >> There it is right there. [music] It happens to be a C. Now, the second mini step is to identify what chord is being played as you play that note. In this case, it happens to be an A minor.

[00:04:32]>> [music] >> And the third of these mini steps is to identify what role does that C play in relation to that A minor? Well, it happens to be a flatted third of [music] A, which is in that A minor chord. It's a chord tone. Now, if that seems like a lot of work, trust me, it's not. It happens almost instantaneously after you do it a couple of times. Now, what we're doing is really important because we're coupling the sound of that ending note with the scale shape and just a little bit of knowledge. And that's important because your ears will remember it because you like that sound. Remember, you picked this lick because you liked it. Well, okay, I picked this lick, but you should pick a lick that you like.

[00:05:13]All right, now here's the kicker, and it's where 90% of guitarists fail, but not you.

[00:05:19]You're going to make up another lick, your own lick, but it's easy to do because you've got the framework already. Here's an example.

[00:05:34]>> [music] [music] >> So, you see, I used something that was very similar to the previous lick, so knowing that previous lick helps a lot.

[00:05:48]I think I played something like this.

[00:05:56]>> [music] >> But, even though the ending note and the cadence were very similar, I used different effects, right? I used vibrato here instead of the slide, and here I used a different bend.

[00:06:11]And it's that playing around and finding out new things that gives you really comfortable with this position. And you don't have to stop there, but it's enough to get you well on your way. I swear, if you just do this a few times, you'll be able to make up phrases and licks whenever you want, wherever on the fretboard you want, in any position, in any key. If you want more of these tips and tricks to end your frustrations and start enjoying your guitar more, click here. Because in this video I show you not only how to play licks over one chord, but I extend this idea how to play over a whole progression. So, click here.

[00:06:47]I'll see you in that video, and I'll see you on down the road.