Hey there everybody! Dan from Mandolins and Beer here! Been a while! I’ve started playing music pretty much full time now and have been working on something I call Lick of the Day.
I’ve been playing as many as nine gigs a week and definitely noticed that I was beginning to repeat a lot of the same things every single gig. I felt like I was on automatic pilot…..but not in a cool improvising off the top of my head way. It was more like, oh, we’re in G again…lol. So I started to focus on learning one new lick everyday. It didn’t have to be fast, it didn’t have to be long or complicated. It didn’t even have to be a mandolin part. It just had to be musical. It could have been part a solo, it could just be a part of the main melody. I just needed something to focus on besides noodling when I picked up my mandolin. Then I played it….over and over. My goal was if I had a gig that night, the lick had to be played in at least one song! And it seems to be working. Not every lick sticks, I’ve forgotten more than I’ve played, I’m sure. But I notice things just rolling of my fingertips in a way that requires less thinking…..this time in a good way.
Anyhow, all these licks I write out (in my horrible handwriting with zero theory background) and I thought I’d start recording the licks to share them in the hopes maybe someone besides me will get something out of it. The clips are roughly 30 secs to a minute. I play them once at speed, or as close as I can get and then I play it slow. TABS are available for each lick, although I don’t know how accurate they are, but they give you an idea.
Also, it’s all free. I’m really trying to challenge myself to do this for 365 days….its gonna be tough but I’ve got a pretty good head start. Im gonna post the vids here everyday under this topic. Hopefully with a short description. They’ll also be on my Facebook page and Instagram daily as well (Links in signature)
I’m staring with a theme as well. The first big group of licks are all from or inspired by the Strength by Numbers release, which I listened to a lot before I played at Telluride. I think I may stick with the theme idea for a while instead of bouncing around. Also you’ll be able to hear the licks in context of a song.
One note, these are just approximations of what I hear when trying to learn licks. In no way am I saying these are 100% accurate.
I’ll begin posting them tomorrow and I hope anyone who watches these enjoys them and learns a little something from them!
I’m just trying to give a little something back to you fine folks at the cafe!
Cheers!
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