I always prefer to write a new guitar lick instead of using a standard
one, but since anyone can throw in a bunch of notes that don't sound
good, how do you write something fast, impressive (they must always be
that, of course), and musical? Through experience, I've developed an
approach. To do this, you'll need a song with which to play along, with a
drumbeat.

For starters, it's important to write to the music. It's easy to write
a lick that sounds good out of context, but then you play it over a
song and it doesn't quite fit. It's too long or too short. The rhythmic
groupings are off. The pitches just don't sing. All of the above.
Maybe breaking it down would help.

Step 1: Identify the core pitches of your new guitar lick. While the
recording plays, slowly play guitar and identify two or three notes
that seem to ring out well over the chord(s). Chord tones are a good
starting place, so if the chord (or key) is E Major, try Es, G#s, and Bs.
Try different registers to find notes that really sing.

Step 2: Identify the note grouping/rhythm. Will it be a three or four
note grouping (or six or eight by extension)? Let the recorder play
while you hold down one note, striking it at the speed you want your new
guitar lick to be. I generally start at my top speed and work my way
down, and I sometimes alternate between two pitches to help identify the
grouping. You may have to stop the recorder and slow down what you're
playing to figure out what the grouping is. Let's say you've realized
it's a six-note grouping.

Step 3: Invent possible patterns. With the recorder off, write some
six-note patterns using mostly those three pitches. Here are some
examples I tried over one of my songs.

Step 4: Improvise. When you're ready, it's time to improvise along
with the music. This time, you have an advantage. The pitches work and the
grouping fits. You just have to decide on the pattern(s), which might
take time but is more fun now that it's less frustrating. You'll have to
decide how many times to repeat the pattern(s) and how to break it near
the end.

Step 5: Add some melody at the end. Part of what makes most guitar
licks work is the ending, which is often a melody that's a departure from
the guitar lick itself. These little melodic snippets bring the guitar
lick home. See the example below, from my song "Motif Operandi" from my
upcoming CD. As I wrote the descending guitar lick (a three note
pattern), I thought it was going well but seemed to dribble off into nothing,
so I wasn't going to keep it. Then I improvised the last four climbing
notes and the whole thing worked. Many times it seems like a guitar
lick is almost cool, but not quite. You have to end it well.

Coda. Even if you don't want a stationary guitar lick, but one that
moves (or a scale), the same techniques can get you started. Best of
luck, and may your fingers fly true.

Randy Ellefson is an instrumental guitarist with endorsements from
Alvarez Guitars and Peavey, and a Bachelors of Music in classical guitar,
Magna Cum Laude. His debut album was independently released in June
2004, and he is now performing in the U.S. The album's title, The Firebard,
is a nod to his experience with tendonitis, which took away his playing
for five years before he fully recovered it and rose from his ashes.
For more details, mp3s, tabs, articles, videos and other cool stuff,
visit the official site, www.randyellefson.com.

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