In the past I have written a couple of posts that talk about G licks, this time I have a three licks you can use when you are playing a measure of C. When I use the term C lick, I am just referring to a banjo lick that works with a C chord backup.
The first exercise is actually a C7 chord, but it sounds interesting with C, as long as you don’t overuse it. This is just one suggestion, experiment and find your own licks.
Listen:
The next lick is based on the most common C Chord, but don’t be fooled, it is a bit of a tricky one. Your index finger leads the way and has to be strong and clear.
This exercise is based on the C barre chord at the 5th fret. You only need to play the first and second and fifth strings in this one. The fifth fret gets a lot of work when you are playing C and this particular lick is heard a lot.
Press Play to listen:
If you wish, you may also skip listening to the exercise. I thought I was sounding a little pushy back there. PRESS PLAY!! , no asking, just a command. Okay, enough fooling around, let’s get back to the serious business of banjo playing.
The final step is to use these licks in a song that you know, just replace a measure of C with one of the measures above. This is where it gets tricky, some licks work in a certain part of a song and some don’t - how do you know which lick to use? The answer depends on a few things; the next chord you will be playing, the song’s melody, the tempo, and of course, what you want to play.
I hope this opens the door for you to invent a new way to play an old song or just make you take a closer look at what you CAN be playing on your banjo. Next time I talk about Licks, it will be D licks, so stay tuned and thanks for your support.
Subscribe to the Banjoblogger.com Feed
Popularity: 23% [?]