Hybrid Picking Pentatonic Lick
This lick was born out of a very rare and interesting occurrence; improvising and then coming up with something never played before completely off the cuff. Combing legato and a standard hybrid picking approach, this lick is more tricky than it looks.
Start with a down pick on the 7th fret of the E string, and then hammer to 12. From there, employ the hybrid picking technique; down on the 9th fret of the G string, pick with the middle finger on the right hand of the 12th fret E string, down with the pick on the 7th fret of the G string, pick with the middle finger on the 12th fret E string, then back to a down stroke on the 9th fret of the G string, and finally finish off the hybrid picking part of the lick by a final “pluck” on the 12th fret E string. From there, use hammer ons and pull offs to facilitate the pentatonic run on the high E string. This is the basic “formula” of the lick, and from there just repeat the formula through each pattern of the pentatonic scale.
The established lick pattern ends on beat 3 of the 4th measure, and starting on beat 4 of that measure is a legato run that lasts into measure 5 and tests the dexterity of a player’s left hand. Try to use just hammer ons and pull offs in this measure, as it will only help strengthen the fretting hand and increase dexterity.
This lick is tricky at first, but helps immensely with technique and is easy to pull out during a crunchy jam session. Though the example is in straight 16th notes, try playing around with the lick as much as possible; shorten it, lengthen it, put it in new keys, try it in triplets, etc. The possibilities are endless. Remember to always practice slowly to make sure the lick is under your fingers and that there’s not tension in either hand. Happy practicing! Check out Instagram for the video.
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