Lick (music)

The Lick (English to lick, beat ') is an instrumental phrase in the jazz and rock music. It is on the guitar or bass (or other melodic instruments ) played musical "words" or " sentences " that are used among others in the improvisation.

Licks are short melody lines that are usually only one or two bars long. They are often constructed such that while the licks occurs no chord change. Thus, they can easily transpose to other chords within a song. Thus, the same musical phrase, possibly correspondingly high or transposed down, even over chord changes of time are used.

Licks are "building blocks " from which solos are assembled. Especially with fast soloing most soloists do not think in single notes, but in licks that are strung together during the improvisation.

The Lick can be repeated as a motif several times, both immediately after the other, and in the song itself, possibly also in variations.

Licks outside the solos are ( at least in the rock and pop music ) usually always played in the same manner in a solo, the licks can choose between studio recording and a live performance or from musician to musician (eg, at a Cover Version) differ. This is mainly due to the fact that is often improvises within the solos.

Often reef is used as a synonym for Lick, which is at least inaccurate. Include riffs, unlike licks, also chord changes and are often longer, so go through several cycles. A reef can thus consist of several licks. In addition, Lick referred rather something that is played " on " or " next to" the basic melody of a song, a riff is this basic melody. The boundaries between Lick and Riff are but fluent.