Tips and tricks for improvising guitar licks

Hi everyone! I’ve been doing some grooving lately and this video is no exception. With my trusty PRS SE Custom 24 in hand, I lay down some tasty Latin-style guitar licks.

If you’re unable to listen but wondering what this might sound like, it would be along the lines of Carlos Santana with a little Los Lonely boys chord framing.

Everything I play here is in some way a derivative of the 5 main chord shapes on guitar: C, A, G, E, D. This is often referred to as the CAGED method. This method is not a silver bullet, but it certainly helps the player to visualize the fretboard.

The CAGED method also helps with aural theory. Once you understand intervals and scale degrees, you can use the 5 main chord shapes to practice those intervals and scale degrees.

I like latin music for this very reason. Even though it’s not as straight forward as a major chord/key, it lends itself to using the standard “boxes” to which many guitarists naturally gravitate.

Importantly, don’t stop with the CAGED method, but use it as a spring board to take your playing to the next melodic level. The goal is to be able to flow seamlessly up and down the fretboard into and out of each chord shape, as they all connect in the exact order of C, A, G, E, D.

My primary goal with this video is to give you, the viewer and listener, some licks and guitar ideas to use while you’re practicing or working on a solo. I hope this helps and I hope you have a great day!

-Josh