b3nhur77
Verified buyer
02/10/26
Great. Nice lessons, nice tricks
50 Melodic Rock Licks You MUST Know
Crucial phrases, concepts and melodic rock guitar techniques you MUST know
Get this course and 1,000+ more with All Access
Try 7 days free. Cancel any time.
About this course
Your buddy dragged you along that Saturday night. The stadium was packed and the crowd was growing restless as the stage lit up and the dude plugged in. The first few notes from his guitar sent a mad rush down your spine; the following notes arrested your ears and blew your mind for a solid hour. That was the night you first experienced an instrumental rock performance and swore, come hell or high water, you'd learn to play like that one day. Thanks to Neil Zaza, that day has come.
It takes guts, big guns and a whole lot more than the pentatonic scale to mesmerize an audience as an instrumental rock guitarist and that's exactly how players like Neil Schon, Michael Schenker, Brian May, Steve Lukather, Eric Johnson and Neil Zaza pioneered the melodic rock scene, captivating millions of fans and inspiring thousands of guitar players along the way.
Virtuoso recording and performing artist Neil Zaza generously shares valuable insight and an extraordinary collection of techniques, harmonic approaches and premium lickage in 50 Melodic Rock Licks You MUST Know.
Also a very accomplished educator, Zaza clearly demonstrates all of the requisite instrumental rock tools that you'll need to master this style: call and response, playing over changes, repetition, motifs, vibrato, bends, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, how to add drama and tension in your solos, how to fuse blues lines into diatonic chord progressions, killer sweeps, drones, major-minor lines, switch-picking, intervallic lines, extending arpeggios, rhythmic figures, chordal runs and so much more. It's all here.
If you've got the guts to give those tired pentatonic lines a bit of a break, then join Zaza in this comprehensive examination of contemporary instrumental rock and he'll equip you with the guns you'll need to blow a few minds of your own.
It takes guts, big guns and a whole lot more than the pentatonic scale to mesmerize an audience as an instrumental rock guitarist and that's exactly how players like Neil Schon, Michael Schenker, Brian May, Steve Lukather, Eric Johnson and Neil Zaza pioneered the melodic rock scene, captivating millions of fans and inspiring thousands of guitar players along the way.
Virtuoso recording and performing artist Neil Zaza generously shares valuable insight and an extraordinary collection of techniques, harmonic approaches and premium lickage in 50 Melodic Rock Licks You MUST Know.
Also a very accomplished educator, Zaza clearly demonstrates all of the requisite instrumental rock tools that you'll need to master this style: call and response, playing over changes, repetition, motifs, vibrato, bends, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, how to add drama and tension in your solos, how to fuse blues lines into diatonic chord progressions, killer sweeps, drones, major-minor lines, switch-picking, intervallic lines, extending arpeggios, rhythmic figures, chordal runs and so much more. It's all here.
If you've got the guts to give those tired pentatonic lines a bit of a break, then join Zaza in this comprehensive examination of contemporary instrumental rock and he'll equip you with the guns you'll need to blow a few minds of your own.
What you'll learn
- Create circular melodic motifs that work over multiple chords
- Execute a call and response phrase structure
- Use vibrato effectively in melodic phrases
- Create melodic interest using intervals
- Understand how a static melodic part can work against chord changes
Release date: 10/17/2012 • 3h 20m runtime
Sample lessons
Rhythmotifs
Lick 8
Alright Arps
Lick 12
Multiplicity
Lick 13
Inverta-Arp
Lick 16
What's included
52 lessons • 50 charts • 50 Jam Tracks
Hey, this is Neil Zaza and I want to welcome you to "50 Melodic Rock Licks You MUST Know". If you’re a fan of great melodic rock players like Neal Schon, Steve Lukather, Michael Schenker, Eric Johnson or Brian May then this collection of 50 licks is right up your alley.
Listen, as guitarists, we are genetically predisposed to want to learn the flashiest, fastest, most complex riffs. And once we do learn them the next step always is "How do I really convey emotion in my playing?" or "How can I really connect with my listener and make a lasting musical statement?"
One word: Melody.
Melody and a melodic approach to soloing are the ingredients that will keep people listening long after the crafty riffs have been dispatched. Playing with a theme or a strong melody is the hook that will grab and hold people’s attention. It will keep them coming back for repeated listenings and they will actually be humming or singing your solos!
I remember as a young kid hearing some of the melodic solos by Neal Schon. Tunes like "Majestic", "Lovin’ You is Easy", "Who’s Cryin’ Now" and "Still They Ride" among countless others. I couldn’t believe that I could not get those melodies out of my head hours and days after I heard them. They were almost mystical to my young ears because how did someone have the power to evoke those kinds of emotions and have me humming the solo after I had only heard it a few times? Melody.
Again, I remember making UFO’s Strangers in the Night double album my holy grail throughout high school because of Michael Schenker’s penchant for crafting melodies that were haunting and played with such wicked vibrato and tone. While he indeed possessed massive chops, the tunes that I was inexplicably drawn to were his haunting melodies in the extended intro to "Doctor Doctor" and "Love to Love".
And was there ever a more perfectly understated and yearning solo than Steve Lukather’s
masterpiece in "I Won’t Hold You Back"? I’d trade all my chops for the opportunity to have written that gem.
These are what started me on the path of melodic righteousness and still to this day touch my soul when I hear them. It’s this approach and love of all things guitar melodic that I want to share with you in this course.
Think of the greatest songs or solos that you personally enjoy.
What’s the common thread among them all? Probably that you had an emotional connection and were drawn in. I would venture to say that the main component of that would be some sort of captivating melody.
In this course I want to explore my passion for all things melodic. Not only teaching you specific licks that you can immediately incorporate into your soloing, but I want to show you the techniques and tools behind these riffs that can benefit your melodic playing even more. You’ll be crafting your own melodic solos!
We’ll be studying dozens of harmonic and technical approaches for crafting melodic lines in your own solos and improvisations. I’ll cover how to use expressive techniques like vibrato, bends, hammer-on and pull-off to create tension and drama in your phrases.
You’ll learn how to play engaging, melodic solos over the chord changes found in hundreds of rock and pop tunes while we work through several ways to take simple arpeggios and morph them into interesting lines and phrases.
I’ll share some very effective ways to fuse blues lines and double stops into diatonic chord changes for maximum impact.
You’ll also learn how to employ melodic devices like call and response, repetition and motifs to make your solos really sing.
When you master these key learnings you’ll be able to tell stories with your solos that grab a listener’s ear from beginning to end!
Everything is tabbed and notated for you. Plus, I’ve included Power Tab files, Guitar Pro files and all of the rhythm backing tracks for you to practice with.
Listen, as guitarists, we are genetically predisposed to want to learn the flashiest, fastest, most complex riffs. And once we do learn them the next step always is "How do I really convey emotion in my playing?" or "How can I really connect with my listener and make a lasting musical statement?"
One word: Melody.
Melody and a melodic approach to soloing are the ingredients that will keep people listening long after the crafty riffs have been dispatched. Playing with a theme or a strong melody is the hook that will grab and hold people’s attention. It will keep them coming back for repeated listenings and they will actually be humming or singing your solos!
I remember as a young kid hearing some of the melodic solos by Neal Schon. Tunes like "Majestic", "Lovin’ You is Easy", "Who’s Cryin’ Now" and "Still They Ride" among countless others. I couldn’t believe that I could not get those melodies out of my head hours and days after I heard them. They were almost mystical to my young ears because how did someone have the power to evoke those kinds of emotions and have me humming the solo after I had only heard it a few times? Melody.
Again, I remember making UFO’s Strangers in the Night double album my holy grail throughout high school because of Michael Schenker’s penchant for crafting melodies that were haunting and played with such wicked vibrato and tone. While he indeed possessed massive chops, the tunes that I was inexplicably drawn to were his haunting melodies in the extended intro to "Doctor Doctor" and "Love to Love".
And was there ever a more perfectly understated and yearning solo than Steve Lukather’s
masterpiece in "I Won’t Hold You Back"? I’d trade all my chops for the opportunity to have written that gem.
These are what started me on the path of melodic righteousness and still to this day touch my soul when I hear them. It’s this approach and love of all things guitar melodic that I want to share with you in this course.
Think of the greatest songs or solos that you personally enjoy.
What’s the common thread among them all? Probably that you had an emotional connection and were drawn in. I would venture to say that the main component of that would be some sort of captivating melody.
In this course I want to explore my passion for all things melodic. Not only teaching you specific licks that you can immediately incorporate into your soloing, but I want to show you the techniques and tools behind these riffs that can benefit your melodic playing even more. You’ll be crafting your own melodic solos!
We’ll be studying dozens of harmonic and technical approaches for crafting melodic lines in your own solos and improvisations. I’ll cover how to use expressive techniques like vibrato, bends, hammer-on and pull-off to create tension and drama in your phrases.
You’ll learn how to play engaging, melodic solos over the chord changes found in hundreds of rock and pop tunes while we work through several ways to take simple arpeggios and morph them into interesting lines and phrases.
I’ll share some very effective ways to fuse blues lines and double stops into diatonic chord changes for maximum impact.
You’ll also learn how to employ melodic devices like call and response, repetition and motifs to make your solos really sing.
When you master these key learnings you’ll be able to tell stories with your solos that grab a listener’s ear from beginning to end!
Everything is tabbed and notated for you. Plus, I’ve included Power Tab files, Guitar Pro files and all of the rhythm backing tracks for you to practice with.
The very first thing that we guitarists (or more importantly) musicians need to address when playing melodically is the KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid! It’s all about letting the melody breath and have room to actually say something. In a sense, we need to disconnect the guitar side of our brain and let the music side take over. Don’t worry about showing off that deadly riff or scorching arpeggio right now. It’s not about technique, but rather playing a melody that is simple and straightforward. This is when melodies are the most effective. This is what melodic playing is all about! In this lick we look at leaving space between our notes and phrases as well as telling a story with well placed note choices. Simplicity rules!
A great melodic technique is to not only understand the underlying chords, but at times actually use them as a melodic tool. This is one of my favorite techniques to not only solidify the backing chords, but turn them into the melody themselves. The technique is really simple in that it is about arpeggiating (or breaking up) the chord into separate notes. For this example I used the 1, 5 and 3 of the chord, whether it be a major, minor, or inversion, and simply followed the progression up the neck. It’s a very versatile tool that gives melodic results every time. What’s also great is that the arpeggio shape stays the same no matter what kind of chord you apply it to. Get arpeggiating!
The best melodies (whether us guitarists want to admit it or not) are based on vocal-type melodies. A vocalist always has to be aware of taking a breath, phrasing and running out of breath. Something a guitarist inherently doesn’t have a problem with. And this, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly why guitarist’s melodies are often too busy or the phrasing is taxing. This riff explores trying to emulate the singer’s long line of melodic approach. We want to add a dramatic flair in this example so you notice that there is a building or ascending of the line the whole time keeping it very "vocal-like" and sparse. Keep in mind to add a good dose of controlled vibrato to really give it that authentic flavor.
Playing a simple melody that works over a progression is great. Getting a melody to repeat over and over on top of the chord progression underneath is gold, baby! I call this style of melodic playing a circular melodic theme because it is basically a loop of a melody repeated over and over for maximum impact. Notice that we are addressing the key of the song (E major in this case), but also acknowledging some of the more interesting chord tones of the progression (C in this example). If constructed correctly the listener will not only hear the actually melody that you are playing, but be drawn along to the chords underneath.
a major sounding diatonic progression doesn’t prohibit you from adding some bluesy flair with some "Hendrixy"-type double stops. I think that combining the elements of minor pentatonic over a major progression adds a certain honesty and heartfelt approach to the composition. In this lick, we are mixing E minor pentatonic and G major. The shapes around the neck are connected so let’s exploit that fact! I’m mostly outlining G major shapes while at the same time working within the confines of E minor pentatonic. Ain’t guitar grand sometimes?
Out of all the tools at our disposal in our guitarist’s toolbox, there is none so powerful as vibrato. This is the single most important and powerful thing in our guitarist vocabulary hands down. Vibrato gives us our individual voice on the guitar. It separates all players because all of us have different vibrato. It’s what makes the guitar so transparent and powerful. Using vibrato in melodic phrases is your powerful ally. It gives an emotional delivery to your melodies. It infuses your licks with a vocal-like essence.
In this lick, notice that there are different types and speeds of vibratos used depending on the melody and placement in the phrase itself. Sometimes it needs to be slow and smooth. Other times it stands out with a wider more pronounced delivery. The key is that it puts YOU and your musical voice in the driver’s seat.
In this lick, notice that there are different types and speeds of vibratos used depending on the melody and placement in the phrase itself. Sometimes it needs to be slow and smooth. Other times it stands out with a wider more pronounced delivery. The key is that it puts YOU and your musical voice in the driver’s seat.
+ 45 more lessons
Reviews
11 results
JBerto
Verified buyer
01/10/25
Fun and usefull licks
Really fun and usefull lyrics
solinski
Verified buyer
10/24/21
Well worth it.
This is a great course that teaches the concept of melody in solos. The course covers different techniques and licks to use to create great sounding solos. It has a pretty varied degree of difficulty. Some of the licks I was able to play when slowed down a little, others I'll have to work up to, but it motivates to keep progressing! Neil is an excellent guitarist and a great teacher.
Mario64
Verified buyer
09/21/20
Rock for everyone!
This great collection is made to satisfy all the players from beginners to advanced. You’ll find licks of e every speed, so you can learn from the start to play fascinating piece of music. Good for start to build your own solo. Highly recommended.
Stop searching. Start improving with All Access.
Try 14 days free. Cancel any time.
