Some exercises teach you a specific lick. This one teaches you something bigger: how to move a legato pattern seamlessly across all six strings while maintaining clean muting, even note duration, and a free, mobile thumb. The 11-note macro lick isn’t something you’d necessarily drop into a solo as-is — but every component of it is a musical phrase you’d use every day.
What you’ll get out of this lesson: You’ll practise a full-neck legato pattern in A major that builds cross-string fluency, left-hand independence, and muting discipline — all at once.
The Shape and the Key
The lick is built on a three-note-per-string A major scale shape. The fret positions are: 5–7–9 on the lowest two strings, 6–7–9 on the middle two strings, and 7–9–10 on the top two strings. That gives you a consistent three-note-per-string pattern ascending through the full scale shape. Everything you’re going to play comes from moving a single 11-note pattern across those string pairs.
The 11-Note Pattern Itself
On a single string pair the pattern goes: 5–7–5, then 9–5, and continues up, down, and up again. It’s an asymmetrical grouping — 11 notes — which is why it doesn’t loop neatly onto a standard rhythmic grid. That’s also why it’s a “macro” lick rather than a bar-long phrase. Don’t practise it with a metronome; instead, focus on internal timing and making each note perfectly even in duration and volume. The moment you rush a section or clip a note, back off and tidy it up.
Economy Picking and Why It’s Used Here
This lick is designed to be economy picked — all downstrokes. That means you’re not alternating; every pick stroke goes in the same direction. This is deliberately building your economy picking instincts for the week to come. The consecutive downstrokes also make it easier to keep the pick moving across the strings without fighting the direction of travel.
Muting Is the Hard Part
With six strings potentially ringing under your fretting hand, muting becomes essential. Use the flat underside of your first finger to mute the higher strings as you play the lower ones. The pad of the thumb and the fleshy part of the picking hand can also mute the strings below the one you’re playing. Even on notes you’re not actively picking, keep that hand following through to suppress any unwanted ring. This is a genuinely slippery lick — if you don’t pay attention to muting, it will get away from you quickly.
Don’t worry about speed with this one, focus on keeping an even note duration and perfect muting. If you don’t pay attention it will get away from you — it’s a slippery one.
Taking it further: Once you can play the full 11-note pattern cleanly across all six strings in A major, try moving it to other positions of the same scale, or apply the same pattern idea to a minor or pentatonic shape. The component parts — the descending and ascending three-note cells — are also usable as standalone phrases in improvisation.
Your homework: Practise the 11-note macro lick without a metronome, focusing on even note duration and clean muting on every string. Work through the full ascending pattern at least five times in a practice session. Pay particular attention to keeping your thumb loose and mobile as you cross from the lower strings to the upper strings.