How Do I Create My Own Licks Instead of Copying Others?

Hi Alien Guitarist,

We’ve all done it — learned licks from our heroes, copied them note for note, and tried to pass them off like they were our own. It’s a rite of passage. But if you want to stand out and truly express yourself, it’s time to create your own vocabulary.

Here’s how to start crafting licks that sound like you:

🎨 Steal like an artist
Take inspiration, but don’t stop there. Change the rhythm. Alter the phrasing. Flip the order. Make it your own. That’s how every great player evolves.

🎨 Limit your note choice
Use just 3 or 4 notes and force yourself to get creative. Add slides, bends, pauses, and different rhythms. You’ll be shocked how many variations you can come up with.

🎨 Experiment with rhythm first
Sometimes it’s not the notes — it’s the timing that makes a lick special. Try playing simple phrases with complex rhythmic ideas. Swing it. Syncopate it. Displace it.

🎨 Use intervals intentionally
Don’t just play within scale shapes. Start paying attention to how intervals sound. A minor 6th will hit different than a 4th — use them deliberately.

🎨 Record and reflect
Play freely over a loop, record your ideas, then listen back. Find the magic moments and refine them into proper licks.

🎨 Mix and match
Take your favourite techniques — hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, legato — and combine them in different ways. A new lick is often just a new combo.

The goal is simple: stop sounding like everyone else. Start sounding like you.

🔗 Want the tools to build your own lead language and master the fretboard creatively?
Join the Fretboard Mastery Course and unlock your unique voice.

Your best licks haven’t been written yet — because you haven’t written them.

Peace,
Rob Lobasso 👽🎸🤘