Guitar Lick Dictionaries

A guitar lick dictionary is a book or DVD that shows example guitar licks in a given style. A lick dictionary is a great tool to help you move from playing scales to playing solos as you learn to improvise.

Playing lead guitar parts and solos is not simply a matter of playing scales. You must learn to choose notes from scales and assemble them into short sequences, called licks. And as usual one of the best ways to learn to do this is to copy from those who already know how. That's where licks dictionaries come in useful.

You can find many licks dictionaries for all styles of music. You can learn the licks by heart to use them in your own playing and you can also study them to learn how to make up your own. Being able to copy licks like this is a great shortcut to creating lead guitar parts in your chosen style.

Here is a small selection of guitar lick dictionaries you will find helpful in rock and blues styles.

Blues Licks

Blues Licks Encyclopedia: Guitar, Wayne Riker, Alfred

150 Cool Blues Licks in Tab, Toby Wine, Cherry Lane Music

101 Must-Know Blues Licks, Wolf Marshall, Hal Leonard

Blues by the Bar: Cool Riffs That Sound Great over Each Portion of the Blues Progression, Chris Hunt, Cherry Lane Music

Complete Book of Blues Guitar Licks and Phrases, Austin Sicard, Mel Bay

Lead Guitar Blues Licks Arsenal

Rock Licks

101 Must-Know Rock Licks, Wolf Marshall, Hal Leonard

Lead Licks: Over 200 Licks in All Styles, Wolf Marshall, Hal Leonard

Rock Licks Encyclopedia, Cataldo & Tomas, Alfred

Rock Licks for Guitar, Joe McIntyre, Hal Leonard

500 Lead Guitar Licks and Riffs500 Lead Guitar Licks and Riffs


Copy licks from the dictionaries to learn how to create your own and for inspiration. Borrow licks and transform them with your personal touches for your own playing.

Have fun learning and using these licks to make up your own guitar solos.

Gary

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