Box 1 lick 2 — a sentence that answers home on the root by descending

Yesterday you got signature lick 1, the one that opens the door with a bend. Today is signature lick 2, the one that closes that sentence. If lick 1 is the "asking" side, lick 2 is the "answering" side that comes down to the root. A blues solo is, in the end, a dialogue of two sentences that open and close — today we build the one that answers. Once you learn this descending lick too, both of the two materials you need for this week's first solo are ready. With this one answering lick, you can put a clear period on yesterday's question.

Today's lick is a descending lick that starts up high and lands on the root as if walking down stairs. It sets off from the b7 (G) on the 2nd string, then passes the 5th (E), 4th (D), and b3 (C) in turn. Coming down one step at a time from a high note to the root makes the listener's ear feel "arrived home." The end lands on the root A on the 4th string with vibrato. The very direction of coming down is the signal "the answer is finishing now." It's just one short descent, but with it alone you can put a clear period on the solo.

The heart of the descending lick isn't speed but direction. What matters is pressing each note clearly and coming down exactly one step at a time. Coming down one note at a time without rushing makes the root landing far clearer. Lay lick 1 and lick 2 side by side: one opens with a bend, one closes by descending. These two licks become the material you'll lay over twelve bars tomorrow. The tempo stays BPM 75. Especially that one beat where you briefly stop your hand on the final root is the most important moment for completing the answer. So, let's build the sentence that answers home on the root.

▶ BPM 75, shuffle feel. Bar 1 comes down one step at a time from the b7 (G) through the 5th, 4th, and b3. Bar 2 passes from the b3 through the b7 and lands on the root A with vibrato.

Let's see how the descending lick rides the fretboard down, on the Box 1 map. The green root A is the home it arrives at last.

▶ Come down to the root. Set off from the b7, come down one note at a time, and land on the green root A.

Starting from a high note and closing on the root — this descent is the whole of today's lick.

0–10 min · Warm-up BPM 75. Warm up only the last three notes coming down to the root A, the landing point of the descending lick.

▶ BPM 75. Pass from the b3 through the b7 down to the root A and close with vibrato. Get the moment of landing into your hand.

10–20 min · Brain training (today's target = landing direction) Before entering the real practice, picture in your head the direction of coming down from the high b7 to the root. Sort out the order of which note steps down to the next. Draw the path down ahead of time, and your hand won't wander on the way to the root.

20–40 min · Real practice: signature lick 2 (BPM 75) This is today's finished piece. Play the two bars that come down one step at a time from up high and answer home on the root.

▶ BPM 75. Bar 1 comes down clearly from the b7 to the b3. Bar 2 passes the b3 and b7 and lands on the root A with vibrato. Keep the direction clear.

When the path down is clear and it closes trembling on the root, today's answer is complete.

40–50 min · Recording Record signature lick 2 from start to finish. Listen for whether the descending notes sound clear one by one and whether the root's vibrato stays alive.

Today's completion criteria: You played and recorded signature lick 2 over two bars — coming down one step at a time from the high b7 and landing on the root A with vibrato. — Today's result: signature lick 2 (descending / landing) complete

Common mistakes in the descending lick. Most are problems of direction and landing.

▶ Come down and land on the root. Pass from the b3 through the b7 down to the green root A and close with vibrato.

• Hesitating in the middle. The descent has to come down one step at a time without a break. Keep the spacing between notes even.
• Passing right over the root. The answer has to stop on the root. Stop your hand on the final A and close with vibrato.
• Skipping the vibrato. With no tremble at the landing, the sentence blurs. Always shake the root A to close.
• Coming down too fast. BPM 75 is plenty. The landing direction comes before speed.