Theory
The final day of Week 6. You complete the grace note and the pull-off descent you built all week into a single ornament lick. It's a descending ornament lick that flows down over Dm with pull-offs.
The lick is four notes. From the 3rd string fret 7 (R=D), flow down with a pull-off through b7·5 and land on b3 (F). You pick the first note once; your left hand streams the rest. This week's front notes and descents all live in this one line.
Today's goal is to complete this ornament lick smoothly at BPM 72. Not speed — when the pull-offs link without a break and the lick flows down like water, you've finished Week 6. First, learn where the lick travels.
▶ From the 3rd string fret 7 (R), pass frets 5 and 2, then descend to the 4th string fret 3 (green b3).
See it
Here's this week's finished piece, the pull-off descending grace lick. From R, flow down with a pull-off and land on the 5th and b3. Flow it unhurried, as if bleeding, and you get neosoul's "speaking" feel.
▶ BPM 72. From the 3rd string fret 7 (D), flow down with a pull-off and land on the 5th and b3. Unhurried, let it bleed.
Today's practice
0–10 min · Warm-up At BPM 60, pick the lick's four notes (R·b7·5·b3) one at a time. Check the sound first, without pull-offs. Hear first whether the four notes link clearly in a descent.
10–20 min · Brain training (pull-offs slowly) Now pick only the first note and stream the rest with pull-offs. If the sound cuts, put a touch more of that downward-scraping feel into your left finger.
20–40 min · Real ornament lick (BPM 72) Repeat the two bars below. Bar 1 is the ornament lick; bar 2 lands on the root (D) and rests. Feel the flow of settling comfortably onto the root after the lick streams down.
▶ BPM 72. Bar 1 ornament lick → bar 2 root landing and rest. After the stream down, settle onto the root and take one breath.
40–50 min · Recording / self-feedback (recommended) Record the ornament lick and listen back. Compare the sound six weeks ago, without a single ornament, with today's lick — how expressive it has grown.
Done when: You can flow the pull-off descending grace lick (R→b7→5→b3) at BPM 72 without the sound cutting out, and settle comfortably onto the root. (Week 6 complete!)
Here are just the mistakes that show up most as you complete the ornament lick.
▶ The 3rd string b7 and 5th are the descent path; the 4th string green b3 is the lick's landing.
- The pull-off is weak. Don't just lift the finger; scrape the string slightly downward to sound the next note.
- The descent rushes. Don't rush the four notes; stream them down evenly on the beat.
- The b3 landing floats. Fret the final b3 clearly and leave a resonance to settle down comfortably.
- You raise speed first. Drop to BPM 60 and complete the lick with the pull-offs linking without a break first.