senckađ
Group745
Group745
Group745
Group745
Group745
Group745
Music & Sound in association withJungle Studios
Group745

Radio LBB: The Lick

28/01/2020
Music & Sound
London, UK
215
Share
Doo Ba Doo Pee Dwee Doo Ahh, Mcasso's Dave Reynaud brings you 'The Lick'

Here’s an ear worm for you.

A musical motif that has travelled through genres and across decades.

You may already know of it.

You may have heard it but perhaps unregistered, it’s sat woven into the music held in your head, your playlists and record boxes without you knowing it.

What is it?

We’re talking about ’The Lick’.

A musician may describe The Lick as a brief succession of notes to begin or end a phrase. Its use can embellish and vary an otherwise uninteresting or plain tune, arguably marking the difference between an average performance and a virtuoso one. Licks can flavour your track with flare and gift it with groove. 

Whilst licks come in all shapes and sizes and will generally continue to form the basic construct for any musician’s language, countless repetitions of the The Lick keep popping up. Quick, slow: smooth or sharp; it would seem The Lick has been found in almost every guise, somehow embedding itself in the musical sub-conscious and undergoing a stealth-like evolution all of its own. 

A musical meme, The Lick has spawned a social media profile, dedicated YouTube montages, debates on how it should be scored. A ubiquitous seven note phrase, roaming unanchored and without claim.

Our journey of The Lick spans 100 years (starting with the earliest example traced back to 1910 and Stravinsky’s Firebird) and we’ve added timestamps to guide you to its most recognisable form within each track.

Credits
Work from Mcasso
ALL THEIR WORK