Week 16: writing your own
The final week of a 32-week guitar practice path: your own licks, a riff worth remembering, and a signature solo — then day 112 beside day 1.
- Week
- 16 of 32
- Days
- 7
- Played as
- blues or rock
The last checkpoint, and the only week where nothing is handed to you. Write your own licks — not lifted, yours. Write a riff you would be happy to open with. Then compose a signature solo: fixed, memorised, repeatable, which is a very different skill from improvising and a far better test of everything above it.
Then record it beside your week-one take. Whatever you play on day 112 is the actual output of the plan, and that side-by-side is the whole reason day one asked you to record a minute before you could play anything.
Blues treatment
Write your own: your licks, a riff, and a signature solo. Day 1 versus day 112. Checkpoint.
The last checkpoint, and the only week where nothing is handed to you. Write your own licks — not lifted, yours. Write a riff you would be happy to open with. Then compose a signature solo: fixed, memorised, and repeatable, which is a very different skill from improvising and a far better test of everything above.
Then record it beside your week-one take. Sixteen weeks is long enough that you will have stopped noticing your own progress, and that side-by-side is the whole point of having recorded anything. Whatever you play on day 112 is the actual output of the plan.
The daily session · ~25 min
- Warm upHands + your own voice4 min
- Write your own licksVocabulary you own4 min
- A riff and a signature phraseSomething memorable6 min
- Compose a signature soloPut your voice together6 min
- Jam, day 1 versus day 112Put it together5 min
Check yourself
- Play a solo you composed, from memory, twice, and have it come out the same both times.
- Play your own riff to someone who does not play guitar. Do they remember it?
- Listen to day 1 next to day 112 and write down three things that changed.
This week ends with a composed piece rather than another improvisation: Signature solo: 12-bar blues in A.
Reference
Rock treatment
Write your own: a riff, your licks, and a signature solo. Day 1 versus day 112. Checkpoint.
Last checkpoint, and nothing is handed to you. Write a riff — something you would be happy to open a set with, which in practice means something singable and rhythmically distinctive rather than technically impressive. Write your own licks. Then compose a signature solo: fixed, memorised, repeatable.
Composing is a harder test than improvising because it removes the excuse. Then record it beside your week-one take. That comparison is the reason the recording step has been there since day one, and it is the most honest account of sixteen weeks that exists.
The daily session · ~25 min
- Warm upHands + your own voice4 min
- Write a riffSomething to open with4 min
- Write your own licksVocabulary you own6 min
- Compose a signature soloPut your voice together6 min
- Jam, day 1 versus day 112Put it together5 min
Check yourself
- Play your composed solo from memory twice and have it come out the same.
- Play your riff to someone who does not play. Do they remember it afterwards?
- Put day 1 beside day 112 and write down three things that changed.
This week ends with a composed piece rather than another improvisation: Signature solo: Am rock vamp.
Reference
How the week runs
Whichever accent you pick, the material stays the same for all 7 days and the tempo and intent move. Day one takes it slowly, day two chases clean notes, day three brings it to target tempo and into the jam, day four pushes past comfortable, and day five drops back to tempo to record and listen. Days six and seven are yours.
You can switch accent any day without losing your place — it is the same week either way, so week 16 means the same thing in both.