No More Faking This Lick! (Sweet Child o' Mine Edition) 

what i love about this channel is that you dont make us feel inferior. you dont just teach us, but learn along with us!!! thanks, mike!!!

Haha I had to play this exact part live a few weeks back. Needless to say I drowned it in Wah so no one would notice :)

The point isn't that tabs aren't always accurate, it's that we continue to trust them regardless.

I remember slowing this exact lick down and trying to learn it note for note. The articulation that Slash puts into every note from both his hands is unlike anything I've ever heard from any other guitarist. By the way, I'm pretty sure that first slide is actually a bend on the album.

I've been trying to get this down perfectly ever since I first heard Sweet Child O' Mine. This is it chief.

It's amazing that, at the time of this writing, we're still analyzing this tune 32 years later. This is the difference between music and the racket we get now. Genius.

SUCH a helpful video! The fingering for this lick has always stumped me - now I’ve FINALLY got it! Thank you😎👌🙏

Man this is the most spot on. I listened to the album version at .25x speed and like this is IT. So glad to find this

Just found this video yesterday after searching many different lessons, I tried to learn this many years ago , just off tab though, always loved this runand gave up a few notes in and put in the " you will never get this down " basket but now after a few a hours of practice and memorizing the lick, following your vid I have it down! Legend bro, now the speed is something else...

I noticed that too. Many time the isolated tracks you find online are stems from takes that didn't make the record. It happens quite often, actually!

Ironically coming back to this for exactly the sane reasons as you! Put it off for 30 years. One of the most idiosyncratic licks I've ever tried to learn. Learning this showed me Slash knows way more than he lets on. I learnt Always With Me Always With You quicker than its taken me to get this down clean and tight.

Thanks for the video. I learnt this lick from David Escobar's video and he too plays it in the exact same way, which I later noticed was how Slash himself plays. I appreciate this attention to detail that both you and David exhibit.

I loveee u mannnnnn.... U made me a damn electric guitar beginner play this super fast cool part... All those teachers like Carl could just teach the start. No one was able to teach me that Shredding portion Only you. You are a Guitar God for me Love you man !!

This is so inspiring and demoralizing at the same time. I didn't realize how many people fake this part. It seems from other videos and comments this is fairly common. On the other hand, I've been practicing this for 4 days and I'm maybe a tad slower than you at this point BUT the 11 into 12-14-12 , I don't have. I thought it was just straight into 12-14-12! Ugh, now I have to relearn it. And I have so much muscle memory committed to that part already, this is going to take forever.

He actually does a bend from the 7th fret to the 8th at the beginning. If you listen very closely you can hear it. You can also see him do it in the music video if you pay good attention

Thanks for your hard work on this and making it easier for us. One note: use a noise gate on your amp to rid the background hum.

This video is very well done. This lick is super intimidating to tackle on your own, by ear or even with tabs. You showed us that its not all that bad!

The album version is pretty distinct, I learned it from CD before you tube was around, I was 13 years old and it took me weeks on and off. Slash deviates from it live in many different ways. On the illusion tours prob lot depending on how loaded he was. It’s an awesome lick to play around with. Not only does it sound impressive but it looks impressive when played. Sliding the up and using the picky. And to think he wrote this when he was so young.

“Running away” … me too !!!! Respect !

Great video. But @5:00 are you sure it’s the 11th fret on the 1st string? I’ve studied his live videos and pretty sure he plays the 15th fret on the 2nd string again there. Also, just want to add that I’m pretty sure he uses strict alternating picking (downs on beats and &’s; ups on a’s and e’s) throughout this lick.

I've checked out several versions but this seems like the most playable while still sounding like the original riff. Going to give it a try later tonight. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for posting this! I thought I was off to a great start learning the first part of the solo in like 5 mins up to this part then just put it in the too hard basket. 😂 The fingering is so strange and not what my fingers want to naturally do. Glad to see you work through it, it’s given me motivation to keep going

Thank you. I’ve seen so many amazing guitarists eff this up, and it’s always driven me crazy. But I’ve never been able to figure it out perfectly. I’m not sure anyone has. But, this is a very fine effort.

I just wanna thank you for this video. I've faked this lick for as long as I can remember, and I don't know why I didn't take the time to learn it properly. I'm a huge GnR and Slash fan, and I know a ton of his licks and solos. For some reason, these few measures have always escaped me. Within ten minutes after watching the video, I was already playing the lick at 75% speed. I hope to be playing it at 100% speed within the hour. I can't believe how easy it is. So unnecessary for me to avoid! I only changed one tiny thing that felt better to me personally: After the climbing part, instead of going 14-11 on the e string (just before the hammer-on/pull off & bend), it's easier for me to go 14 on the e to 16 on the b. I'm glad I wasn't the only person in this boat! If I think of any other licks in any songs that I tend to fake my way through, or just outright avoid, I'll definitely leave a comment, because this video truly helped me out! Thanks a ton!

Sounds just like in the record and with tabs too for us lazy bros 🤘

This was the first song I ever tried to learn when I got my first guitar 25 years ago, and like you I have never been able to get this part right! Last year I did exactly what you are doing now. With RU-vid slow-down functionality and abundance of Not-In-This-Lifetime video clips I was able to finally figure out exactly what you had figured out here! But even though I now know exactly what the notes are, my fingers still trip over each other when I try to play it in time at full speed!

Finally some accurate and easy to understand tutorial, took me only a day to get this done at halfspeed.

Just got to this part and the songsterr tab just didn't seem right. Glad i found this.

To be honest this is the best tab i've seen that was just easy for me to learn good work!

Sounds kind of Middle-Eastern when done slowly and without effects.

This particular part of this solo has eluded me for 20 years. I think I may finally get it now. Thanks man. Bark at the Moon gets me every time and so does Trippin on a hole in a paper heart. Those are my next target.

Thank you so much for the notes required to play this, other people that makes tutorials for this played it incorrectly starting it from the 12 fret zone

Appreciate you posting this solo lesson... I've been struggling with these passages. Excellent Presentation ✝️👍🤙✌️

Dude..I really love you...You don't know how many vid I've seen before your, but finally i can get the this part. You are great..really thanks...

It's really weird to play at first but if you get it down correctly, it sounds incredible

This has been haunting me for 30 years. That's a relief...

I have been trying to nail this for years. It was this moment in this solo in this song that got me learning guitar! I remember jumping up on the table and going air guitar crazy when this kicked on the radio! I have tried every conceivable way to play that (and there are quite a few it turns out. With guitar there's always more ways to skin a cat. Why you're skinning cats I'm sure I do not know!) I even bought the Cherry Lane tab for Appetite for Destruction. It was rough. It's not exact. It's about right. It's finding the groove..to make it all make sense it's rhythm...that's the tough part.. because the whole piece is a in plaster of Paris...you gotta drop it at the right spot...and ride it all the way thru in faith that it is slotting into the right grooves. I think I'm closer than ever playing it this way. This is thesway that makes least sense, economically, from mapping the run out on the fretboard in away that is the most ergonomic.. But it's the one that seems to slot into the grooves the best. I think.

Justin guitars series on this is pretty much perfect in regards to the fingerings.

I wish I found this video first. I gave up and spent hours learning it. Great job. Spot on.

I like that you put the whole subscribe now thing in white text in the bottom of the screen rather then spending 2-3 minutes begging

Thankyou so much! Ive faked this for so long too and its been a hurdle ive thought i couldnt get over, i feel confident i can finally get this now! Liked and subbed

You're such a great teacher man! Love the whole vid!

Sometimes we don't get a lick or fill because we are just not there yet and all the practice in the world won't get you there any faster! At these times we all just do the best we can with it and every so often revisit the 'correct' way to play it and when it clicks, we, we're ready! I was born a drummer and learned a few other instruments along the way, and when I was only playing drums I would use this faking it approach without thinking much about it. However when I started playing the guitar, I quickly found I wasn't quite "the natural" I was on the drums and had to come to terms with levels of ability at more frequent intervals. I would tackle a song and have run ins with licks and some I could practice through and others I had to put on a shelf and revisit it at a later date. In the meantime I played something in it's place that wouldn't damage the song or embarrass me either! Just remember, it takes 3 minutes to make a 3 minute egg! In other words, you'll do it when you're ready! Like you said, you're on a journey and this is just a point along the way! Sounds great by the way! ✌

Hey man! I appreciate your honesty of facing the demon of this solo :) similar to what I’ve felt too when playing some other solos that easy to play with. But this one is really like you’re climbing to Mt. Everest, keep on playing man, I’m a follower of your channel. God bless.

Ok so it's a harmonic minor mode. It's one note off from major the next step in major modes. It's a downtuned d# e aolian with a lowered note. Just make sure your have your major modes. Aolian pattern six. Very good and important lesson.

Great job. I relearned this solo a million times. Now fast part. Is savage !!!

Very detailed, very good work!

Right on time! I stuck with same lick for awhile (and the final solo).

amazing bro keep up the good work ... I have been trying to play this lick for about 3 months now.

I bet your anorak wears an anorak! Having trashed many solos in many gigs I really appreciate your attention to detail. I obsessed over this section for ages when I finally learnt it to play live. I'd say 75% accuracy was highest I achieved!

The second option sounds more like the recorded version. Good job on it. Learned a new bending technique from this piece.

Do the guns n roses - Mr. Brownstone solo. Its such a genius solo if you solw it down. No one nails it perfectly.

Beautiful Les Paul Custom. I enjoy your videos.

I'm watching this so early that I'm still getting parts of the video in low bitrate.

Love that Gibson! Great job sounds very accurate!

i would have loved that, before slowly showing how to play a lick, explaing or showing WHICH lick it is^^ I mean i figured it out, but a refresher would have been nice :)

i knew exactly what lick you were talking about before i even clicked the video

The sweet child isolated on youtube is played by the guitar hero team, because they didn't get hold of the originals when they were making the game. The only Gnr isolated tracks is from welcome to the jungle because for that song they did manage to get the isolated tracks.

Sounds like you nailed it. I was actually playing it with the same notes, but a different fingering that I find more comfortable. The slides are a big part of the phrasing though, and I was mostly ignoring them.

I have fake for so, so long... and this lick is damn easy! I was scary of this music for a long time, but not anymore! Thanks!

I've been faking it awhile. 2022 resolution to play it right!

truly the holy grail of scales!! one step beyond minor scale harmonic minor. Even easier than minor? This scale is fun to play the patterns are easy.

Brilliant video bro, I’ve always faked that section of the tune as well & I used to be Slash in a GNR tribute 😆✌🏽

Instead of going to the 14th and 11th fret on B and E, I go to the 16th on B, it’s same note and easier to play to speed.

Only nit to pick here if you want to play it exactly like Slash does, is he stops using his pinky after that slide up to the 15th fret.

thanks for making this man! i always thought what i play is little off to the original now i can play it right!

Awesome Thank you for this been trying to get this down and to speed this helps alot.

Excellent job

This is exactly what I needed to see. Thank you.

thannk you SO much for these videos. There are so many vidoes out there with the licks that are completely wrong

Thanks a lot for this lesson. Appreciate the efford so much.

Thanks bro. After years of configuring myself how to do it. I need someone like you who can teach me how to do it step by step and slowly..😀

This is the way ive always played it. I learned it first listening to slash and watching David Escobars solo of it

Mistakes!!?? What do you mean mistakes, I thought that run through at the end sounded really cool!!!

Love your videos man! Great stuff

On the last bend. Establish the pitch first then slowly start to build the vibrato. You are shaking it to early. Almost all vibrato sounds better defined if we let the pitch establish fist, so as to give the listener something to contrast the vibrato with. With out the established pitch the vibrato offers no contrast.

You got some of the most beautiful guitars in your videos.

I’ve been trying to do this solo since I was 12, 20 years ago on my broom stick and I still can’t get it right 😔

YESSS this is it no disrespect to guitar lessons365 he teaches the scale only using the 12th to 16 fret BUT slash plays it from the 7th to the 15th THANK YOU!!!!!

I watched Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and whatnot live last night. First time going to an indoors concert. Holy shit I couldn’t hear properly for ages

sounds great. Another good place to look is David Escobar on youtube. he has running tab as he nails this solo spot on.

The isolated tracks for this song are from Guitar Hero 2 game that used (mostly) cover versions, not original tracks.

I really wanna see how you faked that licks, just because in my opinion this is the most important moment of the whole solo, ‘cause the melody before builds tension and this lick relieves the whole tension (is that even the right word? I'm German if you find any grammar mistakes don’t judge me), but anyway I can’t think of way you can fake this lick

Man youd have to be happy with that last run! It sounded 110%

You saw Slash use his pinky??

Mike, you’re great. Thanks so much

Very usefull for me..thank so much man..

I fucking love your dedication. Thank you for doing this for us bro! Really, Thank you!

Right on Mike! Thank you much, Nice to know the exact notes there! Lol...

I would turn that D (2nd string 15th fret) into a D#. So it sounds more like a E melodic minor turning into an E minor pentatonic at the end. Try it!!

Of course, what Slash did live and what he did in the studio don't have to be the same thing, and live performances almost never are identical. But the truth is, nobody knows exactly what Slash did in the studio. Especially on a fast lick, sometimes deciphering hammer ons and legato can be pretty difficult. But for that 8-12 stretch, some people might find it easier to stretch their index finger and ring finger. I use my pinky religiously, but a lot of amazing guitarists don't use their pinky a whole lot, and I've actually been practicing not using my pinky lately, for 4 and, in this case 5 fret stretches. If you hop your index finger from string 2, fret 7 to string 2, fret 10, hammer on to 12, rather than slide, then hop your index to string 1, fret 8, followed by ring on S2F12, middle on S1F10, ring S2F12, index S1F8 and finish off with your index on string 1, fret 11, some people might find that easier. It sounds a little crazy, because you sort of have to hop twice, and then make longer stretches. The upside is a lot of people feel like they have a lot little more control over the note using a ring instead of pinky, which there is definitely some truth to, and also, you don't have to do the ring on string 1, pinky on string 2 stretch, which if you're not used to using your pinky, might feel a little awkward. In fact, pinky slides can feel awkward if you don't use your pinky that much. Which is one reason you'll see people slide with their ring, even when their pinky was already lined up with that fret. If you're going to do that, you can also hop and hammer instead, for a little bit different sound. The only reason I bring this up is that a lot of guitarists play mostly with 3 fingers, especially on slides, and below the 12th fret, while a lot of guitarists always use their pinky. And sometimes, "you can play it which ever way feels comfortable to you" isn't quite enough instruction, if a guitarist hasn't made up their mind yet whether they are mostly a 3 finger guy, or if they are always 4 finger guy (or gal). Personally, I think it makes sense to have as much strength, control and ability with your pinky as possible. I spent months just working on bending with my pinky. But lately I've been finding that there is quite a bit of utility in playing mostly with 3 fingers. The stretches are obviously harder, but it can give you a slight advantage over your tone, actually make some faster licks a little easier, and it frees up your pinky for even more outrageous stretches, which can come in handy, especially in some of the bottom string sequences. I hope this helps somebody. Whenever something can clearly be played a multitude of ways, I always get frustrated. So I've found that having more options to choose from that are still comfortable for your fingers, can really make learning new licks a lot easier. So, "play whatever feels comfortable," but also work on the ways that don't feel comfortable, and try to get to the point where they are comfortable. That way your fingers will always have a way to go, and you won't have to rely on what actually might be a more difficult fingering.

Exactly what we needed , much appreciated.

Thank you so much Mike!

Hallelujah !!! Thank you so much !

Thanks for sharing ! Very detailed explanation :)

omg i listen to the solo in slomo right now, its incredible with how much emotion he is bending the notes. feeling of sadness 1:1

Hey Mike, could you please tell me what do you think is the ideal string action to play this lick? I know I haven't practised this lick enough, but I've given it some time and for the life of me, I just can't get it up to speed, 'cause my fingers are kind of tripping on the strings and it may be because of my action being too high. I've always liked my action a bit higher, because lowering the strings has prevented me from doing bends easily (the strings then slip under my fingers and I get a lot of noise which I find hard to control), so... Any thoughts on this?

I learned this solo from justinguitar and I can't appreciate enough, how accurate his notes are to the original. I still can't play this part tho 🙄

I used to wing this part too. then i saw prople doing it on acoustic and stopped bieng lazy and learned it via youtube slomo. Its a really good riff btw even when played slow. Everyone trying to learn the sweet child solo should learn it before making Thier own variation on that section.

Awesome dude 🔥