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 ARCHIVED TOPIC: Definition questions


Please note this is an archived topic, so it is locked and unable to be replied to. You may, however, start a new topic and refer to this topic with a link: http://www.banjohangout.org/archive/397800

Patrick1962 - Posted - 06/10/2024:  19:06:08


So, I have been practicing for around 9 months now but there's some things I just don't understand.

#1 Why are "licks" called "licks" ? (kind of a weird name)

#2 I have seen some licks that are called tags and vice versa by different people. What is the definition of a lick and a tag and how are they different?

#3 Why is it called "playing up the neck"?  Shouldn't it be the other way around?



#4 Why are they called "planetary tuners"?



I can see how my questions might be seen as me trying to be humorous but I really would like to know the answers..thanks all



 



 



 

Keith Billik - Posted - 06/10/2024:  19:32:52


quote:

Originally posted by Patrick1962

So, I have been practicing for around 9 months now but there's some things I just don't understand.

#1 Why are "licks" called "licks" ? (kind of a weird name)

#2 I have seen some licks that are called tags and vice versa by different people. What is the definition of a lick and a tag and how are they different?

#3 Why is it called "playing up the neck"?  Shouldn't it be the other way around?



#4 Why are they called "planetary tuners"?



I can see how my questions might be seen as me trying to be humorous but I really would like to know the answers..thanks all



 



 



 






1) No idea!



2) A "tag" is a term for the end of a phrase or the end of a song. So, some licks are tag licks, but not nice versa. I think having an arsenal of tag licks would be similar to a guitarist knowing several different versions of the G-run.



3) Everything about going "up the neck" suggests upward movement. Higher fret #, higher pitch notes, etc. Seems intuitive to me.



4) The gears inside the tuner casing move around the center tuning post, as if in a planetary orbit.



 

banjodobro56 - Posted - 06/10/2024:  19:39:30



  1. I don't know why they are called licks, any more than I know why a dog is called a dog.  But here is all the information and history that you would need on licks:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lick_(music)

  2. A tag is a lick (or riff or...) at the end of a song:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conclusion_(music)

  3. The farther up the neck you go on a given string, the higher the pitch (and the higher the fret number).

  4. Some (not all) banjo tuners use planetary gearing,  Planet gears rotate around a sun gear, constrained in a ring gear.  Again, here's more than enough information:  engineeringclicks.com/planetary-gears/



Glad you are enjoying the instrument.  Keep it up!

banjodobro56 - Posted - 06/10/2024:  19:40:23


Keith types faster than me...wink

chuckv97 - Posted - 06/10/2024:  20:27:00


There used to be a saying ,”He can’t play a lick!” Then there’s the “cowlick” in the hair.
Chet Atkins had a tune called “Read My Licks”, soon after President Bush Sr. mentioned “read my lips” in a campaign speech.

Patrick1962 - Posted - 06/10/2024:  22:09:41


Thanks guys! mystery solved!

Greg Denton - Posted - 06/11/2024:  03:45:24


A lick is a quick application of something. Flames lick. Paint licks. A quick taste. A flick of the tongue. So, a short musical phrase, or melodic fragment is called a lick. It also has a sexual connotation - perhaps originating in jazz slang?

Ira Gitlin - Posted - 06/11/2024:  06:51:12


Back when clarinets were common in jazz, you'd sometime hear the phrase "a lick on the licorice stick." I suspect, though, that "lick" was already in common use by that point. (While I don't know the etymology, Greg's explanation looks likely to me.)


Edited by - Ira Gitlin on 06/11/2024 06:51:28

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