Eli Gilbert - Posted - 07/09/2026:  06:27:49

Enjoy!

VIDEO: Can You Play This Bela Fleck Lick?
(click to view)

 

tsmitty - Posted - 07/09/2026:  06:48:08

That's a really cool lick. Thanks Eli (and Bela!).

Laurence Diehl - Posted - 07/09/2026:  07:23:32

A great lick, and well explained!

Talking of Bela, I would be interested in anything he plays on NGR can’t stop now. There’s a killer descending chromatic lick around 1:33 for instance.

stanleytone - Posted - 07/09/2026:  07:58:41

Very cool. I think that same lick is featured in that book Hot Licks for Bluegrass Banjo.

Old Hickory - Posted - 07/09/2026:  08:03:29

Ricky Mier has transcribed and tabbed all of Bela's playing on Can't Stop Now. Getting it requires subscription to his Patreon channel.

Here's his promo video about that. You might be able to learn the lick from watching as it goes by.

He also went into Can't Stop Now in this free YouTube lesson. He teaches the opening lick and then shows how the picking pattern is the exact same as a well-known melodic lick and how changing notes while keeping the roll is how to create interesting new sounds. I haven't watched the full 14 minutes, but in skipping through it did appear that he taught the lick you're asking about.

Laurence Diehl - Posted - 07/09/2026:  08:57:45

quote:

---

Originally posted by Old Hickory

Ricky Mier has transcribed and tabbed all of Bela's playing on Can't Stop Now. Getting it requires subscription to his Patreon channel.

Here's his promo video about that. You might be able to learn the lick from watching as it goes by.

He also went into Can't Stop Now in this free YouTube lesson. He teaches the opening lick and then shows how the picking pattern is the exact same as a well-known melodic lick and how changing notes while keeping the roll is how to create interesting new sounds. I haven't watched the full 14 minutes, but in skipping through it did appear that he taught the lick you're asking about.

---

Much appreciated Ken - of course, knowing how  to play a lick is not quite the same as being able to play a lick 

Alex Z - Posted - 07/09/2026:  09:50:48

"changing notes while keeping the roll is how to create interesting new sounds."

Yes.  Mr. Bela does that a lot.

eagleisland - Posted - 07/09/2026:  09:51:17

Very cool, and very well presented