3 Richie Kotzen Legato Licks

Here's the next Three-For-All lesson and this time we're taking a look at three ideas inspired by Richie Kotzen. Richie is a monster guitarist and has plenty of great things to learn and discover in his playing.
This includes a wicked legato technique and fluid single-note runs mixed with arpeggios, and bluesy bends with double-stop madness - Kotzen can jam and I've seen him live to prove it!
This lesson focuses on a challenging legato exercise concept and a series of variations from his first instructional video ('Rock Chops') along with two ideas that came from his 'Hi-Tech Rock Guitar' video from 2002.
Give this episode a view, leave some comments and feedback, and please subscribe to Late Night Lessons - THANK YOU!
Become a Patreon supporter for Late Night Lessons - www.patreon.com/latenightlessons

[@csgexec]

I was fortunate to grow up in the same area as Ritchie. The go-to club for live local music at the time was a place called The Silo, which resembled a huge barn. Every Wednesday was “Teen Night” (for underage patrons) and my friends and I were regulars. The band that drew the largest crowds was Arthur’s Museum, with a 15 year-old Ritchie on guitar. I vividly remember seeing them for the first time and was blown away by Ritchie‘s prowess at such a young age. From that point on I knew he was destined for great things and he’s been on my radar ever since. Thanks for recognizing him.

[@rickard9294]

You have a ear for intonation when you land on notes and bend. Really impressive!

[@montysloungetv]

You add marvelously to it

[@jonathanpennheim4752]

Besides being an awesome guitarist, you also seem to be an awesome person. Would love to buy you a beer.

[@johnsonw.7853]

I second that!

[@Volosic]

3:27 Lick 1 / fast 4:05 Lick 1 / slow 4:20 Lick 1 / fast 5:00 1a / position 2 5:40 slow/fast 6:06 position 3 6:19 position 4 6:25 6:56 1b / fast 7:19 slow 7:54 diagonal 8:15 tab 8:20 1c 8:37 slow 9:15 middle 9:56 tab 11:33 Lick 2 / jazzy 12:01 slow 12:09 tab 12:37 Lick 2 / maj13 12:53 middle 13:16 tab

[@stianmaritz1869]

Dude you explain things better than pretty much anyone I've seen on KZbin!

[@LateNightLessons]

Thank you so much! Stay tuned and rock on! : )

[@kmanick107]

Nice!!! Kotzen always has such great phrasing, even when he shreds he's very melodic

[@keithlubrant]

Mother Head's album was incredible. Followed his career since Shrapnel. My playing was definitely influenced by Kotzen and Howe (especially that first album!) and their ability to mash up awesome blues and technique. Love seeing his evolution. Great vid and your playing is great!

[@Jasonfurrofficial]

Ritchie grew up with another great, but underrated guitarist... Greg Howe. Greg is my dude!

[@LateNightLessons]

Greg Howe is a badass player. I've been a fan since his first Shrapnel album. Great stuff and thanks for watching! : )

[@crystalclaycomb5492]

I wonder if they jammed and traded ideas when they were younger?

[@OriginalDarkMark]

Crystal Claycomb Kotzen/Howe did two albums together: Project and Tilt. Both instrumental, there are a few gems on each album, and some ridiculous playing.

[@semiephemeral9]

@@LateNightLessons indeed

[@timothyholmes4588]

I like the first maybe 20 minutes of rock chops . after that it's just a bunch of insane tapping that's super difficult and Ritchie played it great but I'm not big on too much tapping. but you'll get a wealth of information from the first maybe ten licks of rock chops. Ritchie kotzon is a hell of a player.

[@rayw.3295]

Your videos are superb great instructional lessons on everything you show everyone, Thank You !!!!!!!

[@Chris-is1rd]

His "Remember" performance live in Brazil is one of the best singer-guitarist clips on YT

[@roblaher4146]

another fantastic lesson. Thank you so much for the wonderful content

[@LateNightLessons]

Thank you and thanks for checking out the video. Richie is a monster player and he has plenty of cool licks and ideas to borrow (or steal - haha). Rock on\m/

[@genevai2893]

bloody awesome lesson as per usual lovin it from NZ

[@LateNightLessons]

Thanks bro and stay tuned - more good stuff is on the way! : ) ROCK ON!

[@ericalexander3861]

Just wanna say thank you for these lessons you've covered some awesome guitarists this and audley freed are my favourites.

[@bongojimmy9537]

Great, easy to follow lessons! Thank you! As a guitarist, and apparently a late bloomer, I've been trying to get a handle on the jazz rock "outside" sound of Kotzen and Guthrie, and stumbled across your video and loved it. This should get me on my way. Just subscribed and am looking forward to more!

[@LateNightLessons]

That's great to hear and very cool! Thank you so much! Rock on\m/

[@MikeMassions]

Killer as always, dude.

[@GuitarPahlut]

Some how I missed this vid when you released it. Truely inspirational channel David, thanks again mate 🤘

[@hacksaw6994]

Thank you David. I get so much out of your lessons. They have definitely opened up my soloing vocabulary and your teaching style is so great! Thank you from Canada.

[@michaeledwards1097]

thank you soo much, you have opened up a whole new guitar world for me . !!!

[@JeffJE44]

David, thanks for another excellent lesson! Can't wait to try this one tonight after work. Totally agree with your advice on playing it perfectly vs. shredding it when warming up. 🤘👍

[@nathancloud6344]

Kids, what hes doing takes lots of practice mixed with tons of technique. This is made to look effortless.

[@andrebarbosa1510]

No shit

[@greenmanmusic1259]

David, I found your channel relatively recently. I have been playing since 1980 and have been feeling a bit "stale" lately - until Late Light Lessons came along! You have reconnected me with some of my favourite players and the stuff I used to play. Now back on the horse and inspired again. Brilliant. Keep up the good work! Cheers!

[@leetattoo1976]

This is the best guitar channel by far thanks!!!!

[@iganpparamarta8813]

Superb lesson. And you make that strat sound really good.

[@LateNightLessons]

Thank you so much! : )

[@catsven1973]

I found in your lessons what I’ve never found elsewhere since 20 years ago. This friendly calm method to turn difficult patterns into a simple ones .. by dividing sequences into simple shapes than built them into something that makes sense again ! Great methodology.. what I’m doing to explain things myself .. that the listener could put all that together slowly.. thanks. You’re such a great player by the way !

[@johnsonw.7853]

I really appreciate this lesson. I have been getting into Richie’s work. I practiced and played the first example to my guitar teacher and he said my technique improved, so thank you very much for this!

[@richb6291]

Spectacular video David , loved the Ritchie Kotzen Rock chops ...though I did think he had 6 fingers .....The two last licks are A1 , love your E11 lick can't wait to get it under my fingers.

[@LateNightLessons]

Awesome - thank you again and rock on buddy! : )

[@spaceavenger54]

I've only ever heard Wheels can fly, but God that solo is awesome!

[@LateNightLessons]

Heck yeah, he's a monster player. When he really cuts loose, he melts faces. : ) haha

[@vivarantx]

impressive, keep doing more of these

[@davidsummerville351]

Great insight. Thank you

[@seatlescene]

Fantastic video, thought you explained Richie's ideas and concepts perfectly! Looking forward to implementing those licks into my own playing! 🎶 Many thanks!

[@LateNightLessons]

Thank you and I'm glad to hear it! : ) Stay tuned and take care!

[@JimWinstrand]

Love your lessons. the way you break things down and explain theory. You sure know how to pick out tasty licks.. Let let us know how to better support what you're doing on your channel... Brilliant playing as well!

[@jo_d3]

It's wonderfull !!!! Please, another Richie Kotzen Licks.

[@LateNightLessons]

Thank you and I'll see what I can do to get some more Richie in the mix. Rock on\m/

[@edwardjons8684]

Great job. More please! There’s very little good Kotzen content online. If you know a good source of tabs for his recent stuff please post a link to that too. Thanks!

[@EarthAltar]

Damn, how did I miss this one? Kotzen rules! Great lesson Dave!

[@LateNightLessons]

Thank you!!!!

[@alexbrenner975]

Wow great lesson!

[@LateNightLessons]

Thank you! : )

[@mr.e8432]

Thanks for this lesson. Very easy to follow and some cool ideas to practice. It’s a shame Richie isn’t more well known, especially among guitar players. He’s got such a great catalog of music whether it’s his solo stuff, Winery Dogs, or Smith/Kotzen project. I know this is an older video but I’d love to see another, maybe a look at some of his riffs from his solo stuff, or solo ideas etc. Thanks again 👍🏼

[@chethaun39470]

Keep up the great work! Love this stuff!

[@LateNightLessons]

Thank you and I will do my best! : ) Stay tuned...

[@warmoth68]

Super great and informative video. 👍

[@spamsee]

Love those licks .Well done Dave ,brilliant tutor.

[@CVGuitar]

11:57 sounds awesome

[@jasonbidwell]

Another great lesson, with tabs!

[@Zakkarath]

You're amazing dude......!

[@johnvcougar]

Exit, Stage Left - what a great album!

[@alucero7832]

This video is fantastic,...very inspireing....I really would appreciate if you make a video showing your rig (guitar, pedal, amp...etc) and the storys behind that...because you sound just perfect!!

[@choppingpenguin]

Hey man, I just discovered your channel and your lessons are amazing! You teach exactly what I want to learn, so please keep it up! An interesting side note: growing up, my friend down the street had his bedroom wall papered w the same Star Wars poster you have hanging up. We'd been buddies since the 4th grade and never lost touch. When his dad died, I helped clean out the house, seeing as I had basically grown up in the house as well, and I managed to snag a nice piece of the wallpaper on my way out. It was a real trip to see it again on your wall! Anyway, you've got a fan, keep killing it. Peace.

[@LateNightLessons]

That's so awesome and thanks for watching/commenting! I had that wallpaper in my bedroom when I was a kid and my mom saved a roll of it. It was about two years ago I was visiting her and found a stashed/saved roll of it in her basement. I couldn't believe that she saved that extra roll all of those years and decided to cut a strip of the pattern so I could frame it and put it on the wall in my studio. It's pretty cool to look over and see a strip of wallpaper from my childhood framed and hanging on the wall. And as a Star Wars fan, that wallpaper print/pattern is so cool! Anyway - thanks again and ROCK ON!

[@scottwilson9908]

Late Night Lessons I had that wall paper in my bedroom growing up to. I live in Australia so I was surprised when I saw you had it in the background of your videos.

[@AlbertGilmour]

Really awesome that licks, it's a great pleasure to know some new lessons of this great shred guitar player, almost God, Richie Kotzen, thank you man, for the tutorial. God blessed you.

[@jsracerx7187]

As another application for #1a, try that pattern vertically across 6-strings, ala DLR’s “Shy Boy”. Excellent lesson - thanks Dave!

[@voronOsphere]

Richie Kotzen! Thanks!!!!

[@RafaelMorgan]

Just found out your channel, man. I honestly don't know how I missed it! Love your "3 licks" series. Great choice of licks and really well explained. Subscribed!

[@larrypooley3401]

I've seen Richies' videos and it is pretty hard to follow,' so, thanks for opening some of this up so I can understand it more. Brilliant lesson 🤘🤘👏👏

[@LateNightLessons]

Richie's a monster player and that instructional video is VERY advanced. It's a hard one to make it all the way through, that's for sure. Thanks for watching and stay tuned for more videos! : )

[@jameslay240]

Love your sound man,peace

[@Michael-bl4no]

Great video. I had that first RK video and agree, its quite a challenge! Really like the new lick you developed based on his style. His video and the Paul Gilbert videos are my favorites. The Vinnie Vincent video? Ugh!!!

[@LateNightLessons]

That's awesome and I totally agree. Some of those videos were amazing and some of them (like VV's) were pretty bad. I never bought that one, but I've watched it and always wondered who was buying that video at $50 a pop. That's crazy. Gilbert, Kotzen, Vinnie Moore, Petrucci, and the gang were totally worth it, but it was always a gamble/risk and they were so pricey, but now you can just watch them on KZbin, which makes me rethink all of those teenage purchases - hahaha! Rock on and thanks for watching! : )

[@josephweiss3931]

Great ear, that lick is sick

[@LateNightLessons]

Thank you!!! : )

[@wallyramirez5527]

Dude you’re amazing

[@MisterGuitarItalia]

I'm a fan of Kotzen and I've always wondered why he never became a huge star. Unfortunately, the only reason I can think of is that maybe he's just too much. He's a phenomenal guitarist, an even better singer, a great songwriter, an amazing showman and even seems like a very decent person... plus, he was stunningly good looking, so I wonder if industry people simply felt threatened by all of that and sabotaged him.

[@luigicannizzo2669]

A Very Good Job' s on Guitar Lesson. .. Nice One ... ☺😊😀/💙💙💙/👍👌👏

[@lilikura]

Wow! These are awesome! Just came across your channel and loving it. Can we have more on the jazz/fusion type licks like the last two? Subscribed 🙏🏽

[@LateNightLessons]

Thank you so much and you got it - more jazz/fusion ideas! Rock on...I mean JAZZ ON! : ) lol

[@lilikura]

Late Night Lessons hahaha! Awesome! Looking forward and keep inspiring. 🙏🏽

[@sergeitishin9417]

Great tone btw

[@joeylodes]

Awesome 👏

[@GrooveDuude]

#1 If you pick every note it becomes Malmsteen’s go to riff.

[@typedeaf]

Kotzen is a total beast of a player. I put him up with Jason Becker and Shawn Lane.

[@skipneumann1]

2023 and I am still working on this…

[@jean-pierreschaller9101]

Hello, your video is great, I really appreciate your experience. Just one question...Why a C# at the 10:00 in the ascendant G major lick.......Tks for your answer

[@gandhiabad9402]

Ww! i love it! . .thank you!

[@nicktrierweiler3690]

His solo on poisons "stand" is still one of the best bluesy solos imo..

[@davestepp5260]

Badass as usual brother! And I’ll ask for everyone, do you have any original material we can check out? Thanks for the inspiration!

[@justinorprecio3094]

That was awesome! It's past 3 AM here and I'm thinking of grabbing my guitar again (despite practicing for roughly 4 hours earlier), but goddamn I have adult stuff to deal with! Kickass lesson This channel needs more subscribers 😁 Justin from the Philippines

[@LateNightLessons]

Thanks buddy and that means a lot! I'm working on building this thing and every day it grows a little more - which is a good sign : ) Stay tuned and ROCK ON\m/

[@kyochi111]

Great with a pick or sans pick!

[@christianneumann7608]

Great ideas I have to learn, thank you very much! As Bruce Boulliet wrote you, and I have the same opinion, you playing better than the original. What I would like to see and hear, are "3 licks of David Brewster".

[@jeffrey.a.hanson]

After breaking my left wrist in 2006, I have two issues- 1. Can’t flatten hand so have to play at an angle. 2. Slight loss of feeling in ring and pinky. This has made it nearly impossible to get the stretch and power need to play a legato sequence with pinky and middle. This may inspire me to give it another shot or find my own way of creating that sound cause even Brad Paisley uses these licks for drastic effect or on outros.

[@Guitaroverkill]

3 people watched his video 100,000 times to figure it out and to be able to play it. Everyone else gave up.

[@Melfi11]

Just stunning :) Thank you for what you do and can't agree more with @Jonathan Pennheim - amazing guitarist with big heart :) And you are also very articulate and your videos are joy to watch.

[@joeylodes]

Awesome

[@huskvarsm]

I’m a kossoff Gary moore rory Gallagher John sykes bill nelson and mick ronson type of guy but Ritchie kotzen is awesome……..if you don’t know who bill nelson is just type in bebop de luxe at the old grey whistle test he is an English guitarist who fronted bebop de luxe in the 70s and he played a sunburst Gibson 355 and that guy can really play check him out.

[@thoras1297]

Great Video ! Could you please tell me which Pickups you uses ? Your Guitar looks wonderful. Greetings from Germany !

[@LateNightLessons]

Thank you and thanks for watching too! I'm endorsed with Seymour Duncan, so they're all SD pickups. There's a JB humbucker (bridge), a reverse-wound single (middle), and a Cool Rails in the neck. Thanks for the question and stay tuned... : )

[@TheMrMRsmoke]

Tycho wallpaper>>

[@alexattitude4085]

Just had an idea that people that like richie Kotzen and Star Wars are just crazy! :))

[@billwilliams6338]

LATE NIGHT LESSONS, Joey Fafolla made a VHS lesson which he specializes in using these open string licks and the way he shreds of going in circles with a repeating note and shifts positions it seems here is a small clip of his open string lick kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGnIp4KYf56rnsk

[@guitarmemoir]

I really enjoy your lessons. Fan of your presentation as well as the content. One observation: imho you are a fedora guy, not a baseball cap guy. Someone said the same thing to me. It was hard to hear, but they were right. lol Santana makes super cool hats with guitar pins on them...they rock. Resistance is futile. ;-)

[@muhammadharrysetiawan2758]

Req poison-richie accoustic thang

[@michaelcarver6868]

I love the band slaughter mark slaughter is a beast

[@duskokovacevic4497]

Seymour Duncan on the bridge and Hot Rails on the neck, I guess?

[@TMoody]

Anybody know where that Ibanez terror guitar at the beginning is today?

[@LateNightLessons]

I have no idea, but I did notice that Kirk Hammett has made a few of his ESP guitars look almost exactly the same as Kotzen's old toy. There's just something wickedly cool about classic monsters painted on a guitar. : )

[@michaelcarver6868]

Ritchie kotzen and john 5 is why i play only teles

[@erickrulz]

After that last lick now I have to go listen to Van Halens intruder/pretty woman

[@newpowersoul2005]

Richie got so much influence from Prince. so he's more like an overall artist.

[@nathancloud6344]

The one with the pinball machine still blows mw away. His legato playing is like Donald Trump's hair.

[@csgexec]

Ritchie’s dad owns a company called R&R Games (R-ichard & R-itchie) a supplier of games like pinball machines, etc.

[@arpeggiomeister]

Hey brother, you are a killer player. Where are you from???? I am, up north in Maine. Ritchie is a killer player for sure. Love the Winery Dogs. Oblivion is a killer tune. I love Billy Sheehan and Mike Portnoy as well. Just a monster group!!!

[@albertarmen4839]

Kotzen can bring it... not only his playing, but on keys too... best of all his vox are amazing... dude is really annoying LOL

[@7thString84]

I love your channel! You are such a nice guy and obviously a great guitarist! :) Did you know... if you are German, this guy has a really funny name. In English, he would be "Richie Barf". :D Just as a side note... ;)

[@mr.anderson70]

Another great lesson! \../ \../

[@LateNightLessons]

Thank you! : )

[@eddieprice6098]

I used to save my money to order from shrapnel records!

[@dannyhood7433]

Plaid plesiasaur, noblesse obliged. fusion. Shrapnel, Low budget raw production.. Similar to delinquent kid scribbling crayons, and talented kid drawing Leathery hided, stripes on advanced reptiles.

[@PaulPoGoaIndia]

❤️❤️❤️🙏🔥💞🥰

[@josephweiss3931]

E11 lick sounds like warren

[@LateNightLessons]

All roads lead to "DeMartini Avenue" - haha! Thanks again bro and ROCK ON!

[@brianreid1177]

Who is this tool ?

[@casim8842]

Down votes. Seriously? Sigh.

[@LateNightLessons]

Hahaha! Thanks you! : )

[@jonathaninchka7765]

Too much of talking

[@emanuelemazzoni782]

Amazing lesson man! Love it! Thanks!