Originally Posted by: thegreenscommittee

Specifically, I mean things like the closing solo in Comfortably Numb, that first descending pentatonic lick, https://youtu.be/GqzeJpn-5I8?t=34

The best way to get a long, complex lick down is to break it into managable chunks & drill them until they are second nature. Then gradually put them together.

The first half of that lick is similar to this classic blues type lick.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1614

Tricky bend & picking across several strings! Go slow & just do that section until you can really get it right.

The second half of that lick is kind of decending sequence. Exercises like this can help with that sort of line.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=185

You really just need to work the first box for that lick. But they are all great to use as exercises & have under your fingers. I do all of these everyday as part of my warmup!

Fine points to consider:

1. Break the lick down into as many small chunks as necessary for you to drill them.

2. Go slow to make sure you have the chunks right & repeat them until they feel comfortable.

3. Work toward making your picking motions as small, tight & minimal as possible. Just enough to graze the string to get across, then stop & reverse direction. Slant the pick slightly until it feel easy to graze over the string. You don't want to feel like the pick is getting "caught" on the string.

Practice a lot. :) Best of success!