Okay, this is not intended for you advanced
players out there, but is rather for the newer
players. Although, you advanced players may
certainly chime in.

I played for many years before anyone even
mentioned intervals to me. I had a good ear, but I
still didn't have the real tools I needed, as in
"Okay, that's a fourth, so from here, I need to
put my finger here..."

Once someone mentioned intervals, and showed them
to me, suddenly an entirely new world opened up
for me.

Don't be embarrassed if you don't know about
intervals; I started playing when I was three,
took many private and public lessons, and knew how
to play many instruments by the time I got
to college. However, it wasn't until I got into a
college theory class that anyone ever even
mentioned intervals to me. And this, more than
anything else, opened whole new horizons to me. It
was at this point I crossed over from being a mere
biological playback machine to being a
real musician.

The knowledge of intervals is how teachers can
listen to certain riffs, figure out how to play
them, and then teach them to you. The thing is,
learn intervals yourself, and you will be able to
figure out licks without paying someone to teach
them to you.

Learning intervals is one of the easier things I
have ever encountered, has been one of the most
useful things I have ever encountered, and has
been the closest thing to "the secret of music" I
have ever encountered.

Has your teacher discussed intervals with you, and
have you learned them? I mean, really well?

Kelly