One of the best ways to practice Jazz and to learn to play better solos is to work on writing jazz licks. When you are composing licks you are working on how you can use the material that you can practice and really figuring out how to get it to sound great in a solo.
This video takes you through working on this in steps or levels and talks about important techniques you can use to make what you write sound better.
In this video, I am going to break down 6 levels that you can work on writing licks and discuss:
How you get started writing jazz licks
What does it mean to have a lick that follows the changes
How do you incorporate Arpeggios and chromatic melodies
The main vocabulary in Jazz is 8th note lines and is what makes up in most bebop inspired jazz licks. It can be a little tricky to sound good with solos like that because even if you play the right notes, use the arpeggios and follow the changes the line can sound boring and square.
In this video, I am going to give you a way to change things up and show you how to create more exciting jazz licks that take you to the next level as an improviser. Starting from a Charlie Parker lick and then developing the concept.
It’s really about how you think about it when you try to come up with new lines, and something you can easily add to your playing.
Start with a Boring Jazz Lick
Just to have something to compare to. Here is a really boring jazz line:
Everything is on the beat and heavy, and it is moving in a very predictable way.
How Charlie Parker uses Rhythms
What I am going to talk about in this video is about using groups of notes in your solo lines. Charlie Parker does this all the time.
The two things that make the Parker line stand out are the triplet Gm7 arpeggio and the chromatic phrases that follow.
In this video I am going to focus on the last part of this: Having odd-note groupings in your jazz licks.
The interesting rhythm is that the meter is 4/4 but the melody is shifting on top because it is groups of 3 8th notes.
Split the bar in 3’s and 2’s
How do you work with this. Let’s take a bar of 8th notes and then we can group them together in groups of 3 and 2 notes.
The obvious one is 3 3 2
If you try to use that in a line then you come up with a phrase like this:
It doesn’t really matter how you make the melodies, but it is easier to get it to work with descending melodies as I do in example 3.
Making Melodies with odd note groupings
A good fit for a 3 note grouping is a triad.
If I use the triad from the 3rd and the root on the Gm7 I can make something like this:
Conclusion – It is really just about making melodies that we naturally want to not emphasize the heavy beats,1 and 3, all the time.
3-2-3 Grouping
Of course, you don’t have to use 3,3,2 you can also use 3,2,3:
Taking it further: Across the barline
You can also make ideas that move over several bars, so for example move groups of 3 notes over two bars
We have 16 8th notes, so that is 5 3 note groupings and then we can resolve on the last 8th.
A Great Melodic idea: Repetition
And you don’t have to change the grouping, it also works really well with repeating the pattern on each chord, in fact, that can work as a very clear way to play a different kind of line if the rest of your solo is more forward-moving bop lines.
And finally: 5-note groupings
Now that you are working with phrases over two bars you can also start to use groupings with more notes like 5 note groupings.
You can also download the PDF of my examples here:
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for topics then please let me know. Leave a comment on the video or send me an e-mail. That is the best way for me to improve my lessons and make them fit what you are searching for.
This video is going to give you 10 examples of jazz licks and techniques so that you can get some basic material to sound more like jazz.
I am keeping it really simple so everything is on a Cmaj7 chord and in one position, but you still learn some solid rhythmical and chromatic ideas that you can use in your own playing and turn into your own jazz licks. The examples are in a position of the C major scale that you probably already know and the material is easy to move to other chords along the way.
Build your Jazz Guitar Skills!
If you want to further your Jazz Skills and get started with playing Jazz guitar then consider checking out:
The PDF with examples for this video is available through Patreon. You can check out my Patreon Page here: https://www.patreon.com/jenslarsen
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If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for topics then please let me know. Leave a comment on the video or send me an e-mail. That is the best way for me to improve my lessons and make them fit what you are searching for.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel and feel free to connect with me via Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook to keep up to date with new lessons, concerts, and releases.
Playing Jazz is about learning a style and a language but it is also about finding your own voice.There are many reasons you want to write you own licks and work on your own vocabulary:
– You want it to sound good to you (and sound like you)
– Develop Your taste – figure out what you like and what you don’t like
– Learn How to Incorporate New things in to your Playing
– Practice coming up with Playable licks and material.
Composing Jazz Licks
In this video I will discuss these topics and while it is made with Jazz Guitar in mind it probably holds true for other instruments and styles as well.
The PDF with examples for this video is available through Patreon. You can check out my Patreon Page here: https://www.patreon.com/jenslarsen
Jazz Guitar Insiders Facebook Group
Join 1500+ Other Jazz Guitarists 🎸Join us in the Facebook Jazz Guitar Group Community: http://bit.ly/InsidersFBGroup
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions for topics then please let me know. Leave a comment on the video or send me an e-mail. That is the best way for me to improve my lessons and make them fit what you are searching for.
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel and feel free to connect with me via Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook to keep up to date with new lessons, concerts, and releases.
