lick | Jens Larsen

Using the things that we licks, scales and arpeggios we practice is a big challenge! The best way to get new material in to you vocabulary is to write jazz licks with it! That way we connect the new material with all the things we already know.

In this video I am going to show you how I write jazz guitar licks on a simple II V I in Bb major.

I will try to demonstrate the process and the thinking and write a few variations of the licks. This should illustrate how I apply different things in my jazz improvisation. In the process I will write 5-6 II V I jazz licks in the key of Bb with arpeggios, chromatic enclosures and altered dominants.

The II V I progression

In this lesson the II V I that I am using is a II V I in Bb as shown below.

II Chord and the arpeggio

To keep it simple let’s start with the Cm7 arpeggio. Since the line is going to be in 8th notes we have now covered half of the bar. To fill the bar it is probably better to decide where we want to go. So that would be a target note ofn the F7.

The clearest target note on the F7 is probably the 3rd(A), so let’s go with that one.

Cm7 licks – Target notes

Now we just have to come up with a few ideas that will take us to that A.

Here’s a simle chromatic enclosure:

You can also use a small fragment from a pentatonic scale, in this case the Gm pentatonic scale:

Another option is a Bb major scale run:

Or an enclosure that contains a few more chromatic notes but also introduces a stronger pull towards the A.

If we think of these examples as exercises in using the Cm7 arpeggio then what we are doing is that we are practicing making playable melodies that move logically to the F7 and are using the Cm7 arpeggio.

The V chord – Adding the Dom7th chord.

Now we can start using one of the lines on the Cm7 and focus on the F7 line.

In this first example I am using an Am7b5 arpeggio in inversion and then the F7 arpeggio to target the 3rd(D) of Bbmaj7.

The second example is now using a motif idea on the F7. The first part of it is still the Am7(b5) inversion. That is then treated as a motif and the 2nd part of the line is a development of that melody. The development ends up being an Eb major triad and an F.

The Altered Dominant

We can also use an F7alt. In the line below I start with a small scale movement in 3rds in the F altered (or F# melodic minor) scale. From there I am using the B major triad before I resolve to the 3rd(D) of Bbmaj7.

A different altered dominant line is what I have in example 1. The Altered idea in this line is first a skip up a minor third to Db then down the scale to Ab. From Ab I use a fragment from the Ab minor or B major pentatonic scale: Ab Gb, Eb, D. Over an F7 gives us #9, b9, b7, b13 and since it is a part of a pentatonic scale it sounds a little different. It also leads directly to D which it encircles with Eb and Db.

In the next example I am using part of the line as a motif. This allows me to be repeating the idea in a developed version in the second hald of the bar. The motif that I use is a B7 arpeggio played descending. It is the developed by moving it up a diatonic 3rd to Db. From there it becomes a descending Ebm7b5 arepggio that then neatly resolves to D on the Bb.

You can of course also use a stack of 4ths. In this case I am using the stack of 4ths that is the top part of an F7#9 chord (see diagram in the video). The arpeggio is inserted right after the A, target note on the F7. From the last note the line continues with a descending scale run to resolve to the 3rd(D) of Bbmaj7.

Conclusion

Hopefully you can use the things that I went over here as an inspiration for your own writing process. As I mention in the beginning, I find that making your own lines is essential in the process of internalizing new material. I aim for this lesson to show you, not only what I use but also how I think about target notes and use different strategies to come up with melodies.

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You can also download the PDF of my examples here:

Writing Jazz Licks

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In this lesson I am going to take a Charlie Parker lick and show you how I work on getting that lick into my playing and how I generate new vocabulary from the melodic ideas in it.

This video is coming after all the requests I got in my video on Top 5 Jazz books One of them was the Charlie Parker Omnibook which I used by taking lines and using them in my own playing.

The Charlie Parker line

The line I am going to use is from the Blues in C: Perhaps. While I prepared the lesson I for some reason ended up transposing it to F, I have no idea why anymore..

Here’s the original as Parker plays it:

For this lesson I am going to concentrate on the first part, which is the line on the Gm7.

The way Parker uses it is that he plays it first on the Gm7 and then repeats it with a slightly different rhythm on the dom7th. In fact he is creating a Bbm7 on top of the C7.

If you check out the solo on Perhaps you should notice how Bird returns to this line a few times throughout the solo. If you don’t already own the Omnibook you should consider getting it: http://amzn.to/2lDZWpA

Bebop lines

Bebop lines are mostly consisting of scale melodies, chromatic passing notes, triad inversions and 7th arpeggios in root position. When bebop was around there were a lot of things not really in use yet: Altered scale, pentatonics, quartal harmony.

Even though Parker lines are maybe in some ways simpler they are still very strong melodies with some impressive melodic ideas and concepts that you can learn a lot from.

Applying the line in my own playing

The first thing you can do is to take the line as it is and find places where it will easily fit the chords.

If I use it on a II chord in a II V I in F major that could be like this:

As you can see I am not trying to make the entire line bebop and do use altered on the dom7th chord. After all I am not a bebop player and a lot of things has happened since then…

If we look at the line it is essentially a scale run from C to A with a Bb triad inserted inbetween. Therefore it will probably also work well on a I chord in Bb major:

These two examples are of course composed and not improvised. You should probably see them as snapshots of how I might take the line and then slowly improvise my way through a song I know really well and use the line while connecting it with the rest of my vocabulary.

Generating new material

The first thing I thought of with this was to make a version that is minor and not major. If you do that you might end up with something like this over a Dm7 chord:

The line is here a scale run from E to B in the key of C major and on the D I insert a descending D minor triad.

Now that we have a minor version of the line we can also make a version that will fit on an altered dominant like this G7alt line:

Other variations on the line

Another variation that we can make on this line is to change the arpeggio from a triad.

In the example above I changed the scale run to start from the 3rd of G minor and then the arpeggio that I insert is not an Am triad but instead a Bbmaj7 arpeggio.

Another option is to use a Drop2 voicing as arpeggio instead of the triad, that could gives us the line here below.

In this line I have a Gm7 drop2 voicing instead of the Bb major triad.

Make your own lines

Part of learning from solos and licks is to use the material to create your own material. In the examples above I am really not trying to make strict bebop lines. Another thing that you can tell is that there are not really any rules, you have to use your oown knowledge and your own taste to make new lines with the material.

If you want to download a Free E-book of 15 II Valt I licks then subscribe to my newsletter:

Download a free E-book with 15 II Valt I licks!

You can also download the PDF of my examples here:

Analyzing a Charlie Parker Line