Why They Sound Better Than You Every Time!
There is a reason your solos don’t sound as good as those of Wes Montgomery and George Benson. And no, it’s not just magic or luck. There are 3 simple tricks they use in their solos that make them unforgettable. In this video, I’ll show you what those 3 tricks are, so you don’t end up stuck playing random phrases next to each other and instead create something memorable.
This is a core part of all great Jazz solos, but it isn’t complicated.
The Problem With The Right Notes
When I first started learning jazz, I did what everyone says: practiced scales and arpeggios until my fingers hurt. I thought, “I need to play the right notes over each chord to sound like a pro!” But I had a problem: My solos sounded like a jigsaw puzzle with pieces from three different boxes. Even though I was “correct,” it was a mess—fragmented, disconnected, and honestly, a little boring. Let me show you exactly what I mean and compare that to a great George Benson line:
Why doesn’t this work? There are 3 problems: I was starting every with a new idea every bar, always starting on beat 1, adding an awkward pause to think before the chord change, and what to play on the next chord.
Or
Now, listen to George Benson in “Benny’s Back”:
What’s the difference? Benson doesn’t just play the right notes—he connects his ideas across chords. Notice how he lands on the 3rd of A7 and D7,
signaling the change in a way your ear can’t miss. That’s what makes his solo flow and sound intentional. If you’re stuck playing random phrases on each chord, don’t worry—it’s a totally normal stage. But you can start fixing it right now. Let me show you a simple way to make your solos sound like real music, not just a bunch of correct notes. Then, I’ll share two more tricks you’ll hear from Wes Montgomery and Jim Hall which are both essential for melodic solos.
Forward Motion: How to Make Your Solos Go Somewhere
Here’s the big secret: Great jazz solos don’t just wander around on the fretboard—they’re always moving toward something. This is what makes them sound exciting and connected, instead of random or stuck. Think about the George Benson example you just heard. His lines don’t just fill space; they’re aiming for the next chord, almost like the melody is pushing you forward.
Jazz musicians call this “Forward Motion.” It’s the same idea Bach used in his music, even if jazz throws in some extra spicy notes along the way.
Hal Galper wrote a great book about it,
and the main idea is simple: Don’t just play notes
—aim for a target. Every phrase should use notes that drive forward and land on the target note. That’s what gives your solo direction. This is what Benson does in the solo:
The phrases are moving toward the 3rd so that it confirms the chord change and also gives the solo a natural flow. That’s how Benson does it, and it’s why his lines sound so smooth.
But there is one more secret ingredient — the exact notes he aims for. If you get this wrong, the whole phrase falls apart.
Choosing Target Notes and Practicing
Let’s talk about picking the right target notes—because this is where a lot of jazz advice gets confusing. You’ve probably been told that the 3rd and 7th are the most important notes in a chord. That’s true for comping, but when it comes to soloing, it’s a bit different.
Let’s use a II V I in C major: Dm7, G7, Cmaj7.
The 3rd of each chord is still a fantastic target—like you heard in the Benson example
—because it’s strong and clear. But the 7th? Not so much.
Explainer C on Dm7:
On Dm7, the C doesn’t really sound like a Dm7 on its own,
it sounds much more like a C major chord,
so having that as a target is going to be much more difficult.
The 5th, A, is however a very good target note instead, which is sort of the first note you would throw out of a chord, but check how often it is a target note in solos!
This is true for Cmaj7 as well. Here the 7th, B, will really just sound like you are not resolving the V chord in a II V I. Of course, you can use the 7th in more advanced lines, but when you’re starting out, stick with notes that leave no doubt about the chord change. This makes your solos sound much more connected and musical right away.
Let’s make this really simple to start: Just like George Benson, practice aiming for the 3rd as your target note on every chord.
Here’s how you do it: Come up with Dm7 lines that move toward and land on B (the 3rd of G7). For example:
Or like this:
These lines are super simple, and you don’t always have to start on the F of Dm7, but listen to how the melody naturally leads your ear to the next chord. That’s the magic of forward motion.Now, once you’re comfortable with that, you can start to embellish your lines—add trills, leading notes, and other details to make things more interesting, also with rhythm:
Hear how the target note sometimes lands on the “&” of 4?
This is making the phrase lighter and less predictable. This is just the next step—same concept, just a bit more playful. Here’s how to practice:
Start by composing simple lines that hit the 3rd of each chord. Improvise over a basic turnaround, even in free time (rubato), to get used to aiming for those target notes. Gradually move into playing in time, and finally, try it out over real songs.
If you practice like this, your solos will instantly sound more connected and musical—no more copy-pasted, random licks! You’ll never sound like Bebop without this… but there’s another trick Wes and Jim Hall used that works in any style — and it’s why people remember their solos decades later.
Make People Remember Your Phrases
Here’s a secret behind the most memorable solos: it’s not about playing the most notes or the fanciest arpeggios. It’s about making your phrases stick in people’s heads. And Jim Hall is a master at this.
Check out this phrase from his solo on “Stella By Starlight”:
What Jim Hall is doing here is called motivic development—he takes a short, simple phrase (a motif) and repeats it, changing it slightly each time. Notice how strong the rhythm is, too, with syncopation and anticipation. These four bars are all built from just one 4-note idea! First on Dm7, it’s a very simple 4-note motif, but that is also why he can use it through the chords like this. First, it is repeated on G7 but now with an added note and some syncopation.
Next, he moves it to Cmaj7 by shifting everything down a step in the scale. Finally, he adds a conclusion on the F7, which both makes the F7 clear and naturally rounds off the 4-bar period.
Jim Hall does this all the time, and it’s a huge part of what makes his solos so memorable. Wes Montgomery is another legend at this. Check out how Wes uses rhythm and motif in a similar way:
Here, Wes starts with the syncopated version (play), then plays a straight version (play), and then goes back to the syncopated version before adding a conclusion to the phrase. (play)
This isn’t just about picking the right scale or arpeggio—it’s about playing ideas that people can remember. So, let’s look at how you can practice bringing this into your own playing.
How To Practice Developing Motifs
The first step for motivic development is learning to recognize motifs in the music you love. Start by listening to solos you already know and enjoy—see if you can pick out those little phrases that keep coming back. You might be surprised how often great players rely on this simple idea. Now, here’s how to practice it yourself:
When you practice, begin out of time (rubato). Play a short phrase, then see how you can move that idea through the chord changes—repeat it, change it slightly, and experiment.
Once you’re comfortable, challenge yourself to stick with a motif over an entire song and see how many ways you can develop it.
Don’t buy into the myth that players like Wes Montgomery are just born with “magic.” Their real secret is the clarity and focus of their melodic ideas. If you train your ear and practice developing motifs, your solos will naturally sound more musical and intentional. You can easily both enjoy their playing and learn to use the things that make their playing magic!
Motifs are powerful… but Wes adds one more step — shaping solos like conversations that pull you along from start to finish.
Have A Conversation With Yourself
If you want your solos to be more engaging and really capture the listener’s attention, try treating them like a conversation. Action and reaction naturally create a story. In music this is called “call and response”—where one phrase asks a question,
and the next phrase answers it.
It’s like having a musical conversation with yourself. Check out how Wes Montgomery does this:
And here’s another great example, where Wes uses octaves to make the back-and-forth even clearer, mixing techniques:
Listen to how each phrase feels like it’s replying to the last. That’s what makes Wes’s solos feel alive and interactive—not just a stream of notes. With both Motivic Development and Call-Response, it’s all about playing simple, short phrases.
THAT is where the music is. And this approach isn’t just for solos—it works for chords too. Start with simple, easy chords and add the rest as melody and embellishment. To level up how you work with chords, check out this video on the simple strategy Joe Pass used for his amazing Jazz chord work. You won’t always be playing solos, so developing your chord and chord melody skills is essential—and this makes it 100x easier! Check it out
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