Jazz Licks

Fishbrain · #1 11-21-2011, 06:19 AM

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for a good resource of jazz licks, for chords and ii - V -i's etc.

Either a book or youtube or website or anything!

I've found a couple on scottsbasslessons.com which have been helpful but I find it difficult to get most of them into real live playing. Any more advice on this would be appreciated too!

Basshoofd · #2 11-21-2011, 07:49 AM

Develop a jazz language. Study chords and melodies and you will discover all kinds of licks on your own. Jazz really isn't the kind of music where you just develop a big repetoire of stock licks.

Fishbrain · #3 11-21-2011, 07:56 AM

I do understand that but the few licks I have learnt, especially the 2 5 1s have really helped me understand how the chord tones can relate to each other, tension and resolution. I'm sure I would have learnt this on my own but it would have taken me a lot longer!

lfmn16 · #4 11-21-2011, 08:09 AM

Listen to great jazz players like Ray Brown, Ron Carter, etc. and transcribe them.

There's no substitue for doing it yourself.

joroched · #5 11-21-2011, 08:13 AM

Basso Ridiculoso: Pentatonics, Downbeats and Chord Tones. Oh My.
There's some stuff on this site that should interest you

Liam Wald · #6 11-21-2011, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joroched

Basso Ridiculoso: Pentatonics, Downbeats and Chord Tones. Oh My.
There's some stuff on this site that should interest you

Thanks for the link. I didn't know about this site. Cool stuff.

Ed Fuqua · #7 11-21-2011, 09:52 AM

The Lick

eee · #8 11-21-2011, 10:01 AM

Jazz is a language. Learning licks is like learning words/syntax/grammar/whatever. You can say something nobody has ever said before using the same language that everybody else uses. People don't make up new words everytime they speak, right? I think there's something to be said for learning licks.

On the other hand, you don't just want to become a walking library of licks. If you're just vomiting them out all the time, well...probably not a good idea either. I suppose the trick is in how you use them.

Just keep trucking man, it takes a long time for a lick you've "learned" to become part of your own vocabulary.

Groove Master · #9 11-21-2011, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

The Lick

LOL very good Ed!

You can check out the books by David N. Baker about be-bop

wrench45us · #10 11-21-2011, 10:59 AM

Amazon.com: Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony (Jazz Book) (0073999729023): Bert Ligon: Books

Bert Ligon
has a very impressive collection of riffs collected into 3 categories based on how they implement what Mr Ligon proposes as a fundamental movement across ii V I

but these are for lead players in 8ths and assume the bass is holding down the root (in quarters) but I suppose a clever sort could borrow a fews licks

ClaudeH · #11 11-21-2011, 11:05 AM

Here's something I found on bebop scale that I think could be helpfull.

http://www.snow.edu/music/Juilliard/...caleBasics.pdf

BobaFret · #12 11-21-2011, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liam Wald

Thanks for the link. I didn't know about this site. Cool stuff.

and humor too.

"All you do is start the scale on each note to get the different shapes for that type of scale - major, minor, half-demolished fallopian minor, whatever it is."

cire113 · #13 11-21-2011, 11:48 AM

jazzadvice.com

**251** · #14 11-21-2011, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed Fuqua

The Lick

LOL

DBCrocky · #15 11-21-2011, 03:07 PM

Every time I muff a rock lick, I call it a Jazz lick...

**251** · #16 11-21-2011, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fishbrain

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for a good resource of jazz licks, for chords and ii - V -i's etc.

Either a book or youtube or website or anything!

I've found a couple on scottsbasslessons.com which have been helpful but I find it difficult to get most of them into real live playing. Any more advice on this would be appreciated too!

Consider this;
Jamey Aebersold Jazz: VOLUME 3 - THE ii/V7/I PROGRESSION

Of course, once you have some of these under your fingers you still need a way to integrate them into your playing. Try varying the rhythm. Definitely look at how they are constructed & how the basic selection of notes get shuffled. Your goal should be making those concepts your own, rather than just pushing someone else's music out of your instrument. 8-)

FWIW, I rarely find a use for these in bass lines. YRMV

Fishbrain · #17 11-22-2011, 04:37 AM

Thanks for them, that bebop exercise is particularly interesting. As was 'The Lick' hahaha

Fishbrain · #18 11-22-2011, 06:50 AM

I've just checked out jazzadvice.com - lot's of useful articles to read on there and it really pushes the importance of transcribing and I will give it a go!

Bassoridiculoso has lots of useful jazz licks, especially 2-5s which is what I was looking for if anybody else has been wondering too!

Thanks!