The 3 Things You Need To Add To A Lick To Make It Sound Like Jazz

What are the key ingredients of Jazz Licks? What do you need to figure out to get the sound of Jazz Guitar Licks?

In this video, I am going to start with a simple Pentatonic lick and then gradually add things to it to make it sound like a Jazz or Bebop line. This is useful if you want to experiment with adding some jazz ideas to your playing or if you want to check out how good you are at using some of the key Jazz Skills.

Content:
0:00 Intro - The Ingredients of a Jazz Lick
0:42 A Pentatonic Jazz Lick
1:07 Sound More like Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollings or John Coltrane?
1:19 #1 Add some Arpeggios
2:00 A 7 note scale: C major
2:28 The Arpeggio from the 3rd
2:30 Adding An Arpeggio to the lick
2:46 Practicing Arpeggios
4:19 #2 Adding Chromatic Passing Notes
4:35 Adding Chromatic Ideas
4:48 Chromatic Enclosures
5:18 Chromatic Lick a little slower
5:23 Practicing Passing Notes
6:21 What do you think is the most important part of Jazz?
6:38 #3 Rhythm
7:21 The Jazz Lick!
7:25 Like the video? Check out my Patreon Page!

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Edited by Luciano Poli

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[JensLarsen]

What is the most important part of a Jazz Lick: Arpeggios, Rhythm, Chromaticism?
Content:
0:00 Intro - The Ingredients of a Jazz Lick
0:42 A Pentatonic Jazz Lick
1:07 Sound More like Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollings or John Coltrane?
1:19 #1 Add some Arpeggios
2:00 A 7 note scale: C major
2:28 The Arpeggio from the 3rd
2:30 Adding An Arpeggio to the lick
2:46 Practicing Arpeggios
4:19 #2 Adding Chromtic Passing Notes
4:35 Adding Chromatic Ideas
4:48 Chromtic Enclosures
5:18 Chromatic Lick a little slower
5:23 Practicing Passing Notes
6:21 What do you think is the most important part of Jazz?
6:38 #3 Rhythm
7:21 The Jazz Lick!
7:25 Like the video? Check out my Patreon Page!

[BackingTrackSpecial]

Thanks Jens, Amazing once again. Pure lesson for Jazz Scales & Chords🎸🎶👈🏻

[keegsmarshall]

I like how you open up discussion by always asking your viewers to make a contribution if they have something to add, or even if they disagree with you.

[josemolina]

Great way to start my morning with a refreshing course on the things that I already know, but i forget to apply. Thanks Jens.

[ammiammi]

Thanks so much. You explain so well, such important points we need to understand in order to improvise jazz solos. Greatly appreciated.

[GJSsongsmith]

Superb lesson Jens thanks very much . Have a great day

[m.a.bushling]

Really great concepts! Right before you said rhythm, it was exactly what I was thinking. Similarly, I had a teacher once challenge me to take a swing feel and shift my starting point from the 1 to the & of 1 and it added so much to the way I sounded and changed the way I thought. I think rhythm is definitely one of the keys

[Shawn-hsqk]

Rhythm and feel, making the changes, chromaticism and embellishing the chord tones.

[PhillipJ]

Great vid...you have validated what I’ve been slowly working thru...didn’t know if I was on the right path or not....I am indeed!👍thanks jens

[omcho]

Thanks Jens, really great and useful lesson, you really pointed out ways to make stuff jazzy. For me, it was probably fact that melody should outline harmony, or as you say, playing right stuff over particular chord... Arpeggios also, really groundbreaking... Take care Jens!

[guitarnut]

Great advice! I like to use the minor pentatonic and add the 6 for a Dorian flavor.

[Guitarmfig]

I think playing in the rhythm pocket for any music is crucial, nailing the triplets, 16th notes etc makes you sound better

[mattycee]

Wow after reading your book and working through it this was actually quite simple for me.... I don’t get to say that often :)

[frankvaleron]

Great lesson, I'm getting so much from your channel. I think tasteful chromaticism is a good way to sound more jazzy as you say. The key is tasteful, which comes with practice and resolving into the chord. I'll get there eventually!

[ricknelsteel]

That was really helpful, many thanks. Could you do a video of exercises to improve swing feel?

[Andresv]

Anything i play my teacher makes me sing and say the name of the note (do re mi fa sol etc) ignoring saying sharps and flats and just being aware of which are sharp and flat in the scale of the moment its a pain but its so good to practice that way

[peo]

I think that to make a minor pentatonic lick sound jazz it just has to be dissonant to the chord or consonant, depending on the context. That same lick if played in Eb against a C chord would be fine for jazz. Not perfect but would do the job. But generally you would do the exact same thing that Jens showed, with little changes to fit your work flow. Great lesson as always, keep it up!

[Artificalimages]

Swing feel and triple eight notes makes lines jazz. Also warm neck pickup sound really important.

[jensclarberg]

Depends what one means by jazz, it's such a broad genre. The best way to learn, like with any language, is to transcribe the musicians you wish to sound like. It all depends on what sound you are drawn to.

[guitariste]

hello; i really enjoy your videos; i have a simple but i think important question :do you write your own phrases, chords ideas etc ?