50 Jazz Guitar Licks Introduction Welcome to 50 Jazz Guitar Licks You MUST Know!

Of course, its no easy task to select these 50 jazz licks because of the endless variety of styles and players that comprise the genre. So, my approach was to supply you with a range of licks that you would find extremely useful as you dive into the each style of jazz and study the artists that distinguish those styles. Ive included licks from some of my favorite players; Joe Pass, Barney Kessel, Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt and George Benson to name just a few. Major 7th Lick 1 This is a classic Major 7th lick that all the greats have used. The concept is outlining the Major 7th arpeggio. This lick ends with nice little major 9th to a major 7th. The major 7th is a great ending note for a major chord. Try inverting this lick to create a descending pattern instead of an ascending pattern using the major 7th arpeggio. A useful way to create cool licks and a concept that jazz guitarists from all genre's use to this day. Major 7th Lick 2 This lick is a must know. It is a famous jazz lick straight that I first heard Barney Kessell use on a recording. The lick starts on the 5th then a chromatic pattern leads you from the D note up to the E or third. The phrase ends with another essential lick that ends on the 9th or 2nd or D note. Try this one in other positions to enhance your knowledge of this lick and your knowledge of the fingerboard. And always be able to sing the lick to help you internalize it. Major 7th Lick 3 This lick starts on the 9th or high D note. Pull offs are used to get down to the B note or major 7th simply by pulling your fingers off the strings one at a time to get down to the B note then a scalar pattern is used to descend down to the lower B note. Another hammer and pull is used and you end on the 6th or A. This is an essential jazz lick taken from Joe Pass. Try it other keys and at different tempos. Major 7th Lick 4 Here is another variation of the descending Major 7th lick. We start by repeating the C to B and then descend down the arpeggio to create a classic jazz lick that all guitarists should know. Major 7th Lick 5 Here is a classic Major lick using more of a scalar pattern than an arpeggiatic lick. It is important to find as many fingerings as possible for this lick as it is a great starting point for any solo. We will play along with a cool little Bossa Nova groove for these licks in F major. Major 7th Lick 6 Another classic scalar pattern jazz lick. This one is also a great starting point for a solo. It is also a great way to musically get to another area of the fingerboard as well as a different octave range. Try combining this lick with the previous lick to play a 4 bar phrase and also to hear what this essential lick sounds like in the context of a musical phrase. Major 7th Lick 7 In this lick we start with a scale starting on the 5th-C- and then mix it with the Major 7th arpeggio creating some movement in the lick. Again using an arpeggio after a simple few notes of the scale is a great way to get around on the fingerboard. Major 7th Lick 8 This is another classic jazz lick using the scale and arpeggio. Starting with the scale on the 3rd-A-and mixing it with the simple major arpeggio and ending with the scale. Always be sure to find a bunch of different fingerings for these licks all over the fingerboard so that when you hear it and want to play it your fingerboard knowledge doesn't get in the way. Jazz Blues Lick 9 Here is a classic Blues based jazz lick that I've heard all the great players use from Charlie Christian to George Benson. The Blues was the beginning of Jazz. Early pioneers of the guitar used an abundance of Blues in there playing. This lick uses the Bb Pentatonic Blues Scale. You can use the Blues over Major, Minor, Dominant, etc... It is a great lick to have under your fingers at all times so make sure you learn in a bunch of positions and all 12 keys.

Jazz Blues Lick 10 This cool Blues/Jazz lick uses the descending classic blues scale and ends the phrase with a few chromatic notes. In the play along section, use this lick as a question and answer it with one of your own blues/jazz licks. Try connecting the various classic jazz licks you learn in this DVD and always learn all your licks in different keys to familiarize yourself with the lick even more. Jazz Blues Lick 11 This riff is straight out the Bebop Blues style of playing. Using a slide into the F notes (or 5th) you get a cool effect that is inherent in the style. The slide back at the end of the phrase is also pretty guitaristic and inherent in the style. Jazz Blues Lick 12 In this lick we use the Bluesy flat 3rd combined with the Natural 3rd sound of the major to create some very cool hybrid sounds. I first heard Joe Pass play this. He liked to incorporate techniques that were used by saxophone players. THese techniques and licks inhereted into the guitar by not only Joe Pass but swing/bebop icons Charlie Christian, Barney Kessel and Herb Ellis just to name a few. Jazz Blues Lick 13 Here is another straight out the play book of Charlie Christian. Charlie liked to use the major 6th added to the Blues Scale to create some swinging sounds. Charlie was the first electric guitarist to incorporate Blues guitar in to Swing music. This is a lick that you surely want to have ready for the next jam. Jazz Blues Lick 14 This is a must for any student of the jazz guitar. Notice the chromaticism used in the first bar and in the 3rd bar. Again, this is a Charlie Christian style run using the 6th and the chromtic lead in the 1st and 3rd bars. Minor Vamp Lick 15 Minor licks are really easy as there isn't much you can do wrong except hit the major 3rd in a minor chord. You can use all of the Blues licks we went over as the Blues Scale is simply a watered down Dorian scale. We'll start the Minor Vamps off with a typical Minor Jazz lick that you have probably heard all the greats utilize. We'll play along with a straight 8th note groove in the style of Wes Montogmoery and George Benson using octaves as well. Octaves used with this lick is a must know. Minor Vamp Lick 16 Here is a classic jazz lick using the A Dorian which is simply a G Major Scale so please don't make too much out of it. It utilizes the Major 6th or F# which is a cool sound played over the A minor chord or vamp. Miles Davis used this major 6th tone over a minor chord quite a bit in his solos as well as guitarists Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt. Check it out. Minor Vamp Lick 17 Here is a great classic jazz lick concept utilizing the 9th. It is simply a minor 9th arpeggio starting on the 2nd and ending on the 9th. Many great guitarists have used this minor 9th arpeggio as a springboard for their solos. It is an easy fingering and please notice that this lick is a C major 7th arpeggio which is super imposed over the A min7 vamp. Simply put, it is an A min 9 arpeggio without the A note in. Same notes, different chord. Learn this one in all 12 keys and in many different positions. It's an important one. Minor Vamp Lick 18 This lick is a simple pattern using 4ths and ending with a cool blues riff straight from the George Benson bag of licks. This lick should also be played with octaves in the style of Wes Montgomery. You can try using rhythmic variation meaning play the same notes using a different rhythm. This is also a cool melodic lick that can be the springboard to a great solo or solo break so try combining it with the other minor vamp licks. Minor Vamp Lick 19 Here is a four bar version of the previous lick. As you can see it moves nicely and kind of can throw you off balance as far as rhythm but it ends up sounding pretty cool when you complete the phrase. Barney Kessell used to love this concept as well as Joe Pass. They used this concept quite often. You can start this pattern on any chord tone. I chose to start it on the 9th as this creates a nice tension in the feel, then it evens out to ending on the Root.

Minor Bop Lick 20 The Blues can be used as a tool for playing minor bop licks. Again, the Petatonic Blues Scale is simply a watered down Dorian Scale. To start, well use a Grant Green lick that he was famous for and that just about every guitarist after him stole. You gotta love invention. The groove we will jam with is a classic walking bop groove. Minor Bop Lick 22 This cool lick starts on the off beat or the and of beat 1. It uses neighboring tones playing the notes below and above the chord tones. A must know concept that all guitarists use. This concept will the phrase a little more tension using the tension release theory. Minor Bop Lick 23 This lick is direct from Django Reinhardt. You are playing the lower neighbor tone to each chord tone and then the actual chord tone. F# to G. A to Bb. Etc Perhaps because he only had two fingers on his left hand this forced him to create this killer lick. jazz guitarists after him have used this technique. This is a good lick to increase the speed on and to learn in all areas of the fingerboard. This is one of those licks that you can access at anytime and it will sound musical and effective. Minor Bop Lick 24 In this essential lick we utilize neighboring tones. We play the tone one half step below each chord tone in the chord. F# is one half step below G. A is one half step below Bb or the third. And D flat is one half step below D which is the 5th of the G minor triad or chord. Utilizing neighboring tones are an essential part of any guitarists bag of tricks. This lick is right out the Gypsy Django bag. The concept dates back to Mozart who in his Turkish March used negihboring tones like this to create beautiful memorable melodies. Funk Jazz Lick 25 This funky little groove is a perfect vehicle to learn some essential licks. This first one is a common bluesy style funky lick using in part the mixolydian scale. The D mixolydian scale is simply a G scale starting on a D note. I suggest you practice your mixolydian scale along with this cool funky jazz groove. Also utilized is the 6th (B) in this cool lick. Learn in all keys and many positions to get this common sound in your fingers at any point on the fingerboard and in any key. Funk Jazz Lick 26 This lick is straight out the Joe Pass bag of licks. Starting on the 7th and 6th, this lick is based again on the mixolydian scale or G scale starting on D. 7th and 6th (B) are repeated before going down the scale then ending on the Root (D), 7th Root (D) pattern. A very cool sound and an essential swinging lick. Try connecting this lick with the others to create a longer phrase and to get the feel of it in the context of a solo. Funk Jazz Lick 27 This lick is a funky blues riff that all the jazz greats and rockers use. This blues based riff uses the 6th (B) along with the flet 3rd (F). Charlie Christian loved this flat 3rd, 6th tones and used them quite often. Get used to the sound and have fun with this riff. You can repeat the lick over and over again to create a blues based rhythmic solo. Try it out with octaves as well. Funk Jazz Lick 28 In this lick we use rhythmic displacement. We start with the classic 7th to Root repetitive lick using the 7th. We repeat the pattern starting on different beats to give us a different feel for each time played. It is a great lick to use when you want to get the rhyhm section involved as it sparks and fuels the groove using this rhythmic displacement method. Funk Jazz Lick 29 This lick is basically a straight mixolydian scale descending but then using the Be Bop technique of neighboring tones. A neighboring tone approach is simply playing notes close to and leading to chord tones. Notice the E, F natural to the 3rd or F# at the end of phrase. Using chromatic neighboring tones is a great way to have your phrase or lick finish on a chord tone. It creates tension and release. Tension during the chromatics and release when the phrase is finished on the chord tone.

Funk Jazz Lick 30 The last D7 lick is staight out of the George Benson tool box of licks. We will keep the high D note sounding as we play the cool rhythmic pattern with the F# and G notes. These are called double stops or playing two notes at once. This is a real groove pattern that will spark any rhythm section as a rhythm part of as a soolo you will surely be in the groove with this one. It is a great tool to have in your toolbox of licks and concepts to use while improvising. Practice with both the slow and fast rhythm tracks. This will help you get used to this grooving lick. Gypsy Jazz Lick 31 Gypsy jazz inspired by the great Django Reinhardt is very popular and uses the flat 9 gypsy scale in a lot of the music and gives the music a unique sound. This first lick outlines the C7(b9) chord and was used by Django and is a great starting place for gypsy flavored licks. We use a Duke Ellington Caravan style groove for this play along track as it lends itself to this gypsy style sound. Gypsy Jazz Lick 32 This lick is the same concept as the previous one except we descend instead of ascend. These are cool sounding licks. The foundation is the C7(b9) arpeggio. Play this arpeggio in different keys and get used to the sound. It is the sound of gypsy jazz. Try inverting this arpeggio as you are jamming along with the track. Gypsy Jazz Lick 33 Here is an inverted C7(b9) arpeggio starting on the third or the E note. This lick is straight out of the Django lick repertoir and lends itself to the gypsy style of jazz. Try some alternate fingerings for this one as you will find it is an easy lick to move around the fingerboard. Gypsy Jazz Lick 34 This lick is a straight diminished arpeggio run used by Django many times. A diminished arpeggio is made up of minor thirds played in succession. If you take this lick and move up or down three frets or a minor third you will have another cool sounding diminished run. Try it out. Gypsy Jazz Lick 35 This is one of my personal favorites and I learned it from the amazing Stochelo Rosenberg. It's a flat 9 scalar pattern using the C7(b9) scale and neighboring tones. I use it often and it is inspired by the guitar playing of Django Reinhardt and all the gypsy players in the world. Try this one with the slow track and use a metronome to build speed as it is an impressive lick to break into. Gypsy Jazz Lick 36 The last C7(b9) lick is a straight diminished scale. The phrase starts with the diminished scale which is whole step, half step repeated over and over. The phrase ends with a neat little ending phrase repeating the 7th and 6th and finishing up on the Root. Practice your diminished scales. They are an essential sound you need to be comfortable with while improvising. They are also pretty easy to play because of there symmetry. ii V7 Vamps Lick 37 This is a classic ii-V7 lick that can be a great starting point for any improvisation over a ii-V7 progression. This lick has been used by all major jazz guitarists throughout the history of jazz guitar. Check out the early Joe Pass recordings and you will hear this lick and a lot of other ones that incorporate the concept of outlining the minor 7th chord and descending down the V7 chord. ii V7 Vamps Lick 38 In this neat Herb Ellis ii-V7 lick we outline the minor 9 arpeggio. This concept of outlining the minor 9 arpeggio was used by all the major guitar improvisers. The phrase is ended using a scalar pattern on the D 7 chord. So, arpeggio into scale is a great way to enhance your licks and riffs. Don't forget to connect these various ii-V7 licks to play them in context of a solo. ii V7 Vamps Lick 39 Here is a classic jazz guitar lick using the minor 7th arpeggio in a descending fashion. This lick can be the start to any improvisation. Django, Charlie Christian and everyone else that followed used this lick. It lays right on the guitar and should be learned in all positions possible.

ii V7 Vamps Lick 40 Another great Pass lick here using the minor 9 arpeggio starting on the 9th. This is a cool pattern that was used by all the great jazz guitarists. It fits well on the guitar, was used by a bunch of sax players as well as guitarists and is a must know for jazz improvisers. ii V7 Vamps Lick 41 This lick is a longer phrase that utilizes the major 7th in the minor lick. This was a big concept used in the bop era of guitar playing and improvising. Joe Pass stole a lot from Charlie Parker. This lick is straight out of that book of licks. Listen for the way the major 7th creates a flow the line. It also creates a bit of tension that is always followed by release when you land on a chord tone. ii V7 Bop Riffs Lick 42 This Bop lick outlines the minor 7th arpeggio in a legato fashion then the phrase ends with a cool major 7th interval jump from the 7th of the F7 chord to the 13th resolving on the 5th. This technique of jumping intervals from the 7th to the 13th was used and almost invented for jazz improvising by the early bop players Wes Montgomery, Barney Kessell and JImmy Raney. ii-V7 Bop Riffs Lick 43 This cool lick outlines the minor 9th chord for the first two bars then keeps the D note (13th) as the common tone for the dominant chord. The second two bars uses the same melodic motif but ends with a different note creating a cohesive four bar phrase. Outlining minor 9th chords is a good technique to have in your toolbox as it is always a good start to a ii-V7 lick. Using common tones between the different chords and using a common melodic motif are also great ways to stay melodic during your improvisations. ii-V7 Bop Riffs Lick 44 In this ii-V7 lick we start with a nice melodic statement using an interval jump. Then we follow it up with a scalar pattern that leads into an arpeggio. So, we are utilizing the different techniques we have been learning in other licks. This is a good lick to learn in different keys and positions. It may take a little practice with the slow rhythm track to get this lick under your fingers. The fast tempo is a realistically bright tempo that jazzers play so take the time practice slowly building the speed of your eighth note lines. ii-V7 Bop Riffs Lick 45 This has always been one of my personal favorites jazz licks. It outlines the minor 9th arpeggio leaving out the root. It lays great on the guitar. It is repeated to create a sweeping effect then leads into a cool and effective end to the phrase using a classic jazz guitar bebop lick. Learn in different positions as this lick is sure to wow them at the next jam. I still use to this day in my improvisations. It is an essential part of my toolbox of licks and riffs. Shuffle Blues Lick 46 Here is an Oscar Moore lick which is played in the Bluesy Shuffle style of jazz guitar playing. Riffing is the term used for this style of playing. This is when you play a bluesy little riff and then repeat it over and over with some variation but the main riff theme continues throughout a solo. A great technique and a great way to groove and connect with the rhythm section. Shuffle Blues Lick 47 This lick is straight from the George Benson book of licks. Bluesy and soulful and very guitaristic. It is a pentatonic Blues Scale but altered a bit rhythmically using triplets. The triplet is a cool effect and as you can hear the triplet makes the lick swing. Practice this lick in all 12 keys as it is a lick that you can always go to in your solos. Shuffle Blues Lick 48 This is another classic jazz guitar lick based on the Blues that all guitarists in all genre's of music use. This lick can be the theme of a complete solo by repeating it or by using recapitulation which means playing the musical theme again at a later part of your solo. You can use the note bend technique by bending up to the D natural note and bending down into the Db note. A great technique to add a bit of soul to your solo. Don't forget to combine this lick with other licks to get the full effect of how great this lick sounds.

Shuffle Blues Lick 49 Here is a Joe Pass lick that moves chromatically from the flat third (b3) to the fifth (5th) then ends with a bluesy Root (1) to flat third (b3) repeat pattern. This is a perfect lick to experiment with rhythmic alteration. Try playing all the notes on the off beats extending the phrase to a four bar phrase. Don't forget the pick up notes. Shuffle Blues Lick 50 Here is another one of my favorite licks to use. Playing the same pitch alternating between strings. The Ab note is played on the second string then the first string alternating between the two strings. The second measure we end the phrase with a cool little Blues lick utilizing the 6th (F) instead of the Blues flat 7 (Gb) which is usually associated with the Pentatonic Blues Scale. The second half of the four bar lick uses a chromatic neighboring approach to the third (3rd) and a must know pull off blues lick making this four bar lick a great one to learn in all the keys in as many positions as you can find on the fingerboard. 50 Jazz Guitar Licks Conclusion Well cover bebop, gypsy, funk, blues, straight ahead, bossa and swing. But dont limit the lick to the style its presented under. Youll find all of these licks extremely versatile across all styles if you alter the rhythm, phrasing and application. Take a bebop lick and apply it over a gypsy jazz feel. Apply the blues and funk jazz licks across just about any style. Add and delete notes. Play the licks in different positions across the neck. Do what all of the jazz masters have done before you --- twist, turn and make them your own!