Top 5 Essential Jazz Patterns

By: Jamie Holroyd

Learning to play jazz guitar means building up a well rounded improvisational
vocabulary and one way this can be done is by learning licks.
But as beneficial and useful as licks is, there is a lot of information within one phrase
and guitarists can fall into the trap of just playing the lick the same way.
In this lesson I have written out 5 of the most frequently used patterns found within
full licks and countless solos so that are much shorter and easier to apply than full
licks.
Learning each of these jazz patterns will ensure that you have the right tools for
creating jazz licks.

Pattern 1 - Honeysuckle Rose Motif

Jazz musicians often quote the melody of a tune within their solo, but one melody
thats probably the most quoted theme within solos is the honeysuckle rose motif.
The first jazz pattern is referred to as the Honeysuckle Rose motif because it comes
from the jazz standard Honeysuckle Rose.
The example below shows the first bar of the Honeysuckle Rose melody which is
repeated throughout the first 4 bars of the tune.

Jazz musicians often use this phrase within their solos because it works well as an
interesting piece of jazz language by itself.
This original honeysuckle rose motif is often varied and I have included two common
adaptations of the phrase below for you to check out.
The first one is almost the same as the original but has one additional note, the G.
The second variation has a B on 1+ ,which in conjunction with C and Bb provides a
nice chromatic movement that starts the phrase.

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Example 1

Almost every jazz musician uses the honeysuckle rose motif in some way, but two of
the best examples are Charlie Parker and Grant Green.
Grant Greens solo on Ill Remember April is a perfect example of how to vary the
honeysuckle rose motif throughout a solo.
Listen to the track and count how many times Grant plays the honeysuckle rose motif
in the first chorus alone.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3svPhYf9uU

Pattern 2 - Dominant Bebop Scale Pattern

The next jazz pattern comes from the C Dominant Bebop scale.
This piece of language works well because, like when playing any bebop scale, the
non-diatonic notes fall on the weaker beats of the bar.
In this example the major 7th is on 1+, a weaker beat of the bar.

Like the 2nd variation of the honeysuckle rose lick, there is also chromatic movement
within the first 3 notes.
This bebop scale pattern is often used in ii-V-I situations as shown the example
below.

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Audio Example 2

Pattern 3 - 7th to 3rd Pattern

One reason why the ii-V progression works so well is because the 7th of the minor 7th
chord drops down a semi-tone or fret to become the 3rd of the dominant chord which
is sometimes called the note of resolution.
Jazz musicians frequently highlight this movement when improvising over the ii V I
which makes it an essential jazz pattern.
The following example shows how this looks over a ii-V in the key of F.

Heres a full ii-V-I lick demonstrating the 7th to 3rd pattern.

Audio Example 3

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Pattern 4 - Enclosure Pattern

Enclosures are a vital ingredient in the jazz musicians practice routine, and this next
lick shows one of the most popular enclosure licks found within countless jazz solos.
This enclosure pattern targets the 3rd of the dominant 7th chord which in this example
is E.

Heres a full lick using this enclosure pattern. Notice the use of the C dominant bebop
scale pattern in the second half of the first bar.
Audio Example 4

Pattern 5 - Arpeggio Rake

To finish off this study of jazz patterns, heres a fun 3-9 arpeggio rake pattern thats
often used by jazz guitarists and saxophonists.
This rake can be played with a plectrum by using down strokes on the first four notes
and an up stroke on the 5th which a smooth saxophone-like effect.

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This lick can be also be played finger style or with the thumb. Wes Montgomery was
a big fan of using this type of patterns within his solos.
This jazz pattern starts with a minor 3-9 arpeggio and finishes on the 11th of the chord
which in this example is C.
Repetition is often used with this lick to build up intensity within a solo.

Jazz Patterns Etude

To complete this study I have written out a short etude which demonstrates how these
patterns can be used together within a solo.
The progression in this etude is found within many jazz standards such as Take The A
Train, Girl From Ipanema, and Exactly Like You.
Please note that I have applied different rhythmic and harmonic techniques to some of
the examples to make them fit the etude better.
Some of these techniques include rhythmic displacement, gear changing, and
changing the harmonic function of a lick to fit multiple chords.
Each one of these techniques is covered in depth in Introduction to Jazz Guitar
Improvisation.

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Audio Example 5

I hope you enjoyed playing and working through each of these short phrases and can
see how they form the basis for many classic jazz licks and solos.
Can you think of some solos that use these patterns? Share your thoughts in the
comment section below.

About Jamie Holroyd

Jamie Holroyd is a UK based educator, author and performer as well as the founder
of www.jamieholroydguitar.com, a free website with lessons to help students across
the globe play jazz and blues guitar.

www.jamieholroydguitar.com