Licks are short melodic ideas of 2, 4 or 8 measures that jazz players use in their solos. Almost all players use them to one degree or another when they improvise. Learning licks is a good way to build your melodic vocabulary while you are learning to improvise your own melodic lines. Each lesson in this ongoing series deconstructs a lick and explains why it sounds good, how to use it in your own improvisations and how to learn it in all twelve keys. Click on a lesson for more details: Bebop Lick, Jessica Williams Break Lick, Tommy Flanagan Whole Tone Turnaround Lick, Tommy Flanagan Minor iiV Lick, Blues Lick, Kenny Barron Lick; Three Benny Green Licks;

Prerequisites
Moderate keyboard proficiency. Ability to read notation. These are good prerequisites: Four Components of Melodic Construction; Improvisation: The Concept.

Resources for further Listening and Reading
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