{"id":902,"date":"2013-12-24T15:52:02","date_gmt":"2013-12-24T14:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/?p=902"},"modified":"2026-03-16T22:48:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T21:48:56","slug":"the-lick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/the-lick\/","title":{"rendered":"&quot;The Lick&quot;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-size: 18px; line-height: 150%; font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;\">Jazz cliches are everywhere, but I never realized how popular &#8220;The Lick&#8221; was until I saw this video below in our forum. The lick is a bebop phrase that is usually played over a minor-key 2-5-1. The origins and the first recording of the lick are not very clear. It is heard in Stravinsky&#8217;s Firebird from 1910, but probably dates before that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"--tl-form-height-m:555.828px;--tl-form-height-t:361.672px;--tl-form-height-d:361.672px;\" class=\"tl-placeholder-f-type-shortcode_10980 tl-preload-form\"><span><\/span><\/span><br \/>\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/krDxhnaKD7Q?rel=0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>The Lick Guitar Tabs<\/h2>\n<p>You can play The Lick over a D <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/minor-chords\/\">minor chord<\/a> or a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/understanding-the-minor-ii-v-i-progression\/\">minor 2 5 1 progression<\/a>, as I do in this example.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"waveplayer-container\"><div id=\"waveplayer-53d8cad6533e43ff0d610ae9bb8e97aa-6a5075cf13770\" class=\"waveplayer loading wvpl-skin-w2-evolution wvpl-palette-800e3a14c86733ad9ccc96fd80850d88 wvpl-style-light wvpl-size-xs wvpl-shape-rounded \" data-limit=\"0\" data-mode=\"normal\" data-config_id=\"53d8cad6533e43ff0d610ae9bb8e97aa\" data-instance_id=\"53d8cad6533e43ff0d610ae9bb8e97aa-6a4e69e55639e\">\n\t<div class=\"wvpl-left-box\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/audiobg.png)\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-interface\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-volume-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-info\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-controls\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-prev wvpl-disabled\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-play\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-next wvpl-disabled\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-volume wvpl-volume_up\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-poster\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wvpl-right-box\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-overlay\">\n\t\t\t<svg>\n\t\t\t\t<use xlink:href=\"#waveform-animation\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"percentage\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-loading\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-loading-progress\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"message\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-position\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-duration\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-waveform\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-infobar\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-playing-info\"><div class=\"wvpl-infoblock\"><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wvpl-playlist\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-playlist-wrapper\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/the-lick.png\" alt=\"The Lick\" width=\"779\" height=\"232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/the-lick.png 779w, https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/the-lick-300x89.png 300w, https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/the-lick-768x229.png 768w, https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/the-lick-585x174.png 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 779px) 100vw, 779px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Lick can be played over other chords as well, as you can hear in the following example.<\/p>\n<p>Here The Lick starts over Dm7 (Im), then goes to Bbmaj7 (bVI) and Gm7 (IVm).<\/p>\n<p>On the A7 I play the &#8220;Cry Me a River&#8221; lick, another jazz cliche.<\/p>\n<p>In the second chorus, I play a little variation.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"waveplayer-container\"><div id=\"waveplayer-0dca80253244b3e0a5bd47ff679c63ab-6a5075cf1471c\" class=\"waveplayer loading wvpl-skin-w2-evolution wvpl-palette-800e3a14c86733ad9ccc96fd80850d88 wvpl-style-light wvpl-size-xs wvpl-shape-rounded \" data-limit=\"0\" data-mode=\"normal\" data-config_id=\"0dca80253244b3e0a5bd47ff679c63ab\" data-instance_id=\"0dca80253244b3e0a5bd47ff679c63ab-6a4e69e55827e\">\n\t<div class=\"wvpl-left-box\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/audiobg.png)\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-interface\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-volume-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-info\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-controls\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-prev wvpl-disabled\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-play\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-next wvpl-disabled\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-icon wvpl-volume wvpl-volume_up\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-poster\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wvpl-right-box\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-overlay\">\n\t\t\t<svg>\n\t\t\t\t<use xlink:href=\"#waveform-animation\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"percentage\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-loading\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-loading-progress\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"message\"><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-position\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-duration\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-waveform\"><\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-infobar\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-playing-info\"><div class=\"wvpl-infoblock\"><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"wvpl-playlist\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wvpl-playlist-wrapper\"><\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-8025\" src=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/the-lick-smooth-jazz.png\" alt=\"The lick smooth jazz version\" width=\"779\" height=\"1392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/the-lick-smooth-jazz.png 779w, https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/the-lick-smooth-jazz-168x300.png 168w, https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/the-lick-smooth-jazz-768x1372.png 768w, https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/the-lick-smooth-jazz-573x1024.png 573w, https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/the-lick-smooth-jazz-585x1045.png 585w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 779px) 100vw, 779px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Can you name more songs that contain The Lick? Let us know in the comments below&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Lick is probably the most famous jazz phrase ever, you will literally start hearing it everywhere once it gets in your ears!<\/p>\n<p>The Lick is a bebop phrase that is usually played over a minor 2-5-1 but can be played over other chords as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-jazz-guitar-licks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=902"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19182,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902\/revisions\/19182"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}