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Well, I was thinking measures. But I don’t want to discourage anyone.
Originally Posted by pauln
I kind of agree, but "longer/shorter" might be more or less notes or seconds...
Which would be longer, 16 notes in two seconds, or 8 notes in four seconds?
If there is a difference between licks and lines this thread could go for months, if not, it could go for years.
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06-07-2023 11:43 PM
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This one is a wild ride. Can you tell us a bit about it? I mean — I can see the notes in the picture, but I’m curious what you were after when you wrote it. It’s a cool vibe. And weird. Good weird. Originally Posted by James W
Thanks for starting this thread, Jeff. Not only have you made me practise one of several licks I composed three years ago, but also I've spent the last hour getting to grips with my loop pedal, something that was on my to-do list, and which I am pleased to have finally got round to doing!
I guess I should compose more licks. This one I've chosen is a II-V-I in A flat. Unfortunately because youtube has decided it's a 'short' I can't embed it onto this forum post. Oh yeah, and I guess anyone can read the other licks I wrote that you can see in the photo...
II-V-I in A flat - YouTube
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A very valid point. Originally Posted by Jazzjourney4Eva
Well, I was thinking measures. But I don’t want to discourage anyone.
If there is a difference between licks and lines this thread could go for months, if not, it could go for years.
I know a lot of licks and melody lines.It just accumulated a lot over the years of study and then work.
It's hard to say which is more important and which isn't.They are all important.
Over 45 years ago I kept a notebook and wrote down licks over 2 5 1 progressions - I had them all memorized and played in all keys.
The licks exercise is the daily routine of jazz musicians.
Have fun.
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Oh, if only :-) Originally Posted by pamosmusic
You're New York, right? Are you getting this wildfire smoke where you are? We're getting stories about toxic yellow air and needing to wear masks, etc.
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Thanks. I just felt like writing something which features quartal triads, and the altered scale over E flat dom 7. As you can see I wrote a few which are really quite difficult to play, I'm not so sure how useable they are. However, the licks in G flat and B were written recently under the influence of some Barry Harris material I got from one of Christian's youtube videos. Originally Posted by pamosmusic
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I am located in the lower Hudson Valley about 20 miles north of NYC. Yesterday was bad with the sky and even lower air almost taken on a sepia sort of coloring. Reminded me of the coloring in the Wizard of Oz before the storm hit. There was a smell in the air but not that bad. Reminded me of mellow pipe tobacco. Most people seemed to have stayed inside as there was not as many people walking about. Originally Posted by ragman1
It is supposed to be better today and so far looks it but there still is a haze though it seems to be higher in the atmosphere. The sun takes on a muted hue.
The health warnings were particularity geared towards folks with asthma, heart conditions, etc.
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I was in New York City until last summer. Virginia now. Though actually it was pretty smoky all the way down here too. Originally Posted by ragman1
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Nice! Yeah those fourths sound wicked, but it certainly looked like a bear to play. Originally Posted by James W
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Some of the pictures have been pretty awful. Beijing's much the same only theirs is self-created and perpetual :-) Originally Posted by alltunes
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It won't last, hopefully. Originally Posted by pamosmusic
Anywhere near the Blue Ridge Mountains? Probably not :-)
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In the interest of brevity, short video, a short lick, no extra words (except these).
ii V I in Dmaj
As notated and then a variation.
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Originally near Charlottesville but we’re over in the tidewater now. Originally Posted by ragman1
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Quick and easy ii V I with some bluesy inflections, can be used to switch directions...
Re: licks and lines, yeah I agree, a little different...both welcome here. Ima keep it licky, again for the sake of brevity.
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When you find a lick like this, how do you practice it? Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
Or I guess how do you practice the variations or come up with them or whatever
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Here’s another … there will come a day when I grow tired of THIS ONE LICK from that Charlie Christian solo.
But it is not this day.
More ideas.
EDIT: No one has ever looked as happy to be playing quartal triads as I look in this thumbnail.
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You'll never guess what I just found. There's a ton of licks in the lessons section on JGO. First one I saw:
50 Jazz Guitar Licks
It's famous! It's called the Cry Me A River lick.
(Mine is slightly different because it ends on the G but it's pretty much the same idea. Mine's easier to play, too)
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Originally Posted by ragman1
You'll never guess what I just found. There's a ton of licks in the lessons section on JGO. First one I saw:
50 Jazz Guitar Licks
It's famous! It's called the Cry Me A River lick.
(Mine is slightly different because it ends on the G but it's pretty much the same idea. Mine's easier to play, too)
Thanks, yes, another from the 50 licks:
https://www.jazzguitar.be/blog/bebop-licks/
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Could I issue a challenge here?
If folks find a favorite lick from one of those JG pages — what about coming up with a variation on it? Maybe a different arpeggio? Or maybe played with different endings? Different rhythm?
I’m really enjoying seeing how Jeff, for example, has a completely different process than me (or seems to) when he sits down with one of these ideas.
Id love to see where others go with it.
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Very cool idea. Originally Posted by pamosmusic
Yeah, I think you seem to be a lot more methodical about it. Something I could stand to do a bit more of.
My general process is pretty simple, ok, learn it in all keys, on a different string set/octave, and maybe look for other situations it could be used other than the original one I had placed it in. I really view licks as sounds, not as relationships between notes, so if I took a minor lick, say, and adjusted the notes to make it a major lick, then to me it's not a variation anymore, it's a whole new thing. Which is probably a clunky way of doing things, but I have the attention span of a squirrel on amphetamines.
I do a lot of what I did in that last video-- how can a line be used to change direction. So almost everything I come up with has 2 ways of ending it.
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If I'm honest, aside from one or two things here and there, I've never actually learnt licks, preferring instead to concentrate on stringing together patterns derived from scales across the changes, as well as embellished arpeggios, and basically hoping for the best when it comes to actually playing a tune. Anyone who has seen me play recently can gauge how successful an approach this has been lol. So yeah, I really need to spend time regularly writing and adopting licks and work on getting them into how I play a tune. I do have several chorus-length etudes I've written which need work on too. I like to write these things down as then it's something to work off of, something objective which I can then work on varying. Ars longa, vita brevis etc. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
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It's seriously beneath my dignity to re-post licks from the lessons section. Anybody can cut 'n paste.
Post one that means something to you. Even better, scan your own playing and find a good one where you even surprised yourself. Do some work!
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That is a … hmm … “gentle” way of putting it. Others might describe it differently.Yeah, I think you seem to be a lot more methodical about it.
Thats so interesting. On some level this is obviously true, right? Like how different can a thing be before it’s not the thing anymore. But I like seeing how far it can stretch. Keep the rhythm the same and change everything else. Contour the same and change everything else. Contour and rhythm. Transposition. Kind of seeing how far it can bend before it breaks. Like that Charlie Christian lick is maybe not the lick any more when I get to quartal triads, but where did I lose it?I really view licks as sounds, not as relationships between notes, so if I took a minor lick, say, and adjusted the notes to make it a major lick, then to me it's not a variation anymore, it's a whole new thing.
All of it is fun, but the transpositions are like I can’t really help it. I love that stuff.
And this seems extremely practical. Because you can’t just plug a lick in and go. Even when I change mine so much, there has to be some content before and after it that make it work. Like puttying over a hole in the wall and smoothing out the edges (which I’m terrible at for whatever it’s worth, but the analogy isn’t bad).I do a lot of what I did in that last video-- how can a line be used to change direction. So almost everything I come up with has 2 ways of ending it.
Anywya. Cool.
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I was suggesting people toy with an interesting idea they find on that page as an alternative to .. erm … cutting and pasting licks from that page? Originally Posted by ragman1
But I’ll admit I do have some work to go do. As you were.
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What comes of decades of “noodling”?
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