In this new course we are going to look at 12 different licks all in the key of C major. Whilst we are going to look at how to move these licks into different keys, it is best to start off printing off this worksheet and memorising each lick from the sheet in C major at first, and then into other keys, (I suggest you start with D, G, C, F & Bb majors).
In this first lesson of 12 Licks in One Key we are going to look at a Major 7th lick.
In this lesson of our 12 licks in one key we are going to look at Dominant 7th lick with added chromatic notes, (lick number 3 on the sheet)
II V’s progressions are the bedrock of almost all jazz standards and I’ve said many times how important it is to have a grasp of this vocabulary if you are going to express yourself well in improvisation.
The Diminished scale is useful for improvising over the Diminished chord and also Dominant 7b9 chords, (although it can be applied in other situations as well, which makes learning this lick very important!)
The Blues forms the bedrock of jazz and is incredibly influential in Pop, Rock, R n B, Funk and a whole load of other styles that you might find yourself playing in
It’s Christmas Project time, this time for 2023 I’ve selected ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman’ from the Wise Music Christmas book
One of the things that people tell me they want to get better at is improvisation – one of the best ways to learn is to transcribe the masters. Dexter Gordon is certainly one of those masters and here is playing Charlie Parker’s, (another incredible ‘master’, if not THE master) ‘Scrapple from the Apple’. This recording is taken from Gordon’s 1963 Blue Note album, Our Man in Paris.
I stumbled across this album of Mark’s on Apple Music when driving back from my parents after a family visit. I’ve been a fan of Mark’s playing for years and this rendition of ‘Skylark’ just blew me away.