First Aid Licks

These are the licks you MUST know and be able to play in any situation. So practice them a lot!

MAJOR TONIC

I give the first one in G and F; for other keys you must transpose the licks. Tonic chords all have the leading note, which is the major 7th.

• Leading Note Lick

• Coltrane Lick

• Descending Coltrane Lick

• Jessica Lick (in F major)

MINOR TONIC

I show the first lick in A minor and D minor. In gypsy jazz, we often add a ‘6’ to minor Tonic chords.

• Getz Lick

• Extended Getz Lick

• Descending Extended Getz Lick

DOMINANT

There are two types of Dominant Lick: resolved and unresolved. Place the resolved lick so the resolution note lands on the following Tonic chord. In the key of G:

• Honeysuckle Lick

• Universal Dominant Lick (resolved)

The unresolved lick finishes before the resolution note. Examples in the keys of G and Ab:

• Universal Dominant Lick (unresolved)

A common alteration is to change the 9th note to a Flat 9. On a D7, that is ‘eb’. This gives a much cooler sound:

• Flat ‘9’ Lick (resolving to G major)

• Flat ‘9’ Lick (resolving to G minor)

And the unresolved version:

• Flat ‘9’ Lick (unresolved)

Leave the root note ‘d’ out altogether and you get a more diminished sound:

• Diminished Lick

The next alteration is the flat 10th note, which is actually a bluesy minor third (‘f#’ becomes ‘f’):

• Flat ‘10’ Lick

• Descending Flat ‘10’ Lick

• Reversed Flat ‘10’ Lick