JAZZ GUITAR
JAZZ GUITAR A compendium of non-recycled licks
a compendium of non-recycled licks...
By Victor Saumarez
by Victor Saumarez 1
Contents Introduction ............................ 3 Major 7th Licks ....................... 4 Minor 7th Licks ....................... 8 Dominant 7th Licks ................. 12 Major II V I Licks ...................... 16 Minor II V I Licks ...................... 20 Miscellaneous Licks ................ 23
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Introduction This book is aimed more at jazz guitarists who are already proficient, but need some fresh musical ideas to add to their arsenal. That does not preclude beginners, as there is a wealth of material here, much of it easy to assimilate. However, I do not focus on the technical or the theoretical aspects of jazz to a great extend. At the beginning of each chapter there is an explanation of some of the salient points, relevant to the music, but these are more decorative supports than theoretical precepts, so the novice may feel a little short-changed. I have tried to cover a range of styles from mainstream to modern, varying between melodic and up tempo, syncopated and legato. As the name of the book (compendium) suggests, it attempts to serve as a reference manual from which you can pick and choose the ideas you like. It may be that just a section of an idea appeals, and I would encourage anyone to extract what they like, and not what they think they should sound like. I am a firm believer in making life easy by taking advantage of the guitarʼs unique geography, rather than trying to emulate other instruments. I would encourage you to listen first to the recorded versions, by clicking on the icon by the side of each lick, and then make a selection of those that you like best. Apply them to a new tune you are learning, and build them into your vocabulary. Above all else, have fun!
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Major 7th Licks Major seventh chords often represent the key centre, or chord onto which a musical idea or lick resolves, and being at the end of a phrase, this sometimes results in a more static measure. However, many tunes use them extensively in the middle of tunes, and as progressions in their own right. Major seventh licks usually, although there are exceptions, stay close to the major scale and arpeggio. I kick off with a mainstream idea in C major on page five. The F sharp is considered fairly safe to C major, but here it is teasing out the G, the fifth of the chord is a way typical of the style. Notice that I take full advantage of the guitarʼs geography, for example sweeping arpeggios as in the F major example on page five. Hammering on and pull-offs are an effective technique which adds a new dimension to the sound of a guitar, as in the D major example on page six. On page six you will see the G major lick makes use of open strings. This is again making use of the guitars unique design to create large intervals, that are easy to play. Note that sixteenth note ideas on page six, are less melodic, and usually pretty chromatic. Unless you are very agile this makes sense, since economy is the key to fluency in up tempo playing.
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