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Welcome to Jazz Licks. One of the most important goals for the jazz musician is to develop a vocabulary of ideas that can be used to create and shape an improvised solo. This vocabulary is usually based on the chords and chord progression formulas that make up songs from the jazz repertoire.

The basis of developing a vocabulary, along with knowing scales, modes, arpeggios, etc., comes from learning and experimenting with licks. The vocabulary I hear the best jazz guitarists using comes not only from guitarists but from other instrumentalists as well. In fact, saxophone, trumpet and piano players have been the main creators of modem jazz soloing.

Jazz Licks offers you many melodic examples for each of the chord types. The licks come from a wide variety of influences including guitarists such as: Pat Martino, Joe Pass, George Benson, Wes Montgomery, Pat Metheny and Howard Roberts. Additional influences come from other instrumentalists such as: Charlie Parkel; John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Chet Baker and Bill Evans.

I hope you enjoy playing the examples in Jazz Licks and in doing so will become a better jazz guitarist. Music should be fun, so take you time, enjoy and good luck!

David Peterson