Anatomy of a Lick Volume 3

Barney Kessel Bebop Lick

mattwarnockguitar.com

Written by: Matt Warnock

Matt Warnock Plays Koentopp Guitars
© Copyright 2016 All Rights Reserved
 Introduction – Practice Guide
Welcome to Anatomy of a Lick – Essential Jazz Lines Volume 3, where
you’ll learn the concepts behind a Barney Kessel style bebop lick.

Before you begin, take a minute to learn why, how, and where to study
jazz licks in order to get the most out of the material in this eBook.

Learning licks is essential for any jazz guitarist, but you don’t want to
just repeat lines you’ve learned in your solos.

Check out these pointers as you set yourself up to get the most out of
every minute spent studying lines in the woodshed.

Why Learn Licks?

There are many reasons why you should study, learn, and use licks in
your playing.

Alongside scales, arpeggios, patterns, and chords, licks make up the

foundation of a solid understanding of jazz performance techniques.

Here are some of the benefits you’ll encounter when studying licks:

Ø Build soloing vocabulary.

Ø Sound like jazz from day one over chord changes.
Ø Learn how legendary players thought about improvisation.
Ø Hear essential jazz concepts in action.
Ø Expanded ear training skills.

Each of these items can lift your playing to the next level, and they’re
why studying jazz licks is essential for any developing jazz guitarist.

But, licks aren’t the end of your studies.

Instead, they’re part of a balanced approach to soloing that includes
scales, patterns, arpeggios, and chord subs.

How to Learn Licks

Besides learning licks note-for-note, you want to dig into each phrase
that you learn to get the most out of that line.

When doing so, you practice the lick exactly as learned, as well as vary
the lick to personalize it in your solos.

Working on the lick as a whole includes exercises such as:

Ø Soloing over tracks using the lick from time to time.

Ø Targeting specific bars in a song with that line.
Ø Combining two licks in your solos over a tune.
Ø Starting licks on different beats of the bar, keep lick note-for-note.

As well, you can break licks up and add your personality as you use lines
in your solos.

Some of the ways that you can vary a lick include:

Ø Changing the rhythms.

Ø Adding notes to the lick.
Ø Taking notes away from the lick.
Ø Mixing two licks together.
Ø Using part of the lick - beginning, middle, or end.

By varying licks, you set yourself up to maintain the sound of these lines
in your solos, without running them directly.

Make sure you practice exact lines and line variations in your solos to
easily adapt your prescribed lines into a soloing situation.
 Where to Use Licks
Now that you’ve learned how and why you should learn jazz licks, you’ll
want to begin adding them into your solos.

When doing so, you want to avoid becoming a “line player,” which is a
guitarist who only plays prescribed lines.

Instead, you want to use bits of the lines, as well as the underlying
concepts from lines, to build your improvised phrases.

Doing so maintains the essence of the line, while injecting your

personality into the phrase at the same time.

Though you want to avoid playing only prescribed lines, there are times
when you want to run a known lick in your solos.

These instances include:

Ø Solo breaks (first 2-4 bars of a solo at the end of a melody).

Ø Fills between the melody lines.
Ø Very short solos (i.e. Big band solos of 8-12 bars).
Ø Moments when you’re struggling for inspiration.

As you can see, using a lick can get you out of a tough situation, such as
when you have a two-bar solo break.

By choosing your moments correctly, prescribed licks can be an

effective soloing device; just don’t overdo it in your improvisations.
 Building Your Own Jazz Licks
The biggest reason for studying licks is to build your own jazz lines,
both beforehand and in the moment, to use in your solos.

By studying the Barney Kessel lick and concepts in this eBook, you’ll
learn fundamental tools that you can use to create your own phrases.

As you learn each concept extracted from this Barney style lick, write
out 4-5 licks of your own based on each concept.

This gives you practice constructing licks with jazz concepts, as well as
gives you more vocabulary to use in your jazz guitar solos.

From there, work on creating licks in the moment using these concepts
as you begin to build jazz lines in real time over backing tracks.

It takes time to be able to create your own cool-sounding jazz licks, so

the time to start is now.

Don’t wait until you’ve covered every concept in this eBook, learn one
concept then write out your own licks based on that concept.

This type of practicing will prepare you for creating lines down the road
in live musical situations, such as jazz jam sessions and gigs.
 Barney Kessel Bebop Lick
Barney Kessel was a master improviser and a jazz guitarist that was as
comfortable in the recording studio as he was on stage.

With a strong understanding of bebop concepts, Kessel was able to

record some of the most memorable solos in jazz history.

In this eBook, you’ll study a Barney Kessel style line, break it down into
six essential concepts, and learn a solo based on these concepts.

The six concepts that are covered in this eBook, which are found in
many of Barney’s solos, are listed here.

Each concept has the shorthand used on the tab for the lick, as well as
the long-form term that matches up with each concept.

Ø Fmaj7 = 3 to 9 Arpeggios
Ø Pattern = Scale Patterns
Ø Honeysuckle = Honeysuckle Rose Lick
Ø G7#5 = V7#5 Colors
Ø b7 3 = Guide Tones
Ø Arpeggio = Diatonic Arpeggios

Now that you know what concepts are found in this line, it’s time to take
the phrase onto the guitar.

Start by learning the lick as written, then for an extra challenge, take
this lick to other positions on the fretboard.

When you’re ready, put on a backing track and use this lick to solo over
ii V I chords in your improvisations.

As well, you can move this lick around to other keys on the fretboard as
you expand upon this line in your studies.
Audio Example 1

Now that you’ve learned the lick, it’s time to break this lick down into its
component parts as you dig into each concept found in this line.
 Concept 1 – 3 to 9 Arpeggios
The first Barney Kessel concept you’ll study from his lick is one of the
most important soloing concepts in jazz, 3 to 9 arpeggios.

3 to 9 arpeggios are shapes that you play from the 3rd of each chord, not
the root, and outline the 3-5-7-9 of the underlying chord.

These rootless arpeggios bring color to your lines, while avoiding the
root note at the same time.

To help you get started with this concept, here’s a quick chart to use as a
reference for each chord in a ii V I VI chord progression.

Since you don’t normally use 3 to 9 arpeggios over m7b5 chords, these
arpeggios give you everything you need to solo over most jazz changes.

Ø m7 = maj7 arpeggio from the 3rd

Ø 7th = m7b5 arpeggio from the 3rd
Ø maj7 = m7 arpeggio from the 3rd
Ø 7b9 = dim7 arpeggio from the 3rd

As you can see, the beauty behind this concept is that you don’t have to
learn anything new beyond basic arpeggio shapes.

If you already know maj7, m7, m7b5, and dim7 arpeggios, you simply
play them from a different starting note to create the 3 to 9 sound.

To begin your study of 3 to 9 arpeggios, here is that concept applied to a

Dm7 chord.

When using this concept over m7 chords, you play a maj7 arpeggio from
the 3rd of the underlying chord.

This creates the interval pattern b3-5-b7-9 in your lines.

Start by learning this example, and then take it to other positions on the
fretboard and other keys around the guitar in your studies.

When ready, use the 3 to 9 concept in your soloing lines over m7 chords
with backing tracks and in jam situations.

Audio Example 2

Now that you’ve worked 3 to 9 arpeggios over a m7 chord, you can

apply it to dominant 7th chords in your studies.

Here, you’ll play a m7b5 chord from the 3rd of any 7th chord.

Doing so creates the interval pattern 3-5-b7-9 over that chord.

Start by learning the shape below, and then take it to other keys and
areas of the fretboard as you expand this concept in your studies.

When you feel comfortable, put on a backing track and solo over any
dominant 7th chord with its related 3 to 9 arpeggios.

This ensures that you work this important jazz concept from a technical
and improvisational standpoint in your practice routine.
Audio Example 3

In the next example, you’ll apply a 3 to 9 arpeggio to a maj7 chord, in

this case playing a m7 arpeggio from the 3rd of the underlying chord.

When doing so, you outline the intervals 3-5-7-9 in your lines.

After you can play this example from memory, take it to other positions
and keys in your practice routine.

From there, put on a backing track and practice applying 3 to 9

arpeggios to maj7 chords in your improvisations.

Audio Example 4

You can also apply 3 to 9 arpeggios to 7b9 chords; in this case you play a
dim7 arpeggio from the 3rd to outline that chord.

When doing so, you outline the intervals 3-5-b7-b9 over the chord.
Once you can play this arpeggio from memory, put on a 7th chord or 7b9
backing track and apply this 3 to 9 arpeggio to your solos.

Audio Example 5

Now that you’ve learned the 3 to 9 arpeggios for m7, 7, maj7, and 7b9
chords, you can apply them to a progression as a whole.

Here’s an example of how you can ascend through each 3 to 9 arpeggio

over a ii V I VI progression.

Once these shapes are under your fingers, use them to solo over a
backing track before taking them to other keys and positions.

Audio Example 6

In the next example, you’ll play down each arpeggio over the same
chord progression, using 3 to 9 arps over each change.
Though it’s just a reversal of the previous exercise, seeing arpeggios,
normal or 3 to 9, from the top down is difficult at first.

Because of this, take your time with these arpeggios, use a metronome if
needed, and when ready, solo with these shapes over a backing track.

When you can solo with descending arpeggios over a track, take them to
other positions and keys in your practice routine.

Audio Example 7

To finish your study of 3 to 9 arpeggios, here are alternating shapes

over a ii V I VI progression.

This allows you to use both ascending and descending versions of the 3
to 9 arpeggios in your soloing lines and phrases.

After you’ve worked this pattern, use these shapes to solo over a
backing track, before taking these arps to other positions and keys.
Audio Example 8
 Concept 2 – Scale Patterns
In the next concept, you’ll study a scale pattern that Barney uses in his
lines, and that other jazz guitarists favor in their playing as well.

This pattern is built by starting on the 2nd note of the scale then playing
up one note before descending two notes of the scale.

This produces the interval pattern 2-3-2-1 when starting on the 2nd note
of the scale.

From there, it would be 7-1-7-6, then 5-6-5-4, etc. as you work your way
down the scale.

To begin, here’s that pattern over a Dm7 chord, using the D Dorian scale
to outline that chord.

Once you have this pattern down, take it to other keys and then apply it
to your m7 soloing lines as you work it in the woodshed.

You can also apply this scale pattern to other Dorian fingerings, as well
as Mixolydian and major scales below, in your studies.

Start with this fingering, and then apply the pattern to any scale
fingering that you prefer for Dorian in your playing.

Audio Example 9
Moving on, you’ll now apply the same pattern to the G Mixolydian scale,
which you use to solo over dominant 7th chords.

After you’ve memorized this pattern, take it to other keys and begin to
use this scale pattern in your solos over 7th chords.

If you’re having trouble soloing with this pattern right away, write out a
few lines that use this pattern.

Add those lines to your solos until they’re comfortable.

Then, when you feel ready, create phrases with this pattern in the
moment in your solos.

Audio Example 10

Here’s that same scale pattern applied to a C major scale, used to solo
over a Cmaj7 chord.

Now that you have all three scale patterns under your fingers, put on a
backing track and apply each one to a ii V I progression.

You won’t have room to play the full pattern over each chord, so pick
and choose a few instances to use this pattern over each chord.

If it’s too tough to use the pattern over all three chords right now, not to
worry.
Pick one chord and target that change with the pattern until it’s
comfortable.

From there, expand to two chords, and finally three as you take this
cool-sounding scale pattern to each chord in a ii V I progression.

Audio Example 11
 Concept 3 – Honeysuckle Rose Lick
One of the most famous jazz lines comes from one of the most famous
jazz songs, Honeysuckle Rose.

In the original melody, there is a diatonic line that uses the intervals 8-
b7-2-4-6.

As jazz improvisers got a hold of this line, they add in a bebop passing
tone to create the interval pattern 8-7-b7-2-4-6.

This is the version of the melody that Barney uses in the lick at the start
of this eBook.

Here are the original and bebop version of the line side by side for you
to play and hear before applying the bebop version to a full ii V I phrase.

Audio Example 12

Here’s how the line looks when applying to the root of Dm7 and the root
of G7 in a ii V progression.

When doing so, you land on the 6th of both chords, B and E in this key,
producing Dm6 and G13 sounds respectively.

The Honeysuckle lick allows you to bring both chromaticism and chord
coloring to your phrases, making it an essential bit of jazz vocabulary.
Once you have this example under your fingers, put on a backing track
and begin to add the Honeysuckle line to your iim7 and V7 phrases.

Audio Example 13

You can now apply the Honeysuckle lick to all three chords in a ii V I
progression.

When using the line over the Imaj7 chord, you’ll wind up with a #11 at
the end of the line.

The #11 interval creates a Lydian sound over that chord, which may or
may not agree with your ears.

Give it a try and see how it sounds to you.

If it’s too harsh, then come back to it at a later time, but if it sounds good,
feel free to add it to your solos right away.

The reason that you use the #11, is that if you started on the root of
Cmaj7, you’d play C-B-Bb-D-F-A.

When doing so, the Bb sounds a bit out of place.

To avoid this odd-sounding note, you start this phrase on the 6th of
Cmaj7, producing the intervals 6-b6-5-7-2-#4(#11).

For those that have studied the major bebop scale, you’ll recognize the
b6 as being the maj7 bebop note.
This is the second reason to start on the 6th of any maj7 chord when
playing the Honeysuckle lick.

Doing so avoids the awkward b7 interval, and includes the major bebop
note, b6, at the same time.

Audio Example 14
 Concept 4 – V7#5 Colors
One of the most interesting notes in Barney’s line is the Eb(D#) over the
G7 chord, which creates a G7#5 sound in that part of the phrase.

Most people associate altered chords with minor keys in jazz, but they
can be used in major keys as well.

Barney’s line is an example of how you can use V7alt sounds, in this case
V7#5, to create tension and release in a major key phrase.

To help you take this sound further in your playing, here are two G7#5
arpeggio fingerings that you can learn and use in your improvised lines.

Start by learning these two fingerings in G, then in other keys, and

soloing with these shapes before moving to the sample lines below.

Audio Example 15
Now that you know how to play the G7#5 chord, and have worked it in a
number of keys, you can apply it to soloing lines in your studies.

Here’s an example of how to use a 7#5 chord over a ii V I progression, in

this case in the key of C major.

After you’ve practiced this line, put on a backing track and use the V7#5
arpeggio to outline 7th chords in your improvised phrases.

If you have trouble soloing with this sound right away, write out a few
lines and work them over backing tracks before playing in the moment.

Audio Example 16

Here’s another lick that you can use to study 7#5 sounds over a ii V I,
this time over a two-bar phrase.

In this case, the #5, D#, of G7 is used to create an approach note to the
3rd of Cmaj7, E.

Often times V7alt chords, including V7#5, are used to create tension
that resolves into the next chord.

This line is a great example of that approach in action over a common

jazz chord progression.
Audio Example 17
 Concept 5 – Guide Tones
Guide tones is a concept that you’ve probably heard of before, but might
not know what the term means exactly.

The simplest explanation for guide tones is that they’re notes that
connect chord changes with a minimal amount of movement.

This minimal movement is usually a half step, one fret, on the guitar.

In the Barney lick you learned, and in most jazz lines, guide tones are
built with the b7 and 3 of any chord.

There are other variations of guide tones, but this is the best place to
start when first exploring this essential jazz concept.

In the example below, the b7 of iim7 leads down to the 3 of V7, and the
b7 of V7 leads down to the 3rd of the Imaj7 chord.

This is the best place to start, and what Barney uses in his line, when
studying guide tones in your playing.

Here are the b7-3 guide tones written over a ii V I progression in the key
of C major.

Start by playing these guide tones over a backing track, then on their
own, to hear how they outline the changes with and without a backing.

After you’ve worked this pattern, practice playing b7-3 guide tones in
other keys, and in other positions on the guitar in your routine.
Audio Example 18

Here’s an example of how you can practice guide tones with arpeggios
over a ii V I progression.

Notice that the second arpeggios, G7, starts on the 3rd, as that was the
guide tone at the start of the second bar.

After you’ve worked this example in your studies, write out a few
patterns of your own to take to 12 keys and solo with over progressions.

From there, begin to aim for these guide tones in the moment as you
apply them to your improvised lines and solos.

This won’t happen overnight, so write out as many arpeggio guide tone
patterns as you need before soloing with them on the spot.

Audio Example 19
As well as practicing guide tones with arpeggios, you can practice them
with scales in your studies.

Here’s an example of how you would practice this concept over a ii V I in

the key of C major.

After you’ve worked out this pattern, write out some of your own
practice patterns that use the b7-3 guide tones with diatonic scales.

When you’ve written and practiced a few patterns, solo over a backing
track using scales and nail those guide tones in the moment.

This takes time to accomplish, but writing out patterns will shorten the
time it takes to use guide tones and scales in your improvised solos.

Audio Example 20
 Concept 6 – Diatonic Arpeggios
In this final concept, taken from the last measure of Barney’s lick, you’ll
learn an essential arpeggio pattern.

Normally when playing arpeggios, you practice 1357 shapes up and

down the guitar.

But, a legend like Barney Kessel knows how to add alterations to

arpeggios in order for these patterns to sound fresh in his phrases.

Here, Barney plays up a Cmaj7 arpeggio, 1357, before resolving down to

the 6th of that line.

When doing so, he plays the intervals 13576, giving a bit of color to his
line along the way.

Though it’s not a huge difference, it’s small alterations such as this one
that make arpeggios sound hip and less predictable in your solos.

Here’s how that arpeggio pattern looks when applied to a ii V I chord

progression.

After learning this example, put on a backing track and solo over those
chords with 13576 arpeggios.

From there, take these arpeggios to other positions on the guitar and to
other keys in your practice routine.
Audio Example 21

Here are the same arpeggios applied to a new position, starting on the
6th-string Dm7 and moving to the closest V7 and Imaj7 from there.

After you’ve worked these two fingerings separately, put on a backing

track and mix them together in your solos.

This gets you moving across the fretboard, allowing you to cover more
ground in your solos as you outline the changes at the same time.

Audio Example 22

You can also use these arpeggios over short ii V I progressions.

To do so, you need to play each arpeggio twice as fast as you did in the
previous examples, 16th notes instead of 8th notes.

Here’s an example of that double-time approach to these arpeggios in

action over a short ii V I chord progression.
After you’ve learned this example, practice soloing over a backing track
with this 16th-note pulse in your lines.

Also, make sure to take this, and the previous arpeggio exercises, to
other keys to get the most out of these shapes in your studies.

Audio Example 23
 Barney Kessel A Train Solo
The next step in learning these concepts and Barney’s lick is to apply
them to a full jazz standard, in this case Take the A Train.

In this solo etude, you’ll learn how to apply the lick and concepts from
this eBook to a full solo.

Learn each phrase one at a time, and then piece them together to play
the solo as a whole.

As well, notice the variations applied to the Kessel lick as the ii V I

comes back around each time in the progression.

Variations like these are one way that you can use the same lick in
multiple sections of an improvised solo without sounding predictable.

The lick is also moved to a different position on the fretboard to get you
moving around the guitar with this phrase.

When learning licks, you often get stuck jumping around the guitar to
hit your favorite lines when soloing.

Learning licks in multiple positions on the guitar avoids this problem,

and helps you learn the neck at the same time.

Have fun learning this solo, then put on the backing track and solo using
the lick and concepts from this eBook in your own phrases.

Backing Track 1

Audio Example 24