I'm starting a new playlist on my YouTube channel with videos I'm creating called, "Transcribe This Lick." The licks are a combination of standard jazz vocabulary licks and brief 1-2 bar licks from solos by classic jazz sax players. I've got a dozen of them assembled, but if this goes over well, I keep making more. I plan to add one a week.
Here's the first. Check out the lick and subscribe to my YouTube channel if you dig it. Of course, I always appreciate it if you keep my jazz improv lessons in mind....
Lick #2 is a bit more advanced.This one is a ii-V7 lick ala Harold Land. Next week's lick will be a little easier. I'm trying to mix up the difficulty level to keep these interesting and challenging. Enjoy!
Thanks Randy! I just spent nearly an hour feeling my way through improvising around the first lick. I'm just about finished
learning "Harlem Nocturne" so this lick is a perfect segue to start building my blues/jazz vocabulary.
Thanks Bluto! I'm trying to choose licks that have good "vocabulary" value. That way, in addition to training your ear, you're also picking up practical little bits of material that will hopefully expand your improv vocabulary. I'm glad to hear that you're putting the blues lick to good use.
Thanks GT and zonepeter- The great feedback is much appreciated! There are so many things you can do with these little licks in addition to just transcribing them. One of my favorite things is to analyze them against the chords, or in the case of the blues lick against the scale, then play them in all 12 keys. I've got lots more to come. Some of them are just common jazz vocabulary- others are taken from solos I've transcribed or just played. It's cool for me because I'm searching out these little gems, and hopefully expanding my own vocabulary in the process!
Thanks, Randy. Blues lick already done in 12 keys! Like I said, a great sound. I am trying to find different ways to work it in to my playing in various forms.
Zonepeter- That's great! I'm glad you're enjoying the lick! I've got lots more to come. Some will be blues licks, others bop or just standard improv vocabulary, but I hope they will all be fun whether you learn them in all keys or just take a quick shot at transcribing them.
I love the idea. I would like to see some more difficult material. Have you considered opening this up to allow other users to contribute riffs? I have a list of a couple dozen Michael Brecker riffs I intend to transcribe and would love to share them. And that's just a starting point. I would love to incorporate riffs from dozens of master sax players. Why not allow dozens of contributers to transcribe and share our favorite riffs with each other? My only question and concern is at what point, if any, would we be violating copyright law? My understanding is that the fair use clause allows copyrighted material to be shared for educational purposes as long as you only share a small percentage of the work as a whole.
If possible, I'd like to keep this thread a place where folks can go for the challenge of transcribing a lick. I'd like to keep the licks brief and based primarily on standard type vocabulary. I think an additional thread where folks share portions of transcriptions or even links to complete transcriptions would be a great idea. Of course, threads have a way of evolving.
+1. Keeping it simple is important, I think. Licks like these, once fully integrated, can lead to other ideas and can be embellished, etc.
I really like how you play it a couple of times, leave a quiet space for transposing, then play it again, all PRIOR to showing the written line. Very effective. One tiny suggestion; it might help to set the tempo or count it in to where you play the lick to help us play along with you.
Yeah a good idea, and interesting excercise.
Kinda like a tongue twister or quiz for musicians.
Especially useful for those like myself who can hear licks/runs in my head but have trouble finding the corresponding notes.
Thanks B Flat. I find that if I can learn to sing the passage I basically have it transcribed. At that point matching the pitches with my sax or keyboard is easy.
Ok I understand. No Michael Brecker riffs wanted here. But thanks for the great idea. I'm going to start another thread for that when I get around to it (hopefully in a week or 2).
Why not? Didn't he play any simple (which is not necessarily saying 'easy') ii-V licks or blues scale licks that can be used as motifs or further embellished, altered, etc? I bet you can find a lot of them he played.
It seems odd saying that Brecker "was" one of the greatest players ever. I've played and studied a number of Brecker transcriptions over the years. If anyone has examples or licks from any great players, please send them to me and if possible, I'll try to include some of them in my plans for future "Transcribe This Lick" videos.
I'm still working on internalising lick one in 12 keys. This one alone has heaps of learning points for me...
- it doesn't start or end on the root, where most of my phrases do
- it has a rhythmic difference to lots of other things I play which in hindsight are not as hip as this
- it uses the flat five, kind of implying a tritone sub sound
I have been doing much the same as Sax Punter. Also trying to change it up rhythmically and find a variety of different places to use the sound. it makes a good seed lick to start a soslo with too. Looking forward to the next one. (at this rate I'll be really far behind in no time).
Lick #3 is a common major scale lick. You've probably heard Dexter Gordon use this line. If you recognize it from other players, please mention them in your comments.
Suggestion - I notice that a lot of great players, I noticed it first with Trane, but probably was done much earlier, like to preface a note with a quick run up to it of an octave or more. Do you sometimes do that? Could it be codified as one or more licks ?
Transcribe This Lick #4 is the most challenging so far. This one is in the style of Sonny Rollins over a iii-VI-ii-V progression. I know some of you like the blues licks- there will be more. I'm just trying to mix up the difficulty level. Hope you enjoy the lick! Remember, you can stop and repeat the lick before seeing the answer if you'd like.
Transcribe This Lick #5 is a common minor scale lick you've probably heard in many solos. It works over minor 7 chords, ii-V's, and in a variety of styles- bop, swing, Latin... Be sure to subscribe to visit my YouTube channel for lots of sax tips and lessons.
Excellent! Very glad to hear you're still working with it. I think this process helps you build the ear, blend it with the intellect, develop fluency in different keys, build vocabulary, develop style... So many things.
This one is a pentatonic scale lick you should get a lot of mileage out of. Great for jazz, blues, or rock tunes. Check it out and let me know if you have any suggestions. I'll be putting together a new set of licks soon, so any ideas are much appreciated.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Sax on the Web Forum
3.3M posts
75.4K members
Since 2003
A forum community dedicated to saxophone players and enthusiasts originally founded by Harri Rautiainen. Come join the discussion about collections, care, displays, models, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!