II v i jazz lick #1

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D‹7 G7 C C

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D‹7 G7 C

Ex.1

D‹7 G7 C

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C Major II-V-I progression

Scott Devine

II-V-I Jazz Lick #1 (L#24)

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D minor 7

arpeggios (chord tones)

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G dominant 7

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c major 7

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Fingering

Tab adapted for 4 string bass

4 2 1 4

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2 1 4 2

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2 1 4 2

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01:08

Ii-v-i jazz lick

"the 7th note of the dminor chord resolves"the 7th note of the dminor chord resolves

down a semitone to the third of the g7" down a semitone to the third of the g7"

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"Practice playing the lick an octave higher, then experiement with the rhythm""Practice playing the lick an octave higher, then experiement with the rhythm"

V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V

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D‹7 G7 C

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Within this lesson I’m demonstrating the 3rd to 7th resolution over a II V I

chord sequence. You will find this little harmonic device hidden among

many of the great jazz solos. I suggest playing it slowly to begin with.

then, when you are confident with the fingerings start to introduce

different rhythms to the lick. essentially the notes stay the same, only the

rhythm and phrasing change. It’s better to try these exercises over a

backing track, then you can hear how your rhythmical choices effect the

overall sound of the lick. If you follow this link you’ll be able to access the

backing track I used for the video.

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Copyright © 2013 Scott’s Bass Lessons

II V I Jazz Lick #1 (L#24)

Your Action plan

1. Once you get this lick under your fingers and can playit at different tempos with ease, it's a great idea tomake sure you can play it in multiple key signatures.In fact, you really need to be able to play it in all 12keys.

I recommend getting a simple II V I backing track (in all 12 keys) and make sure you feel comfortable playing in each key and can visualize the harmony upon the fingerboard as you're playing through the lick. By this, I mean you should always aim to see the surrounding arpeggio notes around the lick - not just the notes you're playing.

2. You should try and use the lick within a soloingcontext. Pick a key center, for instance C major.When soloing over a II V I in the key of C major (Dm7,G7, Cmaj7), you can simply use the C major scale overthe entire sequence. The downside to doing this isthat it can sound like you're simply running up anddown the scale aimlessly without any harmonicdirection.

Copyright © 2013 Scott’s Bass Lessons

To solve this issue, every 8 bars or so try and fit in this II V I lick into your improvisation. Each time you do so, try and phrase the lick slightly differently (as I demonstrate within the video tutorial). I wouldn't recommend doing this on a gig (at least not with the same II V I lick anyway), but it's a fantastic exercise that will really push the soloing side of your bass playing, and ultimately give you more control over your soloing.

3. Learning how to phrase licks differently on the fly is agreat practice tool. I want you to take the phrasingidea I present within the video tutorial where I phrasethe lick in different ways and come up with at least 3more of your own. After you have three differentphrasing ideas try and apply them to step 2 and usethem in conjunction within an improvisation.

Scott Devine