Learning the art of the jazz guitar solo is a worthy aspiration for many guitarists, but with all the information available on the Internet, it can be difficult to fully digest the material you’ve found on-line.

If you’ve been from lesson to lesson and site to site, learning lick after lick, and not feeling like you’re getting any more comfortable with improvisation, you’re not alone. One of the most common issues I encounter with my students is the sheer overwhelming volume of licks and solos available online. Learning lick after lick without knowing what to do next can make it difficult to truly progress as an improviser.

The good news is that the licks and material you’ve already learned throughout your travels on the web will not be wasted. After reading through this step-by-step instructional lesson you’ll finally be able to internalize and apply the licks you’ve already learned in order to create a great jazz guitar solo.

If you don’t know any jazz guitar licks yet, no problem, in this lesson I’ve included a series of licks from some of the greatest Jazz guitarists of all time to ensure that you get on the right track when it comes to learning licks off the web.

Let’s get started right away. This lesson will cover 4 exercises that you need to know in order to get the most out of lifting and learning licks on the guitar.

You can jump to each exercise through the menu below.

1) Learn each lick everywhere

Guitarists have a unique challenge on the instrument. Not only do we have to play in different keys, but we also have to play in different areas of the guitar. The sheer number of ways to play a tune or a lick on the guitar is staggering compared to most other instruments.

For every interesting lick, solo, melody or phrasing you hear and enjoy, learn how to play it everywhere on the guitar. In order to develop a true mastery of the instrument, or just avoid getting ‘stuck’ in certain areas of the guitar, it’s imperative that you learn licks on the guitar in as many ways as possible.

Let’s take a look at a Joe Pass lick over a minor II V I in C minor to begin. Use the tabs/notation as needed in combination with the video to get the exact rhythm and fingering (you’ll also find a button to download a PDF copy at the end of the lesson).

Before moving too far on the fretboard, see if you can find another way to play the lick in the same key (C minor), in the same position on the guitar. The example below takes the Joe Pass lick and lowers it down an octave in relatively the same position on the fretboard. Check out the video and tab below for all the information you need to play the Joe Pass lick an octave lower.

Next, you’ll play Pass’ lick in the same octave range as the original but in a different position on the guitar. Knowing each lick in multiple positions will allow you to keep your lines sounding smooth and allow you to incorporate ideas as you wish.

Now, you’ll start from the same 2 notes as the previous lick but change the position slightly. You’ll end playing the lick in the same octave range as the original but in an additional position.

The last position you’ll play the Joe Pass lick in is up near the 12th fret of the guitar. This version of the lick is an octave higher than the original, but contains the same notes in the same order using the same rhythm.

Finally, the ultimate challenge – both technically and for the ears – is to play the lick on a single string. Depending on the lick, you may be limited to certain strings for this exercise. If you run out of space working out this exercise using other licks or melodies, just move to the next higher or lower string and continue.

This lick takes place on the E string. Play the lick slowly at first. Make sure you can incorporate the rhythm slowly before increasing the tempo of the lick.

After covering 4 variations of the Joe Pass minor II V I lick, you’ll begin to see the scope and detail this exercise demands. We’ve covered 4 different variations, but there are many more ways to play a given lick on the guitar. Spend time determining further possibilities for playing this lick and every other lick you learn on the guitar.

Being on the lookout for new fingerings and ways to play material will strengthen the relationship between mind and instrument like nothing else!

2) Transcribe the Rhythm from Solos

Rhythm is arguably the most important element of Jazz music. Without a keen sense of rhythm, there would be no swing or straight, ballad or up-tempo tunes.

Keeping in mind that rhythm is a defining feature of not only Jazz, but all music, it only makes sense that looking at the rhythmic approach of great jazz guitar soloists would yield invaluable results.

The jazz guitar solo excerpt in this example is from one of the greatest jazz guitarists of all time, Wes Montgomery.

The lick takes place over an Ebm7 chord and focuses on Ebm7 arpeggio chord tones and extensions. Listen to the video and read the tabs to get an idea for the lick and the rhythm.

In looking at the lick and playing through it, observe the recurring rhythmic pattern of an eighth note followed by a triplet figure every 2 beats.

Now, if you forget about everything but the rhythm, you’ll end up with the example below – a purely rhythmic representation of the Wes Montgomery lick.

There are a few different ways you can internalize the rhythm before beginning to form licks. I recommend playing along to a metronome and either clapping the rhythm or picking a single note on the guitar. Once you can play the rhythm at a number of different tempos between slow and up-tempo, start filling in the blanks with notes.

The next step after internalizing the rhythm from Wes’ lick is to apply new note choices. The original lick takes place over an Ebm7 chord using arpeggios in the Ebm7 chord and certain extensions, so you’ll start by using similar note choices.

The Ebm7 chord contains chord tones – Eb Gb Bb and Db

The two links below will take you to the corresponding m7 resource pages if you need any further information. m7 arpeggios m7 chords

The lick below is an example of what could happen if you combined notes of the Ebm7 arpeggio with the rhythm from Wes’ lick.

However, using the Wes rhythm is not limited to playing over only Ebm7 chords. You can apply the rhythm from Montgomery’s lick to any key or chord progression. Here’s a further example of using the same rhythm over a II V I progression in Db major.

Before moving on, here’s a quick review of what you need to do in order to learn licks from a rhythmic perspective:

Isolate the rhythm of the lick – You can clap or simply play the rhythm on a single string until it can be played fluidly. Apply similar notes to the rhythm that were found in the original lick – Don’t try to be too complex right away; mix and match arpeggio and scale notes to create a lick with the same rhythm. If the original lick features a G7 arpeggio, start by playing notes in the G7 arpeggio. Stretch out – Start playing the rhythm over different chords, and finally chord progressions. The mileage you’ll get out of a few great rhythms is astronomical. Your lick vocabulary will sky rocket by working from rhythms.

3) Check for Harmony and Patterns

Harmonic analysis of a jazz guitar solo or lick will help to fine tune your solos. Start by analyzing a lick note-for-note relative to the given chord changes. Look for any recurring themes that emerge in note selection, whether it be a scale pattern, arpeggio pattern, specific chord tones or chromatic notes. Analyze every note in the solo then see if you can apply what you’ve learned to create new lines.

Get started by playing through the Barney Kessel solo excerpt below. Written above each note is the chord tone which the note corresponds to. The lick itself takes place over a II V I progression in Eb major and features a number of chord tones.

Analyzing the note choices in the Kessel solo excerpt indicates that chord tones were used extensively in combination with a few passing notes and chord extensions. The highlighted section of the solo is a neat melodic pattern that we’ll take a deeper look at in a moment.

Using a similar contour as the original lick and chord tones from each chord, you can construct licks in a similar style. The lick below shows an example of borrowing notes from the original lick to create a new lick. In the new lick you’ll be focusing on mainly the R, 3, 5 and 7 of each chord in the II V I progression in Eb major.

Try working out different combinations of chord tones to create your own Barney Kessel inspired licks. You can even change the rhythm up if you’d like, but keep the focus on hitting similar chord tones for this exercise.

After your finished here, I recommend checking out this lesson on the approach note technique in order to continue your studies in soloing with chord tones.

Finally, let’s get back to that melodic pattern that was highlighted in the original Barney Kessel lick. In every great jazz guitarist’s repertoire, you’ll find hundreds of little melodic and harmonic patterns that appear again and again in their playing.

A large part of a guitarist’s playing style can be derived from a complex combination of small patterns. Pick up the patterns you hear and enjoy and come up with your own as well.

The lick below features the same melodic pattern highlighted in the first Barney Kessel lick, but this time you’ll repeat it over each chord in the II V I progression.

Generally, you wouldn’t play a single melodic pattern again and again over the period of an entire solo. However, once you practice enough melodic patterns and come up with your own, you’ll have created an engaging and unique soloing style.

The benefit of pulling small fragments from jazz guitar Greats is often over looked, but is one of the most effective ways of improving your improvisational ability (especially if you play these fragments in all areas of the guitar as you did in the first exercise).

4) Play in all 12 Keys

The last and one of the most important things you can do on the instrument is to take a musical idea through all 12 keys. Playing music in all 12 keys is not only beneficial to your understanding of the fretboard and music theory, but also your ears.

Using a Jim Hall solo excerpt from a II V I progression, you’ll develop an easy method for transposing licks.

Start by playing through the Jim Hall lick below. Be sure to use the notation and video to check your accuracy.

If you’re unable to transpose to a different key by ear, don’t worry, that will come with practice and listening. For now, you can determine the correct notes of the Jim Hall lick in a different key with a bit of analysis.

Firstly, you’ll need to know the chord progression that goes with the lick in all 12 keys. I’ve included a list below of the II V I progression in all 12 keys. If you’re unfamiliar with any of the progressions, work towards memorizing the complete list.

Key iim7 V7 Imaj7 C Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 F Gm7 C7 Fmaj7 Bb Cm7 F7 Bbmaj7 Eb Fm7 Bb7 Ebmaj7 Ab Bbm7 Eb7 Abmaj7 Db Ebm7 Ab7 Dbmaj7 Gb Abm7 Db7 Gbmaj G Am7 D7 Gmaj7 D Em7 A7 Dmaj7 A Bm7 E7 Amaj7 E F#m7 B7 Emaj7 B C#m7 F#7 Bmaj7

Next, you can work out each note in a new key based off the original analysis of the key. Included is another list of the analysis of the Jim Hall lick in some of the 12 keys. Take another look at the original lick and check out the analysis of each note written above the staff to review the analysis.

If you write out the lick and the relative chord progression on paper you get this:

b3 4 5 b7 13 5 R 13 5 3 9 R b7 3 Cm7 ————– ————– F7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Bbmaj7 Eb F G Bb D C F D C A G F Eb D

The first row in the chart above displays the chord tones that each note in the lick correspond to. The second row indicates the chord changes of the II V I progression in the given key (Bb major) and the third row shows the actual notes of the lick in the appropriate key.

So, if your new to transposition you can write out each key in the same manner as the chart above to get started.

Continue transposing by playing the Jim Hall lick through the keys of C and Eb major.

Jim Hall lick in C major

You can use the chart below as a reference to see how the notes in the key of C were determined.

b3 4 5 b7 13 5 R 13 5 3 9 R b7 3 Dm7 ————– ————– G7 ————– ————– ————– ———- ———- Cmaj7 F G A C E D G E D B A G F E

Jim Hall lick in Eb major

Moving on, play through the same Jim Hall lick, but this time in Eb major. Again, you can reference the chart below to see how the notes for lick were determined.

b3 4 5 b7 13 5 R 13 5 3 9 R b7 3 Fm7 ————– ————– Bb7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Ebmaj7 Ab Bb C Eb G F Bb G F D C Bb Ab G

Once you’ve played the Jim Hall lick in the Bb, C and Eb major, take the lick through even more keys. Use the chart as a quick reference to determine the notes of the lick in all 12 keys. Even if you have to constantly refer to the chart to determine the notes, you’ll still be training your ears to get the rhythm, and your mind to determine the locations on the fretboard.

The charts can only help determine the correct notes for lick, they cannot help with positioning or rhythm. Use your ears to determine the rhythm for the Jim Hall lick in other keys and look for as many positions as possible to play the lick in.

b3 4 5 b7 13 5 R 13 5 3 9 R b7 3 Dm7 ————– ————– G7 ————– ————– ————– ———- ———- ———- Cmaj7 F G A C E D G E D B A G F E Gm7 ————– ————– C7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Fmaj7 Bb C D F A G C A G E D C Bb A Cm7 ————– ————– F7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Bbmaj7 Eb F G Bb D C F D C A G F Eb D Fm7 ————– ————– Bb7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Ebmaj7 Ab Bb C Eb G F Bb G F D C Bb Ab G Bbm7 ————– ————– Eb7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Abmaj7 Db Eb F Ab C Bb Eb C Bb G F Eb Db C Ebm7 ————– ————– Ab7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Dbmaj7 Gb Ab Bb Db F Eb Ab F Eb C Bb Ab Gb F Abm7 ————– ————– Db7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Gbmaj7 Cb Db Eb Gb Bb Ab Db Bb Ab F Eb Db Cb Bb Am7 ————– ————– D7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Gmaj7 C D E G B A D B A F# E D C B Em7 ————– ————– A7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Dmaj7 G A B D F# E A F# E C# B A G F# Bm7 ————– ————– E7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Amaj7 D E F# A C# B E C# B G# F# E D C# F#m7 ————– ————– B7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Emaj7 A B C# E G# F# B G# F# D# C# B A G# C#m7 ————– ————– F#7 ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– ————– Bmaj7 E F# G# B D# C# F# D# C# A# G# F# E D#

What next?

Take each of the 4 jazz guitar lick exercises covered in this lesson and apply them to every lick you know. It may take a while, but the benefit is immense.

Want to check out 141 more licks? Follow this link to learn more Jazz guitar licks.

Please feel free to leave a comment in the space below and let me know what you think about the lesson.

You can also let me know how you approach learning licks or solos, I’d love to hear from you.