Jazz Trumpet Licks

Here is a very easy to learn major triad pair that is a tritone apart. This Jazz pattern is useful over modal tunes and Jazz breaks. There really isn’t any set pattern for this major triad tritone pattern. You simply can just mess around with the Jazz pattern until you find something that works for you.

Here is a sound sample played on trumpet:

How to memorize this Jazz pattern in 12 keys:

Since there are 2 triad pairs, you will only have to memorize the Jazz pattern in 6 keys. Technically, since one of the triads repeats itself, you will really only have to learn this Jazz lick in 3 keys (but backwards). As you can see, this Jazz pattern is simply major triads, which I’m going to assume you have your major triads down by now. Then you just go up a tritone and do another major triad.

If you are not familiar with what a tritone substitution is, I’ll go over it real quick. In the above example I start on a C major triad, then I go up a tritone (#4th or a b5th above C) to F# major. After that I go back to C major triad. That’s all there is to it.