Jazz Trumpet Licks

I got this ii V7 I Jazz lick from David Baker’s How to Play Bebop – Volume 1 book. Lots of great bebop licks in that book, highly recommended, you won’t be disappointed in all the nice Jazz licks you’ll learn from it. Anyway, this ii V7 I lick starts off with the bebop scale and finishes with a diminished pattern landing on the tonic of the I chord.

Here is a sound sample played on trumpet:

How to memorize this ii V7 I lick in 12 keys:

Just know that it starts on the tonic of the bebop scale you will be playing, or you can just think tonic of the key you are in on the ii V7 I Jazz lick. The lick goes up to the 3rd of the bebop scale you are currently on, then goes down the bebop scale until you land on the 5th. Next, you’ll switch to a diminished stacked 3rd approach. In the above example it starts on C#.

What is a minor 3rd above C#? That’s right, E. What is a minor 3rd below C#? That’s right, Bb or A#, however you want to memorize it. Do you see the pattern here? The lick simply finishes off going down stacked minor thirds until you land on the tonic (1st position) of the I chord.

In my experience, some keys are easier than others. But this is a nice Jazz lick to have in your back pocket whenever you see the need for it.

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This bebop exercise or calisthenic, will help you in developing your use of arpeggios into your improvisation skills. The bebop exercise goes up the dominant scale with a half step before each arpeggio. Once you get the pattern down, you’ll be able to incorporate the pattern into a Jazz lick you can use to start bebop licks off with.

I also think it’s important to let you know where I got this bebop exercise from. I got this bebop exercise from The Be Boppers Method Book Volume I with CD. This Method book has a lot of great practice material and bebop licks to work on.

Here is a sound sample played on trumpet:

How to memorize the bebop exercise in 12 keys:

The half step between each arpeggio is what makes this harder to learn than most exercises, every thing else is within the bebop or dominant scale. The exercise just repeats itself over and over going up the dominant scale one note at a time. Once you start incorporating the pattern into your solos you can start on any note when starting off your Jazz licks. This is a lot easier because you will generally only play one arpeggio of the bebop pattern above.

You’ll notice in my video demonstration that a doodled a little bit. I like to doodle in every key to help build my technique in every key. This helps me break away from being only comfortable in certain keys. The only way you can get better in keys you don’t normally play in, is by practicing in those keys.

**Disclaimer – An Amazon affiliate link is used in this post.