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))) I must confess I dont learn many 'licks', I do learn tunes, is there a difference?

Yes, there is a big difference. A lick or riff is just a phrase, that's not part of the melody. It is part of the solo. It is typically 1 to 4 bars long.




Okay, but you can break down most tunes into repeated licks that are sequenced or paraphrased. Think through the phrases that make up the tune 'All The Things You Are'. It's easy to see how these short riffs are strung together in call and response fashion.
From that angle, a tune could be seen as it's composer's way of developing licks; a sort of frozen or distilled improvisation if you like. Improvisation conversely is like a molten or instant form of composition where you're working out the thematic development on the spot.

I think the idea that tunes are primarily chord progressions over which you play licks that are nothing to do with the melody was one of the reasons that jazz moved beyond standards and towards more open self-composed forms that obliged the improvisor to know the tune and solo thematically. Think of how hard it is to improvise on many of Thelonious Monk or Wayne Shorter's more difficult tunes without knowing the tune and just running the chords. It doesn't work. You have to think of the implications of the melody and factor them in when you're soloing

Regards

Alan

Last edited by alan S.; 04/17/13 06:53 AM.