Any good jazz musician will fall back on licks on occasion when really pushed, when unprepared, or when ideas just temporarily run dry.
These ‘fillers’ just come out by instinct and it’s important to minimize them. Not being afraid of space helps.

After a jazz instrumentalist learns a melody, the next thing to do is learn and understand the words so as to apply proper phrasing. Then take this technique into the soloing. Tell a story.


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