Jazz Phrasing - 3 Simple Things That Make You Sound Better

Jazz Phrasing is a difficult topic to learn. You probably know the feeling of trying to come up or with lines and then even though you know the notes are right it is impossible to get it to sound like jazz phrasing.
In this jazz phrasing guitar lesson, I am going to show you some things that you need to be aware of when trying to come up with lines and which will help you jazz phrasing really a lot. One thing that is really interesting about this is that it is possible to write jazz licks that really cannot phrase well.
This is about how you play the notes and a little about which notes you play, and for me, it was really a huge part of getting my bop lines to sound good.
Check out the Bebop Secret • Bebop Magic - One Of T...
Why You Need To Learn Bebop Themes If You Want To Play Jazz
• Bebop Vocabulary - Mak...
The 3 Bebop Licks You Need To Know
• The 3 Bebop Licks You ...
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Content:
00:00 Intro
00:21 #1 Take Control of the Note
02:04 #2 This Is Why It Is Called Bebop
02:53 3 Exercises To Help You Play "Bebop"
04:13 Why I Made This Video
04:34 #3 The Secret To Great 8th Note Lines
05:03 Exercises That Bring Out Important Notes
06:58 What You Should Really Learn From The Masters
07:25 Bebop Magic
07:40 Like the video? Check out my Patreon page!
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My name is Jens Larsen, Danish Jazz Guitarist, and Educator. The videos on this channel will help you explore and enjoy Jazz. Some of it is how to play jazz guitar, but other videos are more on Music Theory like Jazz Chords or advice on how to practice and learn Jazz, on guitar or any other instrument.
The videos are mostly jazz guitar lessons and music theory, analysis of songs, and videos on jazz guitars.
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[@JensLarsen]

Who has the best phrasing: The greatest Jazz sound? Check out the Bebop Secret kzbin.info/www/bejne/qKbIe3p5iNh6odE

[@delpanos]

Grant Green is the man !

[@eternalrainbow-cj3iu]

@@delpanos Time dosn' exist so in amutipl univese.wr are able to fid hypthetically are noadays Grant Green...

[@bobartur1386]

I’m always impressed with the way you explain complex concepts in extremely simple way. Thanks a lot!

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! Glad it was helpful!

[@captainkoo]

Yes, and he keeps them lean, short and efficient.

[@ilyatishchenkov6501]

It's pure magic how those little videos literally turn into hours of my exciting guitar exploration, when the practice routine used to be so dull not so long ago! And I've never really been into jazz... yet! Thank you, Jens!

[@JensLarsen]

Great! Go for it :)

[@lastofthe4horsemen279]

Lots of low key humor in this one Jens.love it .So glad I've found your channel

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@ReallyDudeYouGottaHearThis]

Rythym is paramount…and the length of a note is just as important as when the note started. Excellent lesson and a great teacher. He is breaking down concepts that took me years to figure out on my own.

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you liked the video 🙂

[@RealinDealer]

Loving the comedic aspect. You're quite the funny man. As well as a top player and teacher!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you Joseph 🙂

[@Domitianvs]

"Real time sudoku" is a great way of describing what I feel when I try to improvise over complex chord changes that I haven't practiced before!

[@JensLarsen]

But then again, you should practice towards not being in that situation 🙂

[@dickranmarsupial4911]

I have watched quite a lot of your videos and I usually don't take anything from them, as I don't really want to sound like previous famous jazz players as a major aim. But this video opened doors for me - with simple explanations of factors/guidelines that make a huge difference! Thanks!

[@GordonZoot]

Jazz Club! - Why did you have to show that clip? This will set back my guitar practicing - I haven't seen The Fast Show for many years, so I simply must waste hours trawling through KZbin to find some episodes of this great comedy show :)

[@JensLarsen]

Well, It is hard to consider that a waste of time though :)

[@Dang...]

Well done. Very nice, clear, concise! Thank you Jens!

[@Fitzliputzli23]

Most teachers explain simple things in a complicated way. You explain complicated things in a simple way.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you very much 🙂 That really makes my day

[@kilterkaos1]

I love how you made clear it wasn’t Pat Martino in that video clip. Back in the 80s I became a fan of Pat Martino after hearing him on the local college radio show out of Oxford Ohio. The shows host was Mama Jazz. You’ll have to look her up, she’s an interesting person Who introduced a lot of people to jazz. Me being one of them. Because back in the 80s I was into Ted Nugent, Black Sabbath, AC/DC etc. etc.

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! I put that in there because the audio is Pat Martino, but I am sure that the video I am talking about and that I watched wasn't Pat Martino :)

[@willy1986tralara]

We love you Jens. Thanks for sharing

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like the videos 🙂

[@adhoc37]

Great explanations to useful techniques. Valuable stuff. Glad I support Jens on Patreon so he can make more 'valuable' material from which we can all learn.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you Fabian! :)

[@simonfivez2947]

This is a very very VERY valuable lesson, and great video!! Something I currently need to work on A LOT! Thanks Jens :)

[@JensLarsen]

Go for it! It is indeed tricky to work on :)

[@piggel6185]

Can't help but notice the beautiful Yamaha SG in the background. Excellent video and awesome collection

[@Schoensgibl]

AMAZING Input! Please keep on going - I'm really impressed!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you 🙂

[@jamsessionemmusicademartor8288]

Excelent video lesson. For free!!! Thanks, Jens!

[@eliaschecco]

Loved the BE-BOP bit!

[@ukulelechriswilson]

Yes of course. That good work. Thank you.

[@JensLarsen]

Go for it :)

[@andreaszeug3692]

high note on the offbeat is a very good hint ! thx

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it 🙂

[@zeppelinfan9360]

Congratulations on 300,000 subscribers. Well deserved my friend; thank you for all you do.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you 🙂

[@Raggo12345]

Loved the Be-Bop explanation! Humorous, too! :D

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! 😃

[@benmalone6139]

Thanks so much Jens.

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was helpful 🙂

[@biniky3033]

Excellent teacher and good sense of humor. Thank you for your generosity

[@JensLarsen]

You are very welcome

[@PsyJaye]

Thanks Jens - you always break it down nicely & this session was made for me at this moment... Peace

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you find it useful 🙂

[@larrydickman1094]

Excellent explanation of what we are hearing and feeling when we (try to) play jazz. Cheers!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it!

[@regularguitar93]

Amazing as always

[@JensLarsen]

You're very welcome! I am glad you like it! 🙂

[@eternalrainbow-cj3iu]

Nice exanpke...Very conprsedinto 8 minutes...so Well well done Jens!!!!!!!!!

[@microwavememes]

0 dislikes, as it should be. Wonderful explanation 👌

[@JensLarsen]

Haha! Thanks (I am sure that will change though :D )

[@benkatof4240]

So good, so simple - yet a bit elusive. I like that you are talking about this in terms of practice, because a good chunk of my practice was without real phrasing. I've changed this, but if 1/3 of my practice is scales/arpeggios, and i practice them with little thought of phrasing, it's no surprise my playing would reflect that.

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks Ben! Sounds like you are on the right track :)

[@lastofthe4horsemen279]

Jens that 1 one.yes eye opening

[@GregoryPearsonMusic]

Great practical tips!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you think so!

[@galarius]

Great lesson on approach, an intense discipline that really ties it all together

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you very much 🙂

[@carlosalcala1004]

I like the exercises about bebop. Thanks Jens

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! That's great to hear! :)

[@comaranagroove2347]

I see you as a great teacher. I subscribed with pleasure. I have almost the same problems you had and I have it much more clear when you explain. Hope It will help me. I love the way Jim Hall playes you'd be nice to come home to with chat and Desmond

[@JensLarsen]

Awesome, thank you!

[@davidtardio9804]

HE'S TALKING ABOUT ME EVERYONE!!!!! AGGGGHHH!!!! And what is funny is that I've even played that short ii V from Wes' 4 on 6 all over the neck :) But seriously, I agree with your assessment of my playing on the Jazz Guitar Roadmap - it is very important to get the rhythm and accents better when trying to play jazz. Thank you very much for your input. I am enjoying the course immensely.

[@JensLarsen]

Haha, well I am also talking about myself

[@xoxb2]

Thank you - your opening spiel summed up exactly my thoughts! Why doesn't it ever sound like jazz, even when I follow the tab! V helpful lesson.

[@JensLarsen]

You are very welcome 🙂 Been there done that

[@FrancezcoVai]

thanks! this will help me a lot! i’m working on my solo “improvisation” of “take de A train”

[@JensLarsen]

Great! Looking forward to hearing it 🙂

[@taufiqallegra]

Great lessons and thank you from Indonesia 🇮🇩

[@JensLarsen]

You're very welcome! I am glad you like it! 🙂

[@j.r.goldman3279]

I am gonna try adding that extra note to end on the off beat. Thanks

[@JensLarsen]

Go for it :)

[@j.r.goldman3279]

@@JensLarsen TY Jens It does create the Be Bop endings. Great ;lessons. TY

[@preitydaang8238]

You are one of the best guitarist.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you 🙂

[@preitydaang8238]

@@JensLarsen always welcome

[@dalefrary]

Great ideas, thanks

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like them!

[@michaelstevens8]

Outstanding video Jens. Tone, Rhythm, Phrasing and Vocabulary are critical. I like to think of Phrasing as a combination of Articulation, Dynamics, and Embellishments. Some of the best Phrasing on Guitar are Johnny Smith, Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino, John Abercrombie, John Scofield and Pat Metheny. In particular with Abercrombie, Scofield and Metheny, their Phrasing is sometimes called 50/50 Phrasing or Articulation in which they approximately pick half of the notes and slur half of the notes of a phrase. Although they are absolutely NOT dogmatic about it. Thanks.

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it, Michael! Yes phrasing comes in many interpretations and all of those are great :)

[@hogpsking33]

Your editing has gotten a lot funnier. I love it.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you 🙂

[@kishisuu5049]

2:55 wisely walkin

[@mattycee5412]

Great advice

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it 🙂

[@paulmoore7964]

this is so rarely mentioned, the rhythmic side of bebop (or any jazz genre)

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like the video 🙂

[@siemekkisiel8963]

You are amazing!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like the video 🙂

[@siemekkisiel8963]

@@JensLarsen More lesson like this.

[@frankvaleron]

Thanks Jens, these récent tips videos are all excellent. It's now quite hard to play without hearing your disembodied head saying bebop though! Time will tell whether this is a good thing...

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! Yeah, sorry if I ruined Jazz for you :D

[@frankvaleron]

@@JensLarsen you've improved it 👍 I'm consciously thinking 'bebop' as I sit here playing and I prefer what I'm playing now. I'm cutting out the long note on the 1 of the I chord and turning it into a static 'bebop' 1&, either there or on the 3&. It sounds more like Cannonball already in my own modest way!

[@JensLarsen]

@@frankvaleron Great! :)

[@brahimtlili9816]

Hi Jens thank you for your clear explanations very helpful. Big hello rom PARIs. Brahim.

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was helpful Brahim!!! 🙂

[@sigiriabeysekara8723]

Thanks

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it!

[@paulhicks3595]

I think the aim is to make lovely, intelligent, music that may well incorporate jazz theory but not have all those usual, obvious, jazz tropes. Sometimes the worst thing that can happen to a great tune is that it gets ‘ jazzified’.

[@JensLarsen]

I think so too, but what you describe can then also be seen as superficial, lacking real substance and fake. That is really up to the taste of the listener. I don't think there is an objective definition of what lovely intelligent music is, to some people Duran Duran and Steely Dan sound the same.

[@paulhicks3595]

@@JensLarsen I love the idea of a kind of Stealth Jazz where the aficionado is stimulated and satisfied and his jazz loathing friends enjoy it oblivious to the sublime cleverness.

[@JensLarsen]

@@paulhicks3595 That sounds like a description of smooth jazz to me, which I personally don't like, but you should do what you want to do.

[@paulhicks3595]

@@JensLarsen not what I mean at all, not that there’s anything wrong with that. A good example would be Steely Dan, which my partner even went to see with me and enjoyed to a degree and Mike Stern which she walked out of and was very pissed off about. If you share a house with others and don’t want to wear earphones all day you need to find quality music that also has a breadth of appeal. For instance, my teenage kids loath anything they suspect is Jazz Fusion, which cancels out a large part of my collection.

[@JensLarsen]

@@paulhicks3595 Steely dan is indeed an example of what I mean as well :D

[@jazzguy68]

Jens, another fantastic lesson one on of the important things to consider when developing a bebop jazz language. How do you compare gypsy jazz guitar phrasing with bebop?

[@JensLarsen]

I am not an expert on Gypsy Jazz, but it seems heavier to me and a little less syncopated.

[@voronOsphere]

Thanks, Jens! I somehow became UNSUBSCRIBED. I saw you commenting on Sean Daniels' KZbin Algorithms Situation Video today. I clicked on your channel and that's when I noticed! Great Lesson here! Thanks! I just RE-SUBSCRIBED and I hit that BELL!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you 🙂

[@jamessidney2851]

Hey Jens. With regard to 8th notes, I have heard a few great older players complain about how “kids these days” just play nothing but 8th notes, 8th notes, 8th notes. What do you make of this? Is there something in the current pedagogy, or even just the current style of jazz guitar playing that has given students the idea that all 8th notes all the time is a good way to solo? I have been to a few jam sessions that are attended by mostly younger players (college level) and man it’s kind of true that they will often take entire choruses of 8th notes. In the book Joe Pass Guitar Style, Joe specifically says you should practice your blues using constant 8th notes so that you will develop the facility of being able to play with fluidity at all times. But we all know that nobody really plays straight 8th notes through a blues. Charlie Parker would go on runs of 8th notes for a measure or two, but he was all about those interesting places to start and stop, breaking up his phrases in surprising ways. Maybe being able to play an entire solo of constant 8th notes (which does demonstrate a certain level of mastery) is like a level of playing that we have to pass through on our journey? Kind of like the way they say you have to learn theory then forget it. Or something. What do you think? What is your own relationship with 8th notes? And if making a solo of mostly 8th notes is a thing, isn’t it time to talk about accents? I’d love to hear your thoughts about accenting. It’s a big topic that horn players talk about a lot. We can do it too. Don’t know if I’ve ever seen a Jens video on that, but I’m sure you have some good insights.

[@JensLarsen]

My thoughts on accenting are actually in this video and also in many of my other phrasing videos as it is an important topic. I would say that "the kids these days" who play 8th notes all the time are people like Joe Pass and Pat Martino, more so than the jazz guys of the last 30 years? In general, we have become much better at educating people in Jazz and one of the last things to be added is probably rhythm. I wouldn't describe trends in Jazz on how a few nervous 1st year students perform at a jam-session. I can't see how that really describes anything to be honest.

[@robertdouglas4293]

Thanks, I could be wrong, my endings are still resolution, but unexpected, I change everything , A springboard for the listener to want more.

[@JensLarsen]

I don't think of it like that with this, just whether it really sounds like a bop line

[@jakelevantmusic4975]

Jens Buddy, can you expand on Johnny Smith's ( Walk don't run ) the original. I would love to hear your take on the piece

[@JensLarsen]

At the moment, I am not doing the videos on specific artists. I did for a year but there was very little interest so it was not worth the 10-12 hours of work to make the video

[@jakelevantmusic4975]

@@JensLarsen I hey man I get IT. I dig your stuff, figured you'd be interested in something like that. There's very few vids on that particular version. I suggested you bc you brk stuff dwn in a way most don't. You actually explain opposed to showing the lines/ arpeggios/ i.e. themes etc. You provide context in short. Thanks man.

[@paulmullen2620]

I'm struggling with the melodic use of chord tones that go beyond a 7th chord in some of the video examples. I understand where they fit in with the harmony, I just struggle to think "that's okay to use" when trying to write a line over a given chord. How do I stop feeling stuck with just the root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th?

[@JensLarsen]

Find some examples of melodies that have those notes? You can go through solos of whoever you like or go through the melodies in a realbook just to get an impression of the sound.

[@rockychieng88]

Best jazz phrasing is simple jazz solo like Miles Davis.

[@JensLarsen]

Certainly solid stuff!

[@emmanuelguiang7071]

from AX8 to FM3

[@JensLarsen]

Yes!

[@justanothernguyen2334]

4:54 haha thought so

[@hansbendixen5430]

Jens barbosa : " besides they arent really rules more like guidelines". the guitar code .

[@JensLarsen]

Exactly :) I was just watching that movie with my sons

[@ivo5630]

2:43 But in that case wouldn't be upbeat instead of off beat? The phrase ends on the 1&, neither on the 2 nor 4

[@JensLarsen]

No, off beat is the same as what you call upbeat

[@ivo5630]

@@JensLarsen Thanks! terminology could be tricky sometimes haha

[@tonyfaelens3626]

Ringing out the notes , from playing rock music in the past ? Peace .

[@JensLarsen]

I think long notes are common in more genres than Rock? :D

[@tonyfaelens3626]

Jens , i know that , i was playing rock , in de past , and to this day , i let to many notes ring out , so for me it is from rock . Early influencers Frank Zappa and Neil Young ( Electric playing ) , weird combination , i know .

[@enricosenno7767]

Salt peanuts...salt peanuts

[@JensLarsen]

Exactly :)

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Baad Haabit. 😂

[@JensLarsen]

🙏😄

[@davidfreel1451]

Or simply listen to what you play.

[@JensLarsen]

In my experience that usually takes training to learn to hear.