Jazz phrasing comes from more than choosing the right scale. Rhythm, chord tones, chromatic movement, articulation, and the way a phrase crosses the beat can all change how a line sounds.

In this lesson, we’ll look at nine concepts you can use to develop stronger melodic lines, with notation and audio examples to help you hear each one.

The 9 concepts we’ll be covering are:

1. Playing with swing feel
2. Using chord tones
3. Playing over the bar line by anticipating notes
4. Using the bebop scale
5. Using chromatic notes
6. Using approach notes
7. Using triplets
8. Using articulations (i.e. slides, staccato notes)
9. Transcribing
   
   

The following examples are based on playing over a Major 7 chord. Skip here if you already know what a Major 7 chord is.

What is a Major 7 chord?

A Major 7 chord has the chord tones 1, 3, 5, and 7. Chord tones are the notes that outline the structure and quality of a chord. You can think of these chord tones as the scale degrees which come from the Major scale. Major 7th chords are frequently heard in jazz and r&b styles of music.

In this lesson, we will only focus on playing over a C Major 7 chord which has the notes C, E, G, and B.

To learn how to play this chord, check out 7 ways to play a C Major 7 chord on guitar.

Here is how you can play a C Major 7 arpeggio on the guitar in two octaves. (Check the numbers above the notes to help your fingering on the fretting hand.)

You can check out this other lesson to learn how to play Major 7 arpeggios on guitar.

1. Playing with swing feel

One of the biggest characteristics of jazz is the feel of the rhythm. We usually think of eight notes as equally spaced out and divided in between strong beats (meaning beats 1, 2, 3, 4). But in jazz, the eight notes in between strong beats are slightly delayed which creates the ‘swing’ feel. 

In contrast, we would call equally divided beats as ‘straight time’. This straight time is what we are used to hearing in modern pop and rock music so it may take some time get used to a swing feel if you aren’t familiar with it.

A useful starting point is to think of swing 8th notes like the first and last notes of an 8th-note triplet. The exact feel can vary depending on the tempo and style, so listen closely to the audio example rather than treating the triplet spacing as a strict rule.

Try counting triplets out load as ‘1, 2, 3’ repeatedly but emphasize the 1 and 3. This is would give you the effect of swing 8th notes where your 1 is a strong beat and 3 is the eight note in between a strong beat.

As you can see, the eight notes in between strong beats are slightly delayed as opposed to being equally divided between strong beats. Check out this first example to hear what this rhythm sounds like.

Roadmap practice: Play the first example once with straight 8th notes and once with swing feel. Keep the notes the same and listen to how changing only the rhythm affects the phrase.

2. Use chord tones

Chord tones give your phrase a clear connection to the harmony underneath it. Over C Major 7, those notes are C, E, G, and B.

You can still use other scale notes, but landing on chord tones at important points in the phrase helps the line follow the chord instead of sounding like a scale exercise.

Roadmap practice: Create a short phrase over C Major 7 and end it on either E, G, or B. Repeat the phrase with a different chord tone as your ending note and listen to how each resolution feels.

3. Play over the bar line by anticipating notes 

Another way to create forward motion is to anticipate the next measure. Instead of waiting for beat 1, a note from the next idea can begin on the “and” of beat 4.

Take a look at how this following example uses the anticipated notes on the ‘and’ of beat 4. 

4. Using the bebop scale

Bebop refers to the jazz era characterized by players like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk. There is a kind of musical vocabulary that emerged from this era but it continues to be used and developed in modern jazz.

One Major bebop scale adds the b6 between the 5th and 6th degrees: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, b6, 6, 7. This is the same note collection you studied earlier as the Barry Harris Major 6 diminished scale.

For example, a C Major bebop scale would be: C, D, E, F, G, Ab, A, B.

Here is an example of how you can use this scale:

Note that there are also other bebop scales that can be played over minor 7, dominant 7 or half diminished chords.

5. Using chromatic notes

Chromatic notes are notes outside the main scale that can create brief tension between more stable notes.

Again, you will often hear the chromatic notes in between strong beats so that you end up playing chord tones on the strong beats.

Check out this example to hear how a chromatic note is being used in measure 2:

6. Using approach notes

One useful way to apply chromatic notes is to use them as approach notes. An approach note leads into a target note from above, below, or both sides.

There are many ways you can approach certain notes of scale, either from above, below or both. In the example below, the third note (Db) in measure 1 would likely go to C, but you can also add a B from below, which is what we see happening. This can be called an enclosure, where you’re wrapping around a certain note before playing it. The C can be seen as a target note in this case and the notes before it are the approach notes. 

You will also see approach notes before the B note in measure 2, beat 3. You have a C then a Bb before you land on that B note. 

Approach notes can come from the scale or from chromatic notes a half step above or below the target.

Check out the following example to hear what this sounds like:

Roadmap practice: Choose one chord tone from C Major 7 as your target. First play directly to that note. Then approach it from a half step above or below and compare the sound. Finally, use that movement inside a short phrase.

The next two ideas change the rhythm and expression of a phrase rather than the notes you choose.

7. Using triplets

Using triplets is another characteristic rhythm often heard in jazz. These triplets are often played as arpeggios to outline a chord and create interesting rhythms throughout a line.

See how triplets are being used in the following example to make up the line.

8. Using articulations (i.e. slides, staccato notes)

Articulation describes how a note is played. On guitar, this can include slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs, bends, staccato notes, and other ways of shaping the sound.

Articulations add expression and character to the way you play notes. Just like every genre has it particular expressions, we want to do the same in jazz. By listening to the great artists that paved the way for this style of music, we can gain insight on how the music can best be expressed.

See how certain notes are played in this following example to show you what I mean. (The first note would be a slide on guitar, but expresesed as a grace note on piano). The dots above some notes represent staccato notes, which means they are shortened.

Check out this post to learn more music symbols.

9. Transcribe, transcribe, transcribe

Transcribing means learning music by ear, often by writing down or notating what you hear. Start with something small, such as a short phrase, before working toward longer solos or chord progressions.

For example, you could use the My Music Composition Notebook to collect your musical ideas, polish your notation skills, or transcribe a cool solo. For a more in depth understanding of how to transcribe, check out this post on how to develop ear training.

Jazz is a language with it own musical vocabulary so transcribing will help you to understand the way phrases should sound. You really need to soak in the music by listening to different examples of artists or albums that you like in this style. The more you transcribe, the more natural your lines start to sound.

I also recommend transcribing different instruments so that you can learn other ways of playing melodies, phrases or solos that may not be often played on your particular instrument. Some shapes and patterns may be convenient for your instrument so it can be refreshing to try learning something that sounds different than what you are used to.

For the Roadmap, start small: choose one phrase you like, learn it by ear, and notice one thing about its rhythm, note choice, or articulation that you can apply to your own playing.

Roadmap practice: Create a short two-bar phrase over C Major 7. Play it with swing feel, aim for a chord tone at an important point in the phrase, and use one chromatic approach note before a target. Then repeat the phrase and change one additional element from this lesson, such as the rhythm, articulation, or anticipation.

Wrapping up

Jazz phrasing comes from combining several musical choices rather than relying on one special scale or lick.

Start with three ideas: play with swing feel, connect your lines to chord tones, and use chromatic approach notes to create tension and resolution.

From there, ideas such as anticipation, triplets, articulation, bebop vocabulary, and transcription give you more ways to develop your own phrases.

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Photo by Jonathan Farber on Unsplash