3 Melodic John Abercrombie Licks

This article contains 3 John Abercrombie licks to help expand your jazz guitar vocabulary. (Insert affiliate e-junkie URL)

Each of these John Abercrombie licks are short, melodic ideas applied to common jazz progressions such as ii-Vs and static chord vamps.

When studying John Abercrombies phrasing, pay close attention to dynamics and articulation as he often plays very quietly with a light attack.

Many of John Abercrombies licks do not fall in conventional guitar scale shapes. Like Jim Hall, John Abercrombie opts for smooth saxophone-like phrasing which often means playing horizontally across the fretboard instead of vertically.

Play through each lick slowly to begin with, take them through all 12 keys and apply them to tunes that you are working on.

John Abercrombie Lick 1

This first John Abercrombie lick is a short melodic ii V I line that demonstrates Abercrombies melodic approach to chord changes.

Harmonically, this phrase comes from the parent major scale and resolves to the I chord half a beat early.

Rather than finishing on the A on the top E string, this John Abercrombie lick finishes on the A on the B string for smoother phrasing.

Click to listen to this John Abercrombie lick

John Abercrombie Lick 2

This next John Abercrombie lick is a short minor ii-V-I lick that outlines each chord by using the harmonic minor scale as a guide line.

The arpeggio tones for each chord are highlighted giving this minor ii-V lick a strong sense of tension and resolution.

The line starts on the 3rd the ii-7b5 chord which then descends down the scale to the third of the V chord.

The b9 of the V chord always has a strong tendency to resolve to the I chord, and works well in this example resolving to the 5th of the I-7 chord.

Click to listen to this John Abercrombie lick

John Abercrombie Lick 3

The final John Abercrombie lick is a common motif that Abercrombie frequently uses to build up his solos.

Like the second line, this line mostly comes from the harmonic minor scale and uses a jazz guitar technique called enclosures.

The phrase uses the same rhythmic pattern throughout. Abercrombie often uses this rhythm pattern with different harmony.

Starting on the major 7th over a minor 7th chord produces a crunchy sound and gives a melodic minor flavour to your lines.

Click to listen to this John Abercrombie lick

I hope that you have enjoyed studying each of these short and melodic John Abercrombie lines.

What are some of your favorite John Abercrombie solos? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

About The Author

Jamie Holroyd is a UK based educator, author, and performer as well as the founder of www.jamieholroydguitar.com, a free website with lessons to help students across the globe play jazz and blues guitar.