Jazz licksA minor ii–V–i and the Am7 vamp, frets 5–11
Ten bebop-and-after lines in the same neighbourhood as the interval runs. Six go over the minor two-five — Bm7b5 to E7 resolving to A — and four sit on a static Am7 for the Dorian vamp. Each one is built around a single device you can lift out and use elsewhere.
Progression: Bm7b5 | E7b9 | Am7 | Am7 Vamp: Am7 for as long as you like
root3rd5th7th, b9, alterationspassing / outside
Colours are relative to the chord of the bar, not the key. Watch where the rust, gold and green land: in nearly every lick they fall on the beat and the grey notes fall between beats. That placement is what makes a line sound like jazz rather than like a scale with wrong notes in it.
Start at 90 with a light swing. Loop one bar until it's automatic before joining the bars. When a lick is clean, play it, rest a bar, play it again — the rest is part of the phrase.
Over the ii–V–i
J1
The straight ii–V–i
Bm7b5 / E7b9 / Am7
arpeggio up, scale down
The line every bebop player has in their hands: run the ii arpeggio up, fall down through the V with the 3rd on the beat, land on the root of i. The F to G# leap at the bar line is the harmonic-minor colour — don't smooth it out.
CueSwing the eighths, but only just. Accent the G# at the top of bar 2 and the last A should land soft — it's an arrival, not a hit.
J2
Enclosure on the root
E7b9 / Am7
chromatic enclosure
Surround the target from both sides before you land: B, Bb, G# then A. That three-note wobble into the root is the single most recognisable bebop move, and it works on any chord tone.
CuePlay the enclosure notes lighter than the target. If the Bb sounds like a wrong note you're accenting it — pull it back.
J3
3 to b9 on the V
Bm7b5 / E7b9 / Am7
diminished upper structure
Start on the 3rd of E7 (G#) and arpeggiate up through B, D, F: that's a G#dim7, which is E7b9 with the root removed. It sits inside the chord and sounds twice as tense as the plain arpeggio.
CueThe D to G# at the bar line is a tritone — the biggest leap in the pack. Pick both. It should sound like a door opening.
J4
Altered scale on the V
Bm7b5 / E7alt / Am7
E altered (super-locrian)
E altered is F melodic minor from E: every non-chord tone is sharpened or flattened. Up through G#, Bb, C, D and back down. Sounds outside, resolves inside — the resolution to E and C is what sells it.
CueDon't rush the altered bar. Played at tempo with conviction it sounds like Henderson; played nervously it sounds like a mistake.
J6
Diminished stack on the V
E7b9 / Am7
symmetrical arpeggio + enclosure
G#dim7 climbed as a sequence, then a turn at the top — B, Bb, G# — dropping into A. The same shape repeats every three frets, so once this is under your fingers it moves anywhere.
CueEven dynamics through the arpeggio, then let the enclosure at the top ease off. The A is the only note you should hear as "arrived".
J9
Long ii–V line
Bm7b5 / E7b9 / Am7
sequenced arpeggios
Bm7b5 arpeggio in a zig-zag, up to the top, then a straight bebop descent through E7 landing on C, the 3rd of Am. The kind of line Parker would put over a minor ii–V in one breath.
CueThis is the one to speed up. It's all inside the position — no stretches — so the only limit is the picking hand.
Over the Am7 vamp
J5
Dorian bebop line
Am7
bebop passing tone
A Dorian with a G# passing tone slipped in on the way up so the chord tones fall on the beat coming down. This is the one for the static Am7 vamp — it makes a scale sound like a phrase.
CueDownbeats going up: E, G, A, B. Coming down: G, E, C, A. If those aren't landing on the beat the passing tone is in the wrong place.
J7
Triad pairs
Am7
C and D major triads over Am7
Two triads a tone apart, alternating: C (C E G) and D (D F# A). Between them they cover A Dorian with no root in sight, which is why it sounds modern and slightly weightless. Pure Henderson.
CueThink of it as two shapes, not sixteen notes. Once each triad is a single hand position the line plays itself.
J8
Chromatic slide to the 3rd
Am7
chromatic approach line
Walk down chromatically from E to C — the 3rd of Am — then finish diatonically. Four half steps in a row is a lot, so it needs a strong landing: C on the beat, then home to A.
CueOne finger per fret for the chromatic run — index on 5, pinky on 8. Slow it right down until the four half steps are dead even.
J10
Minor-major 7 turnaround
Am(maj7)
Am(maj7) arpeggio
Am with a G# instead of a G — the sour, film-noir note. Up the arpeggio, over the top with a turn, back down with a half-step approach into the root. Ends every jazz phrase in minor with intent.