Is It Cool to Play “The Lick” in 2021?

Just to make sure we’re all on the same page here, “The Lick” refers to the following sequence of seven notes:

Some call it a jazz meme.

Some call it a cliché.

Some call it a bad joke.

But what if you were to play “The Lick” to a bunch of people who’d never heard it before?

They might not think twice about it. Who knows? They might actually think you sound hip.

The point is, it’s important to know your audience and to remember you have the power to make them feel a certain way.

You can make them feel energized.

You can make them feel relaxed.

You can make them feel wistful.

And you can make them laugh…or cringe.

How to convey a feeling with music is a deep topic and a subjective one at that. What I recommend is to listen to music that makes you feel a certain way and determine what it is about the performance and musical material that kindles in you that emotion.

Just be sure to identify concrete musical characteristics like dynamics, articulation, harmony, etc, rather than describing what you hear in terms of language like, “it sounds sweet” or “they’re playing with an aggressive sound.”

What makes it “sweet”? What makes it “aggressive”?

Get specific.

And then practice! See if you can improvise a solo on a blues and engender sadness or joy or anger. If you can get yourself “in state” prior to playing the first note, you’re already off to a great start.

If you really want to maximize the exercise, record yourself and listen back a day later to hear if that emotional quality is coming through your performance.

Ask yourself, “What’s working?” and “What’s not?”

Lastly, remember that certain licks like “The Lick” can have a particular connotation. I’m not saying it’s good or bad. Heck, Charlie Parker used to quote wacky stuff all the time in his solos like “Pop Goes the Weasel” and “Happy Birthday.” Sometimes it was an inside joke for his band. Sometimes it was just to be silly and get a laugh from the audience.

But there are plenty of licks out there that aren’t cliché and, in fact, super hip. Licks that can make your solos bluesy or modern or get you that classic jazz sound from the 50’s and 60’s.

These are the styles you can explore in my Sick Licks series, which includes 600 ii V I licks organized by genre, skill level, and chord progression.

The whole point of Sick Licks is to help you find quickly and easily the phrases that are right for YOU. Click here to learn more and hear demos so you can figure out which Sick Licks books or bundles fit your style and level of experience.

Happy Shedding!

Jeff