If you read my earlier post on, The Almighty Lick book, you know that for 30 days I will be posting a brand new lick from my own personal lick book each and every day. This is the first of these licks. If you are unsure of what a lick book is than be sure to read that post first.
This lick comes from bars 4-8 of the tune “Corcovado” by Antonio Carlos Jobim. It is a typical ii-V-I progression, but has an interesting twist with the i diminished chord happening in bar three before resolving to the I in bar four. Corcovado is a Bossa Nova tune, so it is played with a straight rhythm, although this lick sounds good at an up-tempo swing as well.
The first three bars are based almost completely on the arpeggios of the chords, while the fourth bar is based on an F major scale. It is a pretty straightforward lick. The C7(b9) chord is worth noting because it is technically not in the key of F Major, but a lot of Jazz musicians will add a b9 to the V chord.
I find that it is best to keep it simple when playing over diminished chords. You really want these chords to stand out, and there is no better way then just playing a simple arpeggio. Diminished chords are already outside of the key, so they already sound pretty hip on their own.
Try playing this lick in twelve keys. Try writing your own lick on the same progression.
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