The Lick
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"The Lick" is a lick, or stock musical phrase, that has been used in numerous jazz, pop and classical compositions. It has been described as "the most famous jazz cliché ever".[1] It has become an internet meme and is often used for comedic effect.[2][3]
Structure
[edit]"The Lick" consists of seven notes, using five steps on a diatonic scale. The interval pattern is 1 (unison) – 2 (major second) – ♭3 (minor third) – 4 (perfect fourth) – 2 (major second) – ♭7 (lower seventh) – 1 (unison). In jazz, it is played swung, sometimes including a glissando or grace note before the fifth note.[4]
History
[edit]The term "The Lick" was coined by a Facebook group in the 2010s and popularized by a YouTube video assembled from clips from the group by professor Alex Heitlinger in 2011.[5] Tonal sequences similar to "The Lick" is found in classical music that predates jazz, such as The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky; however, it is primarily known as a jazz lick as it is commonly used in jazz improvisation.[6] In 2019, the composer David Bruce used "The Lick" as a basis for a string quartet, the Lick Quartet.[7][8]
References
[edit]
- ↑ McGee, M.B. (2022). "Jazz". In Glăveanu, V.P. (ed.). The Palgrave Encyclopedia of the Possible. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 823–828. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-90913-0_117. ISBN 978-3-030-90912-3.
- ↑ Golding, Dan (2018). "How a jazz lick took over the music world". YouTube (video). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
- ↑ Galloway, Kate (December 1, 2023). "Jazz Cats and Horse Licks: Animal Memes, Participatory Digital Culture, and Representing Jazz Online". Jazz and Culture. 6 (2): 64–91. doi:10.5406/25784773.6.2.04.
- ↑ Goldsby, John (November 2012). ""The Lick," Part 2". Bass Player. Vol. 23, no. 11. pp. 72–73. ProQuest 1152192579.
- ↑ Durkin, Andrew (2014). Decomposition: A Music Manifesto (First ed.). Knopf Doubleday. p. 256. ISBN 978-0-307911-76-6. OCLC 1240167147.
- ↑ Judd, Hannah (October 2022). "Virals, Memes, and the Lick's Circulation through Online Jazz Communities". Twentieth-Century Music. 19 (3): 393–410. doi:10.1017/S1478572222000263.
- ↑ Bruce, David (November 21, 2019). "Taking The Licc Seriously - Converting a Meme for String Quartet". YouTube (video).
- ↑ Cantrell, Scott (October 23, 2019). "Dallas Chamber Symphony and Dover Quartet open two concert series". Dallas News.
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