Modern Jazz Concepts – 4th Interval Lines


When learning how to play jazz guitar, you explore concepts that sound like different eras or styles, such as bebop, hardbop, fusion or modern jazz. 


In this lesson, you play 5 licks that bring a modern jazz sound to your playing by using 4th intervals for the basis of each phrase. 


These licks tend to have a more “open” sound to them compared to lines built in 2nds, 3rds and 6ths for example. 


Because they’re more open and new to many players, take your time with these lines if you’re exploring jazz guitar licks built with 4ths for the first time.

4th Interval Lick 1


This first 4th-interval lick starts slowly over the Dm7 chord. 


Then, the line builds in intensity as chromatic notes are added in bar 3, both are lower approach notes to chord tones, F#-G and A#-B respectively. 


Though I marked several notes with slurs, you can also play those notes as slides if you prefer. 


You can also pick every note if that’s your preferred sound. 


The right-hand markings are a suggestion, so feel free to try one or more picking approaches with this, or any, lick and see where they lead you in your playing.

4ths Lick Audio Example 1

4th Interval Lick 2


This lick also starts off slow, then adds in chromatic notes at the end of the first bar, before resolving over the Cmaj7 chord in bar 3. 


The rhythm used in the 3rd and 4th bars, quarter-note triplets followed by a triplet, can be tricky to get down at first. 


Make sure to use your metronome and go slow with these measures until you have this rhythm down. 


From there, you can speed things up and move forward with a deeper comfort level with that rhythm.

4ths Lick Audio Example 2

4th Interval Lick 3


In this lick, there’s a descending pattern over the first two bars, the four-note riff that works its way down the neck over Em7b5 and A7alt. 


Notice the altered scale over the A7 chord, applying 4ths to this scale in the same way as you did the major scale modes in the previous examples. 


You can use 4ths over any scale or mode you choose, but some are trickier than others because of how those fingerings sit on the guitar. 


Experiment by adding 4ths to any scale or mode you know, but just be aware that some will take more time to get down than others.

4ths Lick Audio Example 3

4th Interval Lick 4


This lick also has tricky rhythms in the first two-bars, so work slowly with a metronome and count along to nail it down. 


The last two bars use a straight-forward rhythmic approach but cover a large part of the neck, as well as a few awkward position shifts. 


For this lick, try a few different fingerings until you find one for the second half of the phrase that fits your hands and feels comfortable to you. 


You might dig my fingering the best, or you might find one that fits better than what I wrote down for your hands. 


There’s no harm in looking at a few different ways to play this lick on the neck as you explore it further in the woodshed. 

4ths Lick Audio Example 4

4th Interval Lick 5


The final lick also uses the altered scale over the A7 chord in the second bar, as well as a series of stacked 4ths along different strings in bar 3 of the line. 


When you play stacks of 4ths, you can use only one or two fingers to grab these notes, but your picking hand stumbles up these intervals. 


For this reason, experiment with sweeps, half-sweep picks, alternate picking or economy picking when you come across lines like this. 


There are many ways to pick this line, experiment with a few and find the one that best fits your hands and musical style. 

4ths Lick Audio Example 5

4th Interval Practice Tips


Here are 5 ways that you can practice these licks to further integrate them into your fingers, ears and soloing vocabulary. 


1.Sing the root of each chord and play the lick over those roots. Repeat in 12 keys.

2.Sing these licks as you comp the chords on guitar. Repeat in 12 keys. 

3.Learn each lick in a low & high octave. Repeat in 12 keys.

4.Find at least 3 other positions for each lick on the neck. Repeat in 12 keys.

5.Solo over jazz standards and use these licks as much as possible in your solos. 



With a modern-sounding vibe, and being relatively easy to play, 4th-interval licks are a must-have tool in the modern jazz guitarist’s improvisational tool belt


Check out these licks in the practice room this week and then take them out to a jam or gig to see how they fit into your current repertoire of tunes.