Hook - Playing with other Series

If you hear that the song you're playing to has a repetitive lick (called a Hook), then that's what you'll want to play. Figuring out the I7 lick is the easy part... the IV7 and V7 are another thing. You could improvise on those chords, or even better, do what's called a sequence. A sequence is where you play the same lick, but moved up (or down) to match the new chord. A simple way to look at it is this...

Your hook is 2 2"... a very common hook. The 2 is G and the 2" is F. The G is the Root of the I7 Chord and the 2" is the Flat-7th of the I7 chord. To do a sequence you want the same relationships for the IV7 Chord. The 4+ (C) is the Root of the IV7 Chord and 3' (B-flat) is the Flat-7th Chord. You would then do the same for the V7 Chord. Give it a try... it's a killer skill to be able to do this.

David Barrett