The Database of Jazz Licks

A collection of beautiful melodic ideas for improvising musicians.

About The Project

BopLand.org is a free knowledge database for improvising musicians containing hundreds of jazz licks over most common chord progressions. The key points about the project are:

  • Most of the melodical ideas in the database originated from the bebop era
  • BopLand jazz licks are applicable to a wide range of musical instruments
  • The database is free for both personal and professional use

The BopLand.org project has been heavily influenced by the following artists: Clifford Brown, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, John Lewis, Thelonious Monk, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, Lee Morgan, Gerry Mulligan, Charlie Parker, Joe Pass, Sonny Rollins. From the technical standpoint the BopLand project is based on the LilyPond music typesetting system.

Learn More

Jazz Licks with playback feature available online at no cost without needing to register

Keys - Licks for each chord progression are provided in all keys

Types of notation - Licks are notated in three different formats: treble clef, bass clef, and guitar tabs, ensuring accessibility across various musical preferences and instruments.

Years the jazz knowledge database has been maintained and operated at no cost, ensuring accessibility to enthusiasts and learners alike.

My Funny Valentine

Treble clef lick

Major 2-5-1-6 Chord Progression

Walking bass line

Autumn Leaves

Bass clef lick

Andalusian Cadence

Treble Clef Lick

On The Sunny Side Of The Street

Bass clef lick

The Database

BopLand.org has the following collections of licks

Treble Clef Licks

A collection of 1800+ jazz licks for treble clef instruments in standard notation. The licks are searchable by song names or chord progressions.

Bass Clef Licks

A great number of jazz licks written out in bass clef. Many of them had been originally played on other musical instruments thus offering a great deal of new ideas for bass players.

Walking Bass Lines

Hundreds of walking bass lines written out in bass clef as played by the grands.

Guitar Licks

More than 2000 jazz guitar licks in standard notation extended with guitar tabs fingering for easier reading.

Sample Queries

The cards below are linked to pages with licks over the corresponding chord progressions

Major 2 5 1 / A flat

Treble Clef Licks

Minor 2 5 1 / B flat

Bass Clef Licks

Major 2 5 1 6

Walking Bass Lines

Turnaround / G

Guitar Licks

Ornitology

Treble Clef Licks

Rhythm Changes

Bass Clef Licks

All The Things You Are

Walking Bass Lines

Lullaby Of Birdland

Guitar Licks

It Don't Mean A Thing

Treble Clef Licks

My Funny Valentine

Bass Clef Licks

Blues / B flat

Walking Bass Lines

Stelly By Starlight

Guitar Licks

Days Of Wine And Roses

Treble Clef Licks

Satin Doll / E flat

Bass Clef Licks

Autumn Leaves

Walking Bass Lines

Take Five

Guitar Licks

Terms Of Use

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

You are free to:
  • Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
  • Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Under the following terms:
  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.

See the legal code here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use bopland licks for my professional activities?

Yes, you absolutely can. Using bopland.org for gigging or teaching students has no restrictions. If you plan to re-publish the content of this site for personal or commercial purposes, that’s also fine, but in this case you need to properly attribute this work to the BopLand.org project by putting an explicit note on this on your website or the book you are publishing. In addition to that, the material you publish should be shared alike under the same Creative Commons license. Read more about the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license here.

Is there a way to download the entire database or get a single PDF file with all licks from your website?

No, there is no such option at this point. The database can be used online without restrictions, but there is no single file you can download. Buying a book on Amazon may be an alternative option.

Why are licks not written out for the entirety of each song, but rather only for the first few bars only?

This is the approach we use. Instead of learning the entire solo we break it down into short memorable pieces that can be reshuffled and learned independently. It gives better flexibility in selecting the material you like and the learning curve for this new information to adopt can also be easier compared to doing it in one big chunk.

Why would you sometimes use two different enharmonic notes like Eb and D# in the same measure?

It is dictated by musical theory and doing otherwise would not be semantically correct. It happens a lot in different contexts, but a typical example would be an altered dominant seventh chord G7(alt) resolving into Cmaj. If the melody goes from up to down you may see notes like Bb, Ab, Eb and when it resolves to E with approaching, inevitably one will have to write D# instead of Eb.

How can I help or support the project?

The best way would be to just create and play beautiful music and share it with others. The next best option is to tell a friend about us. Finally, buying one of our books on Amazon would be a great way to support us financially.

Contact

Get In Touch

Want to get in touch? We'd love to hear from you. Here's how you can reach us.

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