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30 Jazz 2-5-1 Licks You MUST Know

Expand Your Vocabulary of Jazz Lines for 2-5-1 Chord Progressions

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30 Jazz 2-5-1 Licks You MUST Know
Ted Ludwig

Ted Ludwig

Educator

jazz

Genres

About this course

The most commonly encountered chord progression across the entire jazz standard songbook is the 2-5-1 in both major and minor keys. The broader your vocabulary of 2-5-1 lines, the more creative you can be with your solos. And once you understand how to craft your own 2-5-1 lines, you can take your improvisational skills to a whole new level.

In this collection of 30 Jazz 2-5-1 lines from Ted Ludwig, you’ll not only expand your 2-5-1 vocabulary, you’ll also learn how to construct your own lines using a variety of harmonic approaches.

”I’ll demonstrate each one over a backing track for musical context. You can practice by playing along with me and then playing over the backing track by yourself.

I will also describe how each line was constructed using approaches like altered scales, sub-dominant minors, tritone subs, pentatonic shifts, triad pairs, and other approaches so that you can create your own 2-5-1 lines on the fly when improvising.”

You’ll get standard notation and tabs for all of the playing examples and performance studies. Plus, you’ll be able to use TrueFire’s learning tools to sync the tab and notation to the video lesson.

You can also loop or slow down any of the videos to work with the lessons at your own pace. All of the backing tracks are also included as well.

Grab your guitar, and let's comp with Ted Ludwig!

What you'll learn

  • Navigate from diminished to altered/melodic minor scale smoothly
  • Use half-step resolutions to resolve to I chord
  • Execute triplet phrasing with pick technique
  • Use a practical jazz lick that works in multiple contexts
  • Transpose the line to different keys
Release date: 12/14/2021 • 1h 20m runtime
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Sample lessons
The Mighty Triplet
The Mighty Triplet
Jazz 251 Lick 3
The Windmill
The Windmill
Jazz 251 Lick 19
The Penguin
The Penguin
Jazz 251 Lick 22
The Anticipation
The Anticipation
Jazz 251 Lick 24

What's included

32 lessons • 30 charts • 2 Jam Tracks

30 Jazz 2-5-1 Licks You MUST Know
Hey, I'm Ted Ludwig. Welcome to 30 Jazz 251 Licks.

The most commonly encountered chord progression across the entire jazz standard songbook is the 2-5-1, both major and minor. The broader your vocabulary of 2-5-1 lines, the more creative you can be with your solos. And once you understand how to craft your own 2-5-1 lines, you'll take your improvisational skills to a whole new level.

In this collection of thirty versatile 2-5-1 lines, I'll first demonstrate each over a backing track, and then I'll show you how to play it. You’ll practice them by playing along with me.

I will also describe how they were each constructed using approaches like altered scales, sub-dominant minors, tritone subs, pentatonic shifts, triad pairs, and other approaches so you can create your own 2-5-1 lines on the fly when improvising.

You'll have all of TrueFire learning tools to work with along the way so you can learn and practice at your own pace.

Grab your guitar, and let’s get started!
Classic Bop Line
This Classic lick has been played for many decades and continues to be a great line over standard tunes. Be sure to learn all of the lines in 12 keys. Also learning how to connect this lick in other positions on the fingerboard is helpful. Experiment with different ways to resolve ii V I lines. This one resolves to the Major 3rd of C but try resolving to other notes like the 5th, 7th, 9th or 6th.
Secret Scale Lick
The Secret Scale lick is one of my favorites. The Secret Scale is a hybrid scale that was used by many jazz Giants such as John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and McCoy Tyner. This scale, often referred to as the Coltrane Pentatonic is a hybrid scale in which the b3rd and b7th are replaced by the 9th and 6th. This brings some extra color to the chord. For the secret scale we only address these substitutions on the 6th, 2nd and 1st strings which makes for easy fingering in the guitar. In this particular line, I am playing the Ab Secret Scale over the G7 alt chord. This is possible if you consider that the Ab-7 Db9 are Tritone subs for the G7alt.
The Mighty Triplet
Using Triplets in a lick is a wonderful way to decorate the line. Be sure to consider the original phrase when add triplets because it compresses the original line. Work out the phrasing and technique to make the triplets sound smooth and natural.
Neighbor Tone Line
Neighbor tones are the quickest way to add a sense of chromaticism to your licks. Learn this line and practice along with me on the video. Remember to make sooth connections between notes. Learn in several positions and all keys!
Four on Four
This pentatonic based lick is a great way to connect the ii and V chords in a smooth and easy to finger way. I personally use these types of licks in my playing all of the time. Try experimenting with different sequential patterns to create new ways to connect the chords. Create your own lines and variations.
The Hi-Low
The Hi-Low lick starts in the higher range for the ii and the V but resolves by leaping to the lower register. The transition to the C Major is a bit of a leap for the ear but it sounds great in this example. Practice this fingering of the Melodic Minor Scale. You will get a lot of use out of it.

+ 25 more lessons

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Reviews

17 results

Mattchromatic

Verified buyer

07/05/26

251 gym morning workout. 20mins a day

Since studying Ted's Ludwick's 2 5 1 course Ive been expanding my 251 arsenal. Ive memorised around a 1/3 of the licks. Another 'takeaway' is picking technique that is pivotal in executing Ted's well constructed phrases. My tip for newcomers on Truefire is to print out the PDFs in order to work off screen. I've pasted Teds 30 lessons into an exercise book and hand written keys explanations, analysis and more! This acts as a prompt sheet and assists memorization. Next step intentionally or subconsciously is maki g licks your own. Modification is cool and besides you might only take away a bar say over the 5 alt chord.

mrgordont

Verified buyer

05/30/26

I like the 251, I'm new so I have to learn a little and then come back, but I love it.

weidig1

Verified buyer

03/25/26

Another great lesson from Ted Ludwig. He has shared high quality 2-5-1 licks that he created, but most importantly he shares the underlying approach to each lick’s development. It allows the player to take the lick and expand upon it based on the scale or arpeggio. I have gotten a lot out of this video lesson. Time well spent. Thank You Ted!

davidkong

Verified buyer

05/03/25

I should have earlier with Ted's course. It's like light on the other end of the tunnel that help me to understand lots of questions in mind on Jazz solo. Thanks Ted !

josepsalord

Verified buyer

01/20/25

Great and useful

Very great and useful course. It goes straight to the bone.

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