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How To Use Enclosures




How to make major scales sound more like jazz language. 


Miles Davis is known for his innovative and inspiring jazz solos, and learning his licks can be a great way to improve your own playing. In this article, we'll explore some of the techniques used in Miles Davis' solos and how to use them to create your own jazz vocabulary.


To get started, let's look at Miles' enclosure lick number one. This lick starts on the seventh degree of the scale, goes to the ninth, and then resolves on the first degree. This is what we call an enclosure. To play an enclosure, you need to play the notes on either side of the target note before resolving to it. This creates a tension and release effect that is characteristic of jazz music.


To practice enclosures, start by playing the major scale up and down. Once you are comfortable with the scale, try adding enclosures to the notes in the scale. For example, if you are playing the E flat major scale, you can add an enclosure to the first note (E flat) by playing the notes D, F, and resolving on E flat. Repeat this process for each note in the scale to create your own enclosure licks.

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