STLBlues Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 OK, I recently became very interested in jazz guitar. My question is: how difficult is it to learn? I come from a rock/blues background so I don't know if that would help any. Is there any good books or videos on the subject? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 The best jazz guitarists, and players in general, know theory really well. The first step is to understand basic chord structures and the modal scales. Once you get that down you may want to look at this website. It gives a good list of scales to use for a particular chord. Just play the scales with the same kind of phrasing you are currently using in blues/rock and you'll be well on your way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Look! Im guitarest! Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I come from a rock background and I started learning jazz guitar in around march. It's a lot more difficult than rock and blues. You need to be able to read music well and play many different chords. I started out by learning licks and chords from here: http://www.jazzguitar.be/jazzguitar_lessons.html and I've had a teacher for a few months. It really helped and that's the best advice I have, get a teacher. That's a useful website rocketman posted. Here's one I use to learn chords and scales: http://jguitar.com/ And also, once you learn chords pretty well, get a "Real Book" and practice the songs a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Okay, here's the grouchy old man... I don't know what Jazz is. Some folks say I've been playing it since the 1950s on trumpet, guitar maybe only from the mid '70s. Others say, "hey, that ain't jazz guitar because it doesn't sound like Kessel. (Or Pass, or Ellis or...)" Yeah, I've done other stuff. Playing is fun regardless of style. A problem I have with "jazz guitar" is that expectations of "jazz guitar" so often are variations on the same old bebop concepts of the 40s and 50s. Theory helps - but frankly I have mixed feelings about teachers. A guitar prof I did a couple of "news" stories on probably is very good for his students since he's played lotza stuff. But what do YOU want to sound like? Will you find a teacher who'll take you there rather than where he's gone? Do you wanna play "jazz" that is what audiences expect at a given venue, or do you wanna play standards your own way that may not include this scale or that? I always wanted to sound more like jazz piano or organ, in ways, than like Kessel. So that's what I've tried to do the past years. It's gotta be somewhat minimalistic since you can't really do 9-note chords, but... I still get goosebumps when I hear/watch videos of Joe Pass and Chet Atkins. (Yeah, Kessel too. He was truly great.) Some of those old jazz guys had three-note chord substitutions that yeah, a teacher would reeeeeally help. Yet it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing. Is it you? Pass and Atkins were great because they were themselves, and I'm not sure being themselves came all that easy, either. Back around 1960 my folks got me a "Jazz" cornet album done by a guy named Ruby Braff. Clean, clear... Standards with incredible phrasing and gold plated in class. But he had difficulty getting the "pay" jobs and name because he wasn't bebop and experimental. I've read that he could be ... "difficult" ... which I can understand since he insisted on doing his own thing. He just played music. Jazz... I dunno really what it is... Joplin? Louis Armstrong? Harry James? Artie Shaw? Wes Montgomery with a violin background???????? I dunno. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverside Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 Having been to more than one "School of Music"... I just have to say that the study of "Theory" and "Harmony" are two different things entirely. Study up on the harmony side (the "vertical aspect"), and you'll be on your way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted October 26, 2009 Share Posted October 26, 2009 I spent the last two hours writing a short novel in response to this question, then I hit the wrong buttom and it all disappeared (Hey, I'm a guitar player, not a computer genious). BUT, to STLBlues let me say this, I'm in St. Louis (Kirkwood area), and I play in a 20-piece big band and a jazz sextet. I have also kept my "current" blues and together for the last 17 years, so I'm sure we speak the same language. If you would like to take this discussion one-on-one, PM or e-mail me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturn Posted October 27, 2009 Share Posted October 27, 2009 I've never formally learned jazz although I have a few books and DVDs and have learned to play some "jazzy" sounding stuff. It's my opinion that the only way to truley learn jazz is by playing with other experienced jazz musicians. It's like knowing all the theory would be very helpful, but knowing how and when to through that theory out the window is more important. It sometimes seems to me that they just play some chromatic scale over a weird flat 5th chord or something and it sounds like jazz. I'm sure there's some kind of rhyme/reason to it, but damn if I can see it That's why I feel like, it would be better to actually learn from and jam with a real jazz player, instead of these books and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeVeeWee Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Most things are already said, I can only underline that theory is just fundamental to play jazz guitar...unless your name is Django Reinhardt... Sheets of sound for guitar - Jack Zucker I could highly recommend to exercise pentatonic scales amongst others: http://www.amazon.com/Sheets-Sound-Guitar-Jack-Zucker/dp/0975559303/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256715397&sr=8-1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibsonByBirth Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Learn four voice chords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I bought Michael Lydon's book, How to Play Classic Jazz Guitar.... Very good all around guitar book even comes with a DVD... Starts out with the very basics so a beginner at guitar or an accomplished player will benefit from it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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