Tips For A New Jazz Guitarist?

If you want to get good at playing jazz the best place to start is 2-5-1 and 6-2-5-1 cycles.

Learn how to play them anywhere on the neck in any key. Get a program like band in a box or some other music program with backing tracks. Start with 1 key, lets say C put on a backing track and practice playing a combination of arpeggios and lines over the track. Do this everywhere on the neck. Learn how to play those chords anywhere on the neck. Learn the chords using just the strings 1234 and then 2345 and 3456 and then practice comping with those different inversions and chord forms. Practice this every day. Take 1 key every couple of days. Spend time everyday on chord studies and scales and arpeggios. Soon you will be able to play most songs. Also practice the minor 2-5-1 and a 6-2-5-1 where the 6 chord is dominant. These are common progressions.

The 2-5-1 is at the heart of most jazz. that is the best place to start.

Good Luck

Hi there -

Playing with others -

1) Work on your rhythm - make it rock solid. Practice chords with a metronome, and emphasize the upbeats - especially the "and" of 4. That will make it swing!

2) Focus your hearing on your fellow rhythm section members - bass and drums. Lock in with them, and you'll lock in the groove.

Question - Will you be playing any solos?

If so, make sure you know your major scale patterns - that will take you far. There are 7 of them in each key - one starting with each of the 7 notes in the major scale.

After your scales, learn your arpeggios major 7, minor 7, dom 7, min 7b5 for starters.

If you're serious, find yourself a teacher.

You can find more instruction on my youtube channel. www.youtube.com/user/jzgy12

If you'd like me to cover something specific, let me know - I'd be happy to do it.

Thanks,

Dave

Dave Lockwood Guitar Studios

blog: www.atlantajazzguitar.com/atlantaguitarteacher

listen to other jazz guitarists to develop your concept of how to play jazz; There are a zillion great players out there, so just search this forum for "jazz guitarist" and you'll come up with many. For starters, two guys you should definitely listen to are Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery.

Hang around jazz players of all types - trumpet, piano, bass, drums - anything. Pick up on what they say, but still take everything with a grain of salt. Musicians all lie.

Learn to improvise

I call them the L's.

Listen

Lift (transcribing)

Learn

Love