Your Questions on
How to Play Jazz Guitar...

Different types of jazz playing  Hello, and before I say anything: Thank you for this site.

I'm currently working on getting better at guitar and chose jazz as the path that I want ...

Beginning transcriber, where do I start?  Hello Marc-Andre, I've been coming here for a while now and have truly improved my playing. I have a pretty good grounding in chords and starting to work ...

Using Extensions  Hi Marc-Andre,

In the lesson on this page: http://www.jazzguitarlessons.net/jazz-chord-progressions.html and first video...

The first progression,...

TYPO for 6-2 in "Positions PART II" Article?  In the first lesson on scales, there is a different fingering for 6-2 when played going from G to G (positions part 2) as when played from G to A (positions ...

Minor 3rd Chord Substitution  Hey,Marc!

First of all thanx for Your amazing website!
In progressions like the first 4 bars of "Just Friends",in the key of G the 3rd bar is a cm7 ...

Rhythm Changes - Bridge Comping?  Marc -

I just watched your Oleo video. Nice. I love playing that melody. However I loved your comping over the bridge. I would love to know what ...

About learning solos  I recently started to learn solos from Miles Davis' album "Kind of Blue", and i learn them all by ear and with few days of practising I can learn a solo ...

Horn Style Comping  Hi, Marc!

I'm in a band that contains piano, bass, drum, a singer, and me on guitar. I'd like to spice up my comping (which I do mostly with guide ...

Hovering Finger Syndrome  I have lots of chord material, but even though I've been practicing for some time, I can't get rid of my HFS, Hovering Finger Syndrome. I get the chords ...

How to practice for glitch-free performance?  Hi Marc,
What is your practice recommendation for cleaning up a passage that has glitch prone spots?

Two examples that come to mind in my practicing ...

ii-V resolving back to ii ?  Hello. Thank you for your great site!

I am working with the Jazz Guitar Licks Video 1 , and the leading notes from the arpeggio in the ii-V-I you ...

Using open strings in jazz?  Hi Mark,

Is there any convention in jazz guitar to avoid open strings in playing melodies, lines, etc.? Sometimes open strings would allow easier ...

BeBop Scales  Hello Marc,

Some thoughts and question(s) regarding BeBop Scales: lately I’ve been revisiting them and have observed a thing or two:

Take the Dorian ...

Barry Harris Guitar Books : Kingstone -vs- Ben Hur  Hello Marc,

Regarding The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar by Alan Kingstone; is it any different than the Roni Ben Hur book that also draws ...

Your chord melodies are too complicated for beginners  Hi Marc:

I am a long time subscriber and really appreciate your talent, passion, and dedication to playing and teaching jazz music and specifically ...

Garzone Triads : The Triadic Chromatic Approach  Hi Marc,

I've seen that you use to practice Garzone triads quite a lot. I would like to know more about this device. Seems that there is much mystery ...

Synching Picking Strokes with Beats  Hi Mark!

Your'e such a wonderful teacher, I learned a hell of a lot from your youtube clips. Just a lot more accessible than almost all of the other ...

How to Maintain
Transcribed Jazz Vocabulary  Hi Marc,

Thank you so much for dedicating your time for others and help share your experience in studying jazz, cuz sometimes the learning curve does ...

Playing Jazz using Chord Notes versus Scales  Hi Marc,

I've conversed with a well known studio musician (late '50s through early 70s) in Hollywood. He was on the very high list of studio bass players ...

Choosing Altered Scales for Dominant 7th  Hello Marc from Erie, Pa.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

I’ve been working on altered 7th scales. My question is while you are improvising ...

Technique level?  Hello,

I'm an advanced rock player interested in learning jazz. I notice a lot of people never bother much about technique, speed, etc. I find that ...

Very Fast Tempos  Hi from France and thanks for sharing.

I've been playing as a professional musician for 20 years now and it's still very hard for me to play up tempos ...

Blues Lines over Standards  Hi Marc,

Just found your site. Very informative. Great video clips.

My question is about your "blues" scales video when playing a straight blues....

Position Shifting and Scale Shape Choices in Soloing  Hello Marc-Andre,

Thank you for your jazz guitar educational web site effort and clear ideas presented. If you have a spare minute (or two!) can you ...

How do I get "THE" jazz sound ?  I just got a Ibanez AF75D hoping to finally find that jazz sound. I plugged the AF up to my Peavey Windsor Studio expecting a miracle I guess but all I ...

Jazz Guitar : Guide-Tones in Forward Motion  Many thanks to Marc-Andre for creation of this website! :)


I have learned all of the basic scales - Major modes, Harmonic Minor, Diminished, etc and ...

The Left Hand Pinky Finger  I have a problem with my left hand "pinky" finger. When I play single lines or chords on the top strings, I always have my "pinky" sticking up in the air....

Learning Jazz Standards  First of all, thank you Marc-Andre, for this website.

I am trying to learn a repertoire of standards, as I think it is essential part of being a jazz ...

Diminished Scale : Using Whole-Half and Half-Whole Scales  What chords do the half whole and whole half scales work over.

If I improvise using the major, minor, harmonic minor or melodic minor scale, it sounds ...

Jazz Phrasing for Guitar  Hi, really getting a lot from your website, your a good teacher :-) One thing that i'm struggling to find on the net is lessons on jazz phrasing.

Say ...

Gear for Playing Jazz  I'm wondering what gear you use to play jazz and what type of sound you are trying to achieve? -thanks

____
Hello Chris,

Good question. I'm trying ...

Doing exercises in all keys  In your opinion, if running through exercises, it is really necessary to practice them in all keys? I understand that the standard educator response is ...

Rookie Questions : Solos and Chords  Two Rookie Questions:
1. How (and when) do you change solo (type of scale) when a different chord comes up.

2. How do you find the right chords to ...

When I Improvis I quikly find myself lost in the chord progression   Hi,

When I start to improvise, I am quickly lost in the chord progression, I mean I don't know the chord I am playing over ...

I can't keep track ...

Learn one tune very well  You say "Learn one tune very well". But what constitutes "very well"? Should you know how to play the chords and melody in all positions before moving ...

Rules For Re-Harms  Hello Sir,

Wondering if you might be willing to write a paper on reharmonizing songs. Perhaps this would be best completed in parts starting with the ...

Autum Leaves  My question:

The tab starting at measure #8, the notation should be listed as 8va? An octave higher?

Charlie

____

Answer :

YES! Sorry for ...

Form for soloing? (and what scales to use)  Hi, I've been learning some of the jazz standards on the website and looking at some of the improvisation lessons but I am a bit confused. I'm a beginner ...

Basic Lesson Plan (Or "What should I work on first?")  Hello Marc-

A few months back I wrote you a long "story of my life" Email and you supplied a wonderful answer. (Which I really must re-read.)

You ...

Melodic Minor Scale  Dear Marc-Andre,

Congratulations to your website. It has been very useful and sparked my interest in playing jazz music.

I have heard that the melodic ...

Approaching Bert Ligon's Connecting Chords w/ Linear Harmony Book  After struggling to get my bearings as an improviser for a few years, I bought Ligon's Connecting Chords book. I've spent some time with the three basic ...

What path should I take?  i just got a guitar, i' m turning 50, willing to devote 20 to 30 hours per week. is jazz too much to attempt or should i just stick to learning familiar ...

Bebop Scales ?  I think I missed where you said the C Bebop scale pdf was. I searched but didn't find it ...

Is it here in PDF or in a video?
Thanks
Ed

---
Hello ...

Change and Progress  Hey Marc, I appreciate so much the info I see you make available and congrats on living the benefits of hard work and commitment.

Right now I'm facing ...

Jazz Improvisation 2 Approaches  Hello Marc, First I would like to thank you for the newsletters, I was learning Jazz Guitar from a good teacher, but got laid off and can no longer afford ...

Chord scale melody of tune relationship  Hi, I first want to say I really enjoy watching you videos, you are certainly a gifted teacher and performer. I appreciate all the insight. I graduated ...

Minor key questions  Hello Marc-Andre, I'm working on harmonizing minor scales. In most of your lessons you use only the melodic minor. Should I also work on the harmonic minor ...

Improvising intro's and endings...  Hi Marc, my name is Antonio Loffredo, I'm a jazz guitarist from Salerno Italy. I've been playing the guitar for 22 years, I play jazz.....Well, I really ...

All the Things You Are   Hey i'm playing through All the Things You Are and was wondering what do i play or what are my options over the C+7 on Bar 24. Also what are my options ...

Moving Forward  I have a question:

I am improvising diagonally and studying major, melodic minor and harmonic minor scales in three positions and have almost mastered ...

Descending Diagonal Scales  I am pretty comfortable with ascending diagonal scales now, but what about descending? Seems a bit more awkward and easier to lose your way, any tips?...

Rythmn Patterns for duo/trio  Hi/bonjour Marc,

First, thanks a lot for your amazing work and great help! This site is very informative and well made.

I've been playing guitar ...

Changing Chord Quality in Chord Melody  When playing chord melody, how much liberty can you take with the quality of the chord?

For example, in the 3rd measure of "All the Things You Are,...

Playing Patterns in Diagonal Scales   Hello, Marc_Andre!

I've been studying diagonal scales for a couple of days and like the idea.

:)

I actually can play up and down freely, but ...

Diagonal playing : Fingerings for Dorian mode  Hi there!

I am very thankful for you having done lessons on diagonal playing.

I just have question:

When I play G major I shift between F# and ...

Jazz Standards : Best way to Hear and Transcribe melody and chords from recordings  Hello,

What is the best way to hear/transcribe a song
(especially jazz standards) from the recorded version? I have a reasonably good ear but not ...

Barry Harris Harmony  I don't even know what questions to ask; but I have been studying jazz a while now and I never heard anyone say 2-5 was obsolete. As a matter of fact almost ...

Stagnation  Dear Sir!

I've been playing reggae music for over 30 years. I never studied the guitar. I pretty much learnt a few chords, a few words, formed a band ...

More advanced ...   I really like your site. I'm a player of 50 plus years and I'm still learning stuff from your site.

Request> Have one advanced idea a month/week.

I'...

Technique and Routine  Hi,

I can't find good technique exercises other than transcribing solos. What can you recommend?

I also wanted to know if you have a practicing ...

Leading Tones  Hello Mark,

In your first lesson you explained that with II-VI-I's you can take the 7th and 3rd of each chord and the 3rd will resolve to ...

Minor Harmony Clarification  Hello Marc-André,

In your (excellent) lesson on chord progressions, when getting to minor harmony , you write the following:

============================
Let'...

Putting it all together  When I was in high school (over thirty years ago) I damaged my pinky and ring fingers playing football.

Since the '70's these two fingers have acted ...