How to Play Jazz Guitar
Survival Guide

Start Here!

This website hosts a wealth of information on how to play jazz guitar. Even though every page is meant to be focused and "hands-on", the amount of stuff can become overwhelming...

When confused, a lot of people email me this kind of question :

"You website is nice and full of useful info... but where should I start exactly?!"

My first answer is always (of course) : please bookmark this website. Let it become a reference; come back to it often and you'll discover more and more things you can adapt to your practice.

... and I also decided to create these pages : my Survival Guide, which is like a "jazz guitar walkthrough" sorted by levels. That'll surely clear things up and give you a sense of direction.

I will explain some common steps taken by people who successfully learn how to play jazz guitar. I will also try to point out resources that a relevant to your level. Please keep in mind that they're merely general guidelines ... there's no right or wrong way to learn music.

The suggested "steps" to learn how to play jazz guitar come from my personal experience : mostly from studying, listening, practicing, learning, teaching, composing, jamming and, of course, playing a lot.

So, are you a ...

Intermediate Jazz Guitarists

Is this you?

This is usually the entry level for enrolling college/university students. As an intermediate jazz guitarist you should (more or less):

• Have listened to lots of jazz and have developed a "good sound" on the guitar.
• Be playing and practicing jazz on an *almost* daily basis
• Know most basic chords and scales
• Play a few or many jazz standards from memory (including Blues, Rhythm Changes and AABA 32-bar forms and other song forms)
• Have decent "comping" abilities with common chords shapes
• Be able to improvise on standards
• Worked out at least a few chord melodies on tunes
• Have the ability to sight-read (even if just chords) and
• be able to "sight improvise" on a given chord progression

• Have a basic understanding of music theory and 
• basic hearing abilities (progressions, chord qualities, melody,...)

• Be playing with other jazz musicians on a regular basis

In brief, intermediate players now know "where to put their fingers" but they still need to work on their craft. If you're an intermediate jazz guitarist, your focus should be on polishing and refining the concepts your already know while learning how to play jazz guitar.

Want to bring your jazz guitar playing to the next level? Here's what I recommend :

Relevant pages (links) on JazzGuitarLessons.net

The Chromatic Scale : Two Exercises
Chord Substitutions
Chord Melody
Licks to Outline II-V's while improvising
Jazz Guitar Tips
Jazz Chord Cycles
Jazz Ear Training
Jazz Guitar Video Lessons

1. Plan your practice

Now that you have some (or a lot) of music under your belt, it's time to organize your progress. The learning curve for intermediate players is slower than beginners. If you really want to learn how to play jazz guitar, you must work a bit harder now.

There is so much to information that ... it would be physically impossible to practice everything within a lifetime. I don't think it's even possible to get just 1% of all the music there is.

We are human and thus limited. You have to make conscious choices in your practice... (how, what, when, for how much time, etc.) This guitar practice article outlines my philosophy on that matter...

See this video on practice routines...

See also, the article Five Ways to Create Practice Time.

2. Play with others (take 2)

In another "level" of this Survival Guide, I made a suggestion to beginning jazz guitarists : play with other people. At the intermediate level, it's even more important that you interact with other musicians.

But here's a little twist. You should try to...

1. Play with the same people on a regular basis (call it your "band" if you wish).
2. Play with new people on a regular basis.
   
3. Play gigs when asked. (always say yes)
   

3. Accompany (aka "comp") lots

Comping should become a strength of your playing. It will be the main reason you get asked to play jazz gigs! Think of yourself as a portable jazz pianist : when playing quartet or quintet you will seldom solo. You have to be a great "comper" to hold your own.

Learn the chords found in scales, create chord melodies, work on chord progressions and chord substitutions; always work towards increasing your overall harmonic agility. Remember that your accompaniment can really make (or break...) another player's solo.

"Comping" also means to complement another musician. Sometime sparse punches are all it takes to do the job well. Play "in the pocket" and listen, listen, listen...

I like positive words better, but here are three must "DONT's" of jazz guitar comping (!):

1. Don't simply play chord shapes. Learn harmony and play with fluidity. Understanding chord resolutions will help you a lot. Vary the notes you play (ie partial chords or counterpoint) on your common "chord grips".
   
2. Don't be a on OR off switch of comping! Too many guitarists have only one "comping gear" (ie strumming or not playing at all.) Discover all the in-between zones.
   
3. Don't always comp. Leave space with little or no chords when the music needs it.

Finally, try to accompany in different settings : duo with singers (challenging), duo with bass (also challenging), in trio, quartet, etc. Challenges and uncomfortable lineups will make you progress much faster.

4. Become a strong improviser

Now that you get the basics of jazz improvisation, it's time to get serious!

... and it's like everything else : the more you do it, the better you'll become. You should improvise melodic lines daily. Always "blow" while working on tunes or on specific vamps and progressions.

And the same objections / questions always arise :

"Yeah, yeah.I know how to do that. I know scales and arpeggios; I don't see what else I could do...?"

Merely knowing the material (scales, modes, chords) is not enough to play convincing jazz guitar improvisations! Great jazz improvisers are able to create inspired, beautiful and clear melodic ideas that reflect the harmony (chords) of the piece.

If you're "running" scales / arpeggios over changes and often feel that your lines are meaningless, it may be because you're not outlining the chords properly...Most intermediate jazz guitarists encounter that problem, it is very common and needs to be addressed early on.

Here's a series of articles on jazz improvisation that will help you achieve clearer "harmonic definition" in your solos :

1. Scales
2. Arpeggios
3. Using Guide Tones
4. How to *NOT* sound like scales
5. Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony

Challenge yourself to achieve maximum harmonic clarity : improvise alone without band-in-a-box (or play-a-longs tracks). These things "fill in" so much for you (bass lines, chords, rhythm and time, etc.) Practice and record yourself "naked" with no accompaniment.

Take this seriously : pay attention to chord resolutions and common movements in progressions. We should somehow "hear the chords" when you improvise... whatever you are playing!

5. Listen even more and transcribe
   

Listening is key in learning how to play jazz guitar. As an intermediate jazz guitarists, you already know how to listen to jazz. But it doesn't stop there! Here's more to do with your ears :

• Listen deeply to the musicians you play with. Let their playing guide you towards what you're going to play next.
• Pay attention to more details you hear on jazz recordings : rhythms, ghost notes, articulation / phrasing and dynamics.
• More importantly, learn to transcribe from your favorite jazz recordings. Imitation is the most honest kind of flattery. The process is immensely rewarding. Start now! Imitate jazz legends.

Other than learning solos from jazz recordings, remember that you can also get tunes, chords, voicings, rhythms, compositional ideas and more...

Here's a video that will give you ideas...

6. Master your scales

Now's the time to get rid of your "blank spots" on the guitar fretboard. No more secrets, no more mysteries!

To "seize control" of your fingerboard I recommend that you...

• Understand the principles of position playing
• Learn to play the major scale and the melodic minor scale in seven positions. (in all keys, eventually)
• Understand how to find (and play...) the proper finger shifts to connect positions together.
• Learn to play 13th arpeggios as well as diatonic triads and 7th chords arpeggios in the seven positions.

So that's for the hard stuff. Master positions by playing through one key each week. You'll soon realize you "have it" and it'll stick with you for the rest of your life!

When you feel that your position playing is strong enough, start experimenting with diagonal playing. To me, that is the way that unlocks how to play jazz guitar. Here's a video...

7. Get serious with repertoire

Finally, it's time start a list of tunes you know. It doesn't matter how many songs you know, or how well you can play them. Just make a list! Carry it with you (for practicing, jamming or gigging).

Also, it's a good idea to take mental note of the songs "you didn't know last night". Play them then love and memorize them. That also applies to the pieces that are often called at your local jazz jam sessions.

Why? You have to know the tunes. Here's a typical situation :

Other answers you want to avoid :"I don't know it", "Do you have a chart?", "I know it in a different key", "I used to know it but I forgot", "I'll have to read it", "What key is the bridge in again?!", etc. I'm dead serious; there's no excuse: know your tunes. Learn how to play jazz guitar by working on repertoire.

8. Read This

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