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 ...

Advanced Jazz Guitarists

Relevant pages (links) on JazzGuitarLessons.net

Three-Note Voicings and Beyond
Barry Galbraith Jazz Guitar Study Series
The Barry Harris Workshop Video
The Barry Harris Harmonic Method for Guitar
Forward Motion 
Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony

Lee Konitz 10-step Method
Advanced Bebop Scales
Jazz Guitar Tips (share you own!)
Video Lessons...
Jazz Chord Cycles
Diatonic Jazz Chord Cycles


Is this you?

This is the level where we find mostly music school graduates, music teachers and experienced jazz guitarists. "Advanced" certainly doesn't mean that the journey is over. Personally, the more I improve, the more I discover new and exciting musical challenges.

The better I think I get, the more "weak spots" I find in my own playing... (-;

This is always encouraging. Jazz musicians can never get bored. They'll always be fresh new ideas to play on Autumn Leaves, that's for sure!

As an advanced jazz guitarist you should (more or less) :

• Know and play, at the very least, fifty jazz standards. Most jazz guys in my area usually know hundreds of tunes by heart.
• Play in different jazz "styles" : swing, straight, rock, Latin (bossa nova, samba et al.), waltz, ballad, funk, etc.
• Have years of gigging experience in the "real jazz world".
• Have intermediate to strong reading (and sight-reading) abilities for single-notes, chord symbols, chords with rhythmic notation and "completely written out" chord voicings.
• Be well versed in the blues and bebop idioms, repertoire wise and in your improvisations.
• Be doing transcriptions from jazz legends (written or not). You may even be learning "non guitar" solos. This is a ongoing process...
• Play many chord melodies (over standards) and be able to comp for yourself while blowing melodic lines. Applies mostly to solo/duo/trio.
• Hear what other musicians are playing (on the bandstand and on recordings) and be able to imitate them with relative ease.

In short, advanced jazz guitarist "came a long way" but can still be working very hard all their lives to achieve greatness. You may "know" how to play jazz guitar, but there's always much more to play!

The focus for experienced players should be on finding the weak spots and coming up with ways to work on them.

What you may want to improve :

• See this section on rhythms (ear training article)...
• Strengthening the sense of form.
• Time Awareness (subdivisions of the pulse)
• Playing at many different tempos (very slow to very fast)
• Triplets (eight-note or quarter-note)
• The Charleston figure around the bar (doted-quarter + eight)
• Working with the metronome
• Playing in odd time signatures (5, 7 and others)
• Read the book Forward Motion

• Connection between what you hear and what you play
• Instant transposition of all of your tunes
• Read Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner
• Read Free Play by Stephen Nachmanovitch

• Build specific repertoire (for example: learn 10 Jobim tunes, then 10 Monk tunes, then 10 Wayne Shorter tunes, etc.)
• Play ballads convincingly and beautifully
• Learn tunes "on the bandstand" without preparation
  
  

• Mastering scales and the intervals present in them
• Building solos like an architect (aka "Story telling")
• Phrasing and articulations (learn from the masters...)
• The "bebop scale" concept applied to all modes
• Making conscious choices as to what scale color to use on specific chords (for example: "should I use mixo b13 or mixo #11?")
  

• Composing and playing your own music
• Finding your own voice in playing and composing
• Mastering the 12 keys
• Change of perspective (*for time, chords, melodies and more*)
• Aesthetic choices, gear choices, string gauges, coffee brand, etc.
• Overcoming addictions
• _______________ (write your own!)

As you can see, the learning process for experienced jazz guitarist is much more personal. You have to work on what rings true to you; the musical elements that fit your style and tastes. If you don't believe in a concept or idea, don't bother practicing it...

Good luck, practice well and have fun.

Oh! ...and don't forget your free eBook (below)

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• Hear Better--Learn jazz aurally. Play music with a different perspective from the ears.
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