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Jazz Guitar Lessons
in Improvisation

The jazz guitar lessons on this page focus on how to improvise single-note jazz solos. (AKA blowing, soloing, shredding, burning, etc.) A strong improvisational ability is common to great jazz guitarists of all eras.

Ready. Aim. Blow!

Website Testimonial :

I've surfed many jazz guitar lessons sites. This is by far the best one that I've ever seen. Most of them would simply give you licks without truly teaching jazz improvisation concepts. Keep up the good work!

-F.Donkor, Ottawa

The most important aspect of jazz improvisation (and music in general) is the melody. That is what resonates with human beings at first.

"What about chords? Aren't we improvising over chord changes?!"

Yes, jazzmen learn chord progressions to improvise on...
BUT, melodies are far more important than chords.

To quote one of my teachers : "Melodies are like, a big deal, you know!" This (very good) teacher once asked me :

What do you sing in the shower? What do you whistle at the bus stop?
What are crowds singing to cheer up their favorite hockey team? What are children singing in kindergarten? etc.

A bunch of chord changes...?!?
Or simply a good, catchy melody?

(-;

Gibson ES-137 The answer is obvious. Melody is therefore the king of music (and it also rules the jazz improvisation kingdom!)

I think the questions arise when we examine our very own instrument :

We all know for sure that the guitar is a naturally percussive, rhythmic and chordal instrument...

I believe, that's why we have to spend more time unlocking the guitar's melodic potential. We have to overcome the natural tendency and unite with the "king" : melody !

And seriously, anyone can improvise linear solos (AKA single-note, scalar or melodic) much like saxophone, piano or trumpet on the guitar. My goal here is to help you through the learning process.

The jazz guitar lessons found on this page will guide you through scales, arpeggios, licks, transcriptions and practicing (which is a big part of it!)

Learn The Scales...

The first area of improvisation that should be covered : scales!!! Most jazz solos in history are built of the major scale, melodic minor scale and harmonic minor scale. I'd guesstimate that those scales are used 90% of the time in a typical jazz guitar solo.

The three above mentionned scales are like "master keys" that unlock jazz improvisation. It's a very good starting place indeed! (wink, wink!)

The next step is to apply the scales to the guitar neck in a way that is useful and comfortable. Different people have different names for this but I like the term "diagonal playing".

Take a look at the jazz guitar lessons on scales to get familiar with common ways of playing and phrasing "diagonally". The fingerings are specific and practical. This approach is used by all great jazz guitarists.

...and Play Around
(jazz improv) with Them!

Specifically, scales can be "plugged into" tunes. Each chord has a corresponding scale of choice. Jazzmen call this chord-scale relationship.
Gibson Jazz Guitar

Practicing this important link between chords and scales is the key to outline the changes effectively while blowing.

Scales will show you how to solo on a tune. Jazz improvisation really starts to happen when your master scales.

Then arpeggios can be applied to create what some people call change running. Finally, the creation and ornamention of guide-tone lines is another excellent jazz learning device. The guide-tones are usually ornamented with scales and arpeggios (of course! what else?!)

Scale runs, arpeggios and ornamented guide-tones constitute the vast majority of all the melodic material found in jazz improvisation. (really!!!) Practice the suggestions found in these jazz guitar lessons diligently.

It may feel overwhelming at first but trust me, it creates more freedom! On the long run, a player that hears the chord progressions and melodies is far more interesting than any "chops monster" (to me anyways!)

[I'd like to add : Some guys really hear everything and are chop monsters! freaks...]

Anyways, the scales (along with the arpeggios and guide-tones derived from them) eventually become the "meat and potatoes" of your playing. Once mastered, they enable you to play without thinking too much.

Here's how you can get good at jazz improvisation...

After a while, great jazz guitarists go with the flow of their musical ideas...and forget about everything!

"First, learn to how hear everything and play everything you hear,
then hear everything and play as little of it as possible."

-Hal Galper, jazz pianist and educator; Author of Forward Motion.

Jazz Guitar Licks and Transcriptions

Learning licks is yet another great way to practice jazz improvisation and jazz guitar. It is much like learning a language by mimicking some words and sentences. Young children learn to speak in this manner ... way before they learn the alphabet! (before you learn all scales et al. wink wink!)

Here is a jazz guitar lesson on common licks and another one that contains lick from recordings. Use those pre-learned musical phrases in a convincing way. Combine your knowledge of scales and chords to play them creatively, in context.

You can also gather licks from the transcription process. Transcribing is literally "picking someone's musical brain". Take phrases of transcribed solos and make them part of you own vocabulary. Remember :

The best jazz guitar lessons ever are on your favorite recordings!

However... (the devil's advocate is coming right atcha!) (-;

Gibson ES 137 Some people find the use of licks to be unoriginal. They might say it's not spontaneous. I suggest you don't listen to that. Why?

Personally, I'd rather pull out a "musical sentence" that is known to work rather than merely noodling...

If "that phrase" was played by one of my heroes, how could it be wrong? (wrong to me anyways) Let's see...

"Are licks, transcriptions and "pre-learned concepts" bad? Will they make me a worse improviser? Will licks prevent my own voice from shining?

I believe every aspiring jazz musician should learn licks, transcriptions and many more things from other musicians because...

...yes that's true: jazz is spontaneous...

...BUT...

Improvising jazz requires a lot of preparation! (You know that. That's why you're here, right?) We prepare by practicing music that has been played by other great jazz players, that's all!

So, don't feel too concerned when "stealing" licks from other musicians. Your vocabulary will eventually develop into sounding more personal and natural over time (with... preparation and practice of course!)

Also refer to the Jazz Legends section for more genuine licks.

The Art of Practicing

You may find it hard to get it all under you fingers all at once. Let me reassure you: scales and other building blocks of jazz improvisation are to be learned "slowly but surely".

With patience and some dedicated practicing your playing will feel better everyday.

You can only find so much in jazz guitar lessons...

...the rest is yours to create in the comfort of your practice room.

Here's my best advice on practicing : get organized as soon as possible!

Always plan ahead and decide what to work on in advance (before even touching the instrument!)

Practice habits are directly reflected into your abilities.