Recently it occurred to me that for beginners, it can be tough to tell what separates "jazz guitar" from something that simply borrows from the style. If Maroon Five puts a major 7 chord in their song, and I played it on guitar, would it be now...
If you're new to the world of jazz guitar, you might be thinking - do I need a fancy pack of strings to get the "jazz sound"? In short, it really depends on what style of jazz you're looking to play and what tone you prefer. In my opinion, your...
When I was in music school, stories of Coltrane and Charlie Parker practicing jazz for 10-12 hours a day would circulate the hallways like folk tales. At the time, it was inspiring, but for prospective jazz musicians I can understand how it would...
Autumn leaves is a famous jazz standard composed by Joseph Kosma and is known by both jazz players and casual listeners alike. In this blog post, we'll provide some examples of how to play chord melody, single-note solos, and comping ideas for...
Understanding of chromaticism is one of the core parts of making your playing sound more sophisticated and deliberate. It's what will help you move away from playing with bland-sounding scales and add spicy accidentals. We'll tackle different...
Major 6th versus 6th chords overview: The 6th chord is a major triad with an added 6th. Usually functions as the I chord. The major 6th chord is a maj7 chord with an added 6th or 13th. Usually functions as the I chord. Dominant chords with 6th...
