First off, what's a double stop? On guitar, the term "double stops" means two notes played simultaneously. Another way to think of them is as intervals: thirds, fourths, sixths, and so on. Guitarists including Johnny Smith, Jim Hall and others...
If you've ever done any basic ear training, you might have noticed that the whole tone, diminished and altered scales all have a similar "vibe" and might be hard to distinguish upon first listening. However, once you break them down, you'll find...
Bossa Novas and Brazilian tunes sound oh-so-good. Tunes written by Jobim are almost ubiquitous, with classics like "Girl from Ipanema" and "Desafinado" being favorites for jazzers and non-jazzers alike. If you've ever tried to play one though,...
Let's face it. You'll never be at a jazz jam session without someone calling a tune with a few (or a lot) of ii-V-Is in it. Would it even be a jazz jam session if they didn't? And, there's a good chance that tune might even be Solar! On that...
How to Improvise and Play Chords on the "I Got Rhythm" Chord Progression -- One of the Most Common Progression in Jazz Oh, we've all heard it. The so-called "Rhythm Changes," as it is commonly known, is a set of chord changes based on George...
I cannot stress this enough: being able to play over a jazz blues is crucial for any jazz musician. This post is more of "ready, aim, fire" type of blog post on improvising over the jazz blues form. Before moving on, make sure you do the...
