JazzGuitarLessons.net. Improve your jazz guitar playing with a real teacher. Podcast on how to approach standards.
And this wants to be a really short podcast on how to learn tunes. In fact, how to memorize them, how to make sure you can comp and improvise on standards, and how to make sure that you build yourself a list that is functional β that you can walk into a jam session or play with friends and know standards.
Welcome to Jazz Guitar Lessons, where we help guitarists to learn jazz faster, express themselves more fluently, and have fun along the way. My name is Mark, and if you're looking to learn jazz, form better practice habits, and especially if you enjoy a French accent, make sure to subscribe.
A little bit of gratitude. Um, I wanted to thank you for being here because, in all honesty β and this is the first time I admitted this publicly β podcasting is my very favorite way of doing this. So, sure, I blog, I do videos, I teach on Skype privately, and there's all these things on the websites, lessons, and I collaborate with different instructors. But podcasting, without diminishing the rest, I sit β I could sit here in the office all day and just podcast, talk to my microphone about stuff I know and love. So, thanks for listening. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be doing the podcast. So, thanks.
And this is also a September 2015 issue. So, it's a back-to-school period. Period. You know how we feel. Um, there's something in the air. It's very electric. Uh, people start new hobbies and stuff. You can start classes β I don't know, painting classes, jazz guitar courses, or doing some sort of sport, team sport β and all the kids are back in school. So, it's a really exciting time.
The Tune of the Month Club is a new project also that was started. This is the third month. So, Autumn Leaves is the third song. All of this is going really well. So, thank you and I hope it's the same for you β that your back-to-school period is going well.
Now, back to standards. A few weeks ago, I published two or three things on the website relating to learning standards and memorizing them and, you know, making the most out of playing on standards, basically. And the blog post and videos are called The Dummies Guide to Jazz Guitar Standards β or to jazz standards. Although it may sound a bit like, you know, too simplistic, it is not. And I'm saying this because, as it's the back-to-school and all of this, there's the sort of back-to-basics idea in the air. That's why I want to make this short podcast. And for now, for today, and make sure you get the most out of it.
So, first thing, if you want to stop listening right now, do this in your jazz guitar practice and you'll be fine: 50% β that's half β 50% of your practice time should be dedicated to learning songs. So, learn tunes or practice on tunes you already know to make sure you don't forget them. That's it. You could stop listening right now.
What happened to me in 2005 when I walked in my very first jazz guitar lesson: I was attending university in Montreal. Um, Michael Bar, my first teacher there β which I still, um, he's still in contact with JazzGuitarLessons.net often β he said, you know, we sat down, we played on How High the Moon and All the Things You Are and two or three songs, and he just said, "You know, play more tunes. You got to learn to do this by doing it."
In French, we say, cβest en forgeant quβon devient forgeron, meaning that, you know, it's by doing it, you get more mileage, you'll get better at it. And I was really surprised at that point because I was 20-some, 21 maybe, and I wanted to learn all the crazy arpeggios and scales and altered stuff and bebop modes and whatnot. And all he told me was, "Practice more songs." So this is something I want to pass on to you.
Um, and it's the case now whenever I teach privately, whether it be in the UK on Skype or in Canada here or in the US, that's always β or mostly always β what students come out of the lesson having to do: play tunes. Play two or three tunes every time you sit down to practice, because that's what you should be doing anyways. You're training to do that.
It would be like an athlete running for a sprint, a 100-meter dash, and never actually sprinting β only lifting weights and doing crunches and running long runs. You have to do what you want to do. You have to do it to get better at it.
Hey guys, just a quick note. If you're enjoying this content and you're eager to boost your own jazz guitar playing, then connect with us. We've transformed the jazz skills of thousands of guitarists. You can find a link in the description or head directly over to JazzGuitarLessons.net to begin your journey.
All right, let's dive back into the episode.
Now, for the end of this podcast, I'll share with you the technique that I shared in the video and the blog post, which is simple. It's called a Four Chorus Exercise, and that's Michael Bar in 2005 that explained this to me. It's really simple. You just go ahead, pick a song, pick a tempo, and you play four choruses without stopping at all in the tempo.
The first chorus, you play the melody.
Second chorus, you play comping.
Third chorus, you play improvisation, a solo.
And the fourth chorus, you play again the melody or a chord melody or something.
And that's it. That's all. So here's the rationale: if you can execute the Four Chorus Exercise on a song, it means that you really know the song. So, it's a great assessment to see if you know it.
So, say for me, if you picked the tune β I don't know, Stella by Starlight β I would totally nail that on the head. I'd be totally right on the money. I'd know every change, everything in every key, I'll be fine. Uh, but if maybe you take another song like Nika's Dream or Caravan, I'd be more confused. Maybe during my comping, I would forget one or two chords, and in my soloing, I would play the wrong arpeggio or scale.
So you see, it's a great assessment to see if you really know the tune. And then it's a time-saver because you know what you have to practice. You don't have to fiddle around. Practice tunes for 50% of your practice time and the rest of the practice time is based on those things that you got to work on. If it's a minor IIβV that's a problem, you know, listen to podcast 24 and get working on your minor IIβV so you can get better at Nika's Dream. If you're having a problem with the Dorian mode and you're practicing So What, then play a bit on So What for 50% of your practice time, then β as a reminder β do something in Dorian to help that area. You see what I'm saying.
So, I hope it makes sense to you. There's a lot more where it came from, right? Because you can look at the blog post and the video for more detailed instructions, of course. And it's always in the spirit of only playing what you can. When you're playing the Four Chorus Exercise, we don't mind if you can play these altered and diminished and whatnot. We just want to hear the tune. Can you play the right chords in the right spot?
It can be boring β comping with just shells, 1β3β5β7 β or it can be, if you want, full-fledged extensions, flat 9 and all the shebang, or simple. It's up to you. It's not the time to reinvent the wheel. What is at hand is: do you know the song?
And I'll leave you with just one more thing. Well, two more things, in fact. The first thing is a Joe Pass quote that I stumbled upon on the internet recently. It's Joe Pass saying, "Any guitarist should just pick up a guitar and play tunes for an hour without a backing band or anything." And he's right. Although I'm not Joe Pass, and you're probably not Joe Pass either. Probably you're not Joe Pass if you're listening to this. But, um, that's the idea: you should be able to play chords and scales and just blow on tunes and that we really hear the changes going by while you're doing this.
And lastly, before I let you go, one important thing to keep in mind is: have a list of tunes handy. Keep it with you. Keep it in your pocket or your wallet. So whenever you go to a jam session, you can just pull it out. People say, "What do you want to play?" One of these 10 tunes.
And if you don't have 10 tunes yet, now would be a great time to reach that threshold and to make sure that you can perform the melody, the comping, and the soloing on 10 standards. Start with that. And as you keep adding to the list β I don't know, maybe you'll look back in 8 or 10 months and have 25 tunes, which was my case, right? And then I look at this, and then I look at the first few ones and go, "Oh, shoot. You know, I think I forgot Satin Doll or I'm missing some chords." You know what you do then? You do the Four Chorus Exercise and then you say, "Oo, Satin Doll was fine, but I was missing a chord or two in the bridge." Aha, I assessed. I know my weakness. Let's work on that in the following practice session or in the second half.
All right, so I'll let you go. I'm Mark from JazzGuitarLessons.net. Improve your jazz guitar playing with a real teacher, and I'll see you soon on the website. Take care.
