Jazz Guitar

so is anyone into jazz guitar?

I've been looking at trying something new. As i learn new scales I end up just playing the same old blues type stuff in different scales. I'm kinda frustrated and bored.

I went out and was checking out some music books. I seem to study better with a book that i can carry around. any way i picked up the Hal Leonard Jazz guitar and holy crap some of the chords are crazy hard.

I'm really liking some of the songs and arrangements on the CD and i'm looking at mabye getting the song book to work throuh also but wasnt't sure if any one else messed around with jazz at all.

Here is an example of the first chord progression

--------------------------------------

-3---------------5----------------3---

-4---------------5----------------5---

-4---------------5----------------4---

--------------------------------------

-3---------------5----------------5---

the chord prgression is the Gmaj7 (first chord) for 8 beats, the Am7 (2nd chord) for 4 beats, then the d7 (3rd chord) for 4 beats. then back to Gmaj7. My pinky is so sore form it!

i used to be in jazz band until i realized i was, A, better then all of them, and B, they are dipshits.

now, if you want to play jazz, it's gonna take a lot of book learnin'. if you don't have a firm foundation in classical theory, then you'll flounder with jazz theory, because it really builds on it. so, you need to be able to sight-play from real notation, not tab, and you have to have a real grip on western music theory. if you have that, it's just a whole hell of a lot of love you need.

start by finding a good, solid book. really rip into it, read every page ten times, and then go find ten ways to apply what you just learned. and learn jazz songs! lots of them! listen to them! lots of them! and learn it by ear, too. you really have to do that. if you can't do it, KEEP trying. it'll come eventually. after you're doing this, you'll see where you need to go from there.

the only jazz i can really stand to regularly listen to, is coltraines work. but, i suggest you check out mingus and davis as well, as they are more conventional.

It depends a lot on how big your hands are, and what other chords you're leading into, but I'd recommend using your thumb to fret the bass for those chords.

Here are some things I'd suggest working on:

1. Broaden your chord vocabulary (learn multiple chords, in multiple voicings). You've got the perfect tool just a mouse-click away.
2. Know your keys inside and out, as well as basic scales (Minor, Major, their respective pentatonic scales, and the blues scale). Improvisation is what jazz is all about, and knowing these will also help you play more advanced altered and extended chords, by know where the scale degrees are.
3. The problem with Jazz guitarists is that often times they are in the back, playing just loud enough to blend into everything else. This is where you want to be if you're playing big band jazz, but you should still listen to guitarists like Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery to understand basic jazz guitar technique.
4. Sight reading, sight reading, sight reading. Being able to read sheet music is a must. Being able to read it quickly even more so.
5. You need to get in a group, be it a big band, combo, or just a few friends jamming. Practice comping, which is accompanying someone else while they improvise. I still need a lot of work on this aspect. Most jazz books will teach you a little bit about comping, but I haven't really delved into it yet, so you'll have to see for yourself. It has a lot to do with how you voice the chords, and just listening to the player improvising. A good accompaniment can make the difference between a good improvisation and a great improvisation.
6. Finally, try to break away from the classic idea of jazz. The unfortunate thing about this truly american artform, is that nowadays it survives mostly in academic environments. Though there are still a lot of great innovators, there seems to be a big movement towards this cookie cutter college jazz. Learn form the greats, then take that knowledge and apply it to the way you want to play guitar.

That's the best advice I can give you.

Jazz and fusion jazz are great lead playing challanges, foogered pretty much said it , know your keys in and out

Yeah Notim, I was on the same page. I figured to get out of the rut I'm in. I figured the jazz book would help expand my chordal vocabulary and apply scales better not to mention all the music theory involved.

But gez, learing to sight read is just too much but I'll work through my little book.

I love fusion form dead jams to phish jams to Davis's bitches brew. My favorite is john McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Some really good stuff.

I also like other jazz form time to time but trying to listen more guitarish jazz rather than sax or trumpet.

THe only Jazz I like is REAL NEW ORLEANS JAZZ and maybe Third Stream Jazz(Dave Brubeck). Actually most Jazz I like except Free Jazz and all that Avant Garde stuff.

@BAUDELAIRE: HOW DO YOU LEARN TO SIGHTREAD NOTES AND HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE?

hey guys, id like some help with this, i didnt really respond to this is b/c i dont like reading long posts lol, i did and realized something....im fucked...lol let me explain:

i wanted to jin jazz band for many many reasons, good for college, gets me outta spanish regents which sucks, and is good practice, but i have 3 hiuge things,

1)caant read music at all...
2)dont know any chords besides basics
3)my clean channel sucks :)

can some1 make a jazz lesson containing all the chords and scales? also i dont intend to read music, some 1 in jazz band showed me the music, its all chords... as long as i know chords im good, but thers stuff like gmaj7 bmaj9 wtf is tht aand can some 1 explain it in the lesson, stuff like dsus2 i know wut suspended is but wtf does 2 mean... explain/help.

^ Gmaj7 just means G,B,D, F#

It's just like the G7 chord but since it says maj 7, you don't flat the seventh note, you just add the natural.

sus2 just means the 1,2,5 steps of the chord.

And here's a lesson on Jazz chords from UG:

Clicky.

and Bmaj9 is the root (B), major 3rd (D#), perfect 5th (F#), major 7th (A#) and major 9th (C#).

what is tht on? whats a perdect 5th?

hey thn for the lesson, i neeeed to learn the notes on the fretboard, and the maj scale and theory on it to even attempt it...

In response to your question league, you can build your sight reading skills by practicing reading sheet music. There's really no other way around it, just learn how and then learn lots of it, and practice reading it often.

In response to EMB, a perfect 5th is 7 half-steps above the bass note. The perfect 5th is what you're playing when you play power chords, the bass and the 5th.

For anyone that's interested, I posted a lesson on advanced chords that you'll encounter in most music. It should give you an idea of where to start, and if I neglected to include chord diagrams, just use the chord tool to find them. If you're having trouble remembering them, try mixing them in with your own music.

5th=octave?

the 5th is the 5th note of the scale. an octave is usually the 8th or so. I guess it all depends what scales your using.

Oh, and also to EMB, just learn to read music. It's really not that hard, and most jazz bands (at school) make you try out and they have you read some things for them and play them.

Unless your school has a beginner jazz band (like mine does) where they take beginner horns and intermediate guitars that can't read music, they'll probably require you to be able to read.

ye well see....heres the thing...ive been playing trombone for like err 5 years, still cant read music...

Don't confuse half-steps with scale degrees. A half-step is equal to one fret.

I recommend buying "The Jazz Theory Book" by Mark Levine. It says its $42, but in pounds it's around £34. (Can't buy in Music Shops) It may seem like a rip off, but it will seriously be worth it! It goes into recommended artists, books, ear training etc. I haven't found anything as helpful as this.

But naturally, Mark expects the reader to already have some degree of knowledge in music and Jazz.

Hope this was helpful.

For those who can't afford/ be bothered to get a teacher, send me a message with your e-mail address and I'll e-mail you some of my notes on the major scale and modes, including chords which can be used for each and understanding how to improvise over them.

NOTE: I am also learning, but I am being tought by two Jazz experts, one of which who has performed around the world. If you have any corrections for me, please let me know and I'll gladly correct them.

ill buy the book...

@ JazzMaverick
Welcome to the site. This site is a little different than most. A helpful post and friendly turn will go far on this place, you seem to have both. I hope you become a regular in the forums.

Thanks for the warm welcome, and I'll defintely become a regular. I'm quite suprised I didn't find this site sooner, a shame, but at least I found it. It's quite helpful, along with many helpful members.