Reaching the Level of Playing with Jazz Musicians
Reaching the Level of Playing with Jazz Musicians
Reaching the Level of Playing with Jazz Musicians
Q: Hello, I am a student at Harvard College, though I am taking this year off to pursue other interests. High on my list is Jazz guitar. The reason I’m contacting you is to ask your advice. I’ve been playing guitar for many years. I’ve also played bass and classical piano. I have a fairly strong background in music, that is, my ear, manual dexterity, and basic musical knowledge (with the addition of a few Music Theory courses) is present. Still with Jazz, it’s spotty, as I’ve never had a teacher for guitar. I’ve been reaching to learn what I can from books and listening, and I’ve come a long way in this respect. I’ve reached a point where I very much want to solidify my groundings in Jazz theory and perhaps, be reaching farther. I have the enthusiasm, passion, work-ethic and ambition, but I lack direction. Can you recommend a way that I can get to the level appropriate to show up to a jam session and be on the same page as other Jazz musicians? Should I go straight to lessons? Should I enroll in a jazz theory course? Or would I be wasting my time and money with both of these, when I could make a lot of progress on my own (following a book you might recommend, perhaps one of your books and your website)?
AI’m reaching out and making a leap of faith here and figure that you have a decent knowledge of scales but probably haven’t organized them well or know them like you need to know them in every key. Furthermore I’m figuring you know the name of any note on the guitar fretboard if I pointed to a note. I’m also figuring you know your basic barre chords with the root on the low E or A string. Let me know if I’m not correct.Given that this information is close to correct I think we need to first completely organize your knowledge of the fretboard in regards to scales. To do this you to need to look at my New York Guitar Method Primer Book One showing scales on the guitar. You want to learn/review these scales. Using the fingering suggested. I want you to first work your way through all the C modes so first C major all positions then C dorian positions etc. Remember we are learning note names and degrees here not just fingering positions. I would pay close attention to your technique and look in a mirror to check out your hand. I’d recommend you buy the a beginners Guitar Technique – a Guide to Speed Accuracy and Fluid Performance and check out how I recommend you play the guitar.Be anal about this because the more relaxed and close to the neck your hand is the better you are going to play.
You also want to spend time playing/improvising with these scales. Use the midifiles and progressions connected to Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volumes Two or make up your own. You can find the Help Files for Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volume Two.
So to review: For scale study download the scales and get Music Theory Workbook for Guitar Volumes Two and the Guitar Technique – a Guide to Speed Accuracy and Fluid Performance.
Nothing you do on the guitar is going to be worth anything if you can’t hear correctly so get the following books. Ear Training One Note Complete Try to listen to the Ear Training One Note CD 5 to 10 times a day for 5 to 10 minutes. Make sure to go to www.muse-eek.com and read all the FAQs. This can help you think of this practice correctly. Also get the book Fanatic’s Guide to Ear Training and Sight Singing and start working on the first assignment in the book. There are also a few suggested lessons in the www.muse-eek.com member’s area for the Fanatic’s Guide. You can join the member’s are for free after buying the books.
We are also going to review and apply all your chords with the root on the 5th and 6th string. I want you to start learning the chord progressions in the back of the book. Learn both versions of each progression. By this I mean learn the chords using the chord symbols but also look in the very back of the book and learn the progressions by just looking at the actual notes. If you find chords you don’t know look them up in the book. You also need to read the section of Chord Reharmonization which precedes the chord progressions. This information is extremely important to help you understand how to analyze, create and alter chord progressions. We are also going to use this information to superimpose melodic lines later on. You should try to learn at least a couple of progressions per week.
It is also recommended that you read Bruce Arnold’s Blog at his artist site. It contains more discussion of the musical topics found in these FAQs as well as other subjects of interest. You will also find the “Music Education Genealogy Chart” located here which shows you the historic significance of the music education products found on the Muse Eek Publishing Company Website.