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Upper Structure Triad Soloing

Monday, June 21, 2010

Triads are cool. Without them, Bach probably would have been a hay baler or something to that effect. Without triads, I would probably be writing about air guitar or something mundane like the proper way to stuff your spandex before playing that 80′s high school reunion you got tapped to do. A triad, as you [...]

Rhythm Changes for Dummies

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

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Now before you get your panties in a bunch, the picture on the left is just for fun. There is no “Rhythm Changes for Dummies” book, though I’m sure someone has thought about writing it. If you’ve ever wondered where the “Rhythm” in “Rhythm and Blues” comes from, now you know. “Rhythm Changes” is a [...]

Jazz Blues Lines

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

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Sorry there was no post yesterday, everyone. I was quite under the weather yesterday due to a bad allergy attack from spending time in a house with three cats. Needless to say I’m not their biggest fan. Anyway, I wanted to start off the week by giving you some actual material you can practice with. [...]

Improvising Pentatonics

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

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I’ve been digging into pentatonics since starting my new practice regimen for my Six-Month Challenge. I’ve mostly been starting with Jerry Bergonzi’s “Pentatonics” book, which is very good. There are a lot of very cool pentatonic applications over certain chords that will give some very interesting sounds. I’m going to show you a few, but [...]

Embrace the Suck

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

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This is Andreas Varady. Andreas is 12-years old. Andreas plays guitar. Andreas plays guitar well. Actually, Andreas plays guitar very well. No, I don’t mean he plays very well for a 12-year-old kid. I mean he plays very well, period. In fact, he plays better than 99% of every guitarist in the world, including me [...]

Do You Critique Your Own Performances?

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

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Welcome back, everyone. I hope those of you in the U.S. had a happy and safe holiday weekend. Mine was great, thank you very much. During the extended weekend I had a gig with my jazz quintet. It’s been quite a while since we’ve played together. One of the great things about playing jazz is [...]

Chord Substitutions

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

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One thing common to jazz but found less often in other styles of music is chord substitutions. In its simplest form, this is the process of playing one chord instead the one originally specified in order to spice up the harmony, create different voice leading, or take the song in a different harmonic direction. If [...]

Five Jazz Standards For Beginners

Monday, May 24, 2010

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So, you finally decided to dip your toe in the water and start learning some jazz. You’ve finally felt the power of the dark side of the force. Good for you! The rewards of learning to play jazz go way beyond just being a good guitar player. I am convinced that if you can learn [...]

The Coltrane Effect

Friday, May 21, 2010

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I think it is safe to say that John Coltrane, (in)arguably the greatest jazz tenor saxophonist ever, has had the most profound effect and influence on guitarists for someone who is not a guitarist himself. One would be hard-pressed to find a jazz or fusion guitarist who does not list Trane as an influence. His [...]

Daily Exercises in the Melodic Minor and Harmonic Minor Modes by Barry Galbraith

Thursday, May 13, 2010

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Barry Galbraith was a well-respected jazz guitarist who played with everyone from Miles Davis to Sarah Vaughan. Though he was generally not known outside of the jazz guitar community such as the likes of Wes or Metheny, he made an indelible mark on the instrument and has appreciated a wide range of great players who [...]