Feb 282010
Heya, I’ve never really played jazz guitar before and am wondering what is everything I need to know to become a good jazz guitarist. I’m aware there is always something more to learn in jazz but what are the essentials for being a jazz muscian e.g. chords and scales etc
Playing jazz guitar is a very challenging, but rewarding, practice.
You need to not only learn all of the essential chords, major, minor, 7th, minor 7th, diminished, diminished 7th, minor 7 b5…etc. And you also need to learn how to construct these chords.
You also need to know the arpeggios for each chord, and the corresponding chord scale.
You need to learn as many “licks” as possible.
Constantly listen to jazz guitarist, and other jazz artist who don’t play the guitar.
This list can go on and on, but the two most important things (i feel) are to practice as much as possible, and play with as many different musicians you can.
check out
jazzguitar.be for some very good (free) lessons.
Along with practicing chords and scales I would say train your ears too. The theory is important, don’t get me wrong, it’s pretty much fundamental. But there is no replacement for a well trained set of ears.
Listen to different intervals, be able to distinguish intervals, because all music, besides percussion, is based on pitch intervals. Chords, scales, arpeggios, etc; are all based around certain pitch intervals, and understanding how these work as well as sound together is extremely important.
Also work on rhythm. It’s all gravy if you have the licks but you need to know how to use em’ too. Always practice with a metronome, or at least tap your foot. Don’t focus solely on the downbeat’s. Practice syncopation. For instance, practice plucking only one note on downbeats, then only upbeats, then create basic rhythm phrases (ex: count 1 2&3 4 e and ah) (don’t worry about what not your hitting, instead focus on when to hit it, or just clap your hands), practice triplets to.
I think the most important thing in progressing and becoming better though is not how much you practice, but how efficiently you practice and your attitude towards practicing.
Make a schedule, practice at least 30 mins a day. And when you do practice, Focus! Don’t worry about being fast or fancy, nobody ever became a good musician by rushing through a song while making the same mistakes over and over. Play slowly, this will be a good lesson in patience, and when you make the same mistakes over and over, analyze why you are making these mistakes and what you need to do to fix them.
A person that practices very efficiently for 30 minutes a day will be MUCH better off than the guy who screws around for 3 -4 hours on a guitar every so often just to keep up appearances. Remember, there is a huge difference between a person who “plays guitar” and a guitarist.
Good Luck!
learn your scales and chords. the next thing that is just as important as learning your scales and chords is u need IMAGINATION. if u dont have IMAGINATION, ur solos will be no good.
hope i was able to help