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#1
12-01-2010, 03:23 PM
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 Guitar Self-Assessment Hey to the forum! From what I've read so far, it looks great. This is my first post. I've been playing as a hobby, on and off, for about twenty-two years. I have worked through a one of Rich Severson's basic courses (which I liked), know my major and minor scales, along with the pentatonic scale, in all the CAGED positions, and know my minor 7th, dominant 7th, major 7th, 6th and 9th chords in many different positions. I mention this to give you an idea of my knowledge base. What I want to get into is jazz blues playing. I admire players such as Robben Ford, Ronnie Earl, Kenny Burrell, Scofield on the tribute album to Ray Charles. My playing lacks the "cohesiveness," among many things, that I hear in these players. I sound like a guy playing chords and scales, whereas the aforementioned can improvise over the chord changes effortlessly to present a real song. I can't really articulate what it is that I'm trying to say hear as between where I am and where I want to go. It's just that my playing sounds disjointed and broken when compared to pros like Ford, Earl, Burrell and Scofield. My question is this: what home study courses, online courses, etc., would you recommend (if any) as a next step for me? Or, if you have been in a similar situation as mine, from a knowledge/playing stand point, what helped you get to the next level? Playing live, private lessons, listening and studying your favorite players? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. RL     |
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#2
12-01-2010, 04:23 PM
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| Hi RAL, welcome. For me, getting to the next level involved actually enrolling in a jazz studies curriculum at my local university. Nothing like being prodded/cajoled/ridiculed/pushed musically - all the time - to make one really improve. However, not many people are lucky enough to have the luxury I have of a very flexible work schedule which allows me to go to class during the middle of every weekday. The Jimmy Bruno online school is very good. It is in transition at the moment, but should be back in January (or so we are told). Since you're looking to play blues (at least to start), take a look at Don Mock's DVD "The Blues from Rock to Jazz." That's a pretty good video. And of course, this site has not only forums but lessons - some specifically about jazz-blues: Blues Guitar. Play along with blues recordings of musicians you like. Almost every jazz musician has recorded multiple blues numbers. And don't limit yourself strictly to guitarists...get some horn players into your rotation as well. Lately I've been pimping Clifford Brown's "Sandu" (mostly because that's a solo I'm transcribing and learning). Take a listen and hear how nicely he follows the changes! YouTube - Clifford Brown - Sandu |
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#3
12-01-2010, 06:24 PM
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| Hey RAL....welcome!! Actually, I know exactly what you are saying as I was at about the same place as you are a year ago...I played bass for 30 years before picking up the guitar a few years ago... I too love jazz blues...what I found real helpful was a series of books by Frank Vignola called Swing blues books 1-3. The books are essentially no theory, just full solos written out (with Tab) for about 30 jazz blues solos in different keys w/CD.. I took the time and learned all of them...not to just learn "licks" per se, but once you learn them it gives you a pretty good "roadmap" to where you can then start applying different rhythms and chord tones in a jazz blues (where I am now) by examples of going smoothly through the chord changes. Be aware that although he only plays dominant type blues in the books...he does use some cool substitutions to play through the changes. Helped me a lot to connect the chords in my jazz blues, maybe it would help you.... |
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#4
12-02-2010, 09:27 AM
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| Fattjeff and Bassman, Thanks for the replies. I will follow your suggestions and check out the lessons on this site for blues. One thing that really frustrates me is that I spend too much time practicing things that I'm not certain I should be focused on. That's why I'm interested in some advice as to good books/courses that will help point me in the right direction and so I won't waste time on unnecessary things. Thanks again. RAL |
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#5
12-02-2010, 09:43 AM
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| RAL, You may find that you enjoy more than just blues numbers (i.e. standards, modal tunes, etc.) once you start to listen to them, if you haven't already. If that is the case, then I would definitely recommend the Jimmy Bruno online course. Very structured, very efficient. As I mentioned before, he is in something of a transition phase right now but his new site is Jimmy Bruno Jazz Guitar, Music Educator, online guitar lessons. Other online options include the Rich Severson guitar college (http://www.guitarcollege.net). I'm not involved in his online college per se, since I'm in a "real" college for jazz, but I've used several of his instructional videos and they are all really good. And of course, the Martin Taylor and Andres Oberg sites (Martin Taylor Guitar Academy | and http://www.andreasguitaruniverse.com/). If books are more your thing, look into either the Micky Baker or Jody Fischer courses. I've heard nothing but good things about those as well. I've also heard good things about the Chris Standring "Play What You Hear" course, but I have no experience with it. Best option, of course, is to find yourself a local teacher who can teach you the kind of stuff you want to play. But that's not always possible for everyone. |
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#7
12-04-2010, 09:44 AM
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| Mark Stefani has some Truefire material that may be helpful. Also check out his "Lessons By Mail" course entitled Swing Blues: The Doorway to Jazz at visionmusic.com . In it, he presents heads to classic jazz blues tunes, plus a bounty of II-V and turnaround licks, linear solos, chord solos, and comping ideas. He also offers a lot of backing tracks and free material on his site, so you can "try it before you buy it." Check it out! Regards, Jeff |
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#9
12-04-2010, 12:44 PM
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Linear Mode
