How to sound a little bit jazzy?

[pkboy2005]

I mainly play rock and blues guitar but i discover that when i jam on some tracks, i find i am tired of pentatonic sound and running some sequence on major scale.
i want to sound a little bit jazzy or outside while i am improvising, i hope you can give me some methods to start. THX.

P.S. Sorry for my bad English

[doruondun]

I'm a beginner to the jazz too, but I found that learning 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th chords (minor, major, diminished, dominant, etc chord types) could be a good start and try to solo (chromatic) over those chords. And listen a lot of different jazz guitar albums to see how they sound.

[peterja]

Everything doruondun said.

Listening to a lot of jazz would definitely help you to get the feeling.
If you are used to listening to rock and blues you need to get the language into your ears...
It´s a very efficient and pleasent way to learn

It also depends on how advanced a player you are?
If you are mostly familiar with pentatonics and blues licks, just try to put in a few extra notes. Keep it simple for now, don´t try to play the 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th in one phrase. Just one at the time. Get used to the sound of them.

The following licks are pretty simple, it´s still just a pentatonic, but with a few cromatic notes and a 9th for a jazzy flavour, maybe they can give you some ideas.


-----------------------------5-7-6-5-------------
--------------------------5-------------------
---7-6-5-----4--------5---------------------------
----------------6-7----------------------------
----------7-----------------------------------
---------------------------------------------





---------------------------------------------
-------8--5------------------------------------
------------5---------------------------------
---------------7-6-5----------------------------
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------






----7-6-5-----------------------------5-6-7--------
-----------8--5-----------------5--8-------------
----------------5-------------5----------------
------------------7-6-5-6-7-----------------------
---------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------

Now, I hope you´re not a to advanced player, so these licks seems stupid

My point is just to show you a few simple tricks for that jazz sound.
By the way, for a outside sound on a major chord, try to play the pentatonic a half step below.

[derek]

Sounding "jazzy" is alot about phrasing and chromatics. Hearing what other players are doing is pretty important. Trying to play the blues by just running a pentatonic scale isn't going to sound very bluesy, mainly because of the phrasing. Same with jazz.

You can play diminished lines over dominant chords, utilize ideas like side slipping (play a line, then play it a half step above or below, then back again), chromatics, etc. However, to really sound jazzy, grabbing some phrasing from one of the masters is pretty important. Try checking vids on youtube by Fred Hamilton, dutchbopper, and others. Good luck

[Goofsus4]

All good stuff. I would add to try playing the arpeggios for the chords instead of a scale when improvising and approach some of the chord tones from a half step away - sometimes that will be a tension, sometimes a related scale note. Swing your phrasing. As Derek said, listen to some jazz, and pay close attention to the rhythm and that will give you an idea of what "swinging" the notes sounds like.

If you swing your phrasing and use chromatic approach notes you will sound somewhat jazzy just playing the pentatonic scale. That's the way I started. Then when you begin using more arps to pull your lines from it gets more jazzy. Then when you start really consciously using the tensions such as the b9, #9, b5,#5 to add color to a line, then you start getting it. It takes a while though.

I would also recommend ordering Mimi Fox's "Arpeggio studies over Jazz Standards" - you can search Amazon for it. It's a small book, has both standard and tab, has a CD so you can hear what's going on, and is inexpensive. There is a sample solo in it that combines a lot of the concepts she talks about. If you take the time to learn it, then sit down and really analyze what she's doing (she has notes on this), you will definitely get the sound of jazz in your ears in an accessible way. Just listening to a master solo may not do it for you because you really won't know how the lines are built up. (I'm not saying Mimi's not a master, of course - she has made this material basic so you can get it).

Mimi's little book really launched me off on the road. It's one of the most useful pieces of digestible instructional material I've come across.

Matt Warnock has a nice free lesson on this site covering chromatics as well that can help you a lot. Arps + chromatics + swing will get you on the road.

[derek]

Originally Posted by Goofsus4

All good stuff. I would add to try playing the arpeggios for the chords instead of a scale when improvising and approach some of the chord tones from a half step away - sometimes that will be a tension, sometimes a related scale note. Swing your phrasing. As Derek said, listen to some jazz, and pay close attention to the rhythm and that will give you an idea of what "swinging" the notes sounds like.

If you swing your phrasing and use chromatic approach notes you will sound somewhat jazzy just playing the pentatonic scale. That's the way I started. Then when you begin using more arps to pull your lines from it gets more jazzy. Then when you start really consciously using the tensions such as the b9, #9, b5,#5 to add color to a line, then you start getting it. It takes a while though.

I would also recommend ordering Mimi Fox's "Arpeggio studies over Jazz Standards" - you can search Amazon for it. It's a small book, has both standard and tab, has a CD so you can hear what's going on, and is inexpensive. There is a sample solo in it that combines a lot of the concepts she talks about. If you take the time to learn it, then sit down and really analyze what she's doing (she has notes on this), you will definitely get the sound of jazz in your ears in an accessible way. Just listening to a master solo may not do it for you because you really won't know how the lines are built up. (I'm not saying Mimi's not a master, of course - she has made this material basic so you can get it).

Mimi's little book really launched me off on the road. It's one of the most useful pieces of digestible instructional material I've come across.

Matt Warnock has a nice free lesson on this site covering chromatics as well that can help you a lot. Arps + chromatics + swing will get you on the road.

I agree, Mimi's book is a wonderful resource. It is a great way to get up and going.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

I have the book and like it, too. I wish it were a little thicker: say continue where it left off by adding approach notes/chromatics/... to the arpeggios.

[pierre richard]

learn the words to music...

scales..chords...arpeggios...scale runs..listening to the great players...etc...

theory is the grammer in music...

you use these tools to put together sentences..and the bigger your vocabulary the more you will have to say..

time on the instrument..pierre

[pkboy2005]

Thank you for peterja. I have tried your lick and I like them.
Thank you for all the suggesions. I think i can use more chromatic notes and appregios.

but for an outstanding improvisor. Would they outline the changes between chord and chord ??? (by using appregios???). as I always use one scale over the same track. The changes between chord and chord may not be obvious and sound a bit dull.

Also, i see many jazz tunes are using 7th chor ds. but If I only have a diatonic progression like Am F G C, can i make it sound jazzy or outside ?

hope you can understand.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by pkboy2005

Also, i see many jazz tunes are using 7th chords. but If I only have a diatonic progression like Am F G C, can i make it sound jazzy or outside ?

x67678 A13b5#9
x55565 Dmin11
x43453 G13b5
x32442 Cmaj7#9#11

[fep]

+1

Great post peterja... posts with cool examples, my favorite kind of posts.

[voelker]

yes an outstanding improviser can definitely outline the chord changes.

(ex) There is no F in C pent. So if your playing C pent over the entire (Am F G C) progression, you might want to use that F when your on the F and G chord.

Try to start thinking "chord" instead of "key". If your playing blues you should already be changing scales because the blues often uses all dominant 7 chords, which means each chord is from a different key. start learning arps and then you'll slowly figure out which alterations can be made in relation to each type of chord.

quick tricks to add some tension

approaching the 2nd and 3rd from the m3rd
oscillateing between the b5th, 5th, and #5th
slide down to the 6th from the b7th

With the exception of the #5th, these ideas are all found when you combine the minor and major blues scales, and are all effective over dominant 7 chords

[Uli]

Hi!
If you're into Blues, why not start with some Jazz-Blues chord patterns. You can find them on this site at
Jazz Guitar Chords: Jazz Blues Chord Progression

As for soloing, I would strongly recommend to check out Wolf Marshall's 101 Jazz Licks. You'll get a lot of inspiration about how to build up melody lines and quite a number of riffs that you can use. Plus, at the end, there's a short chapter on Jazz Chord Licks which gives you an idea about how chords are presented (i.e.: reduced) in Jazz.
Has helped me a lot.

It's a long way, though. But a beautiful one, once you've reached the point of no return :-)

[Goofsus4]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

I have the book and like it, too. I wish it were a little thicker: say continue where it left off by adding approach notes/chromatics/... to the arpeggios.

I think that's what that Summertime solo is supposed to demonstrate. She uses some chromaticism in that in addition to the arps, and of course, superimposes various arps to create altered tones and melodic extensions. When I first got that book, I learned a lot about how to use arps to outline changes. I memorized that Summertime solo and loved the tones, but sadly did not yet have the theoretical based to understand what she was trying to tell me. But after about a year of learning more about theory and playing more, I went back and revisited it and I really soaked it up and began to incorporate more of those ideas into my own improvising.

[GuitaRoland]

Originally Posted by derek

Sounding "jazzy" is a lot about phrasing and chromatics. Grabbing some phrasing from one of the masters is pretty important.

I think that these are great tips!

/R

[doruondun]

Using 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th chords and playing their arpeggios, intervals without bending... Filling those melodies with sliding, tapping and chromatics... And to be able to improvise them all...

[vac4873]

If you're primarily a blues player, listening to a jazz player's treatment of a blues would be a good start on getting the "jazzy" phrasing and ideas into your head - perhaps in a smaller increment than listening to someone play a bop or fusion tune. Here's a link to Herb Ellis playing a blues. YouTube - Herb Ellis - Blues for everyone

In another approach, Robben Ford uses the blues scale almost exclusively in this one, but makes it "jazzy" with some of the chord changes he uses behind the tune. Also, he and his band demonstrate how to incorporate dynamics into a tune to take it "over the top" Here's the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGJafrBw5UA

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by doruondun

Using 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th chords and playing their arpeggios, intervals without bending... Filling those melodies with sliding, tapping and chromatics... And to be able to improvise them all...

Tapping? Is that jazzy or shreddy?

[doruondun]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

Tapping? Is that jazzy or shreddy?

Sorry for the term tapping, but I mean "hammering". Also I'm adding "pull-offs"...

[Baltar Hornbeek]

Originally Posted by pkboy2005

i want to sound a little bit jazzy or outside while i am improvising, i hope you can give me some methods to start.

Ultimately, I think, we've got to define what "jazzy" and "outside" sounds like for ourselves. This comes about from listening to others. Then, we find the notes to make it happen.

[Greenwat]

Adding the maj 7th interval to your minor pentatonic should jazz it up a bit