1 month to woodshed

daniel89 · #1 12-07-2011, 11:24 PM

So I have Exactly 30 days to woodshed before school starts again and I have to refocus mainly on classical guitar. I've made up my mind that I want to work on M7, m7, half-dim, dim, and dom7 arpeggios, chords and inversions.For now, I want to spend 6 days on each quality, memorizing the fretboard shapes is goal one, becoming fluid in them in goal 2. Learning drop 2 and 3 voicings for each of the chords and their 1st, 2nd, 3rd inversions is goal 3.

Does anyone have any good exercises for actually PRACTICING with these shapes? Would Ted Greene's Single Note soloing be a good way to learn some actual LINES with these shapes? How can I put the inversions to work in standards? Would working with the book Swing and Big Band guitar be a good place to get some exercises?

Now Im not a complete beginner, I have excellent knowledge of the major scale and its modes. I am focusing on arps because I want to sound less "scale-y" and play over the actual changes better. I play in a big band at my university (Im a classical guitar major) and mainly use Freddie Green chords, which work great. But I'd like to expand my playing to the point where I could play in more of a small group format. I also want to be able to create some bebop lines and work towards that style of playing.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks everybody!

Franklin52 · #2 12-08-2011, 01:45 AM

You can check Matt Warnocks site, he has a lot of well presented lessons there:

Matt Warnock : Jazz Guitar, Guitar Lessons & Guitar Journalism | MattWarnockGuitar.com

jmstritt · #3 12-08-2011, 11:01 AM

The best way is to start learning bebop licks and tunes. A lot of folks look down on playing licks, but the fact of the matter is that is how one starts. Check out the Essential Jazz Lines series of books, get the Charlie Parker one and maybe the Joe Pass book too. Also the book Joe Pass Guitar Style is a good buy for under $10. Of course, Matt's website is a great resource as well and full of great free content.

As far as practicing arpeggios goes I will play a scale for instance a C major scale, and then start arpeggiating it from the IV and then go to the vii moving in 4ths. So for instance...

Fmaj7, Bmin7b5, Emin7, Amin7, Dmin7, G7, Cmaj7

That's just one way to do it though.

FatJeff · #4 12-08-2011, 03:00 PM

You should try the "connecting game" detailed in this book: http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-J...3377995&sr=8-9

Kojo27 · #5 12-08-2011, 08:09 PM

daniel89 · #6 12-08-2011, 08:11 PM

and that connecting game goes how? I understand connecting but a more rigid exercise might be a good idea.

Right now I've just been practicing connecting I and IV (adding 6 and 9 to I and #4 to IV). I figure when I add dominant arps to the regime next week I will be practicing some simple jazz blues. Then I plan on adding ii and vi to the mix and working on I-vi-ii-V and Bird Blues. Then finally adding half dim and starting to work on minor ii-V-Is.

As far as learning licks I own the omnibook - but I feel like its still little over my head. Maybe sorting through it for some good licks would be an idea?

Kojo27 · #7 12-08-2011, 08:55 PM

JonnyPac · #8 12-08-2011, 08:58 PM

Here's a crash course on building bop lines:

http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/impro...devices-2.html

You can lean a lot of the basic concepts overnight and then spend a lifetime reinventing them in creative ways.

Good luck!

PS- I always tell myself "just one more month in the shed..." and then years go by! It never ends.

daniel89 · #9 12-09-2011, 12:44 AM

Yeah I can't wait to say Ive got YEARS under my belt. The plus side to this for now is I've only been actually playing jazz since September - but due to my classical background I retain info well, and my blues rock electric guitar foundation helps me a bit too.

I learnt the Freddie Green thing fast but single improv is coming reallllly slow. Which can be frustrating. I know that a lot of the guys I like focus on chord tones/arpeggios (Jim Hall, Joe Pass, Tal Farlow, Charlie Parker come to mind) I feel like once I get the arps down a lot of lines will come easier to me.

I definitely have solid technical background but my jazz single note skills are well...hurtin. I feel like right now because I have been trained to practice a lot of scales I use them way to much and my approach just sounds like I'm linking blues licks with scales.

I also really want to make sure Im understanding everything I play and work at a pace that allows each thing to sink in. I understand its a long road. I wish I had a teacher but my geography (north western Ontario, Canada) doesn't really allow it, and online lessons with people I admire (Tim Lerch comes to mind - I did do a couple lessons with him) are just too expensive. I guess I kind of feel left in the dark.

Is that book with the connecting game worth it? Is that "game" outlined anywhere on the internet so I could get a basic idea of how it works?