The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
Reply to Thread Bookmark Thread
Page 6 of 9 FirstFirst ... 45678 ... LastLast
Posts 126 to 150 of 214
  1. #126

    User Info Menu

    Firstly, I liked your tone a lot.

    Here's a suggestion. On something like this some motifs are called for. You can run through a long series of "sequences" to form your solo. Each sequence would be a motif followed by a variation of/response to that motif. Then state another motif and do the same, etc. Just keep going and see how many interesting ideas you can come up with.

    That will tell an engaging story for the listener.

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #127

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Jazzstdnt
    Firstly, I liked your tone a lot.

    Here's a suggestion. On something like this some motifs are called for. You can run through a long series of "sequences" to form your solo. Each sequence would be a motif followed by a variation of/response to that motif. Then state another motif and do the same, etc. Just keep going and see how many interesting ideas you can come up with.

    That will tell an engaging story for the listener.
    Hey thanks Jazzstdnt. I use a chorus pedal with the rate set to 0 so I get a bit of that fat brassy sound. Thank you for the feedback! You make a very good point. I am just beginning to realize the importance of working off of one idea and developing it instead of just starting a new idea every time I breathe. Not something that comes easily to me!
    Cheers,
    J

  4. #128

    User Info Menu

    I like it. I agree that it would feel more like a composed piece if there were more reoccurring motivs, but I enjoy it as an improvisation with a nice feel to it.
    Your tone is very nice too - can you give us a more complete rundown of the rig please?

  5. #129

    User Info Menu

    Yeah, question&answer, elaboration, variation, sequences and story is missing. You play short motifs that are so attracted to the 1th&5th degree of that minor scale. That's not a criminal thing by itself but they don't "speak with each other". Each one says something on its own, another comes, says a sad thing, then another.. Like in a bar, at the end of the world, each table has one sad fellow, drinking their last glass.. and your solo is like their scattered thoughts. This actually may work, probably depends on your mood and luck. You did play a few good lines also.

  6. #130

    User Info Menu

    If you want to use more space, you have to play more rhythmically. That's the trade off. If you are playing a melody with long notes, you need to be very specific about when in time those notes start and finish.

    When we play busy, it's easy to play strings of 8ths or 16ths and sound impressive (I daresay this is your usual approach?) However when you play simpler you have to have a rhythmic vocabulary. This is why it is hard to leave more space.

    My advice would be to think primarily in rhythmic phrases and then populate those rhythmic phrases with notes.

  7. #131

    User Info Menu

    What i liked most is that the playing is very individualistic and personal. If you strive for a more "jazz" approach, you can work on incorporating more chordal material in your solos, mixing arpeggios of diatonic chords for example. Also, look at bigger parts of the solo as entities. Like a composition, when the words and sentences are good, work on seeing and organizing paragraphs. Reach the point where you can kind of plan the whole solo, or at least big segments of it.

    Practice having many things happening at once. You can have many forms going on at once, following motifs, dynamics, sections (say 4 or 8 bars), anything that gives a sense of form, continuity and tells a story. Practice all ideas in an excessive and thought out manner, so they eventually become second nature and just come out naturally when improvising.

  8. #132

    User Info Menu

    Wow! Thanks for all of the comments! I was not expecting so much feedback! You have all given me a lot to think about. I definitely like to end everything comfortably on the 1 or 5. I will work on expanding my ideas into whole "sentences". Also being rhythmic with my longer notes! This is defiantly something I need to think about more. I will try to incorporate all of your feedback. I appreciate you all having a listen!
    best,
    J

  9. #133

    User Info Menu

    I like to impose a tonic/dominant map over a tune to create points of tension and release. Tonic is more harmonically diatonic and rhythmically consonant, and dominant is using outside harmonic and rhythmic tension for a dissonance that resolves back to the tonic vibe. The changes usually imply the I/V function, but when they don't, you have to supply your own order.
    Last edited by cosmic gumbo; 01-15-2018 at 07:24 AM.

  10. #134

    User Info Menu

    Hi DrGoldsmack,

    Really great that you put a video like that on the forum!
    Like Christian77 said, try play more rhythmically.
    I couldn't resist to record my acoustic guitar plus metronome (at the same speed as the backing track).
    It might give you some ideas or inspiration. Just another approach.



    Hans

  11. #135

    User Info Menu

    DrGoldsmack -

    Just seen your vid. I agree with what the others have said about rhythm. What you're playing isn't in sync with the backing. It's not out of time but it's not in sync with that particular mood and feel. You need to flow with the rhythm of its groove.

    What you're playing would suit it fine if the backing just hit one chord per bar and let it ring. Which it doesn't do, of course. It's got a definite forward-moving beat to it and you really should be playing to that.

  12. #136

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Hatim
    Hi DrGoldsmack,

    Really great that you put a video like that on the forum!
    Like Christian77 said, try play more rhythmically.
    I couldn't resist to record my acoustic guitar plus metronome (at the same speed as the backing track).
    It might give you some ideas or inspiration. Just another approach.



    Hans
    This is very helpful of you to put together.

    Listening to more and more artists you like will also help you out with the rhythm and phrasing.. and of course, transcribing them.

  13. #137

    User Info Menu

    You suddenly got better at 1:40 with the dynamics of loud and soft.

    The phrase at 1:45 starting with the repeating Db note, ending with Ab (4th fret low E), on its own was a fine phrase.

    The "wrong" note at 1.57 where you played a 7th sounded good to my ears. Particularly the moody first one. You should have stopped that phrase on the quiet C note (13th fret B string) at 2:00. Also that initial 7th when repeated would have been better on the 8th note beats, you where playing them slightly before with some rhythmic uncertainty it seemed.

    I wont go over the rest. It would take too long.

  14. #138

    User Info Menu

    I love the tone and I like the way you have feeling in your playing.

    It sounds like a series of individual ideas. Each one works, but doesn't seem connected to the one before or the one after. I'd suggest trying to conceptualize longer lines. One way is to sing, say, 4 bar phrases, and, when you sing one you like, figure out how to play it.

    With this kind of static harmony, it helps to change up the rhythmic content and go outside the conventional harmony here and there. If you poke around this forum, you'll encounter lots of ideas on how to do that.

  15. #139

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by christianm77
    ...

    My advice would be to think primarily in rhythmic phrases and then populate those rhythmic phrases with notes.
    To the OP:

    A lot of people here commented on the same thing and I thought that Christian's sentence above was the most concise.

    In the simplest terms I like to think of soloing (and composition in general) as a call and response dance. Rhythm and timing are the things that hold them together. If they aren't playing along with the balance of call and response things lose their cohesiveness, and can get self indulgent without respecting what the composition wants to be in and of itself. A famous architect once posed the question of what does a brick want to be? His answer was an arch. I think that the point is that he had an element of composition and was willing to let that element define the composition. In my case I tend to think of the element as dialogue, if that makes sense.

    I have mucho respect for your video posting, playing, and openness to feedback. I am working on recording myself to do the same here. It's a great environment for jazz freaks and there are lots of very knowledgeable people here that like to help. I am not as knowledgeable as most everyone here about music theory, so you should take my feedback with a grain of salt. I liked what you posted and am just trying to suggest a thought that might help you take it further.

    One last point about wrong notes. I find that there are two kinds of wrong notes. One is the type that come up and throw things off so that they become completely apparent. The other type are the wrong notes that become the right notes by means of voicing. I think that the Joe Pass quote is that a wrong note is only a half step away from a right note. I like to think that a wrong note just needs to be voiced differently to become a right note. Bend it a little, strike it differently, change the note sequencing of a chord, etc. - throw some camo on it and move on.

  16. #140

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by DrGoldsmack


    Hello all! I am new to this forum but it looks like a great resource! I was wondering if you would be willing to listen to my video and give me some tips on my improvisation. I was really trying to improve my breathing and phrasing in this solo. Any feedback would be appreciated.
    Cheers,
    Jasper

    P.S. Playing starts at 30sec mark
    Congratulations on the nice tone, nice pleasing choice of notes and nice overall vibe. You obviously have a lot of music under your fingers and requisite chops to match your chill tone and your interesting and very musical phrasing.

    Also, as others mentioned, lots of respect for posting your off the cuff soloing for others to give you constructive (hopefully) critique. You evidently have plenty of confidence in your playing ability, and it no doubt shows in this clip.

    My one remark, which I'm hoping may assist you in improving your already great playing, has to do with timing. Now I may be completely wrong in saying this (and please forgive me if I'm not correct in my observations), but it sounds to me like you're not fully gelling with the groove there. And I hasten to add -- this is a problem that many of us tend to face when trying to lay a solo track over the prerecorded groove. For me personally, it's the awkwardness of having to play while listening over the headphones.

    What I mean by this is that when I record myself playing live, with other musicians in the same room, I'm noticing better timing in my phrasing than when I record myself playing over a prerecorded track while wearing headphones. Something about the absence of other musicians in the same room, the absence of visual cues, tends to ever so slightly mess with my timing.

    I'm not saying that you're in the same predicament here, but to my ears it sounds like your timing is a bit off, like there is an ever so slight lag, or sometimes a slight rushing. In other words, I'm not always hearing you nailing the beat.

    And to me, nailing the beat is the most important part of improvisation. Your tone could be less than stellar, your choice of notes could be dubious, your phrasing could be limp, but if your timing is bang on, listeners will get sucked in. But even if your tone is to die for and your choice of notes is impeccable, if the timing is slightly off, listeners will not get drawn into your playing.

    My 2 cents.

  17. #141

    User Info Menu

    Hi, everyone. I'm an italian 21-year-old guitarist who is preparing to enter in a conservatory. I have a year to prepare myself, and since I dropped out of college in order to pursue music, I have plenty of time to practice. Almost all day.

    I have already read other threads on this topic, but I haven't found what I was searching for. A little bit of background: I have played guitar for ten years, self-taught but I have studied classical guitar for a year. It's been four year that I have played only classical guitar, but I have decided to switch to jazz... Always wanted to, but I couldn't get into it.

    I have found a teacher, but he's not very helpful. He clearly doesn't like teaching, but he has experience and could teach me a lot about jazz guitar, especially about improvisation. Anyway, I decided to practice mostly at home, keeping this teacher as a reference point.

    So, here's the issue: since I have a classical background, I have good technique (especially with my left hand) and theory knowledge, but I know nothing about improvisation.

    I have at least six hours a day for practice. I need a comprehensive study plan which focuses on improvisation, I hope you can help me, and I thank you in advance.

  18. #142

    User Info Menu

    OK,

    Assuming:
    1. You want to self study
    2. You have the rest of your practice routine mapped out (scales, chords, arpeggios, reading, etudes, technique drills). See Berklee Guitar degree final exams for levels 1-4.


    Then I would recommend working with two books and backing tracks:
    1. Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony, by Bert Ligon. Start playing Chapter 10 chord outlines ASAP, major and minor. Practice them in 12 keys around the circle of fifths, at least three times before stopping and going to the next jazz pattern (C, F. Bb, etc.).. Read the other chapters and start working on them after you have the basic outlines down.
    2. Jazz Blues Soloing for Guitar, by Joseph Alexander
    3. Listen to jazz daily, especially the great soloists from roughly 1955 forward.


    An approach:
    1. Get these jazz language patterns/chord outlines into your hands, mind, ears. Drill them over and over.
    2. Play them to backing tracks. Chord progressions, but tunes also! (lots of backing tracks out there)
    3. Improvise daily - play against one chord, two chords, three chords, then song sections etc.
    4. Map out/"compose" solos on every basic tune/progression type - find out what it is that you really want to say. Then ask yourself - why don't I play these great, well sorted out ideas when I'm improvising? Work hard on bridging that gap.



    Finally: If you owe an audition in the next year then start with the end in mind. Meaning (1) Find out what they require (blues, rhythm changes, modal tunes, probably at least one chord melody tune), (2) pick your songs ASAP, and (3) start working on them now!

  19. #143

    User Info Menu

    Classical theory knowledge is knowledge of a different related theory. My daughter takes classical piano from a working classical musician (an alternate at a major city symphony orchestra) who always looks at me cross eyed when I try to talk any theory with her.

    So there are two approaches. Make sure you understand the theory first, then begin to approach idiomatic phrasing and licks to understand how the greats created the jazz improvised language. Or, you can simply take a naive approach and learn as many idiomatic phrases as you can and their typical application over standards.

    For the latter, Conti is awesome. No theory, just play. Jason Alexander’s two books “ii-V-I” and “minor ii-V-i” and Mimi Fox’s “Arpeggio Studies” are great places to start too.

    For a little more theory based approach I’ve been getting a lot out of Garrison Fewell’s book, “Jazz Improvisation, a Harmonic Approach” and Roni Ben Hur’s “Talk Jazz”.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  20. #144

    User Info Menu

    Typically, conservatories have admission or audition requirements which should be helpful to understand.

    If you have a school picked out, I'd suggest talking to a faculty member and finding out what they recommend. That could be an advantage in your first year.

    If I were constructing a practice routine for a year with the goal of learning to improvise, I'd think about the following.

    1. Ear training. You should be able to recognize intervals, chord quality and scales when you hear them. There is ear training software which may be helpful -- although the traditional way is by transcription.

    2. Reading. You didn't mention reading as a goal, but a conservatory will require it and it will give you access to transcriptions which may be helpful.

    3. They probably will want basic scales in three octaves, major minor, melodic minor, diminished, whole tone and maybe harmonic minor.

    4. Then, there's the big question. Once you can hear, read and play scales, how are you going to turn that into music? The traditional way is through transcription.

    I'd suggest starting with Hank Mobley. Great jazz vocabulary and he didn't play a lot of notes. So, the transcription is relatively easy compared to the benefit. Paul Desmond is another great player who isn't difficult to transcribe.

    5. The other way, if I even understand it, leans toward being more theory based. So, for that, it's finding ways to apply all those scales and, within them, the arpeggios and triads that outline the chords and substitutions. Probably best that I let others present that approach.

    6. Repertoire. Traditionally, it's a list of the top X number of "jazz tunes". Probably 50 would be a good goal. The Real Book is helpful.

    7. Rhythmic feel. Some classical players struggle to get a good jazz time feel -- but, arguably, it's the single most important issue. You get it from transcription and, more important, playing with good players.

    8. IRealPro. $10 phone app. Practice improvising in 12 keys. Slow it down to the point where you can handle the changes and speed up gradually.

    9. And, you can avoid virtually all of this if you take this alternate approach. Use IRealPro to hear the changes and scat sing. When you sing a line you like, figure out how to play it on guitar. Keep doing that until you can immediately play what you scat sing. When you get bored with the ideas you're singing, find a record with some more advanced ideas and sing those.

    10. Read Jazz Theory by Mark Levine. It will give you a pretty good idea of what you're trying to accomplish.

    But, I don't know how I'd organize this into a 6 hour per day routine.

  21. #145

    User Info Menu

    Thank you all for your help.

    Finally: If you owe an audition in the next year then start with the end in mind. Meaning (1) Find out what they require (blues, rhythm changes, modal tunes, probably at least one chord melody tune), (2) pick your songs ASAP, and (3) start working on them now!
    They require a jazz standard and a blues. I have decided to prepare All the things you are as a standard, while for the blues I still don't know. If anyone could give some advice about it, I would ve very grateful!

    So: after thinking about what all of you have written, I came up with a six-hour practice routine:

    1 hour: Repertoire (starting with All the things you are and the blues; the long-term goal is to learn fifty tunes)
    1 hour: Technique (Scales*, chords**, arpeggios*** and drill exercises; fifteen minutes for each one)
    1 hour: Transcription (Starting with Hank Mobley and Paul Desmond)
    1 hour: Methods (Jody Fisher - Beginning Jazz Guitar; Bert Ligon - Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony; Mark Levine - Jazz Theory)
    30 minutes: Improvisation (Using IRealPro)
    30 minutes: Solfège (Required in italian conservatories)
    30 minutes: Sight reading (William Leavitt - Reading Studies for Guitar)
    30 minutes: Ear training (Perfect ear?)

    * Umberto Fiorentino - Scale!
    ** Rick Peckham - Berklee Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
    *** Mimi Fox - Guitar Arpeggio Studies on Jazz Standards

    I hope I covered everything you said. What do you think?

  22. #146

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
    But, I don't know how I'd organize this into a 6 hour per day routine.
    Who does?

    Some observations.
    3-5 minutes/day is enough to keep a skill/thing alive (only if it was really well learned before).
    10-20 minutes is needed to get some small thing "working&grooving"
    60 minutes doing one single thing is almost always too much. Meaning the time can be spent better. Except when getting into "flow".

    Practicing the whole day can mean losing focus and excitement. That's pretty much the reason why everyone says that playing with others - playing gigs - is the best way to practice. But you need to be kinda sorta happy with your skills to comfortably do this I guess.

  23. #147

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by cophinos
    Thank you all for your help.



    They require a jazz standard and a blues. I have decided to prepare All the things you are as a standard, while for the blues I still don't know. If anyone could give some advice about it, I would ve very grateful!

    So: after thinking about what all of you have written, I came up with a six-hour practice routine:

    1 hour: Repertoire (starting with All the things you are and the blues; the long-term goal is to learn fifty tunes)
    1 hour: Technique (Scales*, chords**, arpeggios*** and drill exercises; fifteen minutes for each one)
    1 hour: Transcription (Starting with Hank Mobley and Paul Desmond)
    1 hour: Methods (Jody Fisher - Beginning Jazz Guitar; Bert Ligon - Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony; Mark Levine - Jazz Theory)
    30 minutes: Improvisation (Using IRealPro)
    30 minutes: Solfège (Required in italian conservatories)
    30 minutes: Sight reading (William Leavitt - Reading Studies for Guitar)
    30 minutes: Ear training (Perfect ear?)

    * Umberto Fiorentino - Scale!
    ** Rick Peckham - Berklee Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
    *** Mimi Fox - Guitar Arpeggio Studies on Jazz Standards

    I hope I covered everything you said. What do you think?
    I will second that you may want to look into modern ideas of "practice" as apart from jazz. I think you will find that current thinking is that you will want to intersperse short bursts of topics rather than spending too much time on one thing. There have been some threads here, or of course you can Google. As one brain scientist put it, "mild frustration is what learning feels like to the brain. Heavy frustration and boredom is what it feels like when your brain stops learning.

  24. #148

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by cophinos
    Thank you all for your help.



    They require a jazz standard and a blues. I have decided to prepare All the things you are as a standard, while for the blues I still don't know. If anyone could give some advice about it, I would ve very grateful!

    So: after thinking about what all of you have written, I came up with a six-hour practice routine:

    1 hour: Repertoire (starting with All the things you are and the blues; the long-term goal is to learn fifty tunes)
    1 hour: Technique (Scales*, chords**, arpeggios*** and drill exercises; fifteen minutes for each one)
    1 hour: Transcription (Starting with Hank Mobley and Paul Desmond)
    1 hour: Methods (Jody Fisher - Beginning Jazz Guitar; Bert Ligon - Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony; Mark Levine - Jazz Theory)
    30 minutes: Improvisation (Using IRealPro)
    30 minutes: Solfège (Required in italian conservatories)
    30 minutes: Sight reading (William Leavitt - Reading Studies for Guitar)
    30 minutes: Ear training (Perfect ear?)

    * Umberto Fiorentino - Scale!
    ** Rick Peckham - Berklee Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
    *** Mimi Fox - Guitar Arpeggio Studies on Jazz Standards

    I hope I covered everything you said. What do you think?
    - Somewhere in the middle of all this, you have to actually play some jazz with other live human beings. Is there any sort of jam session scene where you live? Are there other players you can hang out and jam/practice with (maybe one of your teacher's other students)? If so, you should budget as much time as you can doing that. To make real progress it's important to actively apply what you learn in your lessons and study. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

    - Do some transcribing (as in, learn at least some phrases/fragments of solos by ear from recordings rather than from the page).

    Repertoire:
    - Easy blues tunes:
    Things Ain't What they Used to Be
    Sonnymoon or Two
    Blue Monk
    Freddie Freeloader
    Back at the Chicken Shack
    Watermelon Man

    - Harder Blues tunes:
    Straight No Chaser
    Billie's Bounce
    Au Privave

    Learn the heads by ear from recordings, not from charts.

    - Other repertoire: I would recommend some simpler tunes first and work your way up to ATTYA. People often recommend
    Autumn Leaves, Satin Doll, Blue Bossa, and Days of Wine and Roses as the first tunes to learn (obviously, there are lots of others). Night and Day and Just Friends are good also. Once you've got these, ATTYA will probably make more sense.

    John

  25. #149

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by cophinos
    Thank you all for your help.



    They require a jazz standard and a blues. I have decided to prepare All the things you are as a standard, while for the blues I still don't know. If anyone could give some advice about it, I would ve very grateful!

    So: after thinking about what all of you have written, I came up with a six-hour practice routine:

    1 hour: Repertoire (starting with All the things you are and the blues; the long-term goal is to learn fifty tunes)
    1 hour: Technique (Scales*, chords**, arpeggios*** and drill exercises; fifteen minutes for each one)
    1 hour: Transcription (Starting with Hank Mobley and Paul Desmond)
    1 hour: Methods (Jody Fisher - Beginning Jazz Guitar; Bert Ligon - Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony; Mark Levine - Jazz Theory)
    30 minutes: Improvisation (Using IRealPro)
    30 minutes: Solfège (Required in italian conservatories)
    30 minutes: Sight reading (William Leavitt - Reading Studies for Guitar)
    30 minutes: Ear training (Perfect ear?)

    * Umberto Fiorentino - Scale!
    ** Rick Peckham - Berklee Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
    *** Mimi Fox - Guitar Arpeggio Studies on Jazz Standards

    I hope I covered everything you said. What do you think?
    Those all look like great starting categories. One thing I might add or suggest is to start with technique instead of repertoire, and look to integrate technical work/exercises with whatever piece you're working on.

    That could mean applying the arps you're learning to the first 4 measures of All The Things (voice leading them in time, learning physically where the connections are AND how they sound), or simply comping through different sub-sections of the piece. Hearing how all of these fundamentals sound in a song is great ear training.

    The most difficult part is narrowing down specific issues that you can't always perceive without some feedback loop or listening to yourself and assessing what you don't like. At least for myself, I practice most effectively when I reduce broad topics to the smallest blocks possible, and let them compound bit by bit.

    Don't forget to take a small break every hour and let your brain "write to hard-drive"!

  26. #150

    User Info Menu

    I recently made a list also. Warm-up exercises. The trouble was that it took 3 hours to finish the list and instead being warmed up. I was spent. I have a hunch that it's not so smart to try to practice every damn topic in one day. I mean, after all the technical issues, you got to have some spirit left to be able to become inspired when working with tunes. Btw. tunes - the main thing. Not 1 hour. Much much more.