Welcome!

[rtleslie]

Hello everyone I hope you all had a good holiday. I've been checking out the site for a while but never had time to post. I can see from the post that there is alot of talent here and alot an old guy like myself can learn. So until next time keep those eighth notes smooth and what ever you do make it funky. Peace

[daddyojazz]

If Your Looking For Definitive Jazz Instruction Book,get Ronny Lee's Jazz Gtr Method--mel Bay...

Anyone Know Anything About The Eastman El Rey Guitars?

[unclewalt]

Daddy-o ; I have played a couple of Eastman guitars (not the El Rey) and I woud buy one this morning if I had the Bucks. For the price I think the entire Eastman line probably represents the 'most bang for the buck' in a very high-end, supreme quality guitar. Keep in mind that I went through Mikey Baker's book one chord section on a Yamaha classical, and got into Bossa Nova early on. The fingerboards on the Eastmman guitars are slightly wider than you would find on a Gibson or Epiphone but I personally prefer a wider fingerboard. If there is any way you can get a look at one, of course, do it..............................Walt.

[Keith Martin]

.Hi you all .Live in Maryland and just began playing the guitar.I think I can hang out and find ways to improve my playing.Thank you Dirk for a great place to come to and learn.I play the piano and midi my Yamaha into Band in The Box to set up songs to help me practice guitar. Just learned the seven modes ( ionian-locrian) and that's why I posted the question yesterday.Thanks again.

[Lynton]

Just a little note to express my thanks to Dirk and welcome everyone who is new here. Great place for guitarists period. Wonderful job, Dirk! Blessings to all...

[GDavis]

Just found your site earlier this week and still exploring. Lot's of nice stuff. Really like the Gazette. Looking for a gig in central Missouri.

[Brad]

Dirk,

Just joined the forum and look forward to learning all I can about Jazz here. I play in a jazz band in South Carolina... standards, some bebop, some latin stuff. Thanks for doing this.

bpm

[mick95]

I'm entirely new to 'forums' full stop.but feel especially priveleged to belong to The Jazz Guitar one. Right that's enuff of that but I hope you'll all help me out and make me welcome.
Cheers
Mick (Mick95 that is).

[Brad]

Mick,

This is all new to me as well although I have been playing jazz for a while. What types of jazz do you play?

bpm

[Framus01]

Hi to all jazzguitarists out there. Happy to join you at this wonderfull forum and website.

Play the six stringed instrument for several decades now. Never had much discipline to actually learn scales, chords and so on. Play by heart and ears. At the age of 48 it is about time to change that. Wel not the heart and ears part but as for the studying part.

So apart from being curious and interested in stuff concerning jazz and guitars, the main reason for me to join this forum is to learn.

As for my favourite musicians I will name a few: Angelo Debarre (an amazing hotclubstyle gitane which I had the privilage to meet about 15 years ago and listen him play at a private rehearsel, do check him out !). Jasper van 't Hof (wonderfull energetic Dutch pianoplayer, did a workshop with him once). Do check out more Dutch musicians at Jazzmasters in The Netherlands . Jan Akkerman (nice tunes, improving along the years). Pat Metheny, Toets Thielemans, Jeff Beck, John Scofield, Frank Gambale, Django, Frank Zappa, RTF, Allan Holdsworth, Billy Cobham (album 'Spectrum' with Tommy Bolin).

Hope to exchange a lot concerning playing jazz-guitar with you guys/girls so don't hesitate to drop me a line.

Greetz Pete

[davy du'sade]

great to be hear...im finally gonna buckle down

[jork]

great to be a member of this forum ive been playing professionally for 37 years mostly acoustic fingerstyle but this year i decided to plunge headlong into jazz and you know what even though i am an advanced guitarist its a great feeling to start at rock bottom again

[mazza24]

Hallo to all the members,
I'm new in the forum and I hope I have enjoi with the comunity.
Sorry for my english, I'm a italian guy, and if some people like, I can corrispond in this forum,just for fun, in italian and german too, it's easier for me.
So, now some about me:
I play guitar since some years, I began with classic and change to jazz since one year, I find this very helpfull for my guitar playing.

[m78w]

Welcome aboard!

MW

[marshall]

Greetings to all:I've been sitting in the back row for some time now reading the posts and working on some of the lessons. It's time I got off my duff and said thanks.This is truly a fine place to be.

[mazza24]

hi m78w, thanks for your reply and I find your work on this site great, in particular the chord melody site, keep at it.

[Chito]

Hi everyone! It's my first day in here. Hoping to pickup whatever information I can regarding playing jazz. Hopefully I can also contribute in whatever way. Great site!

[Brad]

If you had $1500 to buy a used or new jazz guitar, what would it be?

[showbiz]

Hi Brad,

Without going into all the details & discriptions etc of all the arch top guitars I own, I would have to say that the one Jazz arch top Guitar that stands out for value for money, is the Epiphone Emperor Regent.
I actually own two of them because they feel like the real old original traditional archtop. They are 17" full body and and have a floating pick up with a 25 1/2" scale. They sound very nice. Now, every one has their own idea of what sounds nice, but for me, first of all I like to hear a nice acoustic unplugged sound from an archtop.
Some archtops I can hear the sound coming out of the sound holes but I can't hear much sound coming from the guitar it self. My Emperor Regents are the most enjoyable guitars I have. I love them. I love my other rare and very expensive ones also but the Epi's are not expensive and I can play them any time and feel I am not short changed by playing them instead of the others.

Richard

[Brad]

Showbiz,

Thanks so much for your response. Interestingly, I have one Epi... the Broadway, that I believe is the same body as the Emporer Regent, is it not? Just with one floating p/u? 17 inch by 3 inch? That one has pickups set into the body and I don't get a great acoustic sound but think it is a well-made guitar. I have changed out the pickups to Seymore Duncan Jazz pickups and they are pretty clear. What type is your pickup? I also made the bridge stationary for tuning and sustain reasons so that hurt my sound a little but it did not have that great an unamplified sound before I did that. How much did you pay for your Epi ER? What year was it made, etc? What amp do you use with it?

[showbiz]

Hi Brad,
If your epi Broadway is made in Korea like mine then it will be a very similar body. Probably the same from the ones I have seen. However all the ones I have seen have two pick ups installed onto the body, not one. The Emperor Regent I play the most is a very unusual one which I got from Ric Vito who played with Fleetwood Mac and it is finished in a torcoise colour. It was made in the 90's and he sent it to me with the original Pick Up but not fitted as he played it without pick up. I am also very happy with it like that because I like it acoustically. Most of the archtop guitars I have, have floating pick ups because I like to hear the guitar Acoustically.
I should say at this point I am not a Musician and if anything I am a collector of arch tops. Now when it comes to amps and because I love the acoustic sound of a nice archtop I use them un plugged most of the time. When I do plug them in to reference the plugged in sound I use Roland Cubes. A micro cube, A street Cube and a 30x and I will probably buy one of the new Micro cubes when they arrive in Australia. Before I had those I would use an old fender Keyboard amp because I always liked the sound from a sealed back amp for a more natural acoustic sound. I always thought they sounded cleaner and natural than the standard open back guitar amps I had used. I nearly bought a Roland Jazz Chorus a long time ago becaue I thought it sounded good. Now I know a lot of guys change pick ups on their guitars a lot and it can make an enormus difference because you are then tailoring the electronic sound of your guitar to the concept sound you have in your ear. As a collector I like to keep to the original pick ups. I have just recently purchased a Cort Jim triggs TR1 and it has a Benedetto pick up fitted to the body. The person who sold it to me said it came new that way but I have just heard from Jim himself and he tells me they were not made that way. So, I now have mixed feelings about what I have purchased. I would have like the Guitar original but another collector I have just met thinks it's great that it has a Benedetto.
I have not even plugged it in as yet. Strings are of a big intrest to me. Most of the time I prefer rounds as they make the sound of a guitar sound more natural to my ear and concept. Some guitar I have however do sound good with flats. I could go on all night about guitars but I think I need to go back to bed now. Keep in touch now. Richard.

[Glenn]

Hi everyone!
I'm new on the forum. I'm a Brit living in Canada and have been playing for 22 years. I started out playing rock and gravitated towards jazz as I grew as a player. I now enjoy playing jazz, fusion and classical mostly. My influences are many, but largely Benson, Holdsworth, McLaughlin, Gambale, Stern, Metheny, Reinhardt, Howe, Beck, Pass, Montgomery, Torn, Hunter, Fripp, Hall, Smith, Kessel, Birkett, Taylor and I'm sure I will have missed one or two! Just to give you an idea of where I'm coming from, though! I look forward to joining in with some discussions and chatting about jazz guitar! I'm glad to be here.....................

[chuckster]

Hello Dirk,
Thank You for the Welcome. I have a question. I would like to know if anyone can help me to play "Moonlight in Vermont" Chord Melody Style but not finger picking, but using a plectrum or my thumb via Wes Montgomery. Your help is very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Chuckster

[m78w]

Hi Chuckster,
I've posted a copy of my transcription of Moonlight in Vermont by Johnny Smith, where he uses a pick to play the whole thing. i just finished my dissertation on Johnny and am hoping to put a book out of all my transcriptions.

Here's the link

[chuckster]

Matthew,
Thank You So Much for sending the pdf file with your arrangement of the Johnny Smith version of the song. I appreciate it very much. However, I will take my time and figure out how to read it. I know how to play the chords in a few different positions. It is just to figure out where to start with the chord melody. I realize this is a lot to ask but do you have the arrangement written out in Tab? I've seen quite a few people play this song and they make it look easy. I love Johnny Smith. I remember his original version of Walk Don't Run in which The Ventures made extremely popular in the 60's. Please let me know.
Sincerely,
Chuckster

[m78w]

Hey Chuck
I can have the tab up for this chord melody by this afternoon.

MW

[m78w]

Hey Chuck,
I tried putting the tab in but it's not working for me today. I'll keep trying, I guess the best thing to do would be to work through the tune in standard notation. It might take some time for you to figure out the notes, but by the time you finish it your reading will be at a whole other level!

MW

[chuckster]

Hi Matt,
Thank You Very Much I hope you can get it going,but in the meanwhile I'll try to figure it out in regular notation. Thanks again. You're the Best.
Chuck

[chuckster]

Hi Matt,
I still can't make heads or tails of the chord melody. Is there a certain formula to it or some kind of a secret? I just can't figure it out and it is driving me nuts. The chord progression is fine Cmaj7, Am7, Dm7, G7. Even the part that has Bb7 sounds great. What is in your opinion the best way to do a chord melody? Any suggestions? I have alot of standards that I would like to do such as Misty, Tenderly etc. But I think once I get the way to do it down, I should be able to play any standard at all. Can you please help me? or do you know of anyone who can offer me advice. I grew up listening to alot of guitar players through my father's record collection. Johnny Smith, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Byrd, Django Reinhardt, Les Paul, George Barnes,Kenny Burrell. These are the Classics. Now the later players Larry Carlton, Lee Ritenour, George Benson they all got their chops from Wes Montgomery. I listened to these guys and at the time I wanted to play Rock n' Roll. So I went with the Classics of that time Link Wray, Duane Eddy, The Ventures etc. But I'm falling back in Love with the Jazz Greats all over again. I would very much like to play like a mixture of Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery, and Johnny Smith. That would be my dream. Hope you can help.
Chuckster

[m78w]

Hey Chuck,
If you look under the "Chord Melody" section of the forum and scroll down you'll see my arrangements that I've posted. There's about 15 or so different chord melodies including Misty and Tenderly among others.

My best advice, and the way I learned, is to learn as many chord melodies as you can. One a week is a good number, then once you have a bunch under your fingers you can start to arrange your own. By learning others' chord melodies you'll start to see chord licks and common voicings that guys use over certain progressions and melody lines.

Hope that helps!
MW