Robert Conti Videos?

[bobsguitars09]

Anyone have some of these videos?

Jazz Guitar Instruction by a verifiable professional - Robert Conti - First Class Jazz Guitar Lessons

Good?

[jmstritt]

You may have opened a can of worms my friend... You will find that folks either love him and swear by him, or hate him. I bought one of his videos out of curiosity, and I personally didn't care for it, but heck if it gets somebody turned on to playing jazz, I am all for it!

The fact is, not every method works for every person and sometimes you have to try a few different books and videos before you find something that really clicks with you.

[Drumbler]

Conti is an excellent player.

How would I describe his videos?

Imagine yourself sitting across from Mr. Conti while he plays a song note for note a few bars a time. Then you repeat what he just did.

Then you practice what you learned over and over until you get it down, hopefully getting faster and faster until you bring it up to speed.

This is the method presented by Mr. Conti. You learn by imitation and rote. He has lots of songs and solos presented in this fashion.

He provides a free lesson or two on his website for you to try. So go ahead and see if you like it.

Check out this link: http://www.freejazzguitar.com/

[Jazzaluk]

I have several DVDs. There are some very interesting concepts buried in the presentation that are very useful.

Conti sees the whole neck as one position and uses the "one" chord as the navigation reference point to extract major, dominant and altered sounds. It takes some time to see though this. His presentation is rather tedious but the concepts are pure pro. Minimum thinking, maximum playing.

He also has a versatile way of generating chord melodies that uses the circle of fourths and tritones. Also very cool once you get the hang of it.

I find the DVDs good to get a sense of the sounds but the books are more direct to get to the concepts, but they too are written rather tediously. If he put out a Cole's notes for Conti, it would probably be a better reference for me.

[bobsguitars09]

"Conti sees the whole neck as one position" I have seen Holdsworth mention that same thing.

Any tips on seeing the whole neck as one position? I get it when it is applied to one key but how do you visualize everything moving with different keys?

I am really interested in this.

[marcwhy]

Originally Posted by Jazzaluk

If he put out a Cole's notes for Conti, it would probably be a better reference for me.

[Funny -- In the States, these are called "Cliffs Notes"]

[Drumbler]

Originally Posted by bobsguitars09

"Conti sees the whole neck as one position" I have seen Holdsworth mention that same thing.

Any tips on seeing the whole neck as one position? I get it when it is applied to one key but how do you visualize everything moving with different keys?

I am really interested in this.

I think Conti means for one key only. The position changes when the key changes. A key center approach

Like this for C Major scale. In other words, Conti does not play in boxes. He connects everything.

[bobsguitars09]

That's what I mean. How does he visualize it when changing keys I wonder? Just visually Shift the notes? or memorize each key separately?

[Drumbler]

Originally Posted by bobsguitars09

That's what I mean. How does he visualize it when changing keys I wonder? Just visually Shift the notes? or memorize each key separately?

From what I've seen he has a vocabulary of licks that go over certain chord progressions. That's why he says not to bother with scales. Instead he has you learn licks.

[bobsguitars09]

well if he visualizes the key of C like this
http://learnguitartechniques.com/wp-...rfretboard.bmp

I wonder how he visualizes other keys beyond C?

[monk]

Originally Posted by bobsguitars09

well if he visualizes the key of C like this
http://learnguitartechniques.com/wp-...rfretboard.bmp

I wonder how he visualizes other keys beyond C?

All the major keys have the same shapes as the diagram. The shapes move up or down the fingerboard to accomodate the changes of key or chord. Don Mock is fond of saying the guitar fingerboard is like a sliderule. Unfortunately, in this day of hand-held calculators no one remembers what a sliderule is, except people over 50.

This diagram is, by the way, what is referred to as the CAGED system of fingerboard visualization. In the key of C, you have a C shape followed by an A shape followed by a G shape followed by an E shape followed by a D shape followed by a C shape and so on until you run out of fingerboard.

The shapes are the same for every key. For instance, the lowest Bb chord is an A shape followed by a G shape et cetera. The lowest F chord is an E shape followed by a D shape and so on. The pattern adjusts according to key and the lowest chord shape on the neck sets up the pattern.

[bobsguitars09]

makes perfect sense! thank you

[Jazzaluk]

The fret board diagram shown is really not the CAGED system. The diagram is simply how the major scale appears on the neck. The CAGED system is a way of dividing the neck into 5 playable positions. The idea is to learn each position with its associated inversions. The goal is to, at some point, be able to join the positions in one key and ultimately to scoll the positions to move from key to key.

From my analysis, Conti does not divide the fretboard into positions. He basically works around the shape of the "One" chord and moves it around to generate lines that can be played against several difierent chord progressions to get different effects.

For example: Using the key of C
- The G7 is based on the G triad (obvious),
- The diatonic extensions to G7 are based on the FM7 arpeggio to generate the 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th (FACE).
- The Altered extensions #5, b9, (#9) are generated by moving the lines up a minor third based on the AbM9 Arp (Ab C Eb Bb)

He exploits this relationship to create and connect lines that fit over a host of different progressions. The arpeggios form the backbone for moving around the neck, so you are basically just moving one form around the neck to create lines that function in many ways. The position is always in relation to the "One" chord.

This is just a very basic way of describing the system, which I'm sure would cause Conti to roll his eyes, but it is simply meant to give you a sense of the idea of seeing the neck as one position.

I have played with this concept for a while now and it works really well. The reason Conti uses licks to explain it is because there are some tricks to integrating the arpeggios to connect the lines that are best shown by example. It is about craftsmanship, not theory.

[monk]

Originally Posted by Jazzaluk

The fret board diagram shown is really not the CAGED system. The diagram is simply how the major scale appears on the neck.

The CAGED system IS simply how the the major scale appears on the neck, which IS what that diagram is showing. That's how Joe Pass explained it when I was attending GIT. The five positions are clearly delineated by the red root notes.

[Jazzaluk]

OK ... If you and Joe say so.

[monk]

Aw jeez, Al, you think he lied to me?

[matt.guitarteacher]

Originally Posted by monk

The CAGED system IS simply how the the major scale appears on the neck, which IS what that diagram is showing. That's how Joe Pass explained it when I was attending GIT. The five positions are clearly delineated by the red root notes.

+1. There are many "CAGED systems" out there as far as I can tell. Some use stretch fingerings some use shifts. All of these disparate "systems" are based on the understanding of the way chords naturally "lay out" on a standard-tuned guitar. It's not a copy-righted, systematized way of playing. It's a general understanding of how to look at notes on the guitar. Many teachers/authors have used it as a tool in their own "systems".

Back to Conti: Most of his videos simply teach you how to play his solos (with occasional insight into why things work and how to reuse some lines over similar progressions in the future). He also has some "how to" videos for chord melody, creating your own lines, technique etc.

The "how to" books are his "Source Code" series. Not really clear on the surface of his marketing. I think his site should have a clearer delineation between his transcriptions (single-note solo and chord-melody) and methods ("how-to"material). He'd sell more and get better reviews on boards like this. Just my $.02.

[Jazzaluk]

I have the "source code" series. That is what I was referring to earlier. Conti's system does not appear to rely on the CAGED way of visualizing the neck. At least that is what I have pulled from it. In fact, to really get the lines to work, I found I had to change how I looked at neck.

As far as the diagram shown goes, it merely depicts a bunch of dots that correspond to the major scale notes on the fretboard with red dots on the roots.
These dots can be visualized and grouped according to the CAGED system, on that I agree. But there are other ways of dividing the fretboard that don't necessarily use the CAGED structure.

I haved personally moved away from the CAGED way of dividing the fretboard and rely more on symmetrical chords. The major scale lives inside this system just as augmented and diminished forms live inside the CAGED system.

My point is simply that the CAGED system is but One way of visualizing those black and red dots - granted it is the most accessible way to learn the neck.

[bobsguitars09]

Originally Posted by Jazzaluk

I have the "source code" series. That is what I was referring to earlier. Conti's system does not appear to rely on the CAGED way of visualizing the neck. At least that is what I have pulled from it. In fact, to really get the lines to work, I found I had to change how I looked at neck.

As far as the diagram shown goes, it merely depicts a bunch of dots that correspond to the major scale notes on the fretboard with red dots on the roots.
These dots can be visualized and grouped according to the CAGED system, on that I agree. But there are other ways of dividing the fretboard that don't necessarily use the CAGED structure.

I haved personally moved away from the CAGED way of dividing the fretboard and rely more on symmetrical chords. The major scale lives inside this system just as augmented and diminished forms live inside the CAGED system.

My point is simply that the CAGED system is but One way of visualizing those black and red dots - granted it is the most accessible way to learn the neck.

Very nice guys!

Jazzaluk how do you now visualize the fretboard?

[Jazzaluk]

Originally Posted by bobsguitars09

Very nice guys!

Jazzaluk how do you now visualize the fretboard?

I see the neck as four sections based on the diminished chord. On each side of each diminished chord is an inversion of a major minor and dominant chord. The diminished chords act as pivot points to different inversions and different keys.

It's a system I bolted together from a number of sources but it really started making sense when I started studying the Barry Harris method. The thing that I found useful from the Conti approach was the way he could derive altered sounds by moving a major 7 arpeggio in minor third intervals . It was an important piece to the puzzle.

Sounds more complicated than it is. It fits the guitar very well I think. It really has simplified my thought process for finger style chord melody which is my preferred style.

[Drumbler]

I visualize the fretboard using the 7 major scale shapes and in particular zero in on a couple positions as "home base". The 7 shapes is the way I learned the neck way back when.

I went through Mickey Baker's Book 1 and got this idea of "home base" from him and have been using it over the past year. The logic of Baker's approach is not clear at first but makes more sense as you use it.

Baker has two main positions which begin with the root note of the major scale. I refer to them loosely as the Ionian and Phrygian mode positions (1 and 3 positions of the fretboard) with root note on the 6th and 5th strings. Baker also uses the 6 position (Aeolian). It is from these three positions that Baker homes in using the 1 major chord root note as his launch pad. Arpeggios shapes are convenient.

These positions are just starting points and you are not confined.

The method behind the madness of Baker appears when you apply other scales such as the Bebop scales to these positions. The fingerings fall in nicely. Key changes are also made quite easy.

As in all things Baker, it is clear as mud.

[Jazzaluk]

That's interesting Dumbler.

There is a book on Tal Farlow that explains his approach to the neck and it is very similar. Two "home base" positions based on the two major forms you described. It might be a good compliment to your approach.

The jazz style of Tal Farlow: the elements of bebop guitar by Steve Rochinski,

[Drumbler]

Originally Posted by Jazzaluk

That's interesting Dumbler.

There is a book on Tal Farlow that explains his approach to the neck and it is very similar. Two "home base" positions based on the two major forms you described. It might be a good compliment to your approach.

The jazz style of Tal Farlow: the elements of bebop guitar by Steve Rochinski,

Here is a picture of this.

[bobsguitars09]

so we just use these two shapes that are in the modal shapes to get going?

[Anandbhat]

Just got Conti's 'Chord Melody Assembly line' DVD today. Somebody on the Acoustic Guitar Forum highly recommended it.I just took a quick peek and plan to work on it soon,lesson by lesson. Hope to be able to come up with my own simple chord melody arrangements eventually.

[matt.guitarteacher]

Originally Posted by Anandbhat

Just got Conti's 'Chord Melody Assembly line' DVD today. Somebody on the Acoustic Guitar Forum highly recommended it.I just took a quick peek and plan to work on it soon,lesson by lesson. Hope to be able to come up with my own simple chord melody arrangements eventually.

That's a great book; beautiful for it's simplicity. I got it a couple of years ago and then, The Formula, his reharm book. Those two books are a great start.

Last week, I accompanied a singer on 3 hymns for our Christmas Eve Service. For the intros I simply sketched the chords above the melody and had an instant intro for each tune without tab, chord grids, or a ton of practice time. Comes in really handy.