The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I've been to a number of events recently where background music was a jazz solo guitarist with a looper pedal playing backing tracks. The backing tracks were really simple -- just the guitarist comping the chords of the tune, and that was recorded on the looper ahead of time.

    I tried out the Boss RC-3 a while a go, but I got frustrated by it. Double tapping the pedal --- really? What do you all recommend for such an endeavor? I'd need the easiest to use looper possible, just to create my own single track recorded backing loops. I don't need stereo or any fancy bells & whistles. What's the easiest way to do this, and what gear do I need? Is there a way to skip the pedal & use my Android tablet instead?

    I know the purists won't think this approach is legit, but it's out there and it's making money.
    Playing along with your own comp backing track would make for a super easy mellow gig situation IMO.

    Just curious . . . school me

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  3. #2

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    People do gigs with a laptop and Band in a Box or some use a DAW like Garage Band or Logic. With loopers you going to have to get used to foot tapping. You could just record your own accompaniment tracks and use your smartphone to playback I've seen that done. It's all what you are comfortable with.

  4. #3

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    I have never gigged with one, but if I did, I would feel like you; not wanting to do any fancy foot tapping.

    I would play with complete tracks. I have an older jamman with a 1GB cf card that probably holds hours of tunes; I have about 25 tracks on it now, and it has "slots" for 99. The newer loopers have SD cards, probably much more capacity, but in any event you need not feel constrained to having to separately record the A and B sections, and jump back and forth with foot pedals.

    I get backing tracks from ralphpatt.com; they are stereo and have the bass and drum on one track, and the piano on the other. I only use the bass/drums track. Each track is several minutes long, with an intro and ending, played in the standard key with pro tempos, so you play the head and then solo for several choruses. If you want to do tunes that are not on the ralphpatt.com, or longer tunes, it is easy enough to create your own.

    You could also create a track that goes on forever that will play without serious pedal gymnastics. Record the last two bars (the turnaround) and go straight into the tune, playing the AB whatever, the whole thing, and stop your recording before playing the last two bars. Then all you have to do is select the track, step on the start pedal, and play as long as you want; the only pedalling from there is to hit the stop pedal and play your ending when you are done.

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Longways to Go
    ...I know the purists won't think this approach is legit, but it's out there and it's making money.
    Playing along with your own comp backing track would make for a super easy mellow gig situation IMO.

    Just curious . . . school me
    I am chuckling to myself right now. Your comment brought back memories of this thread. What a knockdown/dragout.

    And I was thinking about using backing tracks to entertain - until I read this little tidbit from JGF history:

    Backing Tracks for live gigs

    Anyway, times may be changing. Good luck.

  6. #5
    destinytot Guest
    They're a great learning tool, and I don't mind making discreet use of mine each Saturday. Trying it out when the place was empty (Ditto X2 - can't fault it, but need to practise sync'ing it) :


    Developing amp and picking skills:

  7. #6

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    I like the TC Electronics Ditto series. Try out the Ditto X2 or X4, each have a dedicated stop button (so no double tapping), the X4 holds two separate loops.

  8. #7

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    Using a looper is a bit of an artform. You need to be really exact with your time. When I play in a duo I prefer not to use it - I actually find it easier to play without it - it's another thing to worry about - where to trigger it in the chord progression, when to stop the loop. I'd rather be listening to and playing with the other musician.

    Probably if I was better practiced at it I'd be able to do it intuitively... I find loop errors are super embarrassing and hard to fix easily.

    Solo, it can be very useful, obviously. You do need to be more on it, concentrating a lot. I kind of like to maybe not use for every tune, and try and be a little more imaginative than just using it to comp behind me.

    It's been a while since I've done a solo gig though.

    Using a looper in a group is tricky, but I use mine more for washes of colour etc. I try to avoid playing rhythmic parts just because even if you get it right it can be very difficult for the drummer to hear.

    Great practice tool, actually. Should probably use it more often. I should get the X2 - the ordinary Ditto can be a bit fiddly to use.

    This thing is jive though :-) TRIO | DigiTech Guitar Effects. I don't think backing tracks are cool (kind of runs against my philosophy of music), and that's basically what this is. Some people might like it though....
    Last edited by christianm77; 05-20-2016 at 01:57 PM.

  9. #8

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    ^ Yeah, I love the X2. The regular ditto is good for self practice but even more difficult for performance. I mainly got the X2 for the stop button, but it also has reverse effect and speed. With the speed you can do a bit of a Les Paulveriser effect. It let's you change speed to half time and record, and then change again... so you can create super fast or just super high octaves loops.

    It's very easy to crash the train, so I don't use it much in a group for comping. But in a funky groove it can work pretty well. And it's very satisfying when it does lock in. A difficult beast to tame, for sure.

  10. #9

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    So... for starters.. Before this thread goes negative, know that the next wave of seriously heavy young players like Julian Lage used loopers on solo gigs for years to hone their chops...

    I've been gigging with one for nearly 15 years. It's called the Boomerang Phrase Sampler.

    In it's simplest form, think of it like two guitar players... one comps the chords... one solos... only you are both players.

    I used it religiously for years, 4-5 gigs a week... 3-4 hours a solo gig... that's ALOT of paid practice...

    I found that it was an invaluable tool in my journey, and it helped me build some serious rhythm and soloing stamina however there were some pretty negative side effects to my playing (all self imposed)...

    Positives...
    1. It turns every solo gig into invaluable performance and practice time.
    2. your rhythm ends up being spot on since the beginning tempo of the loop has to match the end.
    3. You quickly learn a bunch of rhythm styles and techniques to spice things up... and you experiment playing tunes in different styles.. All of Me, for example, can be latin, bluesy, slow or a fast swing tune depending on how you lay down the backing track..


    Negatives...
    1. My phrasing was very unmusical.. When I occasionally use the looper anymore, it's easy to fall into the unmusical soloing pattern... although... I'm working on it..
    2. My rhythm playing was like a metronome... I didn't vary or fluctuate at all in tempo... which may be why I love gypsy swing so much... However.. metronome like rhythm isn't necessarily a good thing.. I've only recently learned to how breathe in my playing... both soloing and rhythm...

    A few years ago, I began booking smaller acoustic gigs to force me to learn true solo guitar playing... It's REALLY hard to do... I can now play a full solo instrumental gig 4-5 hours without the need for a loop pedal, however.. I find myself longing for it, as it provides (artificial as it may be) some sort of company to those long conversation-less nights.

    When I do utilize the looper now, I have ALOT more fun thinking about the chords i'm soloing over.. and dancing around them.

    In the end, booking lots of "easy money" gigs with the looper made me a better "technical" player.. however... my musical vocabulary is seriously deficient... I would have been a much more knowledgeable musician if I would have put that time into seriously studying those that came before me, as opposed to improvising and fumbling my way over simple chord charts i printed off from the internet a few hours before the gig.

    Here's a video I made in 2010 to study... it's still hard for me to listen to, but it was the first time I really realized how unmusical and robotic my playing was after years on the looper.


  11. #10

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    I think if it's used creatively, it's cool.

    If you're just gonna comp for yourself and then solo, might as well just use a backing track. Heck of a lot easier.

    Or learn to play solo. If a chimp in a suit like me can do it, you can too. You ain't gotta be Joe Pass.

  12. #11

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    yeah, if you actually play unaccompanied solo guitar, it can be a challenge not to overuse looping and thus degrade your true solo guitar skills, at least thats my experience

  13. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
    I think if it's used creatively, it's cool.

    If you're just gonna comp for yourself and then solo, might as well just use a backing track. Heck of a lot easier.

    Or learn to play solo. If a chimp in a suit like me can do it, you can too. You ain't gotta be Joe Pass.

    The problem with backing tracks is that you do it once, then it's over... you press play and don't have to do any live "work" to lay the rhythm down.

    By looping things live, every time, it forces you to develop some serious rhythm chops.. And you can get creative with how you approach each song... and play it differently every time..

    Like I said... I've dropped the looper, and now "attempt" to play solo ala pass/breau.. but.. using a looper (in my case) had some seriously positive aspects, and some serious negative aspects too.

    In the end, they can be either tools or toys.
    Last edited by wierdOne; 05-20-2016 at 03:20 PM.

  14. #13
    destinytot Guest
    I bought a Freeze pedal at the same time - probably a better learning tool.

  15. #14

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    I just got a Ditto X4 and I love it. I use it to practice, looping the changes. I'd never use it that way in a live gig though. I've been a loopist for about 29 years, but I use it in the Fripp/Torn/Cline/Frisell mode.

    Just a thought: using a looper for the purpose of accompanying yourself on a paying gig is a gig lost to another player who you could be doing a duo with instead. Support your fellow musicians

  16. #15

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    I play mainly standards and have been using a Boss RC2 for almost all my duo gigs with Singers, Hornplayers and all my solo gigs in the past five years or so.

    I never prerecord anything. It's a great tool and if you have the nerves you can just "learn by doing".

    I tried the Boss RC50 for a short while but found it too complicated to work with intuitively. The RC2 doesn't work equally well with all duo partners, some are quicker to figure out that they need to signal early what they are going to do, e.g. ending their solo, others forget to do so, but experience taught me how to react properly.

    Sometimes there's just not enough budget to pay two musicians, that's when it comes in handy to be able to acquire decent "self-made" comping.
    Last edited by JazzNote; 05-20-2016 at 08:21 PM.

  17. #16

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    The Boss RC3 works great with an external switch like the FS-6, which eliminates the need to double stomp.

  18. #17

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    Using a looper in a live setting is a new challenge, but it can open new doors. It's like learning another instrument and
    I find it's better to combine loops and solo sections, rather than just have your chord progression endlessly repeating in the background, so some re-arrangement of pieces is required. It goes down well if you get it right.

  19. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter C
    Using a looper in a live setting is a new challenge, but it can open new doors. It's like learning another instrument and
    I find it's better to combine loops and solo sections, rather than just have your chord progression endlessly repeating in the background, so some re-arrangement of pieces is required. It goes down well if you get it right.
    Exactly .... with a bit of experience it's possible to combine all, accompaniment of whole chorusses stringed together, vamp loops, solos sections without it at all - flexibility grows with the use of it. Re-arrangement can be spontaneously decided which i find to be a very rewarding challenge.

  20. #19

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    I probably had the best looper out there jam man stereo. And now it's collecting dust. Because I realize that a looper contributes to the knuckle dragger rock 'n' roll conception of the guitar as either a (a) lead or (b) rhythm instrument.

    I realized that, instead of that nonsense , I have to actually to learn how to play the instrument properly. It's the longer road, but the only satisfying one .

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by NSJ
    I probably had the best looper out there jam man stereo. And now it's collecting dust. Because I realize that a looper contributes to the knuckle dragger rock 'n' roll conception of the guitar as either a (a) lead or (b) rhythm instrument.

    I realized that, instead of that nonsense , I have to actually to learn how to play the instrument properly. It's the longer road, but the only satisfying one .
    Calling it a nonsense seems to be very subjective. It does make sense to be able to compete in a world where technical aids are the normal way to go. One shouldn't underestimate the possibility of parallel roads and last not least, like in any other kind of creative activity there is no strict rule about what's proper and what's not proper.

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by JazzNote
    Calling it a nonsense seems to be very subjective. It does make sense to be able to compete in a world where technical aids are the normal way to go. One shouldn't underestimate the possibility of parallel roads and last not least, like in any other kind of creative activity there is no strict rule about what's proper and what's not proper.

    I want to say that I did not say that the looper is nonsense; I said the knuckle dragger "lead" and "rhythm" conception that is found in 99% of rock 'n' roll is nonsense , a horrible, falsely created artificial dichotomy that cheats the instrument and what it is capable of.

    All I said was that a looper can contribute to that. I don't deny that it could probably be use for creative artistic purposes, but Most of us are not Robert Fripp or Bill Frisell.

    For a schmo like me, my time is best served learning the pianistic the concepts of the instrument. And to disregard, at the present moment, anything that can get in the way of that.

  23. #22

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    I find that the "lead" and "rhythm" conception is not nonsense. It's just one possibility. I have a duo with a guitar player who does strictly accompaniment, he puts all his time into it and it is growing much more than if he would also spend time to improve his soloing skills. There are some incredible albums out which use this conception. For instance Pat Martino with Bobby Rose, or Joe Pass with John Pisano.

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by NSJ
    I want to say that I did not say that the looper is nonsense; I said the knuckle dragger "lead" and "rhythm" conception that is found in 99% of rock 'n' roll is nonsense , a horrible, falsely created artificial dichotomy that cheats the instrument and what it is capable of.

    All I said was that a looper can contribute to that. I don't deny that it could probably be use for creative artistic purposes, but Most of us are not Robert Fripp or Bill Frisell.

    For a schmo like me, my time is best served learning the pianistic the concepts of the instrument. And to disregard, at the present moment, anything that can get in the way of that.
    Yeah, it's true, Django and his knuckle dragging brother, Joseph. If only Django was as good as the guys today ... wait.... WHAT?

  25. #24

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    I've got some kind of Boss looper and guess what - I hardly ever use it. I got sick to death of it playing exactly the same 32 bars of comping that I had just recorded, over and over again. It made my soloing sound robotic because after a while I knew exactly what was coming next. I just couldn't improvise to it. At least backing tracks such as BIAB have a bit of variation in them.

    Now I would rather just practise (and get better at) playing unaccompanied solo guitar.

  26. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by grahambop
    I've got some kind of Boss looper and guess what - I hardly ever use it. I got sick to death of it playing exactly the same 32 bars of comping that I had just recorded, over and over again. It made my soloing sound robotic because after a while I knew exactly what was coming next. I just couldn't improvise to it. At least backing tracks such as BIAB have a bit of variation in them.
    That's why i usually just play short solos on "solo guitar" gigs.

    But on duo gigs with horn players when i have the full length of the accompaniment which i just did for the partner. I find it exciting to remember the peculiarities of the choruses i just played and anticipate a reaction to them (meaning half time, 4/4 swing, Pedals or even more open playing). Definitely my accompaniment has improved a lot since i hear myself back all the time and am confronted with the shortcomings that might have just ocurred.