The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Hey everyone,

    So at the end of next month I have my first proper solo gig, it's not much, just playing a bit of guitar in the background at a morning tea for some local government folks and a few dignitaries (still a little hazy on the details), but hopefully it'll be a starting point and an experience if nothing else.

    Anyway, it's just me, my guitar and a little amp. I was wondering if anyone had any advice? On anything really, set up, set list, good songs for background music (I'm aiming more chords and a bit of melody so no million-notes-a-second stuff as I think that could be intrusive / distracting), dealing with nerves, anything at all.

    Thanks!

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  3. #2

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    Well, you could always call in sick...

  4. #3

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    What kind of songs? My knee-jerk reaction is to suggest jazz standards, because after all, this is a jazz guitar site. But after thinking about it a bit, that's not a really good recommendation. I think you'd be better off playing any songs that you like to play and that you know well enough to provide a good presentation in a quiet unobtrusive setting as proper background music for the event. And if those songs are ones that your audience will recognize, that's all the better.

    Here are a couple of examples that help to illustrate my point:

    I remember having brunch in the outdoor garden of The Court of the Two Sisters restaurant in New Orleans. It was a warm summer day and they had a jazz guitarist with a small amp to provide music. He played all standards. I thought the performance was great -- I could name every song in his repertoire, as he was playing the jazz standards that every jazz guy would know. Unfortunately my dining companions were not into jazz and couldn't name any of the songs. I ended up enjoying the music much more than they did. They ended up being kind of bored and disappointed by the Muzak even though I thought it was a great set list.

    On another occasion I had lunch in the outdoor garden of the Art Institute in Chicago. It was a similar warm summer day and the music was provided by the harpist from the CSO. Instead of playing jazz standards, she played popular songs interpreted on the harp. I had trouble naming them... my brain just couldn't connect the dots. I asked my lunch companions the name of one of the songs, and without skipping a beat one of them said, "Only the Lonely." Everyone in the garden appreciated the harpists interpretation of the "modern" popular songs. For some reason I just had trouble identifying those that weren't in my head as "standards."

    My point is to say that the set list isn't as important as your interpretation of the music and good presentation. In that respect, play the songs that fit the engagement that you can play best. If you can, try to tailor your set list to songs that are popular enough that the people in your target audience will recognize them. In many cases, people would rather hear melodies that they know than "proper jazz" melodies that they're not familiar with. It's all about pleasing the audience. In my experience people like to hear songs that they know more than songs that they don't know, but should know...

    ...but I would stop short of playing a chord melody arrangement of California Gurls by Katy Perry.

  5. #4

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    Thanks for the advice Bob. I was thinking maybe one or two standards, a few simple classical pieces. It's a bit hard to know what the audience will like, from what little details I know so far they'll probably be on the older side of things, so I think jazz versions of modern pop songs may be a bit hit and miss.

    You make a good point about familiarity, but I also want to show off just a little, then again I've got two hours to cover so I should be able to get a good mix of things into that

    Given I'm in Australia, I could try some jazz AC/DC!... no. Maybe a chord melody of "Land Down Under" by Men At Work, actually I think I'll work on that just for myself regardless of whether i play it at the gig, could be fun.

  6. #5

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    Haydon what about some Nick Cave for some Australiana.

    OK that is my objective for the weekend, a jazz version of Red White Hand or 15 Feet of Pure White Snow or the one he did with Kylie.

  7. #6

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    In regard to set up - I would try to set up in a corner with the amp bisecting the corner angle, if you know what I mean. I would also tilt the amp back so that the speaker's axis is ideally on a line headed to the furthest upper corner opposite. You should be aiming to achieve the broadest possible coverage with the fewest hot spots and the most reasonable volume for the listeners. This is assuming you are indoors. If you are playing outside, may God have mercy on your soul. Best of luck!

  8. #7

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    Jazz standards were all pop tunes when they were first introduced, most from Broadway shows. It stands to reason that any more contemporary, well-written popular song would fill the bill nicely, from Beatles to James Taylor, Drifters or Carol King, etc. A great help on these solo gigs is a loop pedal, so you can play over a set of changes that you lay down. I have a lot of looper fun with one-chord tunes like The Beat Goes On and Coconut. Don't be afraid to use a music stand and a book; this is background, not concert, but it outdoors, bring clips for the music.

  9. #8

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    While we know the standards, for audience members under 40 those tunes are relics that their grandparents listened to. It's harder to connect with the audience throwing museum music at them. At my band's most recent gig I realized that (other than originals by me and by another band member) the newest song we played was 45 years old- In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed (which BTW works great for a jazz band).

    I work in nursing homes and even there the Jazz Age is largely before their time and was mainly the music of their parents. People born after 1940 were more likely into Elvis, Buddy Holly, etc., than Basie, Elington, Parker, Gillespie, etc. The standards might sound nice to the modern audience like classical music sounds nice to them but they have no idea what it is.

    A local New Orleans style band has a great arrangement of "Bad Romance." It came up as a novelty but it actually swings.
    Last edited by Cunamara; 06-10-2016 at 07:37 PM.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Haydon
    Thanks for the advice Bob. I was thinking maybe one or two standards, a few simple classical pieces. It's a bit hard to know what the audience will like, from what little details I know so far they'll probably be on the older side of things, so I think jazz versions of modern pop songs may be a bit hit and miss.

    You make a good point about familiarity, but I also want to show off just a little, then again I've got two hours to cover so I should be able to get a good mix of things into that

    Given I'm in Australia, I could try some jazz AC/DC!... no. Maybe a chord melody of "Land Down Under" by Men At Work, actually I think I'll work on that just for myself regardless of whether i play it at the gig, could be fun.
    Yes AC/DC, man! It's not done often enough in jazz! Tomorrow I'm playing in a trio, and the sax guy totally down for Back In Black, we do it in jazz funky style. It could be tricky to do solo though, maybe just as a snippet?

  11. #10

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    AC/DC with Sax? Given blue grass AC/DC is awesome (check out Steve'n'Seagulls do Thunderstruck
    , personally i think its better than the original but I do love bluegrass).

    Maybe you could split the solo into smaller pieces, remove some of the less important notes and share it with the sax? Hope that makes sense. I'd love to hear it!

  12. #11

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    When I was waiting for my singer to come over last week I started playing a chord melody version of Waltzing Matilda in a nursing home (in Ireland). To my amazement people started singing along. It was great.

    The Beatles songs are always received well and in the nursing home they love the old Irish songs. Advance Australia fair would be a great chord melody song for you.

    My tip would be to know the songs 100 times better then you think that you should know them. I love playing solo but hate it at the same time as its obvious if you make a mistake. Cover from a band hides most mistakes pretty well. I remember playing playing a totally wrong line over a chord at the end of a song once and someone came up to me afterwards telling me how good that line was. Ha ha.

    This is where I lifted the Waltzing Matilda melody and a few backing things:



    Good luck!!

  13. #12

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    Whatever you choose to play, make sure you have it wired -- you can do it in your sleep. On a similar note, have a few extra songs in your hip pocket. Pay attention to the audience mood, and be willing to change your setlist to accomodate it.

    Pack spares -- guitar if possible, cable, strings.

    Look at your audience, not your fretboard.

    Don't fiddle around between songs if you can help it, and don't spend a long time introducing a song unless you're Garrison Keillor.

    Knock 'em dead, bud.

  14. #13

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    Best advice I ever got regarding a situation like what your going into: people like what they know.

  15. #14

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    Good luck with the gig.

    Given that the people there will have come for reasons other than the music (no matter how good that music may be) I suggest that when choosing your material, choose the stuff you feel you play the best, rather than try to guess the audience's preference. It's likely the audience will have diverse musical tastes, so not every song will be everyone's cup of tea. That's OK. It's different if someone plays a gig at a jazz venue, or a folk club or a rock venue. In those situations, the venue - and the likely audience - tells you in advance what's (usually) expected. Your gig will be a bit different. So choose what you feel best presents your playing. Then you'll know you've done a good performance.

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Haydon
    AC/DC with Sax? Given blue grass AC/DC is awesome (check out Steve'n'Seagulls do Thunderstruck
    , personally i think its better than the original but I do love bluegrass).

    Maybe you could split the solo into smaller pieces, remove some of the less important notes and share it with the sax? Hope that makes sense. I'd love to hear it!
    That's cool! Nah, I dont solo on this tune, I just comp like Malcolm, and let the sax be Angus.

  17. #16

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    I play a lot of solo gigs...granted, not specifically solo jazz guitar gigs. But, if these are not specifically jazz guitar fans, play what you are most comfortable with. I was playing a really hot set with my trio at a local brewery last week...the drums were on, the guitar player was cooking, I was walking that shit up and downtown feeling like Mingus ...nobody gave a shit.

    I do a lot of tunes with a looper on solo gigs...I've sat and built some of the coolest harmonized lines and with other layers swirling, color upon color over Mr. PC ...they clapped more when I did a simple version of "Ain't No Sunshine..."

    If one of those local officials can hum you the melody to "Solar" ...I will buy you a coffee. lol

    tl;dr keep it ambient (as in background music, not edm lol), play stuff you like, good luck and have fun!

  18. #17

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    Playing gets you gigs ... songs get you money.