Neo Soul, Nujazz help

[ahmadjalil]

looking for tabs or tutorials with that sort of neosoul sound. what I have in mind is this

Something Forever | Beatchild



(I know some songs like the J dilla one are keys but I'd like to know how to play these types of chords on guitar)
I've tried translating chords from my piano but it's too trivial and very time consuming. I should put in the time though.

also I'm very interested in this style of playing

any help is incredibly appreciated

[TheGrandWazoo]

Totally dig the syncopation that cat was doing in the first vid with the bass line. Very original. What you are looking can't really be found here. Your best bet would be to find some old soul CDs and start transcribing the chords changes. Just like jazz, soul is gonna have its chord change rules for what fits it's style. Check out some Curtis mayfield and barry white. Find out who played in those tracks you like. You'll probably not find guitar instruction books on this style if soul. Good luck though.

[Helgo]

hey there!

there are several "soul real books" out. just google/amazon them and learn the classics of the genre.

good luck!
also, i am interested in further replies to this post.


best, helgo

[Jdudeo]

transcribe nujabes

[Jdudeo]

That Zayn guy is excellent though I'm watching one of his other vids, you can probably get plenty of mileage just transcribing his stuff and playing around with it

[Jdudeo]

I ended up transcribing parts of that Zayn video that I found interesting, including that main riff he's doing. It's in midi format but here it is...

[West LA Jazz]

looking for tabs or tutorials with that sort of neosoul sound. what I have in mind is this




(I know some songs like the J dilla one are keys but I'd like to know how to play these types of chords on guitar)
I've tried translating chords from my piano but it's too trivial and very time consuming. I should put in the time though.

also I'm very interested in this style of playing


any help is incredibly appreciated

you should look for guitar chordal work by ISSIAH SHAKEY. He is a young guitarist working with CHRIS DAVE AND THE DRUMHEDZ. CHris Dave is a big time session and drummer for hire.

Issiah is working with De Angelo on new stuff. De Angelo is the king of the newer Neo Soul stuff.

[Sam Sherry]

I dig that Chris Dave / Isaiah Sharkey show for so many reasons:

. They are really, really listening, all the time

. They cover an incredible range of American music

. Two words: Chris Dave

. As a gearhead, I love how Isaiah Sharkey and Kebby Williams are both anti-gear (and KW is pro-hat, which is another plus). You can buy Isaiah's guitar off of CraigsList for $600 any day of any week. Now, $600 is a lot of money, but if you have a paper route you could own one by Christmas, and that's where it's at!

[Larry Feldman]

I know this is an old thread. But I found a great video explaining a Neo Soul chord progression.

[Alter]

haven't really looked for tab staff, but i have a couple of extensive youtube playlists with live stuff since i love that style of music and guitar playing, lots of interesting stuff to watch there.

R&B Live - YouTube

Gospel R&B Guitar - YouTube

[Zakk J.]

listen to spanky alford, d'angelo, isaiah sharkey, chris dave, mark lettieri, mighty clouds of joy..etc.

[nosaj_thing]

Look up Tom Misch, Beau diakowicz

[omphalopsychos]

This is an interesting topic, and something I've been looking into lately too. My advice is to be careful with some of the youtube tutorials for 'neo soul guitar': a lot of them can be summarized as "do a root position drop 2 minor 7 with the bass on the A string and flap your pinky around". The Jeff Schneider videos are great, as are a lot of the gospel piano videos. I think you will end up with a more unique style if you transcribe the piano stuff as opposed to watching the guitar tutorials. When I get a chance, I'll share my transcription of one of his video lessons.

[MarkRhodes]

Aimee Nolte posted this yesterday.
She transcribes a neo-soul solo by a young New York player she likes. Might be interesting to some here. (She's a pianist and singer, not a guitarist, but she's a great talent.)

[omphalopsychos]

I just uploaded this to youtube. Not much, but some nice voicings in there. Check out the C#/B as a tritone substitution for F7. Chord lesson starts at 0:57.

[theleftfoot]

thanks! very helpful!

rafffa

[JakeAcci]

the "neo-soul" thing is fascinating to me for a few reasons....

1. I hadn't really heard of it until the past 6 months or so

2. My impression is it's something a lot of younger folks in jazz school get into, making it kind of new wave, the new trend. Makes me feel old that I'm not familiar!

3. To me, most of the players sound very similar, which isn't bad, but it's kind of like, if ten years ago everybody was trying to sound like Kurt, it might seem that...well..you know..

4. I've been following a lot of guitarists and musicians on instagram and the neo soul thing seems to be the most popular form of jazz or jazz-influenced music by a long long shot, especially for guitarists.

[mr. beaumont]

What have you listened to that you don't like?

It doesn't all sound the same to me.

I first heard "neo-soul" talked about Erykah Badu back when I was in college. She's cool.

[JakeAcci]

What have you listened to that you don't like?

It doesn't all sound the same to me.

I first hear "neo-soul" talked about Erykah Badu back when I was in college. She's cool.

You know, I'm just being salty and procrastinating my lesson prep. I guess I'm talking about tons of guitarists on instagram and youtube that kind of cop this same style. I haven't even heard the origins, actual professional recordings that these folks are trying to emulate. So I think I'll just edit that part of my post, wasn't really being fair.

[theleftfoot]

hi jakeacci,

true words...

i'm 40 started with grunge to alternative music, then to blues/funk and now i'm in the Jazz frame!

but as an old vinyl junkie and 70'ties funk Music lover, i'm back with this kind of jazz thing...we play with a hiphop combo and this kind of music (neo soul, r'n'b, etc - tribe called quest) match it perfect!

but i'm a little bit impatient...i'm in the beginnings of jazz...:-)

cheers form switzerland raffa

[omphalopsychos]

JakeAcci,

I can see where you're coming from, and I agree with some of your points. Regarding the proclivity of this style to "gimmickry", it shouldn't be a surprise, given that it is a very commercially successful and growing sub-genre of pop music. I also find this gimmickry very noticeable on the neo-soul guitar lessons on YT, which mostly just feature a whammy bar and min7 chords moving up and down the neck plus some pentatonics.

For me, it's not that I intend to play the style; nor do I even listen to much of it. But some of the harmonic and melodic devices used (especially from the piano players) catch my ear. When something like that happens, regardless of the genre, I typically want to learn a bit more about it. That's originally how I got started in jazz; I just happened to stick around because I liked it so much.

In case you're interested in hearing what's coming from professionals, have a listen to this when you have a chance. Note that this style comes from a musical and cultural genealogy that connects jazz to funk, to rnb, to gospel, to hip hop, and recently back to jazz. Much of the jazz-oriented movement in the genre come from musicians that wrote/produced hip hop in the 90s and have lately been working more directly under the label of 'jazz'.

[destinytot]

(From 0:40) like a breath of fresh air.

[christianm77]

Neo Soul is more a keyboard vibe no? You do the Neo Soul thing after you got your Gospel chops (tm)

EDIT: will check out that Sharkey dude. He better be the Thundercat of the guitar or GTFO.

[destinytot]

Inspired to lay down some grooves this week with Tele + pedals (Key 9, octaver, looper). Maybe tap the strings for rhythm?

[Stevebol]