The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #51

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jason Sioco
    I listen to a lot of music ranging from jazz, classical, to metal, I even listen to film music. My favorite guitarists range from George Benson to John Petrucci. All of my favorites have a good melodic sense such as Joe Pass. Yet, when I jam, improvise, and compose, I sound like a corny, backwards, Filipino music. It's very embarrassing to listen to when I am recording. l I am Filipino by the way, I immigrated here in North America many years ago. It doesn't make sense with all that good music that I listen to.

    Another thing I notice is that the more I compose, the more I am recycling the same embarrassing things. Is there a way to turn things around? I mean every lead guitarist that I meet all has IT...except me.
    Because You are not one of them. Thats why. We all have to find our own voices, of course our heroes can help in this....

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #52

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    Quote Originally Posted by vinlander
    That 20 year old guy sure sounded like his hero, so IT IS possible with talent and work
    It's funny, the pianist on this recording, Ed Paolantonio, taught me to play jazz. I just saw Ed last weekend, we played a few tunes, he is still sounding great. Whatever happened to Dan Axelrod?

  4. #53

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    Every day I sound more and more like George Gobel.

  5. #54

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    Quote Originally Posted by rabbit
    Every day I sound more and more like George Gobel.
    Just saw George on an episode of Wagon Train. Anyhow, I didn't know he was a guitar player until today:

    Gobel labeled himself "Lonesome George," and the nickname stuck for the rest of his career. The TV show sometimes included a segment in which Gobel appeared with a guitar, started to sing, then got sidetracked into a story, with the song always left unfinished after fitful starts and stops, a comedy approach that prefigured the Smothers Brothers. He had a special version of the Gibson L-5 archtop guitar constructed featuring diminished dimensions of neck scale and body depth, befitting his own smaller stature. Several dozen of this "L-5CT" or "George Gobel" model were produced in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

    Here is Gobel with the great Hoagy Carmichael (who wrote Georgia on My Mind, Stardust, and other great songs!).




  6. #55

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    I have played alongside a lot of really good players over the years. And I have found they can sound like other guitarists pretty well. It's partly due to their ability to mimic the sound of the original guitarist through effects, if applicable. I had a guy last night sound just like Pat Metheny. He also said he spent time figuring out the licks the guitarist plays and then incorporating them into his solos. For example, last night, the guy in my band plays a Fender Strat, but he sounded a lot like Pat Metheny when Pat plays his hollow body.

  7. #56

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    Very broadly ....

    It may be that they got to be great by playing what they 'hear ' /imagine ....

    And you may be merely copying them at this point ...

    However people like Eddie Van Halen and Eric Johnson and even Larry Carlton mentioned Clapton for his sound and note choices ...

    So starting somewhere is OK .

    There is a current 'cloning ' tendency on the Internet in which people attempt to get a large chunk of a Player's approach by mimicking Player's hands arms wrists pick position , angle of neck relative to magnetic North ( lol ).

    And it's an honest attempt to get a jump start on technique and tone.... but mostly we hear ' work in progress ' reports from people rather than look I sound just like Guy X now and here's my Album.

    The exceptions to this are Players who already have serious chops and do in fact do good copies of Eric Johnson etc and Players who specialize in note for note renditions.

    But there may be some hidden Universe law that you can copy Tones BUT you can't copy someone who is way more technically advanced than you are ...

    You can move laterally but cannot move vertically much above where you really are.

    A good example is George Benson - people have been trying to get his technique and feel for at least 40 years .

    So they need great technique and timing like him , and ' articulation with glide ' like George and the speed ....and until Peter Farrell ( a protegè of Benson ) no one really to my ears had the whole package.
    And I don't know if Farrell can play the R&B but still full Jazz George invented ( probably he can right ?)

    So obviously - people don't pick some normal Guitarist - they pick a great one.

    We hear the Great Ones usually AFTER they perfected their craft which may have taken 10 or 20 or more years.

    So you come along and say' GRRRRR why can't I sound like ______x______?'

    Nothing wrong with your desire or expectation - but the Guy himself took a while to develop [ OR they were gifted and only took a few years - but STILL a few years ].

    So TIME spent on the Guitar is a problem especially IMO with Jazz Guitarists who just to Play the Music need a big skillset and I think they have encyclopedia brains too ...they know hundreds of tunes they can just walk out onstage with strangers - and do polished performances- no rehearsal ...!
    Guys here -many of them that's a crazy skill to me ....no matter how good my technique is - I could never remember hundreds of tunes even if I wrote them !

    But it takes time and practice and focus to get - .

    So your favorite Guitarists already spent 3 to 20 years getting their craft before you hear them is the number 1 thing.

    the number 2 thing is probably

    You can move horizontally but not vertically ...

    So if you can fingerpick like James Taylor already ...you can go sideways and get to Joni Mitchell ( up a little ) .

    But to get to Tommy Emanuel is similar but more chops and independence.

    To get to Yamandu Costa is two steps up from Emmanuel maybe only 10 or fewer Players like him on the planet...

    Like I said on another thread - if you really want to sound like your favorite Guitarist ...pick a favorite who only plays a little better than you.

    Similar tip for Boxers ...pick a guy at the local Gym first - and get that level done ...before you try Roy Jones or Floyd Mayweather.
    Last edited by Robertkoa; 08-01-2019 at 10:46 PM.

  8. #57

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    They don't sound like you either.

    EVH can play Clapton note-for-note, but I don't think he sounds like him. Eddie sounds like Eddie.

    And yeh, you STILL don't have enough gear.

  9. #58

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    I sound just like my favorite guitarist: me! But I am the sum of many hours of listening and practicing and absorbing sounds and concepts that interested me. I am not interested in sounding like my heroes, but I am interested in being inspired and educated by them, and in my playing my heroes show up for a moment here and there, say hello, and leave as quickly as they came, except for one night years ago when I played Miles' solo from So What note-for-note at a jam session, and blew myself and everybody else away, as I hadn't practiced it ever. That was a cool visit, and many years later I got to produce Miles in concert, another cool visit. One can strive to emulate, and get to a pointless point if one works hard enough. The same amount of work is probably better served by getting to the point where you can play what you hear, and hope that you hear something fetching or enticing or passionate that also pleases others. A real musician reaches others and moves them, taking them on an emotional journey. Consider the solos you love: Pat's Sunny, Wes's 4 on 6, Barney's Clear Day, Jim's Stompin' at the Savoy with Art Farmer, all journeys that we can take repeatedly, and get to a good place. We strive for that if we are serious.

  10. #59

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    Ronjazz I love that response.

    on the too infrequent occasions I make time to do some original stuff I am always surprised how much better it sounds than when I play the material of others and the in-depth learning experience it presents