-
you think Pat Martino does this or other great guitarists? "Always slur that way"?!
Originally Posted by GuyBoden
I would then say; Don't do it!
-
06-13-2026 07:54 PM
-
As I mentioned in a previous post, there's no shortcut, no "do this and you'll instantly transform into a monster jazz player."
That's the main reason "rules" like "always slur in a certain way" make me cringe.
The other reason is that when I am playing, I'm thinking about the musical idea I want to realize. I'm not thinking about the number of notes per string, whether I started the phrase with an upstroke or a down stroke, whether I'm slurring on upbeats or not... I simply don't have time for that.
Another reason is that I pick almost every note, due to my desire to develop the ability to do strict alternate picking at a high level ala Pat Martino. Nobody ever says that Pat doesn't swing because he's not slurring. Full stop.
That's not to say that I never play legato. I have worked hard on that technique as well, and I use it when I want a certain sound, or to navigate passages that are difficult to execute with strict alt picking.
End rant. Again, OP, it's good to marinate in all of these ideas (along with a lot of listening) and try things out, but don't drown in rules, advice, theory, and ten-minute videos from YouTubers. Find some way to get some personal instruction. You find ways to buy gasoline, food and shelter... find a way to take lessons. You won't regret it. What you will regret is how long you waited to do this.
I'd also underscore the advice that many others have already given: learn tunes. Even if you just memorize them without understanding them, you'll internalize vocabulary, phrasing and concepts.
That's the simple way out of the forest: listen to a lot of jazz, learn tunes that appeal to you, and take guitar lessons.
-
Interesting you mentioned Wes, since Wes had no 'pick'ing. It was downward with his thumb and it worked for him. So not sure why you 'pick' Wes as an example for 'picking'... Originally Posted by pamosmusic
Your old guitar teacher's quote: "amateurs think about the left hand; pros think about the right."; I tend to think about BOTH hands. Left serves Right and Right serves Left in my case.
-
Wes practiced when his wife was sleeping. Playing with the thumb was the only way. Originally Posted by JazzKatua
-
Playing with the thumb is still "picking."
What i mean is get your house in technical order before you have a chance to ingrain bad habits. Bad habits are tough to break, and take time. If I decided I wanted to break mine now, I'd need to devote much if not all of my limited practice time to do it. I've learned to cope with my limitations, but there are things im just never going to be able to do.
-
So ...one zeho ?
Do your understand how the fretboard works? A 12 fret repeating pattern.
Scales, arp. positions and rhythmic skills etc... are standard beginning skills and tools that help you develop your musical skills of playing the guitar.
They also help you understand, organize and be able to repeat what you hear and play on the instrument... without having to memorize everything.
You mentioned you have scales etc... in ? one position.
Can you without thinking play Gmaj scale in all 7 positions? (maj scale and modes)
Same with arps.
Just trying to see where your at....
-
I think first you need to ask yourself where you want to be. Even a good teacher will ask you that. That will define your learning path. Originally Posted by onezeho
Hello everyone. I'd appreciate some advice, but first I'd like to provide a little context about my musical background and where I am right now
I'm 25. I picked up guitar at 16, but for a long time it was just a casual hobby - strumming chord-based songs, picking things out by ear, improvising with no real system. I only started taking it seriously about 2-3 years ago
For a while I got pretty deep into music theory - YouTube channels, reading, trying to wrap my head around harmony. My theoretical knowledge grew, but my actual playing didn't keep up. Until fairly recently I'd barely touched scales, positions, ear training, or rhythm work in any structured way.
About six months ago I made the switch to jazz. I started listening a lot and realized this was the direction I wanted to go. I worked through Jens Larsen's material - shell chords, basic jazz concepts - and for the first time started taking the metronome seriously
From there I moved into standards: Take Five, then All of Me. Working through those made it very clear how weak my rhythm was, so I spent a lot of time on the metronome, triplets, and swing feel. The swing thing eventually clicked in a way I didn't expect - not through any explanation, but physically. At some point the triplet eighth just settled into place and I felt it from the inside. That was probably the biggest single moment for me these past few months
Right now I'm working through Chris Parks' Barry Harris material. I've got the major scale in one position down - triads, thirds, chords, up and down - and I'm working on chord tones, chromatics, and the diminished 6 scales. But I'm starting to feel overwhelmed. There's a lot coming at once and it's getting hard to hold it all
The gaps I'm aware of:
- Ear training, especially transcribing - melodically I can get somewhere, rhythmically I fall apart
- The connection between what I hear, sing, and play
- Understanding the function of notes within the harmony
- Improvising through chord changes
- Feeling free inside swing when actually playing
- Fretboard knowledge
My main question: looking at the full picture, where should I focus right now? Keep pushing through Barry Harris even when it feels like too much? Shift toward ear training and transcription? Work more on rhythm? Or is there something more fundamental I'm missing altogether?
For example: Do you want to play acoustic rhythm in a TradJazz band? Do you want to play in a Gypsy Jazz Band? Do you want to be a member of a Bebop band? Just play solo guitar playinmg standards? Do you want to be the next Mike Stern?
Sure, all of those prolly have something in common but, they also have their specialty learning paths.
What does success look like? I'm reached my goals when I'm___________
-
Interesting point you made: Practice time! Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
Other interesting point: which guitarist nowadays would 'pick' with only the thumb? Would this now be considered a 'bad practice/bad habit'?
EVERY musician has limitations, but making GREAT music is not about being the greatest technical music. In Jazz it's about connection/communication and in JazzJams I miss that aspect, since a LOT of musicians are READING the leadsheet scores constantly and DON'T listen to what's happening.
-
I didn’t use Wes’s picking as an example. I used a solo of his that I’ve spent a lot of time working on as an example of how detailed you can (and probably should) be when you’re working on picking. Originally Posted by JazzKatua
-
Yes I know what the fretboard is about (I hope). I can play any scale from any string, but it's not always instant. The pattern from root to root bottom to top I can play. But I can't, for example, land on the sixth of G major at a random spot and immediately see the other notes of the key that takes me a moment to think. I can't jump freely between scale degrees on the fly, like grabbing the sixth, then the third, then the seventh. I can go outside one position, but there I have to pay more attention to where I'm going next. As for arpeggios - yes, I can play them, but I haven't put enough time into it and can get confused. I have good exercises for this and plan to get back to them alongside working on jazz standards Originally Posted by Reg
Edit
While practicing arpeggios, I try to understand which scale degrees I'm playing, and I often say them out loud. I know the notes on the fretboard -perfectly on the 5th and 6th strings, but on the other strings I don't always orient myself quicklyLast edited by onezeho; Today at 05:37 PM.
-
This comment is so right, but is possibly of less use at this site. Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
People here are amateurs and don't have the time to fix their technique. They're stuck with what they have.
Re the idea of ingraining bad habits, that is so true.
We are essentially at the mercy of bad teachers/our own lack of knowledge/ignorance when we set out on playing - which is why the majority of self-taught payers have poor technique.
It's one thing to be a hack as a hobbyist - that's expected and perfectly normal.
The shocking reality is that MANY pros are hardly any better.
They themselves are victims of their poor technique that they ingrained a long time ago. They don't tend to fix that though - they're still stuck with stupid positions, inability to mute, stupid Gypsy positions, Benson etc etc etc. Endless incompetence.
What's even worse is that pros with that faulty technique will then pass that "virus" onto their students by coaching the student to use that same shitty technique.
It's so awful and the "virus" replicates through the students.
-
You're missing the point, and you're still missing it after umpteen pages of 'advice'. And before that umpteen months of whatever. You can perform all kinds of gymnastics with scales and profess encyclopaedic knowledge but you still can't pick up a guitar and play Autumn bloody Leaves. Originally Posted by onezeho
Why don't you ask why? And find the answer. And put it right. Simple, innit.
And if you say 'Of course I can play Autumn Leaves' I'll ask you to prove it. And you better be able to.
-
Relax. It seems op is seeking advice from Reg (who is possibly the most respected player on this forum), and Reg specifically asked him that question as a starting point to offer him tailored advice. He was just answering that question. Originally Posted by ragman1
Reply With Quote
Has anyone tried the Raezer's Edge Twin 8 LW (Light Weight)
Today, 11:59 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos