The lessons right here?

[joe2758]

Out of curiosity, I checked out the free lessons on the landing page of this site. They're good, how come no one recommends those? Sort of ironic. The bebop licks and blues licks are good, I'm gunna cop some.

[joe2758]

50 Jazz Guitar Licks I mean, bruh...this is gold

[brent.h]

Yes, they sound good!

For myself, I haven't had lots of success with licks from YouTube, books, or this site. The licks I learnt all came from recordings or watching players play live. Something about hearing a phrase within the context of an entire song hits me differently. The context sorta tells me how the phrase comes to be and where it will go. That context-phrase combo is what makes me go, 'WOW I gotta learn that.' When a phrase is presented to me decontextualised, it doesn't hit me the same way and trying to learn it feels like a chore.

Edit: In my journey, I gravitated to players who I greatly admired and listened to them non-stop. CC was the first, then Prez, then Bird and Pasquale and BH, then Trumbauer, then Satch. I loved their playing so much that I did 2 types of learning - lifting specific rhythms/phrases or getting a general sense/feel of a line and then coming up with something my own. So, the language that I use in my playing feels more, I dunno, 'real' and organic to me than learning it decontextualised.

[joe2758]

I like coming up with the before and afters; makes it more fun, helps keep in memory, makes it my own etc...when i learn whole solos I have a hard time separating it from that and piecing together new stuff.
Like answering the phrase with my own thing

[brent.h]

Yeah, whole solos aren't great for learning the 'what to play' cos they are just too large and unwieldy. They seem to be better for absorbing nuances of 'when & how to play'. I've played along with many CC and Prez solos and have forgotten all the phrases, but I absorbed a bit of their feel, which was worthwhile in itself.

[joe2758]

Yeah, nothing better than learning a whole solo for time feel, flow, technique etc...kinda like "this must be how it feels to be pretty good" lol

[GuyBoden]

I listen to recordings and copy phrases I like.

That's a tried and very tested method since the begin of recordings.

It's not rocket science, it's not complicated, it's relatively simple, just use your ears.

Edit: Most of Dirk's lessons have examples, so you can use your ears.
50 Jazz Guitar Licks

[joe2758]

I listen to recordings and copy phrases I like.

That's a tried and very tested method since the begin of recordings.

It's not rocket science, it's not complicated, it's relatively simple, just use your ears.

What helps you more do you think; the process of figuring it out or practicing it over and over?

edit: open question to all