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Hi, I am a blues guitarist and starting with Jazz now. I trying to put a practice plan together for someone that can play guitar but is new to JAZZ. I have 2 hours a day to practice. Would like your views on what to practice and for how long? I want to get the balance right from the start.
sections of the plan...
Technique (left/right hand exercises)
Repertiore (standards ?)
Transcribing (licks and lines)
Knowledge (chord theory etc.)
Improvisation (recording rhythm tracks and jamming over incorporating new licks etc.)
What did I leave out?
is the Mickey Baker's Complete Course in Jazz Guitar... a good place to start?
Thanks.
Jono
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06-01-2011 07:29 AM
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What a big question. I'll put up my thoughts and there will be loads of other suggestions here.
I've been working out of MB's book for a while now and it works well. Best tip is to not try to race through it. When he says you must completely understand something before moving on, he freakin' means it.
On top of that, I would take a look at the five shapes/fingerings from Jimmy Bruno. Play them in each key every day (since you have the time). Try mixing up the intervals (thirds, fourths, etc) and doing coils (1,2,1,2,3,2,3,4,3, etc) of 2, 3, and 4 notes. I've been doing this (one key at a time since I don't have as much time as you) for a while and went from no soloing ability to a moderate ability.
The above is supposed to replace modal scale theory. There are arguments for learning modes, but for a beginner, the five shapes/fingerings is almost as easy as the CAGED system is on western guitar.
I would also practice vi-ii-V-I in as many positions as I can figure out. That progression is everywhere in jazz and knowing it in your fingers will help a ton. Good shapes to learn are the 6-4-3-2 and 5-3-2-1 (numbers = string numbers). These are the most commonly used rhythm chords.
Next, work out the Rhythm Changes (chords from "I Got Rhythm") in all keys on those chords you just learned. That will get you quite a few songs (there are several lists on the net of the songs that use those changes).
Now that you have mastered everything above, download or buy a fake book and start looking into standards that you know (have heard and can recognize) that are too heavy on changes. Work them out by learning melody, chord changes, arpeggios of the chords, and then start trying to play the melody over the chords.
Along the way you may want to either find a way to record yourself so you can play melodies over your own changes, or pick up a piece of software such as Band In a Box where you can program some accompaniment.
Hope that helps, Jono.
~DB
P.S.: To the board, fill in my gaps and critique however you feel. I'm kind of knew to be throwing out this advice...
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Technique (left/right hand exercises) I cover this in everything I practice, rather than dry RH or LH exercises. If something I am working on causes a glitch in either area I isolate that problem and work on it. This way technique is always related to actual music.
Repertiore (standards ?) kind of obvious!
Transcribing (licks and lines) I do a minimal amount of this to paper. I do more working out entire songs from scratch for band work
Knowledge (chord theory etc.) I would incorporate this into playing as much as possible. Start simple and see how it relates to the finger board. I might pick one chord and play it melodically all over the neck (by one chord I mean sound, i.e. C minor is mi7 mi9 mi6 etc) SInce these are thinking exercises I play very slowly and out of time. Then I might do the same thing with progressions and tunes.
Improvisation (recording rhythm tracks and jamming over incorporating new licks etc.) I take any new concept and play slowly and out of time, so I have time to think where I am going etc. Then I'll try to incorporate all that to a play along.
I believe you have left out chord melody, studying that teaches so much.
I'm offering rough ideas of what I do, not specifics as you need to come up with your own 'lessons' and gradually build your knowledge base.
Anyone can feel free to disagree with anything I've said too. Just offering some things that have worked for me.
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You've made a good list. Once you have the chord & scale knowledge and a little technique you can structure most of your practice around tunes/repetoire.
For instance, pick a tune from your repetoire and practice scales for each chord of the tune in the sequence of the tune and then practice the scales in time with the tune. Practice chords for that same tune by playing all the chords at or near the 7th fret, then pick another location, say the 3rd fret and play all the chords at or near the 3rd fret. Do the same for arpeggios.
And to your list, I'd add jamming along with BIAB, records or with friends... Lots of jamming, which is how you learned to talk as a child. Be free, don't worry about mistakes, approach it like a child.
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LindyDanny, Billnc, Feb thanks for the advice, i will def be incorporating it into my practice time ... and hopefully one day call myself a Jazz Guitarist.
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Shoot, just the fact that you are trying makes you a jazz guitarist in this group. If it wasn't for trying, none of us would be one anyway!
~DB
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That seems like a pretty nice start actually! What I like to do is put together two routines. One that's sort of a minimum that I stick to like it's life or death. Mine's about an hour and a half long and it involves sight reading etude books at nice easy tempos an working on diatonic technique. Right now that involves wide intervals (diatonic 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, and 7ths) and some of the Sheets of Sound Etudes. I sing everything I play so that if that's all I get to then I've knocked out --- Ear training (the singing), sight reading, and a really nice wide spectrum of technique.
After that I like to work on my improv by picking a progression a week and working on it in a different key each night. Then work on some tunes etc. I like to work on solo guitar when I'm working on tunes and learning heads because if you can play a tune chord melody then you can certainly play the head in any other situation. All that might be an hour and a half...
Any time I have left is spent transcribing.
Bottom line --- decide how much time you can devote each night (minimum). If that's a half hour - great. Just really work hard on making that half hour as efficient as possible. I'd recommend making sight reading, technique, and ear - training a priority.
For example.... 10 minutes of sight reading etudes... very slowly so as to read them accurately... and then 20 minutes of usable technique... diatonic interval studies or maybe arpeggios. Stick to something for a bit and really explore it. That way even if all you get is thirty minutes you make progress EVERY DAY. If you have another two hours after that... GREAT!
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Not true!!! If I learn a tune chord melody style and focus on that for a few days, it's actually kind of hard to just play the melody. My teacher warned me of this in passing once, and I find he's totally right. After CM, I now learn the melody in octaves - after that, I find that I've got the melody nailed down tight. But maybe YMMV.
Originally Posted by RememberClifford1
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Hmm... maybe that's just me then. I always learn stuff chord melody first because I'm so busy looking for the way that'll make the chords sit right that I learn each phrase of the melody in three or four places. Scratch that bit then. must be a personal bit.
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Hi, how about weekly goals and then breaking up the weekly goals in 3 sessions that will be repeated twice a week, so that most sessions are different. Doing the same routine every day might get a bit boring.
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Don't forget sight reading. I would say reading is near the top of the list. Work on becoming a very good reader. It opens so many doors for you.
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A good exercise is playing 3rds and 7ths on neighbouring strings all over the neck. and doing this along the cycle of 4ths/5ths, then doing so with ii V I. and iv ii V I, with as little movement as possible in your left hand. It gives you a good place to start nailing chord tones, and helps you learn the fret board better. It also can be done pretty thoughtlessly after a while, which makes it a good tv watchin' practice routine. But make sure whatever you practice, once you are comfortable with it, use a metronome.
The thing about getting ace technique and fret board knowledge, is that there is no way around the grind. You have to put in the time, the better you get at it though, the quicker synthesizing new material becomes. There is so much cool stuff out there, that you'll likely spend a lot of time reading books and really listening to music to get new material to work on. It also helps to work on your ears, you should do some ear training every day.
If you have 2 hours you should probably spend half of it grinding scales, chords and modes, (for example you should be able to play any scale/mode in any position), at first this is a task, but after a couple of months you'll be able to rip from any position pretty easily. Learning tunes is also important. When you start to learn tunes, you should take simple standards (autumn leaves for example) learn the head in all 12 keys, know the changes (shell voicings (R-3-7) to begin, then add fancier ones in all twelve keys and be able to play the 3rds and 7ths for the changes on each string pair in all 12 keys. Its a grind, and may be boring, but I can honestly say doing stuff like this will make you a better musician, not just a good guitar player. It is helpful to learn simple tunes in weirder key signatures, because whereas you might not see a whole song in GbMajor, you will see sections of songs in that key, and it is helpful to be comfortable playing in them. Pretty much when someone says their teacher is kicking their ass, this is the work they give them.
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1. Learn the basics (major scale+modes, melodic minor+modes+diminished scales and whole tone scales --> arpeggios and chords) - allot 20 min. pr. day
2. Transcribe tunes and solos (choose a tune you like by an artist you like. learn the melody with the guitar in your hands, don't write anything down. Imitate. Move on to the solo. Learn little by little every day until you master every single note.) Allot approx. 30 min. pr. day. After you've mastered the solo, you can notate it.
3. Vocabulary. While learning the solo, choose a line that appeals to you. Isolate it, learn it in 12 keys. Analyze it. Is it a ii-V line? Minor? Etc. Apply it to vamps, tunes you practice, etc. Learn it by heart! This is where you learn the "language" of jazz. 20-30 min. pr. day.
4. The rest of the time is repertoire. I recommend learning every tune you learn by transcribing it from a record. The melody, the chords, the form. Learn it by ear with the guitar. If you like, you can notate it, but only after having it in your ear first. This is way you learn tunes without forgetting them.
This routine should get you going quite fast. Base your jazz practice on "learning from the records" (transcribing, imitation and assimilation). This is far more effective than basing solos on scales and licks from books.
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Try and have fun with it as well. If it is a task that you feel you are struggling with, it tends to make one not want to do it. So make it a game, divide it up into several segments. Whatever it takes to internalize it. I can tell you this, there is nothing more satisfying than conquering that elusive phrase or inversion, rhythmic variation,etc...
Good luck!
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I would recommend ear training, as well. Band in a Box has a great ear training function that will help you recognize chords, intervals and pitches. This skill can be invaluable
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With all due respect, for an amateur, I think sight reading is closer to the bottom of the list. I'm sure it's much more important for pro's though. My best guitar teacher (a working pro) suggested I spend about 10 to 15 minutes a day working on sight reading and no more. Originally Posted by Kman
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