The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    I am still not quite sure I grasp this.. I hate when things get too abstract. I have played the video 20 times now, even slowed down, and when he compares swing and regular, there's no audible difference. Could anyone record this bar with and without swing, to show the difference? A Modern Method for Guitar Vol 1 Pages 56 to 59-screenshot-2018-11-19-17-27-03-png

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    straight would be a strict ONE e + A TWO e + A THREE etc

    a swing feel should be dum de dum de dum etc

    never seen the video

    actually interesting way to teach this, usually teacher starts with straight 8ths and then "swings" them from there. Here he adds MORE distance between the down beat and the up beat. Picture swing being in between the example above and straight eighths

  4. #28

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    I think perhaps I finally got it?





    Counting as triplet with a tie between the one and trip, makes it easier. So first note = one trip then the second note in the grouping = LET


    ONE trip LET

    A Modern Method for Guitar Vol 1 Pages 56 to 59-screenshot-2018-11-19-21-35-59-jpg

  5. #29

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    That's the idea that Leavitt was teaching. So for now - you should learn to swing eighths AND play them straight.


    All the while keeping in mind:
    1. Not everybody did/does it exactly the same way, and
    2. Over time jazzers have come to play them more evenly.

    So it isn't a universal. But don't worry too much about all that right now.

  6. #30

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    Yeah, I had a problem with the same one as well! Luckily I found the dvd by Larry Baione at Berklee on youtube. This book is really good but it's really helpful to look at some of the videos for verification that you're playing it right, or in my case, I was playing it right.


  7. #31

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jazzstdnt
    That's the idea that Leavitt was teaching. So for now - you should learn to swing eighths AND play them straight.


    All the while keeping in mind:
    1. Not everybody did/does it exactly the same way, and
    2. Over time jazzers have come to play them more evenly.

    So it isn't a universal. But don't worry too much about all that right now.
    Yes, I have understood there’s not a written in stone way of doing it, and probably as you say, newer jazzers play it more evenly. I even heard someone say it’s like in the middle of the straight eights and the triplet approach.

  8. #32

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    It's getting there, thanks everyone



    I also have come to understand that we are playing basic 8 notes grouping, like these:

    A Modern Method for Guitar Vol 1 Pages 56 to 59-screenshot-2018-11-25-13-06-29-png

    but this is Leavitt's way of notating them as swing. Normally it would have the swing rythm indication at top and be like the photo above.

  9. #33

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    Taking this book in order is not necessarily very efficient. When I studied with Leavitt, he had me skipping things that I already could do, or marking things to go back to if I couldn't cut them, while we moved on to the next pages. He said, many times, that perfecting the exercises was unnecessary, as guitar-playing is accumulative, and every exercise helps every other technique a bit. So, playing scale studies should be easy and should not need much review, as you get scale studies every few pages anyway. I always saved the duets for sight-reading practice, rather than actually working on them, another of Bill's suggestions. Students should focus on strengthening weaknesses, not sliding by on easy stuff. As guitarists, sight-reading is what we do worst, most likely. If you want to hone certain techniques, get his Melodic Rhythm studies as well as his classical pick-style studies. The Modern Method is rather condensed, and moves quickly, so some adjunct studies can be very useful.

  10. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by ronjazz
    Taking this book in order is not necessarily very efficient. When I studied with Leavitt, he had me skipping things that I already could do, or marking things to go back to if I couldn't cut them, while we moved on to the next pages. He said, many times, that perfecting the exercises was unnecessary, as guitar-playing is accumulative, and every exercise helps every other technique a bit. So, playing scale studies should be easy and should not need much review, as you get scale studies every few pages anyway. I always saved the duets for sight-reading practice, rather than actually working on them, another of Bill's suggestions. Students should focus on strengthening weaknesses, not sliding by on easy stuff. As guitarists, sight-reading is what we do worst, most likely. If you want to hone certain techniques, get his Melodic Rhythm studies as well as his classical pick-style studies. The Modern Method is rather condensed, and moves quickly, so some adjunct studies can be very useful.
    Well said.

    Yes, I feel my sight reading skills gets better every day. I review stuff where I have trouble playing it. I tend to follow the study group speed, but if something is very easy I either jump ahead or work on something else. Anyway, I never perfect an exersise. I wouldn’t be able to with my current skill set.

  11. #35

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    A Modern Method for Guitar Vol. 1 Page 57 Duet in Eb


    This piece actually really buzzed me

    As a rock player trying to learn Jazz and move my approach entirely, this sounds like REAL Jazz to my ear and I want more.

    Thing 1. The rhythm in soloing application. As a rock player, I would never have thought to incorporate that bouncy off beat/ syncopated rhythmic approach to my soloing. Are there any exercises / resources you can suggest where I could explore this sort of thing more thoroughly?

    Thing 2. Also I am always interested in the key studies where the book puts in natural, sharps and flats, theses are always lessons in themselves, can you please talk about this? By this I mean bars 8 and 12.
    Last edited by jyoung; 01-17-2020 at 08:38 PM. Reason: to put in more information

  12. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by jyoung
    A Modern Method for Guitar Vol. 1 Page 57 Duet in Eb


    This piece actually really buzzed me

    As a rock player trying to learn Jazz and move my approach entirely, this sounds like REAL Jazz to my ear and I want more.

    Thing 1. The rhythm in soloing application. As a rock player, I would never have thought to incorporate that bouncy off beat/ syncopated rhythmic approach to my soloing. Are there any exercises / resources you can suggest where I could explore this sort of thing more thoroughly?

    Thing 2. Also I am always interested in the key studies where the book puts in natural, sharps and flats, theses are always lessons in themselves, can you please talk about this? By this I mean bars 8 and 12.

    On point 1:
    • See the discussion on swing eighths in the above posts.
    • To get some swing time exercises there are probably some rhythmic studies out there but I can't think of them right now. EarMaster? Also try Snidero's Easy Jazz Conception for Guitar and play along with it. Nail the timing.
    • Finally, listen to jazz players whose sound you identify strongly with - and play along with them! (again, everybody swings a little differently, and be aware of the hokey sounding dotted eighth and sixteenth grouping. It's too extreme but it does force you away from playing even eighths)


    On point 2.
    • Bar 8 - Those accidentals form a chromatic passage in the melody.
    • Bar 12 - The melody note (Cb) is simply matching the harmony (Abm chord) at that point. Listen to and play the chord progression in measures 9-13. Do you hear the line buried inside the chords going Bb-B-C-Cb, and then back to Bb in measure 13? Just a hunch that Leavitt wrote the chord progression first, then the melody, but who knows.

  13. #37

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    I am just about to reach the threshold of section two, but have a couple questions. For the relative minor keys, like nature/melodic/harmonic minor, should I have these keys memorized? Or were they put in the book merely to be introduced for later use?

    Also, I have some trouble counting/reading the beats out loud. My internal sense of time is more or less fine for playing, but when I try counting aloud as I play, particularly if the notes go into something like "one and uh two and three and uh four" I can't manage that. Should that be something I am actively working on?

  14. #38

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    Ok naturally Ex.2 is in the key of G- what ide like to know is did the A7 come from D- or Dmaj as the Dominant7th chord?
    Thanks.

  15. #39

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    Quote Originally Posted by Richie
    Ok naturally Ex.2 is in the key of G- what ide like to know is did the A7 come from D- or Dmaj as the Dominant7th chord?
    Thanks.

    I would say that the two exercises on the bottom of page 56 are in the keys of C minor and D minor, respectively. If true the second key signature is incorrect.

    The progression is: Imi IVmi V7 Imi. The V7 chords are produced by Harmonic minor.

    What do you think Richie?

  16. #40

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    Quote Originally Posted by Richie
    Ok naturally Ex.2 is in the key of G- what ide like to know is did the A7 come from D- or Dmaj as the Dominant7th chord?
    Thanks.
    You've got sharp eyes That is likely a typo in key signature - I would expect to see one flat for a harmonic minor Dm (i) -> Gm (iv) -> A7(V) -> Dm(i).
    Ex.1 above has 3 flats for the same progression in Cm. Not that it matters a lot for a chord exercise

  17. #41

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    Yep turns out to be a typo, referenced to my older copy of MMFG.

    Thanks
    Last edited by Richie; 02-25-2021 at 06:02 PM.

  18. #42

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    As an aside, I think of key signatures as being more of a tool to make the notated music easier to read. As such it does not always indicate the key or the tonal center. Look at E.S.P. by Wayne Shorter for example, the key signature of no sharps or flats, one may think that it is in C major or A minor based on the key signature, it clearly is not as there is not a C or Am chord in the entire tune.

    But in a chord symbol exercise the key signature isn't very relevant.

  19. #43

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    Well yesterday l was just revising the MMFG, Vol.1 2nd Ex. P56, when l noticed it had 2 flat keys so with out thinking to much l started playing Bb and Eb notes over it and it had a yes n no sound going on, obviously minor sound to it of course, looking into it further you can build it form the Bb Phrygian mode using Bb as the bass note.
    Ex: Dm/Bb - Gm/Bb - A7/Bb - Dm/Bb. So from a typo you can get that out of it....lol , just goes to show how much of it is only a outline of what you can do with it.

    Richie

  20. #44

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    Quote Originally Posted by fep
    As an aside, I think of key signatures as being more of a tool to make the notated music easier to read. As such it does not always indicate the key or the tonal center. Look at E.S.P. by Wayne Shorter for example, the key signature of no sharps or flats, one may think that it is in C major or A minor based on the key signature, it clearly is not as there is not a C or Am chord in the entire tune.

    But in a chord symbol exercise the key signature isn't very relevant.

    Well.... I haven't looked at ESP but it's probably a "modal" tune? Anyway, Leavitt's stuff was not that. He used key signatures for his music, which seems appropriate. Further, in these exercises I think he was making a point - "this is practicing a I-IV-V progression in minor". The key signature indicates that in fewer words.

    Like you say, he could have gone without a key signature and just emphasized the chords/chord diagrams like a chord book might do. But that was not his teaching style because he was apparently teaching guitarists how to get ready to read professional music charts, as opposed to "learn 1000 chords".

  21. #45
    I'm currently working my way through this book. These old threads are helpful. For my money the "different" picking technique on pg. 59 has been the most challenging thing yet. I'm so used to alternate picking it's going to take me awhile to get it.