Jazz Blues 1 and 2 - plus more. From Jazz Guitar Online.

[fep]

Derek, +1 to what Rob said, well played and has a nice feel. Nice to hear acoustic guitar.

Laid back, reminds me of the feel on this bluesy tune...

[digger]

Thanks Frank and Rob. That Dan Hicks tune was great - I've heard of him but I don't recall actually hearing him before. Very good.

[losaltosjoe]

... I've just been working on the first lick in Chapter Two and playing it in the 5 positions of the Minor pentatonic that we've been studying in the preceding pages. I'd like to play this in all positions an octave higher. Maybe that'll be my next exercise!
Cheers
Derek

Spot on Derek! Thanks for the reminder to practice these licks in multiple positions.

[brad4d8]

Late to the party, but will probably catch up fairly quickly. I've been trying to incorporate more shell voicings in my playing, and this will give me incentive to work more systematically. plus having people to ask if I have a question about some of the things covered. Great idea.

[AlsoRan]

AlsoRan, good to hear you playing, sounds good, nice thick tone, well done.

And laid-back and slow, that's my favorite speed.

I missed this post. Thanks, Fep!

I like medium tempo Blues a lot myself. I used to love the fast stuff, but the medium tempo allow for one to be more lyrical, in my opinion. I hope I can capture this in my soloing. I am working on it.

Also, I noticed that as with MarkERhodes' older thread on Herb Ellis Shapes book, they recommend creating a one chord vamp packing track. The book says this helps with mastering the various positions and with familiarity with soloing on a particular chord. I am using Band in a Box to do this.

Take Care.

[Donplaysguitar]

Attachment 86165OK so my workstation is down at the moment so here is an older recording of a Warren Nunes blues study with 4-to-the-bar rhythm guitar like we have in Chapter 1 plus a simple walking bass line using my "Drop" pedal.

[AlsoRan]

Attachment 86165OK so my workstation is down at the moment so here is an older recording of a Warren Nunes blues study with 4-to-the-bar rhythm guitar like we have in Chapter 1 plus a simple walking bass line using my "Drop" pedal.

Streaming eighth notes. That is yet another style that I need to work on. Thanks for posting. I am seeing so many approaches to soloing in this Jazz Blues genre. My head is kind of spinning.

Some of the approaches have a lot of licks. Some folks (like Dexter Gordon and you) stream long eighth note lines. Some play the whole song with Minor Pentatonic and Minor Blues Scales. Some target certain chord tones to match the harmony. Some alternate Major and Minor Blues Scales or play arpeggios to match the harmony.

And now, today in another thread, I read that there is an absolute standard for what is good Jazz, and it is not quite as subjective as I was thinking. I have not been around any seasoned Jazz players so I might not be able to trust my own ears. And truly, how can I be expected to be able to trust my own ears just playing at home. What I call "good" or "acceptable" might really suck, so I guess one really has to consider the source.

I am going to continue on my current path with this course, and I will temper my expectations until I can get around some seasoned local Jazz players, and we have plenty around here. I am now afraid that I am going to end up like a singer who sings on karaoke night with a regular group of friends, all thinking they are good when in reality by just about anyone's subjective standards, they might be seriously lacking.

I have to admit, the thought does kind of take away some motivation, but I always would rather hear the truth. I "should" be posting my solos soon and will be seeking some feedback. Thanks.

[Donplaysguitar]

Thanks Also!

But of course that was all Nunes’ material not mine.

Steady eighth notes is a common tool to teach jazz language. After working with that the player can vary the rhythms (triplets for example) or simply drop notes/add rests. In other words, play less, but less of what? Competent jazz language.

[Rob MacKillop]

Steady 8th notes also helps breed stamina. Nunes does some good things here, but it still takes musicianship on part of the performer to give life to it, and you did that, Don. Good playing, accenting where appropriate.

Also Ran - don’t worry about what you should or should not be doing, especially in response to what some people say on other threads. Just play, play, play, and eventually your own voice will be heard and appreciated.

[digger]

I am now afraid that I am going to end up like a singer who sings on karaoke night with a regular group of friends, all thinking they are good when in reality by just about anyone's subjective standards, they might be seriously lacking.

I have to admit, the thought does kind of take away some motivation, but I always would rather hear the truth. I "should" be posting my solos soon and will be seeking some feedback. Thanks.

I'm suffering a little from this issue this week. I was at a wedding at the weekend and they had a singer there who was just staggeringly good. It's made me reassess my own (lack of) musical talents and I'm feeling seriously inept and sort of wondering what's the point.

It really was a bit of a reality check.

Derek

[Rob MacKillop]

You can learn a LOT from accompanying singers. Two stories:

When I was a classical-guitar student at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music people were beginning to talk about me as a good player, and consequently I grew in (false) confidence. So one day this pro singer asked me to accompany her. I learned my parts really well, turned up on time, we played through the song. I was feeling good about it, until she said: "That was terrible!" A little taken aback, I asked why. "You're not listening to me". I argued I was, but she insisted that what I was listening to was the sound she was making, but not her breathing. She taught me not to listen to anything but her breathing. So we tried again - much better! It took me a few months to really let the magnitude of that lesson sink into my playing. I started bringing it into my solo guitar playing, and that benefited enormously as I imagined her singing the melodies.

The second is in a jazz context. I rather nervously approached a jazz singer if we could try out a few songs. A rehearsal went well, and we did a half-hour slot in an acoustic night session. She seemed pleased. She booked another gig, but I had a previous commitment, so she got another really amazing jazz player to stand in. On the night, my commitment fell through, so I went along to the gig, and sneaked in at the back, just to listen. The guy was great! I felt deflated, and slunk out. She phoned me the next day saying we had another gig, and I fessed up, told her I snuck in and was blown away by the player. She said: "Yes, he is brilliant, but HE DOESN'T LISTEN! You listen."

The lesson: singers are not looking for the best, most experienced and accomplished players, they are instead looking for someone who will listen to them, be "with" them, not compete with them. Go get yourself a singer!

[Dutchbopper]

Steady 8th notes also helps breed stamina. Nunes does some good things here, but it still takes musicianship on part of the performer to give life to it, and you did that, Don. Good playing, accenting where appropriate.

Also Ran - don’t worry about what you should or should not be doing, especially in response to what some people say on other threads. Just play, play, play, and eventually your own voice will be heard and appreciated.

Just checked out what you guys are doing here and I think it's a great study group. The first jazz book I ever studied somewhere in the 80s was Warren Nunes' "The Blues" and I just loved those progressions. I still have the old Xeroxes somewhere. You guys are familiar with that book? It is really very accessible. It's mostly chord grids but it has some single line playing examples as well.

I wrote a Blog post on that book with some (very old) videos of me playing a few basic jazz blues progressions in F and Bb. They might be of help.

I do not wish to interfere with your studies. Maybe you are using a different method?

Anyway, if you feel like it check out this old but wonderful book. Click here.

DB

[Rob MacKillop]

Thanks, DB. We’re using the Jazz-Blues lesson of this Forum, trying to stay focussed on that for the most part, but there’s nothing wrong with bringing in other good stuff every now and then. A Study Group based on Warren’s book might be the next step. Thanks for the link!

[Dutchbopper]

Thanks, DB. We’re using the Jazz-Blues lesson of this Forum, trying to stay focussed on that for the most part, but there’s nothing wrong with bringing in other good stuff every now and then. A Study Group based on Warren’s book might be the next step. Thanks for the link!

Ah I see. Makes sense to go with what is here first yes. I could share the copies if you want later. They are real very cool sounding progressions, not too hard either. The Nunes book is a complete Blues comping book.

DB

[digger]

The chord/comping side of things appeals to me just as much, maybe more so, than the single note stuff, so I'd be interested in this at some point.

Cheers!

Derek

[Jona]

I'm suffering a little from this issue this week. I was at a wedding at the weekend and they had a singer there who was just staggeringly good. It's made me reassess my own (lack of) musical talents and I'm feeling seriously inept and sort of wondering what's the point.

It really was a bit of a reality check.

Derek

I think in any art form the point is self expression. It doesn't really matter how technically good or bad you or other people think you are, the point is it's a journey towards saying what you have to say, creatively. The hardest part is figuring out what you have to say. If you only had a hollow log and a stick, sat outside your cave, you could still find a way to say what you have to say, and, if the person in the next cave didn't like it, too bad. At least thats what I tell myself when the going is hard. Whats the point? It's a big question and I've not done it justice in a paragraph.

[Dutchbopper]

The chord/comping side of things appeals to me just as much, maybe more so, than the single note stuff, so I'd be interested in this at some point.

Cheers!

Derek

I just checked the book again. You can use it for comping only (progressions wih chord grids) but it also has solo suggestions or "lead patterns" over those progressions. I never used those but they are in it and I had forgotten about them. This book on its own is worth a study group in a later stage.

DB

[Danil]

For the sake of accountability, here is roughly the first half of chapter 2.

I've tried to apply example licks to Bb (you can see poor brain cells behind the glasses trying to recall the next one and to find a place to fit it in - sometimes corrupting them in the process). Also i apologize for some atmospheric shoe noise, didn't realize i'm doing this and that it would come out so loud

The other part of chapter 2 among other things suggests learning major blues scale in 12keys - i'm going to spend some time with this before moving further

[Rob MacKillop]

Well done, Danil. Some good stuff there. Sounds like you are very familiar with minor blues playing. I look forward to what you come up with as you progress.

Just one comment on the strumming: I think you are a bit heavy on the 6th string. Aim for strings 3 and 4, even when strumming all six strings. That’s where the good stuff is. You are more than entitled to disagree!

[Danil]

.

Just one comment on the strumming: I think you are a bit heavy on the 6th string. Aim for strings 3 and 4, even when strumming all six strings. That’s where the good stuff is. You are more than entitled to disagree!

Thanks, Rob.
I agree - i definitely have to work more on this. This sound is a combination of pick hitting mostly top 2 strings and nails brushing the rest. Sometimes I get very balanced and smooth rhythm doing it this way- with even skip notes articulated by pick or nails, but here it didn't go so well.

Another thing is that I tend to tense up when recording myself and I instantly become a lot more heavily handed. This throws off volume balance, makes notes go sharp and string buzz, affects time.
i hope, the more one practices, the less one is suspectable to this. So recording and placing the result into a public is a tool if self assessment. That is why I appreciate everyone doing this regardless of the fineness of their playing

[Donplaysguitar]

Another thing is that I tend to tense up when recording myself and I instantly become a lot more heavily handed. This throws off volume balance, makes notes go sharp and string buzz, affects time.
i hope, the more one practices, the less one is suspectable to this.

Yeah, this is common. There is something about the permanence of recording...

About the only way I get over it is to just relax and record many takes. I might record 8-10 takes and barely accept 1-2. That takes more time though.

[AlsoRan]

Just checked out what you guys are doing here and I think it's a great study group. The first jazz book I ever studied somewhere in the 80s was Warren Nunes' "The Blues" and I just loved those progressions. I still have the old Xeroxes somewhere. You guys are familiar with that book? It is really very accessible. It's mostly chord grids but it has some single line playing examples as well.

I wrote a Blog post on that book with some (very old) videos of me playing a few basic jazz blues progressions in F and Bb. They might be of help.

I do not wish to interfere with your studies. Maybe you are using a different method?

Anyway, if you feel like it check out this old but wonderful book. Click here.


DB

DB,
I was able to get an old, used copy of Amazon after you mentioned this book those many years ago. It was my intro to Jazz Blues. I also went to Youtube and recorded the audio. Thanks for that contribution (one of many you have made that helped guys like me who are trying to learn).

I am going to dig that little book out right now!

[Dutchbopper]

DB,
I was able to get an old, used copy of Amazon after you mentioned this book those many years ago. It was my intro to Jazz Blues. I also went to Youtube and recorded the audio. Thanks for that contribution (one of many you have made that helped guys like me who are trying to learn).

I am going to dig that little book out right now!

Thanks and glad to have been of some help. This book turned me to jazz completely. I was a rock and blues player but I liked these sounds way better.

DB

[digger]

I think in any art form the point is self expression. It doesn't really matter how technically good or bad you or other people think you are, the point is it's a journey towards saying what you have to say, creatively. The hardest part is figuring out what you have to say. If you only had a hollow log and a stick, sat outside your cave, you could still find a way to say what you have to say, and, if the person in the next cave didn't like it, too bad. At least thats what I tell myself when the going is hard. Whats the point? It's a big question and I've not done it justice in a paragraph.

Thanks Jona. Yes, I do console myself with whatever level I am able to achieve at anything at least I tend to (mostly) do my own thing. So at least there is this.

Although there often sees to be a lot of learning someone else's thing first....

Cheers
Derek

[digger]

For the sake of accountability, here is roughly the first half of chapter 2.

Nice work, Danil. You were really swinging there at the end!

Derek