The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #76

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    Quote Originally Posted by elixzer
    One teacher could tell me to do them ONE way and another another. But I am asking this forum for ideas. Ism't that what it is for...? Advice?
    Um, you didn't ask how to do scales. You asked when you can stop doing scales. My answer was that it depends on a lot of different factors. I can't advise you beyond that, because I'm not your teacher. I haven't seen you play, and I haven't heard you play. It would be downright negligence or malice on my part if I tried to give you a date, target, or anything more specific than what I've already said when I don't have any way of assessing your present standards.

    You seem to think I'm trying to be uncooperative here. In fact, I'm trying to avoid getting in the way of your progress by giving you pointless information.

    Fwiw, I'll stop running scales when my teacher tells me I can, and even then I'll only stop if I also feel I can't get any more mileage out of them than I already have. That's why I have lessons - my teacher can spot things I don't, and he can give me a second opinion, in addition to me self-assessing where I'm at. Just being around someone like that helps open your ears up. I ask questions on here to get advice, sure, but the only person whose assessment of my progress I really care about right now, beyond my own, is my tutor's. He's the only person who will be seeing me play my exercises and work on my weak spots on a sufficiently regular basis to make that call.

    In short....get a teacher. We're not trying to jerk you around by saying this so much.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #77

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    Quote Originally Posted by Scrybe
    In short....get a teacher. We're not trying to jerk you around by saying this so much.
    + 1.

    I consider myself an advanced guitarist, but I still work with the best teacher I can possible find. You'll shave off years of frustration, guesswork, and wasted hours if you choose to work with a competent teacher. If you're really serious about music, why travel on a trial and error journey? Jazz is one of the most complex styles of music, and the standard of the average player is higher today than ever before. Getting to an advanced level by yourself is an almost completely impossible task.

    Good teachers don't work for free, I know. But if music is important to you, you'll find ways to raise the necessary money. That's one of life's obstacles, and we all have our priorities. I myself, choose not to eat expensive at restaurants, instead of going to a gym I work out at home, I bicycle or walk instead of taking the car (I don't even have a car), and so on. There are ways to save money if music is necessary to you. And they're not that expensive. If you can't afford a lesson a week, ask for 2 lessons a month instead, or even 1 lesson a month! It's much better than nothing.

    I'm not saying that you must prioritize this way. But many of us on this forum make significant concessions on other areas of life to study music. I guess that's why some replies have been a bit "edgy". People may have had a hard time taking your "seriousness" serious, since you don't seem to take your own learning that serious (compared to some others).

    My point is (again): find a teacher if you're TRULY serious about jazz/guitar.

    If you're not interested enough to find a teacher, then you're bound to books, free advice on youtube, articles, etc. If that's the way you want it, fine by me. Then I'll recommend the books I already recommend to you earlier in this thread. These books are great, and they hold great advice on how to manage your practice time, etc.
    Invest in those books, and try to stay focused with learning from them.

  4. #78
    yes life is the great teacher and I have had most of it lol

    I appreciate your concern. I know you all mean well for me. But I ask you to also consider as well just HOW revolutionary places like Youtube ARE that have many styles of music and many styles of teacher giving their freetime.

    BEFORE this there WAS just books, and books are not the same as actually seeing someone playing on guitar and showing you things. So I count ,myself very lucky I have atleast access to places like Youtube and do not underestimate it at all, and in fact it has INSPIRED me to learn different styles etc etc

    AM I wanting to play 'Jazz'?---I am wanting to play music. I dont want to be put in a box.

    Just a little while ago, and I mean no offense to the person who posted it, I read this post here, but did find it very revealing. Poster said that s/he was trained in classical, and was wanting to get more into jazz but just couldn't get used to holding the guitar--specific for Jazz--in the 'correct' classical position as the neck went out too far
    Last edited by elixzer; 04-03-2010 at 04:28 PM.

  5. #79

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    and threads like this one have inspired to me greatly to return to the practice room instead of reading threads like this one.

  6. #80
    i Do practice

  7. #81

  8. #82

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    I think it has all been said.

    Maybe not yet by everybody...

  9. #83

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    Check out creative guitar studio on youtube, He talks about about some interesting stuff.

  10. #84
    lol I have been very much watching videos from Andrew of creativeguitarstudios. He is really good. I've also become member of his website.
    Yesterday I asked him if he would do a video about visualization, which he's breifly talked about in other videos of his and he said he might.
    Have any of you here done this excercise? What is it like? Any good? Did you see results?

  11. #85

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    You got the Shadow of your Smile, eh? How about Lester Leaps In starting on any note?

    http://www.iwasdoingallright.com/too...ner_songs.aspx

  12. #86
    Quote Originally Posted by franco6719
    You got the Shadow of your Smile, eh? How about Lester Leaps In starting on any note?

    http://www.iwasdoingallright.com/too...ner_songs.aspx
    Thanks for this link. I have read first text, and if theres more to explore--which seems implied--I very much will, because I am really wanting to learn playing by ear . For ages I sing, unaaccompanied, and like to imrprovise what i am snging in a 'jazzy' way, so I am good candidate for diggin this straight off. As mad as this may sound this only clicked for me the other weeks when I started reading about ear training. I suddenly realized that singing is especially important for aiding this skill

    I also have been doing the nursery rhymes twinkle twinkle, and mary had a, and london bridge is, in first position C major as all the tunes as you know begin on each 3rd. yester day started finding tunes on each string in linear fashion.

    The whole reason I started trying to sing notes for The Shadow of Your Smile (after finding the first note Sarah sang) was because there was more freedom to explore notes that were outside C scale, and flats or sharps which I did after exploring the Chromatic scale

    Here is where I am. I think....*think* after this the song repeats (though of course infinite possibilities and probabilities

    (6th)F#, (5)B, (5)C#, (open)D, (4)F#, (6)G#, (5)C#, (open)A, (6)G, (6)F#

    (6th)F#, (5)B, (5)C#, (open)D, (4)F#, (5)B, (4)E, (5)C#, (open)A, (4)F#

    (open)G, (4)F#, (4)E, (open)D, (4)E, (5)B, (5)A#, (4)E, (open)D

    (open)D, (5)C#, (5)B, (5)A#, (5)B, (6)F#, (6)F, (5)B, (5)A#, (6)G, (6)F#
    Last edited by elixzer; 04-06-2010 at 09:37 AM.

  13. #87

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    Elixer:
    I dont understand what you mean by "understand" music...If you are talkng about the mechanics...how chords are constructed, key centers, what a major, minor, dominant scale is, what scale over what chord, what chords harmonize a major scale, there is plenty on the Web that will give you the answers....you dont need a teacher for that...

    If you are talkng about how music is composed, there is also some good web sites..try moneychords.com or songtrellis.com....you dont need a teacher for that..

    Dont know a lot of guitar chords? The web has a lot of chord generators..start simple...learn to play a major, minor and dominant chords in four positions...learn the CAGED system...you don't need a teacher for that....

    Want to learn Chord Melody style? Get Robert Conti's chord Melody Assembly Line Book..simple concept..put the melody note on the top and the chord below...if you know your major/minor/dominant chords in four positions its doable....you dont need a teacher for that...

    Play with folks that are better than you and learn from them...

    I played bass for 30 years and guitar for 5 before I took my first lesson from anyone...from a retired jazz instructor who went to Berkley...He agreed to give me a few lessons becaouse he saw I had done a lot of homework on my own..I needed him to put it together...our 1 hour lessons were 45 minutes of talking a 15 minutes of playing...He focused on my weaknesses and told me what I needed ot practice..but he certainly was not going to show me scales or how to play chords or key centers or reading charts.



    What I am saying is that it takes a lot of work...a teacher won't do the work for you.

  14. #88
    Quote Originally Posted by bass2man
    Elixer:
    I dont understand what you mean by "understand" music...
    I mean it on all what you said, but in essence I mean to be able to play on the guitar what is felt. So for this I assume you most definately need ear training skill. I have loved singing for many years, and will sing any chance I get, NOT just with music I have on but unaccomapnied. When I do I dont have to think 'this is this note, that is that note' I just naturally do it.
    I have fun with it, and will do all kinds of weird improvisations of songs. I think all this is really cool for my resurrgence of passion to learn guitar

    To understand music for me is really understanding soul. It is not how fast you can play 'shred' or whatever, but the feel you have. What life experience do you bring to your instrument?

  15. #89

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    Seems we have taken a left turn at Escoteric Lane.....

    discipline, desire and ego

    Discipline to practice, sometimes good, sometimes bad...desire to get better and ego to encourage myself to continue to get better

    Check out Zen Guitar by Phillip Sudo

  16. #90

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    sorry...that is esoteric

  17. #91
    Quote Originally Posted by bass2man
    sorry...that is esoteric
    No need to apologise to me. I call it depth and if you shy away from being deep as an artist, musician, then your cutting offa the source of your inspiration, your muse

  18. #92

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    Great recommendations, advices and links. You guys are terrific. Just wanted to stop by and thank You for all the effort. It's priceless : ).

    I had a teacher in the past. He was more a rock speedster with some fusion roots than a serious jazz guitarist. Still, he helped me to settle some solid basics of scales (without digin' into complicated theory, as he claimed, that practice and theory will be two straight parallels for a long time of my music tuition - I think he got it wrong there, as without consequent progress on both of the sides, the lines would never met; and even better, if the study is a comprehensive enough to cover both subjects with all their interrelations/interactions), proper fingerings, picking technique etc. A teacher is a must. Even now I'm looking for a new teacher. Funnily enough, I feel that I need a good one even more nowadays than ever before. The problem is, that it's hard to find someone who digs jazz in my area and even more difficult to encourage one to give you lessons 1-2 times/month. Some of them demand permanent - weekly cash supply, others don't have time at all.

    So much for the offtopic.

    Cheers,
    mike