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Hey guys! I've been playing guitar for a few years, and for some years I attended a private music school. I went through a rock course, and then 2 or 3 years of jazz+theory courses. The best times to me were learning how all seems to be linked theoretically, and then applying that during improvisation and all that.
However, I recently had to move to another country. A few months back, I went to another music school in here, but they only had private classes. No school that I can find in this small town has group practice that I can attend - they are either too expensive, or only a select number of people can be on the "shool's band". Having said this, I am struggling to try and stay motivated to keep practicing, but the joy of discovering something new and applying it on the guitar is something that I want to keep getting.
Having said this, I'd like to ask you the following questions:
- Do you recommend any self-learning guitar and music theory books?
- What do you do to stay motivated when you have to practice and improvise only using backing tracks? (and what resources do you use?)
- Do you recommend any online resources where I can learn and practice new things?
Thanks for all the help!
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11-30-2014 12:10 PM
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Sorry to hear about your predicament. As far as backing tracks, I've found youtube to have some excellent backing tracks for most standards. Type in the name of the standard followed by "play along" and you should get some exciting backing tracks which you could play over. The other choice would be to use Band in a Box software to create your own backing tracks.
As to whether or not you would benefit from online guitar courses, I've read quite a few positive testimonials from people who have studied with people like Jimmy Bruno. I have learned quite a lot from our own forum members Mat Warnock and Jens Larson.
Another road I have gone down is to try and internalize as many standards as I can. This has helped me to spot common patterns in music that I hadn't seen previously. Since tackling the large jazz library can be a daunting task, I've used a few lists on the web to help he choose which tunes to learn and in what order.
Here are two of the lists I've used to select tunes:
100 Must Know Jazz Tunes
How to learn 100 standards, a guide for learning jazz tunes - leo ravera
Another suggestion would be to find out if there any open jazz jams in your community. These can be good places to find players with which to jam and find out which tunes are in local circulation.
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Don't know where you at there aren't as many as there used to be but look for a rehearsal band. Typically they are big bands horn player put together so like you to get a chance to play. They tend to be at school after hours, but I've had a lot fun playing rehearsal band and good way to get some chart reading practice.
Can always try to organize your own jams are there rehearsal studios, or a place you can use. Before I left L.A. some guys got a regular jam going at a church once or twice a month they used Meetup.com to put up notices for. Then can always just hang out at music stores or where ever musician hang in your town and find someone to play fakebook tunes with.
Just a matter of getting out there and looking or posting on a local bulletin board you want to get together and run tunes you will find others wanting the same thing.Last edited by docbop; 12-03-2014 at 04:47 PM.
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Thanks guys, those are really nice ideas! I will definitely look into them.
About the local jams... well, you know when you've been a few months away from your instrument and then you don't really feel ok in going on a public jam? Eh, that's how I feel right now. So I guess I'll have to do some practicing before trying that out.
@Klatu: one of my guitar teachers used to tell me that I should know the most standards possible, so that I could easily play any of those if a jam or a gig came up. I didn't remember this, but your suggestion reminded me of that again! I will look into those standards for sure, they may be a great training.
By the way, is this forum the correct place to ask questions about these standards? Imagine that I'm looking into Autumn Leaves for the first time: if I ask something like "could someone please help me understand what theoretically is happening in here? I can see those 2-5-1 but nothing more than this" would I get some response?
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Another interactive model is finding a practice partner(s). In this setting, if abilities and intentions are well matched,About the local jams... well, you know when you've been a few months away from your instrument and then you don't really feel ok in going on a public jam? Eh, that's how I feel right now. So I guess I'll have to do some practicing before trying that out.
playing can happen in a non threatening way. Yes, to play with people, you will have to accept where you are.
This in itself, is an important lesson to learn.
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That's a tough situation. Good for you for loving playing enough to come on here and ask. Being isolated is not really so much an obstacle as it once was, and you can use it to develop yourself in spite of the situation. Try to find a community or any one player who'd like to get together and share music on a regular basis. If there's an online source like Craigslist, try that. Even if you're at different levels, make it a fun relaxed experience and keep at it. You'll both get better and that's so satisfying.
Listen, really listen carefully to recorded music you love. Listen with a critical ear, so you can identify and be aware of things they're doing, so you can use that knowledge as inspiration to improve and build on your own music.
Make a journal, a list of songs you want to learn, recordings or experiences you've been excited by, goals in your own playing, comments on what's difficult, very specific areas you want to work on... and keep this journal alive and growing. It could help you to keep track and take pride in your growing abilities as a player, give you guidelines and reasons to feel good.
You might want to learn to play solo. There're so many ways to balance melody and harmony, time and space, dynamics and composition when you're playing solo. You really can create your own approach and sound on your own.
Yes there are so many online resources for regular lessons. Be careful and mindful to pick one that really takes you in a direction you want to go in and know there is much you can do on your own. Don't get overwhelmed by the options, don't get distracted by other people's advice, don't always think of yourself in someone else's shadow. The greats, and I mean those who were great enough to love their playing and make something of it, have found what they needed by taking their resources and making them their own.
Get your fundamentals and find your own way to use them. You'll discover something that will keep you loving the instrument and the music.
Good luck
David
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Just off the top of my head a personal view from a professional. Keep your imagination active dream how you want to play. Listen to music and players, regardless of instrument, who inspire you.
At a certain point, depending on where you're at, books are great. But they can be confusing if you get too many of them. Different concepts running together causes a lot of either confusion or unfocused thinking.
Backing tracks aren't that necessary and can be a crippling crutch. Use your own imagination. Have them for every once in awhile just to check yourself with a rhythm section. Take notes on where you need to improve and go back to playing without it.
Technical things in the beginning is unavoidable. If you have the time practice all the scales and arpeggios you can stand. Apply them. Kick ass. You don't need a support group.
My two cents.
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This is absolutely the right place to ask such questions. You'd be surprised by the expertise floating around this forum. People like Jens, Matt Warnock, and Henry Robinette are true professionals who are extremely generous with their time and knowledge. Others such as myself are less expert but know enough to contribute on occasion.
Originally Posted by sosippus
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As for staying motivated, I have another suggestion that is perhaps a bit unorthodox, and that is to pick a new guitar once in a while. Along with playing as much as I can, I enjoy guitars themselves as instruments and works of design craftsmanship. The enjoyment I feel when acquiring a new instrument often sparks flurries of intense practice that can last for months.
Keep in mind that while new gear may bolster your desire to practice and put in the hard work needed to make the musical progress you desire, the main component will remain finding an appropriate practice regimen that will take you out of your comfort zone and force you to work on the elements of your playing that you are least comfortable with.
Most high level musicians I know have gone through structured practice even if they have gotten to the point where most of their practice comes on the bandstand.
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Motivation:
1. Try keeping a mental image of yourself playing -- really grooving -- in whatever situation you're striving for, such as big band, small combo, trio, duo, etc. Make the image as detailed as possible, down to the size of the audience (maybe your old music teacher is there) and where you are positioned in the band and what guitar you are playing and what songs you're playing. Own that image and revisit it often, like when you're lying awake in bed and can't sleep.
2. Keep in mind that for most people, learning difficult things like jazz involves breakthroughs followed by plateaus and those plateaus are okay and natural. But the next breakthrough - and motivation -- will come only if you expend some focused energy on it. A coach once told me: "Anyone can play soccer (football) and it's fun. But if you work at it, you'll get better and the better you get, the more fun you'll have."
3. For me, exercises and etudes are motivation killers. I've given them up completely and only work out new concepts on songs. Learning new songs motivates me.
Your Situation:
The city I live in is filled with musicians of all levels and styles, but family and work obligations made it stressful to make regular jams/rehearsals. So I decided to try solo chord-melody style and to my surprise i love it more than i ever imagined. Now the band (me) never shows up late, everyone (me) knows the entire repertoire well and the audience (me and sometimes my spouse, child and cat*) doesn't tip well but is always appreciative.
*Not entirely sure what the cat thinks, other than "If i sit through this twanging maybe the big two-leg will feed me chicken livers."
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1) There aren't many books I can recommend. I've found that the good ones are narrow in focus. Jimmy Bruno's DVD's are good, depending on where you're at. 'Swing and Big Band Guitar'. For gypsy Denis Chang's rhythm video and Robin Nolan's books. I like his chord voicings. As far as method books they're a waste. Jazz theory is easy so any random theory book will do. You could probably get by with free info but I like some hardcopy here and there. Originally Posted by sosippus
2) That's tough. I used to jam like crazy with other people so I can't get into playing with backing tracks. Nothing against them though. Some people use them well.
3) A lot of things come up here depending on what you're looking for. Just be specific about what you want. For example if you want to get into Charlie Christian there are free resources and also a decent book about him. 2 actually.
This site has various resources too.
As for being stuck in no-man's land I hear ya. It sucks. That's one reason I'm moving.
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Being in the wrong place can really get to you. It's taking me a long time to get my situation straight and to get to where I want to be. It's natural to turn to technology but I get sick of this digital crap. A lot of people go solo for various reasons.
There are people that are active musically on this site that can steer you in the right direction. There's no sense in taking advice from someone like me who hasn't done squat in a long time.
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Oh guys, you have been so terribly helpful! I happily read all your suggestions and I'll surely follow many of them! (time permitting, of course). Thank you so much for all the help! I now believe I've found a great place to seek help.
Having said this, I'd still like to add that if you have any other tips they are always welcomed!
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I always kept a practice journal and put a program together for myself. I had some teachers early in but I had to organize my sessions and pick and choose what I would work on. I kept track of the time spent and the next day I picked up my program from where I left off. I tried not to get frustrated. I just did the next thing. Every day. Eventually you don't even notice the progress.
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I had once tried doing that. I had divided my work program in some 4 or 5 sections, though there were some topics that were practice simultaneously in the same exercise. If I recall correctly I had, in no particular order: Originally Posted by henryrobinett
- Theory
- Harmony/Melody
- Rythm
- Ear training
- Repertoire
From these, I would try and study a bit of each each day. Many of them overlapped: for instance, when trying to build repertoire I often was able to practice rythm or harmony/melody sections of interest. However, as I kept adding resources and resources and exercises, I soon was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that I needed to learn...
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I'm pretty much by myself where I am as well. I've focused the last two or three years really on playing chord melody since I'm just playing by my myself anyway. I've learned a lot of fretboard knowledge and new chord voicings over that time, all in the context of playing real music. Lately, I'm working on trying to improvise over the changes as well, solo.
If I had it to do all over again, I think I would have started from the beginning (or pretty soon after the basics) learning voicings in the context of playing some chord melodies. It's a lot more interesting than just arbitrarily practicing chord voicings. I used Robert Conti's "Assembly Line" to get started and then have added my own voicings along the way.
On the rare occasion that I do play with a bass player friend, every thing is easier. I feel like I'm a better player for it, though I've got a really long way to go. Tunes will usually keep you motivated more than exercises.
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Too many categories. You want to move in the direction of simplicity over complexity. I had: Originally Posted by sosippus
scales/exercises
Arpeggios/exercises
Picking exercises
Then and, either or depending on need:
Reading
Songs
Improv
Transcriptions
Chord melody
No theory. Theory is in the application.Last edited by henryrobinett; 12-06-2014 at 04:29 PM.
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I find that transcribing fav records, so I can play along with my fav players is very motivational. I don't transcribe the whole song, I just transcribe a few fav bars.
Last edited by GuyBoden; 12-05-2014 at 01:58 PM.
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Yes, work on a recording you like and want to play like. I find that motivational as you slowly start learning pieces of the tune. As you learn parts show them to someone else even your grandmother if no one else is available. Learn and play, learn and play. Originally Posted by GuyBoden
I find that transcribing fav records, so I can play along with my fav players is very motivational. I don't transcribe the whole song, I just transcribe a few fav bars.
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Go to Scribd and download, for free old books. I like to play through and arrange for guitar, Bill Evans and Herbie stuff. Theres a really cool Woody Shaw study. But you can find what you like.
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try to assimilate NEW and SMALL bites of information
(that kept me going for over 30 years now and I still have tons of fun)
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Personally... you need to know how "you" work. What works for you now and what you believe "could" work for you. As Henry said... an organized plan with room to adjust.
You don't just start playing Jazz, and the trial and error approach takes years and years.
I worked on technical and mechanical aspects of playing the guitar.
And always worked on performance, using those skills.
I also always worked on the theory BS, but that was because I understood "me", and I wanted to understand music with reference to history etc... I also like to understand as well as feel what something is.
Be realistic with goals... playing music is a gift, we're extremely lucky to have the opportunity. Enjoy it.
Life in the music world is always much easier when you can sight read... even if you don't need the skill most of the time.
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Exactly Reg. The only reason I said "no theory" is because for me it was always implicit in the way I practiced and as it related to the tunes. I never "practiced" theory. I did think about theory a lot and applied it but it was always a part of my practice - not as a separate thing, if that makes any sense.
And yes reading is very important.
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