The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I've been playing a long time, and while I will always strive to improve on the instrument (it's never-ending, that's part of the joy of it), I have passed my days of "doing exercises" in an attempt to get faster, better more accurate, etc. I just play music. It may be meandering noodling, but I never sit down to do exercises anymore.... just wondering what everyone else does?

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  3. #2

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    It depends on the times. I make routines to install new things, but I practice them like music, not gymnastics, and I vary them as it progresses, incorporating several things that I want to incorporate into my play

    in fact, exercises and music tend to come together, but there is a moment when I forget everything, even the tune that I'm supposed to play, I let improvisation come as a story is told

  4. #3

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    As a warm up, yes. Maybe some scales in in intervals, 3rds, 6ths, etc. Diatonic 4 note arpeggios up and down, that sort of thing. And the Barry Harris chromatic scale for the pure joy of it. For the right hand, the pattern used in Villa Lobos Etude #1 clears away cobwebs. I'm at the age where I need to stretch out I'll hurt something!

    I'll also break out a challenging section of an arrangement and work that as an exercise.
    Last edited by Michael Neverisky; 02-16-2020 at 04:16 PM.

  5. #4

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    I'm working through "Patterns for Jazz" and find that useful.

    When I was younger, the Mel Bay book "Technic" by Roger Filiberto (sp?) helped me. It would have helped me even more if I hadn't developed some bad picking habits in my self-directed youth.

  6. #5

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    my daily practice includes new melodic patterns and mixing them with well worn patterns and other single line playing..it very often infers several different keys
    as I switch between diatonic movement( I ii iii etc) and chromatic I bii iii) .. and the shifting between major and minor voicings..(I ii III vi II v bVii etc) type stuff

  7. #6

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    I do exercises, as a warmup routine, but i try to do musical ones. Triads, patterns, inversions and connections of that, chromatic patterns, etc.. Once you get an exercise pattern down, you can usually adapt it to be more substantial musically, and still work as an exercise.

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by ruger9
    I've been playing a long time, and while I will always strive to improve on the instrument (it's never-ending, that's part of the joy of it), I have passed my days of "doing exercises" in an attempt to get faster, better more accurate, etc. I just play music. It may be meandering noodling, but I never sit down to do exercises anymore.... just wondering what everyone else does?
    I think it depends on what you consider exercises. A long time back, Brad Shepik suggested to me that I play 3 octave arpeggios thru the changes of a tune and that this "exercise" in particular was generally effective at getting him out of a musical rut. So I do stuff like that. If I record myself and hear that I am playing a lick or rhythmic pattern a lot, I'll try to break out of that.

    In terms of playing scales in 3rds/4ths/5ths/etc... I don't really do that stuff anymore. There was a time when I cared about intervallic variety in the lines I play, I don't really think of those things in that way anymore.

  9. #8

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    I follow Wes' method, paraphrased

    "I don't practice anything I wouldn't perform during a tune."

    repeat that to yourself slowly a few times...
    simple, direct, focused, practical, results oriented insight

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by pauln
    I follow Wes' method, paraphrased

    "I don't practice anything I wouldn't perform during a tune."

    repeat that to yourself slowly a few times...
    simple, direct, focused, practical, results oriented insight
    maybe if you're Wes. I prefer to not know everything I'd performing a tune in advance.

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by ronjazz
    maybe if you're Wes. I prefer to not know everything I'd performing a tune in advance.
    You can understand that limiting practicing to exclude what one wouldn't play in performance does not imply nor entail that what one plays in performance is limited to what one plays in practice, right?

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by pauln
    I follow Wes' method, paraphrased

    "I don't practice anything I wouldn't perform during a tune."

    repeat that to yourself slowly a few times...
    simple, direct, focused, practical, results oriented insight
    I think that's great advice. But until one's technique is well developed, there's a large gap between what one WOULD play during a tune and what one actually CAN play (cleanly, with good time and the right feel) during a tune.

    One reason Herb Ellis emphasized playing out of shapes is that it bypassed the bad habit (in his view) of playing scales and patterns in all possible positions rather than in the way one would play them during a performance.

  13. #12

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    There are players at a lot of different abilities and experience here. I think some still practice exercises and technique, right? I do.

  14. #13

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    Repeating a phrase of a tune until it sounds right or exploring ideas for a tune's chord change might be considered an exercise, but the motivation is that the successful result is learning the tune.

    "I only practice tunes" is equivalent to "I don't practice anything I wouldn't perform during a tune" without the implied follow through to performance.

  15. #14

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    I borrow instruction books from the public library and pick exercises in them to practise. It costs me nothing and opens me to different teaching styles and ideas.

  16. #15

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    Yes. Every day. I try to do several hrs of scales, arpeggios, 3rds, diatonic 7th chords, etc in different positions in various modes. It's a real grounding activity for me. It can get boring too but it's meditation also.

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by ruger9
    I've been playing a long time, and while I will always strive to improve on the instrument (it's never-ending, that's part of the joy of it), I have passed my days of "doing exercises" in an attempt to get faster, better more accurate, etc. I just play music. It may be meandering noodling, but I never sit down to do exercises anymore.... just wondering what everyone else does?
    Some greater, hell, any, organization to my practice schedule would probably be a good idea.

    The closest thing I do to an exercise is playing a tune with Irealpro in 12 keys, comping and soloing. I will sometimes focus on a particular part of the neck to make sure I've got ready access to the notes I need, starting with chord tones.

    But, mostly it's learning difficult bits of tunes I'm playing with groups, working on memorizing standards (lately), some drilling of arps, focusing on the time feel of everything. Playing through GP magazine lessons, and a lot of playing in groups, mostly reading.

  18. #17

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    Yes I do...

    I do not have system or organization... I just note some 'blank spot' in my technique or navigation issue or some musical idea ... and I choose or invent excercise to practice it... I do it sometimes only 15-20 min. a day and usually no longer than 7-10 days...
    I try not to overthink excercises.. and focus only on technical efficiency.

    Also one thing I do conciously - you may call it excercise too... is imlimentation of something in real playing.

    I have long been a followere of intiutive approach: you do excercise and it shows in your playing music anyway... and it is true.
    But also guitar is an instrument much subject to habits and sometimes I just have to force myself consiously to go another path in actual playing - when I see the same turnaroud etc. - after a few times new option becimes one the alternatives you use more or less naturally...

    In a word - I like practicing in a higher sense... I like investigating instrument

  19. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by pauln
    I follow Wes' method, paraphrased

    "I don't practice anything I wouldn't perform during a tune."

    repeat that to yourself slowly a few times...
    simple, direct, focused, practical, results oriented insight
    To be honest I think any more or less confident person would practice only what he wants to play)

    The problem with many adult students is more thatn that woith kids even... they just do not know what they want to play)
    Or if they do they cannot eliminate the path between their current status and their goal... that's why they apply to teachers and moethods I guess.
    It requires not only musical professionalism and experience but also some kind of personal quiality, maturity of thought maybe...

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonah
    they cannot eliminate the path between their current status and their goal... that's why they apply to teachers and moethods...
    it's probably the most difficult when you start, but you don't have to lock yourself in it, because you can go around in circles like this all your life, at least if you don't have a professional obligation to have an effective result

    we must at least go beyond the model of the master that we give ourselves, whether he is Wes, Raney or Benson, because even if we played like him, it would not interest anyone, a clone ...

    so once you've got some solid basic foundation, you have to ask yourself these questions: What am I going to do with this? Why do I play jazz guitar? What music I want to make? With whom to play, level, qualities, goals?

    you can't be good at everything, as some teachers really are, so much so that you don't see their own music, their musical personality. If they are good jazz teachers, they can only help you get what you want, and can't if you don't know yourself

    once you have answers, you have to focus all your work on these goals, define steps, limit the work to the acquisition of each step, make your own right routines, gradually incorporate them into your playing

    all in all, common sense, which is repeated and repeated in the advice "how to work effectively"? Why we can't keep up with him, why we disperse, it's another matter

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonah
    ...cannot eliminate the path between their current status and their goal...
    Here's how I think about it. Fastest most efficient and effective progress suffers the least impediment when the three primary components of playing the guitar are suitably well matched or balanced. Those three components:

    The Instrument
    The general quality of the instrument needs to be appropriate for the level of the player. Traditionally, a music student begins on an inexpensive "student" instrument that satisfies the student's requirements until their ability begins to out grow it, then a better instrument with superior features replaces it. Because prioritizing the selection of these features depends on the individual player, they aren't clearly revealed until the player's abilities arrive. In the guitar world, the same applies. Generally, the mistake to avoid is getting too good an instrument prior to reaching a playing ability and informed position of knowing which and what quality features you would rather have selected otherwise if you had known then what you will have come to know later.
    But also generally, the modern guitars are quite good, even the very inexpensive ones. At first hint of the instrument possibly not "keeping up" with the player's ability, the usual adjustments or full set up will likely extend the time to replace it. In the guitar world, "the instrument" includes the amp, cords, other stuff... the same ideas apply to these as well.

    The Hand
    This means what one can physically execute, includes both hands, encompasses all of technique, "chops".

    The Ear
    This means the musical mind, the grasp of music, what you can hear and understand both externally and internally (in your mind's ear when no music is playing), grasp of song form organization, progressions, rhythm, chord types, melody, harmony, creativity, etc...

    When all three of these are matched, progress comes with least resistance. For long periods, the instrument will likely be fine for reasons above, so the main thing is determining which of the hand or the ear is holding the other back. This is easy to access. You just look at yourself and determine which of these two kinds of frustrations might be present...:

    Playing feels easy, even when playing fast or complicated things. The fidelity of expression of your ideas is high and your hands fretting, fingering, and picking feel like they can execute and play whatever you call for, but the ideas themselves seem hard to produce, lack capturing the sound you want, so generally what you play is very well executed but kind of lame or goofy or quirky sounding.
    This frustration means the hand is ahead and the ear is behind.
    The remedy for this is to spend more time on ear things - listening to music, transcribing tunes, leaning tunes by ear, etc.

    or

    Playing feels difficult, clumsy, and uncoordinated, even for slower simpler things. The fidelity of expression of your ideas is low and your hands fretting, fingering, and picking feel like they can't execute and play whatever you call for, however your ideas themselves seem easy to produce, capture and characterize the sound you want, and generally what you think of to play is cool, authentic, and hip sounding, or would be if you could just get your hands to execute it well.
    This frustration means the ear is ahead and the hand is behind.
    The remedy for this is to spend more time on hand things - scales, arps, chords and chord changes, fret fingering exercises, picking exercises, etc.


    Reassessment every time you change strings is about right for gauging progress maintenance; just contemplate whether you have any sense of either of these frustrations of the ear or the hand falling relatively behind (and update a mental note tracking the shape of the guitar for future reference, repairs, or replacement), and shift the balance of subsequent practices to which remedies address that frustration.
    Last edited by pauln; 02-18-2020 at 03:39 PM.

  22. #21

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    all in all, common sense, which is repeated and repeated in the advice "how to work effectively"? Why we can't keep up with him, why we disperse, it's another matter
    well... I think it depends... we are not managers of the business unit... artistic activivty is complex and subtle (no matter how experienced of qulified the person is) - it is hard to identifyc often what will be effective and how it will show in the next moment, next day...

    I do not want anything about to be effective actually... but it's another matter too.

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by pauln
    Here's how I think about it. Fastest most efficient and effective progress suffers the least impediment when the three primary components of playing the guitar are suitably well matched or balanced. Those three components:

    The Instrument
    The general quality of the instrument needs to be appropriate for the level of the player. Traditionally, a music student begins on an inexpensive "student" instrument that satisfies the student's requirements until their ability begins to out grow it, then a better instrument with superior features replaces it. Because prioritizing the selection of these features depends on the individual player, they aren't clearly revealed until the player's abilities arrive. In the guitar world, the same applies. Generally, the mistake to avoid is getting too good an instrument prior to reaching a playing ability and informed position of knowing which and what quality features you would rather have selected otherwise if you had known then what you will have come to know later.
    But also generally, the modern guitars are quite good, even the very inexpensive ones. At first hint of the instrument possibly not "keeping up" with the player's ability, the usual adjustments or full set up will likely extend the time to replace it. In the guitar world, "the instrument" includes the amp, cords, other stuff... the same ideas apply to these as well.

    The Hand
    This means what one can physically execute, includes both hands, encompasses all of technique, "chops".

    The Ear
    This means the musical mind, the grasp of music, what you can hear and understand both externally and internally (in your mind's ear when no music is playing), grasp of song form organization, progressions, rhythm, chord types, melody, harmony, creativity, etc...

    When all three of these are matched, progress comes with least resistance. For long periods, the instrument will likely be fine for reasons above, so the main thing is determining which of the hand or the ear is holding the other back. This is easy to access. You just look at yourself and determine which of these two kinds of frustrations might be present...:

    Playing feels easy, even when playing fast or complicated things. The fidelity of expression of your ideas is high and your hands fretting, fingering, and picking feel like they can execute and play whatever you call for, but the ideas themselves seem hard to produce, lack capturing the sound you want, so generally what you play is very well executed but kind of lame or goofy or quirky sounding.
    This frustration means the hand is ahead and the ear is behind.
    The remedy for this is to spend more time on ear things - listening to music, transcribing tunes, leaning tunes by ear, etc.

    or

    Playing feels difficult, clumsy, and uncoordinated, even for slower simpler things. The fidelity of expression of your ideas is low and your hands fretting, fingering, and picking feel like they can't execute and play whatever you call for, however your ideas themselves seem easy to produce, capture and characterize the sound you want, and generally what you think of to play is cool, authentic, and hip sounding, or would be if you could just get your hands to execute it well.
    This frustration means the ear is ahead and the hand is behind.
    The remedy for this is to spend more time on hand things - scales, arps, chords and chord changes, fret fingering exercises, picking exercises, etc.


    Reassessment every time you change strings is about right for gauging progress maintenance; just contemplate whether you have any sense of either of these frustrations of the ear or the hand falling relatively behind (and update a mental note tracking the shape the guitar for future reference, repairs, or replacement), and shift the balance of subsequent practices to which remedies address that frustration.
    This is well put of course. Nothing to argue.
    But mostly this does not help)

  24. #23

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    Barney Kessel was known for practicing a lot, even when touring. Hours a day. Every day.

    His first wife, Phyllis, has been quoted as follows: “He practiced 5 hours a day…religiously. He told me more than once that he never missed in his lifetime, until he became ill, more than 17 days of practice in his whole life. I believe it having known him. I don’t know how he remembers that, but I believe it.”


    There is a nuance here: 5 hours a day when he had no gig, 3 hours a day when he had a gig.

    music and life: the kessel method | Chuck Perrin

  25. #24

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    Yes and no. I write my own etudes, really, based on whatever I'm needing to work on. So kinda. But it's still music.

  26. #25

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    Exercises are small sections of music that require special attention isolated for focussed work.

    so yeah, I do, and the music I’m trying to play usually has some exercises embedded in it.

    I still practice rhythmic exercises all the time. Scales too. There’s a zillion ways to practice scales lol.