The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #51

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    Quote Originally Posted by wzpgsr
    I've recognized my flat-fingered default left-hand technique as a roadblock (among others) to faster speeds. I've started playing what I think is called a "spider" warm-up for just a few minutes to reinforce a proper arching of the left-hand fingers. Slow and deliberate, 1-2-3-4 up each string, not moving each properly arched finger from the previous string until it's its turn. It has definitely started to take hold without too much extra effort. Main benefit, I think, is that maintaining an arch even when not fretting minimizes the distance each finger has to move to get into position to fret the next note. Executed properly, it's more like fine-tuning a spring lever into place versus hoisting a telephone pole from horizontal to vertical orientation.
    yes, I suspect that I had a good start by having classical guitar lessons for several years when I was 12. So I’ve always had pretty good left-hand technique and finger independence, which has probably helped with playing jazz guitar.

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  3. #52

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    I think there are two critical skills, both of which need polish and alignment to make a great player. I know a lot of players who have much to say musically but don't have the chops to say it as they want to. Then there are those with serious chops who simply have nothing new to say. They blow through scales and rote lines like Katrina through the upper ninth, and they impress a lot of people. But they're not saying much in the process.

    Consider how much Paul Desmond said in his spare, laid back style. And although Miles was not the slouch his detractors claim, he rarely showed off his chops and favored subtlety over speed. Guitarists like Ron Affif, Randy Johnston, and Jack Wilkins have chops to hang with anybody - but they only call on them when required to say what they want to say.

    In the opposite corner, a lot of early Jimmy Bruno was a blur of notes that said little more than "I can play faster than you". I've been very pleased that he started playing thoughtfully and with much less grandstanding over the last 20 years. He turned out to be a very tasteful player, but I did not predict that from his first few albums.

  4. #53

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    Quote Originally Posted by grahambop
    yes, I suspect that I had a good start by having classical guitar lessons for several years when I was 12. So I’ve always had pretty good left-hand technique and finger independence, which has probably helped with playing jazz guitar.
    I had some of classical lessons as a kid too, and I think that did give a good foundation. I hold the guitar more or less in a classical position (with a strap), arch my fingers, and generally have my thumb more toward the center of the neck than hanging over the top (short-ish thumbs play a part in that, too). And I can generally motor along OK at fast-ish tempos and sometimes. But somehow my fast playing is not impeccable, and there remain things I can't quite pull off. I think a lifetime of slouching/slacking and general inattention to doing things the right way in nearly every domain of my life may also have affected my guitar technique. Maybe. Just wild speculation my part.
    Last edited by John A.; 05-19-2022 at 11:11 AM.

  5. #54

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    Quote Originally Posted by John A.
    I think a lifetime of slouching/slacking and general inattention doing things the right way in nearly every domain of my life may also have affected my guitar technique. Maybe. Just wild speculation my part.
    Hmmm - there's a lot of that going around! I've devoted much of my life to confirming the old dictum that there's never time to do it right but thre's always time to do it again. Finally, in the second 75 years of my life, I'm starting to see the benefits of long term planning.........

  6. #55

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    Quote Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
    Hmmm - there's a lot of that going around! I've devoted much of my life to confirming the old dictum that there's never time to do it right but thre's always time to do it again. Finally, in the second 75 years of my life, I'm starting to see the benefits of long term planning.........
    I guess that means I have another 15 years to reform myself.

  7. #56

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    Quote Originally Posted by John A.
    I had some of classical lessons as a kid too, and I think that did give a good foundation. I hold the guitar more or less in a classical position (with a strap), arch my fingers, and generally have my thumb more toward the center of the neck than hanging over the top (short-ish thumbs play a part in that, too). And I can generally motor along OK at fast-ish tempos and sometimes. But somehow my fast playing is not impeccable, and there remain things I can't quite pull off. I think a lifetime of slouching/slacking and general inattention to doing things the right way in nearly every domain of my life may also have affected my guitar technique. Maybe. Just wild speculation my part.
    I know that when I’m playing at this sort of tempo (e.g. 230) and it’s going well, there is a sort of sensation of locking into the beat/groove and feeling the 8th notes really slamming into position right on the nail, as it were. Sometimes with these backing tracks playing on my computer speakers I can’t quite hear the beat for a couple of bars, and then things go a bit off. Or I just hesitate over the next phrase and everything slips a bit.

    I guess my approach would be to try and practise that locked-in feel at a tempo where I can sustain it, then very gradually increase the tempo. I think Pasquale Grasso said that’s how he improved his speed, i.e. just increasing the metronome by one beat every day or so.

  8. #57

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    Quote Originally Posted by grahambop
    I know that when I’m playing at this sort of tempo (e.g. 230) and it’s going well, there is a sort of sensation of locking into the beat/groove and feeling the 8th notes really slamming into position right on the nail, as it were. Sometimes with these backing tracks playing on my computer speakers I can’t quite hear the beat for a couple of bars, and then things go a bit off. Or I just hesitate over the next phrase and everything slips a bit.

    I guess my approach would be to try and practise that locked-in feel at a tempo where I can sustain it, then very gradually increase the tempo. I think Pasquale Grasso said that’s how he improved his speed, i.e. just increasing the metronome by one beat every day or so.
    I know what you mean about backing tracks -- they throw me off sometimes, too. Specifically for working on faster tempos, I find iReal to be sort of a happy medium between a metronome and backing tracks. Also a great tool for getting heads right. With iReal, mistakes sound like mistakes, whereas with tracks they can sound like happy accidents.

  9. #58

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    This is my last blast. Sorry, but it's slow. It's the way I'm made :-)

    For those, like Mr. never, who've never been exposed to my ghastly videos, the quality is what it is. It wouldn't matter so much if it was genius playing but I can't claim that either. I'm not even sure it's in tune.

    But it's a contribution, that's what counts :-)


  10. #59

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    Quote Originally Posted by John A.
    I don't think inability to play fast is usually due to a fundamental neuro-motor limit. I imagine all of us do have some limit beyond which our fingers and brains won't go, but I doubt many of us get anywhere near that limit. I think it's far more often due to some combination of not practicing systematically with speed as a goal, being stuck in some limitation of picking and/or fingering technique and organization that would require basically re-starting on the instrument to overcome, and not really caring enough about speed to go through the hard slog of what it would take to get significantly faster.
    I'm not sure I agree with this. I struggle with technique and speed and have tried pretty hard to improve that and failed. Whether neuro-muscular or something else is the root cause is hard to say.

    Also, anecdotally, I've seen certain people develop impressive technique very quickly. For instance, my neighbors daughter is a bit of a piano prodigy and has developed incredible technique in the space of a few years and she doesn't practice that much, under an hour a day.

    Even with something like typing there is a wide variance in speeds.

    I just think that for some people these motor skills come much easier.

  11. #60

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    I see that posts have been removed so I won’t get too into it. I had a family function yesterday and couldn’t respond timely. Just want to give my perspective on playing the repertoire, including all of it. I hate the idea of jazz being some codified bag of bones in a mausoleum. It is very much alive and very much a creative process. It is here for the taking and all are welcome. I used to post in Facebook’s jam of the week but I stopped doing that for several reasons. There was one fellow who constantly complained about how “we were ruining the great songs of Charlie Parker” which was laughable since CP ruined those songs before him to make them what they are for us today. Peterson called Donna Lee and got such grief for it and now he’s gone. I know I only pop in and out and I may cheer some videos on or not but from my experience as a jazz jam player in the Philadelphia New York suburbs there are some sessions where people vibe and others where everyone is very cool and inclusive. I can only hope this group continues to thrive on those who enjoy the company of those who join and take the banter light hearted and not as a platform to preach.