The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Does anyone have any experience with this course? There's a 30% off Black Friday sale going on, and I am tempted. I enjoy Larry's playing a lot, and he seems to be a very clear and concise teacher. That said, I bought his My Music Masterclass Accompanying a Vocalist video and didn't get a whole lot out of it.

    ELITE GUITARIST | USA | Online Jazz Guitar Lessons with Larry Koonse | ELITE GUITARIST | Online Jazz Guitar Lessons | Learn to Play the Jazz Guitar Online

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2
    Actually, I meant 70% off, not 30%. That's a big discount! And it ends today.

  4. #3

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    I really like Larry Koonse and have looked at this before. There's not a lot of content for the price but at 70% off I might be interested but I'm not seeing anything about a Black Friday sale.

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by marcut
    I really like Larry Koonse and have looked at this before. There's not a lot of content for the price but at 70% off I might be interested but I'm not seeing anything about a Black Friday sale.
    Well, I misspoke out of misplaced optimism. It is 30% off after all.

    Are you aware of the shortage of content by having tried the course for a month, or is your opinion based on what is on the website? To me, it is not clear how wide or deep the content is, based on what I am seeing.

  6. #5

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    My opinion's just based on what I've seen looking through what's available on the website. I guess you could always contact them and see if there's additional content beyond what is publicly available.

  7. #6

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    I was wondering if you ended up enrolling in Larry Koonse's course and, if so , what your impressions are. I'm also curious if you're the owner of of a 2018 Aurelia form Bryant Trenier. I drooled over his FB posts about that guitar and it looks and sounds like one of his finest creations. I own an amazing 2009 Trenier Magnolia and, from my understanding, he's gotten even more skillful.

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by marcut
    I was wondering if you ended up enrolling in Larry Koonse's course and, if so , what your impressions are. I'm also curious if you're the owner of of a 2018 Aurelia form Bryant Trenier. I drooled over his FB posts about that guitar and it looks and sounds like one of his finest creations. I own an amazing 2009 Trenier Magnolia and, from my understanding, he's gotten even more skillful.
    I didn't enroll in the course. I pm'd Larry on Facebook and asked him some questions about it and never got a response. I'm still not ruling it out.

    And yes, that's my Aurelia. It's a magnificent instrument and an honor to own and play it. I ordered it after playing a used non cutaway Magnolia that was in a store on consignment. The Magnolia was fantastic, and I probably would have bought it had it been a cutaway.

  9. #8

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    Was that the one at Gryphon? I live in the East Bay and planned to check it out but by the time I had planned to go it was gone. I believe another forum member bought it. Here's my Magnolia that I purchased from archop.com. Maybe when this pandemic ends we could have a Trenier gathering. I know there's a few other local Trenier owners.











  10. #9
    Yes, that was the one. Yours is beautiful. A post-pandemic Trenier gathering would be fun.

    Actually, ANY post-pandemic gathering would be fun!


    Quote Originally Posted by marcut
    Was that the one at Gryphon? I live in the East Bay and planned to check it out but by the time I had planned to go it was gone. I believe another forum member bought it. Here's my Magnolia that I purchased from archop.com. Maybe when this pandemic ends we could have a Trenier gathering. I know there's a few other local Trenier owners.











  11. #10

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    I ended up joining Elite Guitarist and enrolled in Larry Koonse's course. It turns out there's a fair amount of material but I'm mostly interested in his chord melodies and accompanying tutorials which are excellent. I think the 30% off sale ends tomorrow and it's not a bad price for what you get.

  12. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by marcut
    I ended up joining Elite Guitarist and enrolled in Larry Koonse's course. It turns out there's a fair amount of material but I'm mostly interested in his chord melodies and accompanying tutorials which are excellent. I think the 30% off sale ends tomorrow and it's not a bad price for what you get.
    Cool. Are there any tutorials that you have access to as an enrollee that are not shown on the site? Also, are they all geared toward fingerstlye treatment?

  13. #12
    Also, are the tutorials helpful in terms of tips for creating your own chord melody arrangements, or are they more focused on how to play Larry's arrangements?

    Larry's arranging skill is awesome, but I am not so great at retention, so I am more interested in tips on creating chord melody arrangements on the fly than in attempting to memorize his well thought out arrangements.

  14. #13

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    Cool. Are there any tutorials that you have access to as an enrollee that are not shown on the site? Also, are they all geared toward fingerstyle treatment?-I haven't found any additional tutorials beyond what shown on the site but they are pretty comprehensive. My complaint is that those lessons are a bit scattered and don't seem to follow a particular direction in terms of a curriculum.
    Also, are the tutorials helpful in terms of tips for creating your own chord melody arrangements, or are they more focused on how to play Larry's arrangements?- I'm working on a beginners arrangement of You Don't Know What Love is that's challenging but within my wheelhouse. For the beginning arrangements he has the lead sheet and melody on one sheet and the chords he's used on another (39 chords although some repeat) but I see in the more advanced/intermediate lessons he has both on one sheet like traditional chord melody notation/tabs. The tutorial is 50 minutes long and he spends half of it going over the fingering for each chord which I find a bit monotonous as I know many of them and can figure out the rest. The next video shows how he approaches the tune and the liberties one can take with his arrangement to make it more individualized but, at least in the beginning section, he isn't sharing his approach to developing chord melodies which really is my interest. I may reach out to him and suggest some videos related to that. I really do like his arrangements and he's one of my favorites along with Chris Whiteman. It's also cool to see and hear his Borys B120 and I'm already gassing.

  15. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by marcut
    It's also cool to see and hear his Borys B120 and I'm already gassing.
    Uh, oh. Slippery slope. You buy a course at a discount for a couple hundred and end up dropping 5K on a Borys.

  16. #15

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    After a couple of his videos I started searching the used market for a Borys. I already have a commission for this year and can’t afford another guitar but it’s free to dream.

  17. #16
    If you don't mind my asking, who is your commission with? You can PM me if you prefer.

  18. #17

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    I've commissioned a Rancourt Standard Concerto. Here's a something I posted in June about the guitar and luthier:

    I just finalized the details on a commission for a Standard Concerto 15" archtop by Guillaume Rancourt. It's his entry level guitar based on the Concerto Signature archtop but without some of the appointments that add to the cost. I've been interested in Rancourt archtops for a couple of years now based on some of the YouTube videos I've seen and some of the reviews I've read.
    He has an interesting approach in terms of bracing (they're carved into the top) and his choice of tonewoods (mine will have a cedar top). This is my first commission so I don't have anything to compare it to but Guillaume has been very responsive to my multiple questions and really detailed in his replies. He comes across as a really nice and genuine guy who is passionate and very knowledgeable about archtop guitars.I've decided on a couple of upgrades for the bridge and tailpiece that should enhance the guitars responsiveness but still keeps it affordable.The build will start in August and take 14-16 months. He also has several financing plans that make it very doable when spread out over time.Even though I've never played one of his guitars, I feel confident that this is a good decision for me and so far has been a very positive experience working with Guillaume.

    Standard Concerto Signature Acoustic Archtops – Rancourt Guitars




  19. #18
    Congratulations! Some beautiful stuff on his site. And it looks like you are about halfway through the wait.