Jazz Guitar Practice Guide
Complete Guide to Learning Jazz Guitar
www.mattwarnockguitar.com Written and Edited by: Matt Warnock Cover Design by: Twizzlebird Creative Matt Warnock Plays Koentopp Guitars
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Intro to Effective Practicing ... 5
Chapter 2 - Well Balanced Practicing ... 12
Chapter 3 - Building Technique ... 33
Chapter 4 - Importance of Learning Tunes ... 53
Chapter 5 - Jazz Guitar Fundamentals ... 101
Chapter 6 - Learning From the Masters ... 129
Chapter 7 - Beginner Practice Guide ... 154
Chapter 8 - Intermediate Practice Guide ... 160
Chapter 9 - Advanced Practice Guide ... 165
Chapter 10 - Practice Journal ... 170
About the Author ... 177
Welcome and Introduction
Welcome to The Jazz Guitar Practice Guide, great to see you here. No matter what your background, this guide will help get the most out of your time in the woodshed. There’s no quick and easy way to learn how to play jazz guitar. But, there are shortcuts you can take in order to build an effective an efficient practice routine. These shortcuts will produce visible results in your jazz guitar playing. Whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced player, there’s something for you in this eBook. So, feel free to adapt any of the exercises and concepts in this book to fit your specific needs as a player. This’ll allow you to study these exercises, and have them take you to the next stage in your development at the same time. For beginner players, you’ll want to start at the first chapter and work your way through the book from start to finish. For more advanced players, you can skip through the book, find a topic you’re struggling with, and work through the book from there. Either way, this guide will help you become more organized in the woodshed and develop a well-balanced jazz guitar practice routine. Most importantly, it’ll teach you that learning jazz guitar, though not always easy, can always be fun. Cheers, MattChapter 1 - Intro to Effective Practicing
One of the biggest problems jazz guitarists face is how to build a well-balanced practice routine. A routine that works on each of the skills needed to confidently perform as a jazz guitarist. Too often, you find you’re spending most of your practice time running scales, or learning chord shapes, or running licks around the fretboard. This type of unbalanced practicing can cause your playing to be out of whack and not very practical, or enjoyable. You might find that you’re a better soloist, but your ears are lagging behind your fingers. Or, you know every scale in the book, but you struggle to comp behind a soloist when you jam with other musicians. Building and maintaining a well-balanced practice routine will prevent these problems from arising in your playing. This chapter will help you to analyze your current practice routine. From there, you’ll build a routine that covers each of the essential skills you’ll need in order to become the jazz guitarist you want to be.Time is Your Best Friend
While having a balanced routine it very effective over time, you’ll need to exert some patience in order to see growth in your playing. The hardest lesson to learn when playing jazz guitar, is that there’s no magic formula that will get you sounding like Joe Pass overnight. Time is your biggest alley when it comes to learning how to play Jazz.Having a balanced routine, coupled with consistent time in the practice room, is the best way to develop your skill set.
Setting Goals in the Practice Room
When first building a practice routine, set out a few long-term goals that you want to achieve as a jazz guitarist. Examples of long-term goals are: Ø Learn to play chord melody. Ø Transcribe solos at a quicker pace. Ø Expand chord vocabulary. Ø Develop your Bebop language. Ø Never get lost in the form of a tune. Once you’ve set a few long-term goals, you can plan your daily practice routine with short-term goals that’ll help you achieve longer-term goals. There are many short-terms goals that would get you to the above long-term goals in your daily routine. Here are examples of one short-term practice goal for each longer goal from the above example. Ø Arrange a chord melody for Summertime. Ø Transcribe 3 licks from Wes’ solo on Yesterdays. Ø Memorize Drop 2 maj7 chords on the top-4 strings. Ø Learn the head to Donna Lee. Ø Sing root notes over a jazz blues progression. By setting short-term practice goals, you’ll work towards your longer goals, while not feeling overwhelmed in your daily practicing. As well, you’ll be and be able to track your progress at the same time.
How Much Should You Practice?
This is a question that comes up time and again with my students and other jazz guitarists I meet all over the world: “How much should I practice each day?” While it would be ideal to be able to set aside 5-6 hours a day for practicing, this isn’t practical for the vast majority of people. With a job, family, and other hobbies, it’s not possible, or realistic, to expect to spend this amount of time each day with your guitar. Because of this, the better question to ask is: “How much time can I realistically dedicate to practicing each week?” Asking yourself this question allows you to build an effective practice routine around the time you can dedicate to your instrument each week. If you know you have 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week, to practice, you can then set out a plan to use those minutes effectively each session. With a set amount of time each week, you’ll be able to make the most out of every minute you spend in the practice room.Jazz Guitar Goals Exercise
Write down five long-term goals you want to achieve in your playing as a jazz guitarist. Then, write five short-term goals for each of these longer goals that you can use in your practice routine today to achieve those goals.This sort of focused practice will produce results over time. It just takes consistency and some patience with your practice routine. As well, make sure that you’re flexible with your practice time as your life changes. Some weeks 30 minutes a day is fine, others you can get in 60, while in others 10 minutes a day would be tough. Setting realistic practice goals at the start of each week, and adapting over time, is the best way to effectively use your time in the woodshed.
Consistent Practice Beats Cramming
Another common problem many guitarists face is practicing 3 hours on Saturday, 3.5 hours on Sunday, then 30 minutes on Wednesday. Long practice sessions each week, but no consistency. While you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment after those long practice sessions, by Wednesday you’ve forgotten some of what you learned. Then, by the following weekend you’re spending more time reviewing last week’s material than you are learning new concepts.Weekly Planning Exercise
Grab a piece of paper and set out the amount of time you’ll practice each day this week. Be realistic, and use your calendar to mark off those times each day. Review this plan at the end of the week and record your progress in your practice journal to review later on in your development.To avoid forgetting what you’ve learned between practice sessions, develop a practice approach that spreads out your learning each week. Rather than cramming your practicing into a few intense sessions that are spread out erratically throughout the week. Everyone’s schedule is different, so this might not be feasible depending on how your week unfolds. But, if you can, spread out that practice time, 7 hours in the above example, over 7 days rather than over 3 days. An hour a day of consistent practice will propel your playing forward much quicker than cramming for a few days each week. That’s not to say you can’t do extra time on the weekends if you want. But, plan out a little time each day, or as many days as you can, where you spend time practicing. Then, any extra time can be used to dive deeper into that material, or to work on weak areas that need attention in your playing. Though it seems counterintuitive, short, consistent sessions are more effective over the long term, compared to more inconsistent practicing.
Consistent Practice Exercise
If you use the cramming approach, spend a little time practicing each day this week to see how the two approaches compare. Then you can adjust your practice routine if possible to reflect the best practice routine for you and your schedule.Seeing Results In Your Practicing Over Time
Now that you know how to plan your time, and set long and short-term goals, you’ll learn the best way to measure your practice room progress. Recording yourself each week, or every day if you can is by far the best way to track your development as a jazz guitarist. All too often, you’ll practice consistently each week, which is great for development, but not great for hearing progress in your playing. But, if you record yourself playing an exercise, or jamming a tune, you can listen to those recordings over time to hear your musical growth. This is easier said than done; as you may be shy about recording or only hear negatives in your playing when listening back to recordings. But, recording is something that’s worth struggling through in the beginning, as it’s a very effective practice tool in the long run. The key component to working with recordings of yourself is to listen analytically to your playing. This means listening from both a positive and critical standpoint. Whenever you listen back to yourself, start by writing five things you liked about your playing on that recording. From there, write out three things you can work on to improve your playing between now and the next recording. This’ll help you develop a sense of your strengths, which you can then build upon in your playing. As well, it highlights your weaknesses, which you can focus on in upcoming practice sessions to rid your playing of those weak spots.Chapter 1 Checklist
Before moving on to the next chapter, review the following items that you’ve learned about and applied to your practice schedule this week. Setting Long and Short-Term Goals Ø Write five long-term goals you wish to accomplish. Ø Write five short-term goals for each long-term goal. Ø Practice one short-term goal for each long-term goal this week. Ø Journal your results to see progress over time. Ø Adjust your short-term goals as necessary after reflection. Planning Next Week’s Practice Routine Ø Ask yourself, “How much time can I really practice this week?” Ø Write out a realistic practice schedule. Ø Adjust this time next week to reflect time available to practice. Ø Cover all five short-term goals over the course of a week. Avoiding Cramming in the Woodshed Ø Review your current practice routine to see if you’re cramming. Ø If you’re cramming, use shorter, more frequent practice sessions. Ø Journal your practice sessions to see improvements over time. Recording for Self Reflection Ø Record a practice session or jam this week. Ø Record a practice session or jam next week. Ø Compare the two to see the progress you’ve made in between.Chapter 2 - Well Balanced Practicing
One of the best ways to maintain momentum and progress, especially when time is short, is to develop a well-balanced practice routine. By covering a number of important areas in your practicing, you’ll avoid the trap of being a great soloist who can’t comp over changes. Or being a player that can learn everything by ear, but can’t apply that knowledge to tunes, for example. In this chapter, you’ll learn about the seven elements of a balanced jazz guitar practice routine. This information will act as an introduction to these seven elements. Then, these elements will be explored further in later chapters as you learn how to build a practice routine to fit your experience level. Don’t feel overwhelmed if this material looks like an insurmountable obstacle in your journey to jazz guitar mastery. Work on understanding the different elements at this point in time, and identify which areas are strong and weak points in your playing. Then, move on to integrating these elements into your practice routine over time, not all at once, as you dig deeper into this eBook.7 Elements of a Balanced Practice Routine
The material presented in this chapter is a short overview of the seven elements that are needed for a balanced practice routine. Don’t feel that you have to work on these seven elements every day.Everyone is different in his or her approach to developing a balanced jazz practice routine. You might prefer to cover four to five elements each day. Or you might practice one per day and cover all seven in a week. You could even focus on one or two for months at a time, before moving on to a few more elements when you feel ready. There’s no right or wrong approach for how to integrate these elements into your practicing schedule. The best thing to do is experiment and find the right approach for you at this stage in your musical development. Here are the seven elements of a balanced jazz guitar practice regime. 1. Melody 2. Harmony 3. Rhythm 4. Vocabulary 5. Repertoire 6. Ear Training 7. Technique These seven elements aren’t written in any particular order. But, to build a balanced routine you’ll need to become equally comfortable with every one of these elements in your playing. Now that you know the seven elements, let’s examine sample exercises that you can use to bring these elements into your practice routine.
1. Melody
The first element you’ll look at is Melody, which is an umbrella term for any single-note concept on the guitar. These single-note concepts can include various sub-elements. But, the most common melodic elements to practice are: Ø Scales Ø Arpeggios Ø Patterns – For both Scales and Arpeggios Ø Licks These melodic sub-elements cover ways in which you would outline chords and chord progressions when soloing over jazz tunes. Melody tends to be the most commonly practiced element, taking up the most time in the average jazz guitarist’s unbalanced practice routine. This is because learning how to solo over changes is fun, so you want to work on these items more than other elements in your studies. When working on melody in your studies, you can multi-task a bit to help cover more than one area in this section of your routine.Balanced Practice Routine
To begin, reorder the seven elements, putting the weakest element in your playing at the top and the strongest at the bottom. This’ll give you an idea of what you need to work on the most in order to bring balance to your practice routine and see progress.For example, you could practice scales with a scale pattern. Or, you could practice arpeggios by studying arpeggio-based licks, so that you cover two sub-elements at once in your routine. This’ll allow you to cover more ground in the woodshed, leaving you time to work on other important elements in your studies.
Melodic Exercises
To learn how you can practice melodic concepts, here are four sample exercises, one for each sub-element, which you can add to your routine. Scales Over Tunes Ø Pick a tune you want to learn. Ø Learn one position for each scale needed to solo over the tune. Ø Practice one or two scale patterns for each scale from memory. Ø Solo over that tune using those scale shapes and patterns. Arpeggios Over Common Progressions Ø Pick a common jazz chord progression, such as I-VI-ii-V. Ø Learn one two octave and one, one-octave shape for each chord. Ø Solo over a I-VI-ii-V backing track with those arpeggio shapes. Ø Move on to a second arpeggio position and repeat. Ascending 3rds Ø Choose a scale to focus on in your studies. Ø Practice ascending 3rds over that scale with a metronome. Ø Start in one key, and then move to others from there. Ø Increase the tempo when you feel ready to move on.ii V I Licks Ø Learn a ii V I lick by ear or from a book. Ø Practice that lick in 12 keys with a metronome. Ø Solo with the lick over a backing track. Ø Write out two to three similar licks. Ø Apply those similar licks to your soloing practice.
2. Harmony
The next element is Harmony, which is the study of chords and chord progressions on the guitar. Harmony can also include walking bass lines and other comping elements outside chord shapes in your studies. Here are the sub-elements for harmony that you can use to help build a well-rounded harmonic practice approach. Ø Chord Voicings – Drop 2, Drop 3, Drop 2 & 4, 4th Chords, etc. Ø Rootless Chords – 3-7 Triads and 3-9 Chords. Ø Common Chord Progressions. Ø Walking Bass lines. As you can see, harmony covers how you would comp over a tune in various settings.Melodic Assignment
Using jazz books or jazz websites make a list of five exercises for each sub-element, Scales-Arpeggios-Patterns-Licks. This’ll allow you to quickly grab an exercise when you want to work on melodic concepts in your routine.These include combos (rootless chords), bassless trio (Drop 2 etc.), and duo settings, (walking bass lines). While melody is the biggest element in an unbalanced routine, harmony is the often the smallest element in an unbalanced practice routine. When it comes to jamming, the vast majority of your time as a guitarist is spent comping behind other instruments. This included comping behind both melody lines and improvisations. For example, if you’re playing in a quintet, that means you would comp behind the in and out heads and two to three other soloists. Then, you only have one chance to solo on each tune. Because you’ll spend most of your time comping when jamming, harmony is essential to maintaining a balanced practice routine.
Harmonic Exercises
Here are ways that you can practice these four sub-elements of harmony in your well-balanced jazz guitar practice routine. Chords Over Tunes Ø Pick a tune. Ø Choose a chord type to focus on, Drop 2 for example. Ø Pick a string set, such as the top-4 strings. Ø Play those chords, Drop 2 top-4 strings, through the tune. Ø Challenge yourself further by using inversions. Ø Start with a metronome and move to a backing track when ready.Rootless Chords Over Tunes Ø Choose a tune, it can be the same from the previous exercise. Ø Learn the 357 triads for each chord in the tune. Ø Comp those triads over the tune with a metronome. Ø Move on to a backing track when comfortable. Comping Over ii V I Minor Ø Choose a chord type to work with, Drop 3 for example. Ø Pick a string set to focus on, such as 6432. Ø Play the root shape for the iim7b5 chord. Ø Move to the closest V7alt and Im7 chords from that starting point. Ø From there, move to the first inversion iim7b5 chord. Ø Repeat the process from that new chord shape. Ø Use a metronome or backing track to keep time. Bass lines Over Tunes Ø Pick a tune. Ø Play the root note on the first beat of each new chord. Ø Play a chromatic approach note on the beat before each root. Ø Play two chromatic notes approaching each root note. Ø Add a diatonic note on the remaining beat. Ø In 4/4 time the formula is root-diatonic-chromatic-chromatic. Ø If comfortable, add chords on top of the bass notes.
Harmonic Assignment
Spend a few minutes combing through your jazz books or favorite websites to find five exercises for each sub-element of harmony. This’ll allow you to have an easily accessible list of exercises to choose from when working on harmony in the woodshed.
3. Rhythm
You’re now going to look at one of the most important aspects of any practice routine, and often one of the most overlooked aspects, rhythm. One of the biggest problems many players face is they can play fast, they can play slow, but they don’t know what exact rhythms they’re playing. Not knowing what rhythms you’re playing is the rhythmic equivalent of not knowing what notes or chords you’re playing over in a tune. Which would be quite the disaster in a jam or gigging situation. As well, not having control of what rhythms you’re using can cause issues with locking in with the rhythm section during a jam. It can also cause you to get lost in the form when playing over jazz tunes in any jam situation. This section of your practice routine will help fix any weaknesses in your rhythmic knowledge. It’ll also expand your rhythmic vocabulary in both a single-note and chordal approach. Sub-elements for rhythm can include: Ø Rhythmic Durations – Whole Notes, Half Notes, Triplets, etc. Ø Rhythmic Motives. Ø Accents – In both technical and improvisational practice. Ø Rhythmic Vocabulary. When you listen to great guitarists, they never sound as if they’re just playing fast or slow. They’re aware of the rhythms they’re playing and exactly where they’re placing their notes within the bar lines.Adding rhythmic exercises to your routine will give you a balanced approach to your studies, increasing rhythmic control at the same time.
Rhythmic Exercises
Here are four sample exercises that you can use to add a rhythmic focus to your jazz guitar practice routine. Rhythmic Scale Practice Ø Pick a rhythm you want to work on, such as 8th notes. Ø Pick a scale to study, melodic minor for example. Ø Play up and down the melodic minor scale with 8th notes. Ø Start slow with a metronome and increase the speed over time. Rhythmic Soloing Ø Build a short rhythmic motive, such as two 8ths and a quarter. Ø Solo over a backing track only using that rhythmic motive. Ø You choose the notes, but the rhythms remain the same each bar. Accented Arpeggios Ø Pick an arpeggio to study, maj7 for example. Ø Pick one or two beats to accent, such as 1 & 3. Ø Play up and down the arpeggio, accenting beats 1 & 3. Ø Start slow with a metronome and increase the tempo when ready.Rhythmic Transcription Ø Choose a solo you enjoy listening to. Ø Write out the rhythms for the first chorus, no notes just rhythms. Ø Put on a backing track and solo with the same rhythm, new notes. Ø You choose the notes, but the rhythm is the same as the record.
4. Vocabulary
You’ll now explore the best ways to learn the jazz language, vocabulary. Learning how to speak the jazz language means studying the great players that have come before you. Then, developing your own approach to building single-note and chordal lines and phrases based on that historical study. While learning jazz vocabulary is important, you want to make sure you don’t become a “line player.” A line player is someone who only plays memorized lines in their solos. To help you learn the Jazz language, and avoid becoming a line player, here are sub-elements of vocabulary to use in your practice routine.Rhythmic Assignment
Write out five exercises for each sub-element of rhythm that you can add to your practice routine. Read about jazz rhythms in books or online as you expand your knowledge and learn more about specific rhythmic exercises.Ø Single-Note Lines Ø Chord Lines Ø Analyzing Licks Ø Mini-Lick Elements Notice that you’ve looked at licks in previous sections, melody to be exact, in this chapter. One thing to keep in mind is that licks, both chordal and single-note, can be used to build both technique and jazz vocabulary. You can combine both approaches to multi-task a bit in your studies. This could mean running a lick with a metronome and then breaking it down to its building blocks from there for example. But, if you want to keep the technical and improvisational study of licks separate in your studies, that’s perfectly fine as well. A major roadblock that jazz guitarists face is how to sound like a jazz guitarist in your soloing, comping, and melody playing. Studying vocabulary is the most direct way to sound like a jazz guitarist.
Vocabulary Exercises
Here are a few samples, one for each sub-element of vocabulary, which you can use in your studies and expand upon in the woodshed. Soloing With Licks Ø Pick a lick that you want to learn. Ø Play that lick as written over a backing track. Ø Personalize the lick by altering the rhythm and notes. Ø Apply that lick, and alterations, to a full tune in your solos.Writing a Chord Solo Ø Choose a tune to work on. Ø Write out a chord solo over that tune. Ø Use lines from your favorite players in the chord solo. Ø Be musical with the solo, not just technically correct. Ø Memorize the solo and play it with a backing track. Ø Begin to alter the solo as you grow with it on the guitar. Transcription Analysis Ø Transcribe a line from your favorite Jazz guitarist. Ø Write it down. Ø Write the chords on top of the lick as a reference. Ø Analyze the lick and look for common jazz concepts. Ø Look for scales, arpeggios, chromatic notes, etc. Ø Use those elements to build exercises in your routine. Enclosures Over Pentatonic Scales Ø Practice enclosures over any pentatonic scale shape. Ø Play fret above-fret below-scale note for each note in the scale. Ø Use a metronome and go slow before increasing the speed. Ø When ready, put on a backing track and solo with enclosures.
Vocabulary Assignment
Spend some time looking through your jazz books or favorite websites, to find five exercises for each sub-element of vocabulary. This’ll allow you to have an easily accessible list of exercises to choose from when working on vocabulary in the woodshed.5. Repertoire
Another issue that faces many jazz guitarists is that they’ve studied a lot of technical items, but haven’t tried playing over a tune yet. This can lead to frustration in both the practice room and musical or social situations. Have you ever found yourself at a party and someone hands you a guitar to play something, and all you have under your fingers are scales? Then you might be in this camp. For most of us, the main goal of learning jazz guitar is to make music. Playing jazz tunes is the best way to do that. Whether you want to play in a combo, big band, duo setting, or solo guitar, learning tunes will allow you to express yourself musically. Here are the sub-elements of repertoire that you can study: Ø Playing the melody. Ø Playing a chord melody. Ø Comping studies. Ø Soloing studies. Ø Walking bass lines. As you can see, some of these sub-elements have appeared before, such as bass lines and comping. By placing sub-elements in a number of larger elements, you can multi-task in a positive way. You also give yourself a better chance of covering these sub-elements over time in your studies. Learning tunes can seem daunting at first, so make sure to start with a tune that will challenge, you but not make you feel like giving up.For more information on how to pick the right tune for you, check out the “The Importance of Learning Tunes” chapter in this eBook.
Repertoire Exercises
Here are a few exercises, one per sub-element, which you can use to get started with learning repertoire in your practice routine. One-Position Melodies Ø Choose a jazz tune to study. Ø Pick one that challenges you, but is not impossible to play. Ø Learn the melody within the first four frets, don’t move your hand. Ø Adjust the octave of the melody notes if needed to stay in position. Ø Move to frets five to eight, then nine to twelve and repeat. Chord Melody Arranging Ø Learn the melody for any tune on the top-two strings. Ø Add chord shapes below the melody notes or between phrases. Ø Continue until you’ve built a full chord melody arrangement. Ø Memorize and play the arrangement from there. Drop 3 Chord Study Ø Choose a tune to work on, a chord type, and string set. Ø Use Drop 3 chords on the low string set for example. Ø Play the root position Drop 3 chord on the low string set. Ø Move to the next chord inversion without moving your hand. Ø Repeat for each chord in the tune, staying in that one position. Ø Move to the first inversion of the first chord and repeat.Arpeggio Study Ø Pick a tune to work on. Ø Learn arpeggios over each chord within frets one to four. Ø Alternate between one and two-octave shapes as needed. Ø Solo over a backing track using these shapes in your lines. Ø Repeat within frets five to eight and nine to twelve. Half-Time Feel Bass Line Ø Choose a tune to focus on in this exercise. Ø Play the root note on the first beat of each new chord, or bar. Ø Add a chromatic note on the beat before each root note. Ø Jam this bass line along with a backing track from memory. Ø Begin to create variations of this bass line on the spot.
6. Ear Training
Probably the most important element, and the most avoided in the practice room by jazz guitar students, is ear training. One of the reasons that guitarists avoid ear training is they have a negative association with ET from a school course they took. Or they tried ET software in the past that may not of been very practical.Repertoire Assignment
Make a list of 10 tunes that you want to study in the coming months, ones that will challenge you but not be too advanced. Include Blues, Bebop, Standard, Ballad, and Latin/Bossa tunes in order to have a nice balance of tune types in your studies.The key to finding motivation with ear training is to do exercises that provide immediate benefit in a musical situation. Here are the sub-elements of that you can use to build a balanced and practical approach to ear training. Ø Singing Melodies Ø Singing Scales Ø Singing Bass Lines Ø Singing Arpeggios Ø Singing Licks Ø Scat Improvising Ø Transcribing As you can see, the sub elements address practical, musical areas in your playing. These are areas where you can directly apply ear training to your playing and development on the guitar. Lastly, ear training is important because it can be practiced away from the guitar. This can be very beneficial when traveling, or when life is busy and you don’t have a lot of time on the instrument directly.
Ear Training Exercises
To help get you started, ere are sample exercises that you can do in your ear training studies as part of a balanced guitar practice routine. Sing a Melody Ø Choose a tune to practice. Ø Sing and play the melody on guitar to correct your notes. Ø Sing the melody without the guitar on your own. Ø Comp the chords and sing the melody over those changes.Sing Scales Over a Tune Ø Pick a jazz tune to study. Ø Sing one-octave scales over each chord. Ø Play the scales to match pitch if needed. Ø Play the chords on guitar and improvise over the tune. Ø Use the scales you just practiced to scat solo over the changes. Sing ii V I Bass lines Ø Pick a key for a ii V I progression. Ø Sing the root notes for each chord as you comp through them. Ø Begin to sing a half-time bass line over those changes. Ø Move on to a full walking bass line over the chords. Sing Arpeggios Over a Tune Ø Pick a tune to sing over. Ø Sing the one-octave arpeggios for each chord in the tune. Ø Play along on guitar to match pitch if needed. Ø Scat sing a solo over those chords using the same arpeggios. Sing a Transcribed Lick Ø Transcribe a lick by your favorite player. Ø Play the lick and sing along with your guitar. Ø Comp the chords and sing the lick in the given key. Ø Move to other keys in your studies from here. Transcribe a Solo Ø Choose a solo to learn by ear. Ø Sing along with the recording. Ø Play and sing with the recording. Ø Write out the solo and analyze it for further study.
7. Technique
To finish with all the elements that make up a balanced practice routine, you can explore the most commonly practiced element, technique. Though these elements are presented in no particular order, I did leave technique until last on purpose. This is because, along with scales, it’s the element that jazz guitarists spend the most time on in the woodshed. While building technique is necessary, it’s often the element that you spend hours on in the woodshed at the expense other, weaker elements. This results in an unbalanced approach to your practice routine. To avoid long-term issues, make sure that you’re not overdoing technical exercises in your practice routine. Give technique no more or less time than any other element in order to balance your routine out as you move forward in your development. Here are a number of sub-elements within technique that you can explore in your jazz guitar studies:Ear Training Assignment
Take the list of sub-elements from this section and reorder them from the most difficult to easiest elements in your playing. This’ll help organize your ear training practice time to ensure that you work on your weakest elements first in the woodshed.Ø Picking Technique Ø Left-Hand Control Ø Slurs/Legato Technique Ø Developing Speed Ø Chordal Technique It can be fun and rewarding to work on technical exercises in the woodshed. But, you need to be careful that technique doesn’t take up too much time in your woodshedding. This can result in an unbalanced approach to your overall practice routine, and large holes that you’ll need to address in future practice.
Technical Exercises
Here are five sample exercises, one for each sub-element, which you can use in your studies. Alternate Picking Exercise Ø Choose a scale and key. Ø Start slow and play the scale with alternate picking. Ø Focus on your picking hand during the exercise. Ø Make sure your hands are relaxed and your tone is clear. Ø Increase the tempo when comfortable. 1234 Exercise VariationØ Play the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th frets slowly on the 6th string.
Ø Repeat this pattern up and down each string with a metronome. Ø Keep each finger down, only lifting to play the next note.
Ø Keep your whole body relaxed.
Ø Only have you fingertips and thumbprint touch the guitar. Ø Go slow and steady, no need to increase speed in this exercise.
3-Note Per String Scales With Slurs Ø Pick a scale and key to work on, learn a 3-note-per-string shape. Ø Start with the metronome as a very slow tempo. Ø Pluck the first note and hammer to the second note on each string. Ø Use pull offs between the first and second notes going down. Ø When comfortable, use slurs between the second and third notes. Ø You can also use two slurs and one pluck on each string. Speed Burst Exercise Ø Pick a scale and key to work on. Ø Play the scale at a slow tempo. Ø In each bar, play three quarter notes and 4 16th-notes. Ø Increase the tempo when ready.
Ø Add more 16th notes on each beat until all beats are 16th notes. Slow Drop 3 Inversion Exercise Ø Pick a chord, key, and string set to work on. Ø Play between each inversion of that chord at a slow tempo. Ø Move between each shape slowly and smoothly. Ø Work two shapes back and forth if needed. Ø Raise the tempo once this is comfortable.
Technique Assignment
Mark off time in each session this week to practice technical exercises, such as the examples above. Make sure that technique is no more than 20-25% of your practice routine, which will help you balance out your daily routine.Chapter 2 Checklist
Before moving on to the next chapter in this book, review the following items laid out for study in your practice routine so far. Practice Routine Self Analysis Ø Take a few minutes to write down what you practice each day. Ø Notice how many elements you practice in a given day/week. Ø Write down how long you spend on each element in a day/week. Ø Analyze to see if you have a balanced or unbalanced routine. Ø Adjust if necessary for next week in order to cover more elements. Cataloguing Exercises for Elements Ø Write out the seven elements as titles on different pages. Ø Under each element, write out the sub elements from this chapter. Ø Add in any other sub elements you can think of to your list. Ø Write out five exercises for each of those sub-elements. Maintaining a Balanced Practice Routine Ø Plan out your practice time this week on paper. Ø Make sure to cover at least 4 elements in your routine. Ø Don’t spend more than 25% of your time on any single element. Ø See if you achieved a balanced routine at the end of the week.Chapter 3 - Building Technique
As was discussed earlier, guitarists can become too focused on developing their technical chops, at the expense of a balanced routine. While you shouldn’t spend all your time working on technique, technical exercises are an important aspect of any well-balanced practice routine. One of the ways in which you can keep your chops in tip-top shape, without overdoing it, is to study a variety of technical areas. This’ll give you the technique needed to play jazz guitar with confidence, without becoming unbalanced in the woodshed. These technical areas include: Ø Hand Coordination Ø Speed Ø Dexterity Ø Endurance Ø Targeted Techniques In this chapter, you’ll learn more about these technical elements, how they can improve your jazz skills, and explore sample exercises. All of which combine to build your chops, while maintaining a balance in the practice room.Building Coordination
The first technique element you’ll explore is coordination. Coordination on the guitar means building your ability to move smoothly between notes, with your hands moving together in unison. Two of the most common technical issues for guitarists are that they miss notes with their pick, or that there are gaps between notes,Both of these items can cause your playing to sound sloppy, rough and jagged when applied to a jamming situation. Building your coordination will allow you to play without having spaces between notes or chords, unless you want them there. Working on coordination involves taking several different approaches in your practice routine. From pure technique exercises, to chord and scale specific exercises, you can approach coordination from a number of different angles. This allows you to find the right exercise for your stage of development and your musical tastes in the woodshed. By working on developing coordination, you’ll help bring your hands together when playing any note or chord on the fretboard. As well, you’ll develop control over whether you want to play legato (smooth) or staccato (choppy) in your lines and chords.
Using A Metronome
Firstly, let’s talk about using a metronome for any technical exercise that you work on in your jazz guitar studies. In order to build a strong sense of rhythm in your playing, it’s important to use a metronome when practicing any technical exercise. Using a metronome allows you to mark your progress with any exercise, as you can record daily tempos in your practice journal. This’ll help you build confidence as you can see your progress over time. Lastly, metronomes will often “pull” you through an exercise that you’re struggling with in the practice room.Often you’ll be struggling to play through an exercise with a sense of flow, so you avoid using a metronome until you feel ready. But, adding tempo often pulls you into a sense of time and tempo with the exercise. Using a metronome can help you work through any issues you’re having with adding tempo to any technical exercise. When it comes to using a metronome, be creative as to where you apply the tick of the metronome to different beats within the bar. This means that you can have the click on: Ø Each beat Ø On 1 and 3 Ø On 2 and 4 Ø Just on 2 Ø Just on 4 Ø Just on 1 Ø Just on 3 Having the click on different beats in the bars help you develop a strong sense of where you are in the measure at any given time. As well, it trains you to use the metronome as a guide in your studies, but not rely on it as a crutch in your playing
Coordination Exercises
Now that you’ve reviewed the importance of using a metronome in you practice routine, here are some sample coordination exercises. You can use these exercises in your practice routine as you begin to bring your hands together in the practice room.1234 Exercise This is a classic coordination exercise, and if you only do one exercise to build coordination, make it this one. It’s that powerful. Ø Begin on the 12th fret and play 1-2-3-4 on that string. Ø This means playing the 12-13-14-15 frets on the 6th string. Ø Hold down each finger after you’ve played it. Ø Only lift your fingers to play the next note with that same finger. Ø Once all four fingers are down, repeat the steps on the next string. Ø Repeat until you reach the first string, then reverse from there. Ø Go slow, 30 bpm is a good place to start. Ø When you can play this exercise on the 12th fret, move to 11. Ø Then continue down the fretboard until you hit the first fret. Ø Relax you hands, arms, and shoulders throughout the exercise. Here’s how that exercise looks on the 12th fret as an example. Audio Example 1
Slow Scale Practice Think of this exercise as “scale mediation.” It’s designed to slow you way down and bring your focus to only the notes you’re playing in that moment. Ø Start with your metronome as slow as you can handle. Ø Pick a scale and key to practice. Ø Play the scale with the metronome, one note per click. Ø If you want an extra challenge, do one note per 2, 3, or 4, clicks. Ø Focus on keeping your hands relaxed. Ø Land your finger on the next note right when you pick that string. Here’s an example of this exercise using a C major scale at 40 bpm. Audio Example 2 Slow Chord Practice This is the chord variation of the previous exercise. Though it’s similar, it can be much more challenging as you focus on smoothly moving entire chords, not just one note at a time. Ø Pick a chord type, key, and string set to work on. Ø Set the metronome as slow as you can handle. Ø Play each inversion of that chord up and down the neck. Ø Focus on removing any space between inversions. Ø Lift all four fingers at once and place them down together.
Here’s an example of this exercise with Drop 2 Em7 chords on the top string set. Audio Example 3 Slow Melody Practice Again, a similar exercise to what you’ve done already, only this time with melodies. Working at very slow tempos is not only a theme in this book; it’s the best way to develop strong technique in the practice room. Ø Pick a tune to work on. Ø Put your metronome at a very slow speed. Ø Play the melody along with the metronome. Ø When this is comfortable, move the click to 1& 3 or 2&4. If you really want a challenge, put the metronome only on the first beat. This puts 75% of the time keeping on your end and only 25% on the side of the metronome. Slow Soloing Practice The final coordination exercise focuses on improvising at slow tempos. This not only works on coordination, but it builds your ability to hear and think ahead when soloing over jazz tunes.
Ø Pick a tune to work on and grab a backing track to use. Ø Solo over the backing track at the slowest tempo you can stand. Ø As a variation, use a fast tempo but slow rhythm. Ø You could play at 250 bpm but only use whole notes in your lines.
Building Speed
Another technical concept that guitarists can over focus on is building speed in their practicing. Speed is essential for any jazz guitarist, especially if you’re studying Bebop, as a lot of tunes are played at fast tempos. While speed is important to work on, it’s essential that you approach speed with the mentality that you’ll use it only when you choose to. This means not playing fast for the sake of playing fast, which is a pitfall that can get in the way of many jazz guitarists’ development. The other thing to consider, besides using speed only when you choose to, is that the definition of “playing fast” differs for each player.Coordination Assignment
Pick an exercise from this section or make one up of your own, and practice it as slow as you possibly can. Try the 1234 exercise with 4 beats of the metronome at 40 bpm per note, which is as much an exercise in patience as it is coordination. Write down your thoughts with this exercise after each session to see how your experience changes over the course of a week.Some people might consider playing 8th notes at 160 bpm fast, while others consider 16th notes at 180 bpm fast. There’s no fixed definition for what fast playing can be. So, when working on speed in the practice room, use your own musical tastes to set speed goals. Then, use that as your guideline for how fast you want to practice, and later play in a jazz jam situation. Lastly, speed and coordination exercises go hand in hand. If you don’t have both hands coordinated, then you’ll struggle with any speed exercise. If you find you’re having trouble with speed exercises, go back and work on coordination exercises for before returning to your speed workout. This should clear up any speed issues in your practicing and playing.
Speed Exercises
Here are some exercises that you can use in your woodshedding to help build speed in the technical side of your balanced routine. Metronome Practice Ø Pick a single-note concept, such as scales or arpeggios. Ø Play the scale at 40 bpm up and down three times. Ø Raise the metronome to 45 bpm and repeat. Ø Keep increasing the speed until it’s too fast to play. Ø Record your tempo, and aim to beat it tomorrow.Increasing Durations Ø Pick a single-note concept to work on. Ø Start with the metronome at 40 bpm. Ø Play the first note as a whole note. Ø Play the second and third notes as half notes. Ø Keep increasing the speed of each note up the scale. Ø When you hit 16th notes, start again from whole notes. . If you can’t get all the way up to 16th notes right now that’s fine, just do what you can and aim to increase the durations you can reach over time. Here’s an example of this exercise over a C major scale. Audio Example 4 Speed Bursts Ø Pick a scale or arpeggio to work on. Ø Put the metronome on at 40 bpm. Ø Play three quarter notes and two 8th notes each bar. Ø Increase the metronome from there. Ø You can increase the faster notes to four 16th notes. Ø Add the faster notes to beats three and four of the bar. Here’s an example of this exercise over a C major scale.
Audio Example 5 Repeated Licks Ø Pick a short lick you want to study, one to two bars long. Ø Play the lick at 40 bpm ten times. Ø Increase the tempo and repeat. Ø When you reach your limit, record the tempo. Ø Try to beat that tempo tomorrow. Pedal Note Exercise This exercise can be done with any finger as the pedal note; you’ll use the index finger for this example. Ø Place your index finger on the first fret of the 6th string. Ø Play 1-2, 1-3, 1-4 frets as you move between each finger. Ø Move up the strings with this pattern and back down again. Ø You can use hammer-ons or pull-offs if you like. Ø The goal is to be as even as possible with each note. Ø Start slow and increase the metronome over time. Here’s an example of this exercise at 50 bpm.
Audio Example 6
Speed Assignment
Pick one exercise from the examples in this section, or make up your own, and set a speed goal this week. Play the exercise starting at 40 bpm. Increase the tempo every three times through the exercise, until you’ve reached your speed limit and have to stop. From there, aim to increase your speed by 3-5 bpm each day, building an increase of 21-35 bpm over the course of 7 days.Building Dexterity
Building dexterity as a guitarist covers a lot of ground in the woodshed. From stretching exercises to building nimble fingers, and everything in between, dexterity has a wide scope in regards to possible exercises. For me, building dexterity means working on exercises that enable my fingers to quickly and accurately navigate the fretboard. This can mean either shifting or stretching between notes and positions. Because building dexterity often means stretching or quick movements, you need to be especially careful that you don’t hurt your hands. If you feel any dull pain in your hands, arms, or fingers, stop and take a few seconds to shake your arms out before returning to the exercise. If you feel sharp pain in your hands, arms, or fingers, stop immediately. Take the rest of the day off from practicing, and you might want to put heat on the area where you felt the pain. Most importantly, go see a doctor right away if any pain persists for more than a few days. Sharp pain can often mean an injury, which you’ll make worse by continuing to practice. Visiting a doctor will diagnose any injury, and help you get on the mend and back to your guitar as quick as possible. Don’t be turned off these exercises by these warnings of injury. The vast majority of players can work on building dexterity and never have any kind of injury or pain in their lifetimes. This is just a warning to be careful, as some people do overdo it and end up hurting themselves with these sorts of exercises.Dexterity Exercises
Here are a number of sample exercises that you can use to build nimbleness, stretching, and finger independence in your studies. 1234 Stretching This is a variation of the 1234 exercise you learned about earlier. Ø Play the 1234 exercise you learned previously. Ø Add in spaces, one at a time between fingers. Ø Examples are the 1345, 1245, and 1235 frets. Ø Start on the 6th string and play up from there. Ø When you get to the first string, play back down the neck. Here’s an example of the 1235 variation at 40 bpm. Audio Example 7 Cross String 1234 You can also repeat any of the 1234 stretching patterns with a string skip between notes.
Ø Pick a pattern to work on, such as 1234 to start.
Ø Play 1 and 3 on the 6th string, and 2 and 4 on the 5th string. Ø Play up the strings from there. Ø Reverse the pattern when you reach the top. Ø Add in the other stretching variations to take it further. Here’s an example of the 1234 pattern at 40 bpm. Audio Example 8 3-Finger Pull-Off to Hammer-On This exercise is designed to build speed, nimbleness, and strength in your fretting-hand fingers. Ø Pick a fret to start on, begin higher to make it easier. Ø Play that note with your 2nd finger. Ø Pull off to your first finger, then hammer-on to your third. Ø Use a triplet rhythm with the exercise. Ø Be as even as possible with each note. Ø Repeat the exercise on each string. Ø Experiment with other fingers such as 214 or 324. Here’s an example of this exercise using the 213 fingers.
Audio Example 9 Finger Independence This exercise is designed to build independence between your fingers, which is something that doesn’t come naturally to most players.
Ø Place your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd fingers on the 4th string, same frets. Ø Play the 4th fret of the 5th string with your pinky finger.
Ø Play the 4th fret of the 2nd string with your pinky. Ø Repeat on the 6th and 1st strings, 4th fret each time. Ø Hold your other three fingers down the entire time. Ø Repeat with other finger combinations. Here’s an example of this exercise that holds down the first three fingers and moves the pinky across the strings. Audio Example 10
13#9 Arpeggio Exercise This exercise is based on a 13#9 chord shape and helps stretch out the fingers on your fretting hand. Ø Hold down an E13#9 shape. Ø Pluck up each string twice. Ø Lower the index finger one fret and repeat. Ø Lower the middle finger one fret and repeat. Ø Lower the ring finger one fret and repeat. Ø Lower the pinky finger one fret and repeat. Ø Accent the note that moves each time. Here’s an example of that exercise in action. Audio Example 11
Dexterity Assignment
Pick one of the example exercises from this section of the Chapter to explore this week in your studies. Play the exercise with a metronome; record the highest tempo you can achieve comfortably with the exercise each day. Increase your highest tempo by 3-5 bpm each day.Building Endurance
Technique not only means being able to play fast, or playing complex patterns on the fingerboard. Technique also means being able to play at your top level of performance for long periods of time. If you’re jamming with people, or doing gigs, then you’ll need to play for one to three hours without running out of steam. There’s nothing more frustrating than starting out a jam playing great, and then running out of energy halfway through. Building endurance as a jazz guitarist means mixing in more bass line and comping exercises to you studies. This is because most of the time in a jam you’re accompanying other players rather than soloing. As with any technical exercise, watch for any dull pain caused by tiredness when practicing these exercises. Rather than push through any pain or overtired hands, take a break when needed and relax your hands between exercises. This way, you’ll build endurance and over time be able to play longer without feeling tired or sore during or after the session.Endurance Exercises
Here are sample exercises that you can do in order to build your endurance in the practice room. These exercises focus on five areas of your jazz guitar skill set, melodies-scales-patterns-bass lines-tunes.Never Ending Scales Ø Pick a scale and key to practice that day. Ø Put on the metronome to 80-100 bpm. Ø Play the scale in 8th notes without stopping. Ø Continue for 15 minutes. Ø Experiment with different rhythms and tempos. Repeated Patterns Ø Pick a short lick or pattern to practice. Ø Play the phrase tens time at 40 bpm. Ø Increase to 50 bpm and repeat. Ø When you hit your limit, slow the tempo by 10 bpm. Ø Repeat until you’ve reached 40 bpm. Comping Over Tunes Ø Pick a tune to practice in this exercise. Ø Use a backing track or metronome to comp over. Ø Comp over the tune for 15 minutes without stopping. Ø Use any chords you want to focus on that day in your studies. Ø Comp over a famous recording to avoid becoming bored. Bass Lines Over Tunes Ø Pick a tune to practice over. Ø Walk a bass line over that tune with a metronome. Ø Walk without stopping for 15 minutes. Ø Add in chords on top of the bass notes if desired.
Repeated Melodies Ø Pick a melody to practice. Ø Play the melody at a normal tempo for 15 minutes. Ø Change octaves, positions, and fingerings if desired. Ø Work on existing repertoire, or practice with new tunes.
Chapter 3 Checklist
Review the following items before moving on to the next chapter. Define Your Personal Technique Ø Make a list of your five favorite jazz guitarists. Ø Spend time listening to each of these players this week. Ø Write down notes on their technique, what you admire about it. Ø Write down how you define good technique in your playing. Ø Build a personal definition of solid guitar technique.Endurance Assignment
During one practice session this week, put on a backing track or a metronome and solo over a tune for as long as you can. Record how long you were able to solo before your hands became too tired to continue, such as 25 minutes. Next week, repeat the exercise and beat your endurance record. You can also repeat this exercise with comping and bass lines.Technical Assessment Ø Pick 1 exercise from each of the technical elements in this chapter. Ø Play these exercises and record your highest tempo for each. Ø Write a practice journal on your ability to play each exercise. Ø Use this information to figure out which technical items need work this week in the woodshed. Setting Metronome Goals Ø Pick one or two technical exercises to focus on this week. Ø Run these exercises and record the highest for each. Ø Set a tempo goal that is about 10-15 bpm higher than your record. Ø Record in your practice journal whether or not you achieve this goal, and then if not, continue these exercises next week.
Chapter 4 - Importance of Learning Tunes
One of the themes of the exercises so far in this book, is that you often use tunes to practice techniques, concepts, and other musical devices. You’re now going to dissect in-depth ways that you can use tunes in your practice routine to become a better jazz guitarist. Because tunes are the vehicle that you use to communicate with other jazz musicians, they’re the crux of an effective jazz practice routine. One of the biggest problems that players face, is that they can play scales, arpeggios, licks, and chords, but can’t play any tunes, This can lead to some awkward musical moments. The story I often hear from people, is that they were at a party and a friend handed them a guitar and asked them to play. After tuning up, they found they had nothing to play but scales and a few chords, which didn’t go over very well. The best way to avoid this type of situation is to put a heavy focus on tunes when developing your jazz guitar practice routine. If you think back to why you started playing jazz, or guitar in general, for many, if not all of us, the original goal was to make music. The exercises in this chapter are designed to help you work on tunes in the woodshed, helping you to achieve your goal of making real music. As there are many ways to use tunes in your practicing, here are a few suggestions to try out and see which approach fits your practice routine. After you choose the right path for you, you can adapt your approach over time in order to maximize your time when learning tunes.Ø Pick one tune and work it for a month. Ø Pick two or three tunes and work them for three to six months. Ø Pick five or six tunes and work them for a year. Start with one tune for a month and see how it goes. From there, you can move on to the longer-term practice approaches in order to find the right fit for your style of learning. As well, you can divide your tune practice into three sections. These sections are the three requirements for any jazz guitarist in a jamming situation: Ø Melody Ø Comping Ø Soloing All three of which are outlined in more detail in this Chapter.
How to Practice Melodies
Melodies are at the top of the list of working on tunes in the practice room, because it’s often the one that’s ignored in the woodshed.Picking Tunes to Practice
When it comes to choosing tunes to work on, which tunes you pick can be a tough, but important, choice to make. If you have any gigs or jam sessions coming up, you can use the tunes from the upcoming gig to decide for you. If you don’t have any gigs, you can read the lists below in order to come up with a repertoire list that fits your level of development.Your focus can often be spent more on soloing and comping than playing the melody line when learning tunes. While soloing is fun, and comping is where you spend most of your time, melody is the most important thing to learn when studying repertoire. Though you might not play the melody, having the melody in your ears gives you an understanding of the tune that goes beyond the changes. As well, having a secure understanding of any melody will allow you to use the melody in your improvisations. You can also fall back on melody in case you get lost, or are struggling for melodic ideas in your improvisations. For these reasons, learning the melody is an essential element in your tune practice schedule. And, because it’s what people think of when they think of any tune, it should be the first thing you learn and study when tackling a new tune.
Improvisational Goal
One of the best lessons I ever had was with guitarist Roddy Ellias. He’d tell me to wait until he left the room, then play a random tune. He’d then walk back in, not having heard what I was playing, and want to identify the tune instantly by my solo. This is a great goal to have in your playing, that anyone walking in mid solo could identify the tune you’re playing just by your lines. Next time you’re jamming, give yourself this goal, to always use the melody as a thread in your solos. To take it to the next level, try the same exercise with a jazz blues tune. Where someone could walk in and say, “He’s jamming on Blue Monk,” and not just recognize it as a generic jazz blues progression.Melody Exercises
When learning melodies on guitar, you’ll often find one position to play the melody and quickly move on to soloing or chord exercises. But, in order to give the melody the attention it deserves, you need to take your melody practice a few steps further in your studies. The following exercises are designed to get any melody under your fingers, into your ears, and play it in any key and in any position. This in-depth knowledge of any melody will allow you to always have it ready in case you have to play the melody on a gig or in a jam session. As well, you’ll be able to easily and quickly reference the melody in your soloing at any time, and in any position on the neck. Each exercise is presented in order from easiest to hardest, so you can pick and choose any exercise to work on. But, if you’re unsure of where to start, begin with the first exercise and work your way down the list from there. Lastly, you don’t have to work all of these exercises on one tune, or for each tune you’re learning. You can do that. But, you can also pick one exercise for the current tune you’re working on, then move on to a new tune and try a new exercise. Either way, you’ll cover each exercise over time, either on one tune or over five different tunes, in your practicing. Four Positions This concept is based on learning the melody line in four positions of the fretboard, one for each inversion of the first chord in the tune.Ø Play the root position chord for the first chord in the tune. Ø Learn the melody in the same position as that chord.
Ø Stay in position and adjust the octave of the melody if needed. Ø Move on to the 1st inversion of the first chord of the tune.
Ø Play the melody in that new position without moving your hand. Ø Repeat this exercise with the 2nd and 3rd inversions.
As you can see, this exercise allows you to play any melody in any position on the guitar. As well, it provides you an easy reference point to these four positions as you relate the tune to the four inversions of the first chord. Top 2 Strings This is a great exercise for those who are learning chord melodies and working out chord melody arrangements on the guitar. When learning chord melodies, it’s best to keep the melody line on the top two strings of the guitar. This allows you four or five strings below that melody line to add chords over each melody note, or in between phrases in the melody. This exercise is rather simple; you take any melody that you’re working on and learn to play it on the top two strings of the guitar. Doing so finds you moving in a horizontal rather than vertical manner, as you did in the previous four-position exercise. When you have the melody down on two strings, you can begin building a chord melody arrangement by adding chords below that melody line. One String Melodies You can also take the previous exercise one step further by learning how to play any melody on one string at a time.
This means that you would take any melody you’re studying and play it on the 6th string only, adjusting the octave when and if necessary. Then move on to learning the same melody on the 5th-string only, the 4th string, 3rd, etc., until you can play it from memory on any one string. This is a great exercise for developing your ability to play any melody in any section of the fretboard. It also helps to develop your aural skills, as you have to rely on your ears more than eyes when learning melodies on one string at a time. 12 Keys Exercise The next exercise can be applied to any previous example in this section, as it involves playing melodies in 12 keys on the fretboard. You can try playing the four-position exercise, or the one or two-string exercises, in all 12 keys across the fretboard. Both of these approaches can be challenging and rewarding exercises in the woodshed. Working on melodies in 12 keys helps open up the fretboard, as well as allows you to learn how to quickly move a melody into a different key. This can come in handy if you’re at a jam and someone calls a tune you know, but in a new and unsecure key. You don’t have to play any one melody in all 12 keys if that’s taking up too much of your practice routine. Instead, play the current tune you’re working on in a few keys. Then, do the same with the next tune you learn, covering all 12 keys over three to four tunes in your studies.
Drop a Finger Anywhere This is a variation of the 12-key exercise; only in this case you won’t use any previous learning to play a melody in all 12 keys on the fretboard. The exercise involves randomly dropping your finger on the fretboard, then using that random note as the first note of your melody line. Using your ears, play the melody from that starting note, repeating the tune if necessary until you can play it perfectly from start to finish. When you can do that perfectly, randomly drop your finger on the fretboard again, and play the melody from that new starting note. This exercise will open up your fretboard, and at the same time helps develop your ability to hear melodies on the guitar.
How to Practice Comping
As you know by know, especially if you’ve done some gigs, most of what you’ll do as a jazz guitarist is comp behind other soloists. Because there’s only one of you, and any number of other soloists in a band, you’ll always comp more than you solo in any jam situation. Because of this, it’s very important to spend time working on comping in your jazz guitar practice routine. This’ll ensure that you’re never caught off guard in your comping when put into a jam situation. Comping can mean different things to different people. But, for our purposes it’ll mean playing chords behind melody lines and other soloists over jazz-based tunes.Comping can also mean walking bass lines and playing chords, especially those who play a lot of duo gigs. You’ll cover that in a later section as it’s a big enough topic to give it it’s own focus in your studies. As always, make sure to use a metronome or backing track with all of these exercises. Playing with good time is as important to building a solid comping skill set as learning chords and shapes on the fretboard. Lastly, don’t worry too much about learning a million different chord shapes before trying to comp behind other players. Get a few shapes under your fingers at first, and then be creative with those shapes before adding new voicings to your vocabulary. It’s better to master a few ideas than to have too many options under your fingers to know what to do with in a musical situation.
