Where to start sigh..

[heavensoul]

OK First I would like to say hello to you all and Introduce myself to you. My name is Robert and I have been playing guitar for about 4 years now. Well not really playing I just thought I was playing. I am (was) into the Blues and rock. I just discovered Jazz about a month ago. I heard this song called TENDERLY by Chett Atkins and Lenny Breau on the net. I dl it by accident. I was gob smacked to learn it was Jazz. I have fallen in love with Jazz now and I want to learn to play Jazz on my guitar. But it is soooooo hard folks. I should live so long as to get as good as Mr Chett or Joe Pass lol.

[jazzwannabe]

Hi Robert,

I'm Mike and this is my first post. Well you picked two fine guitarists to listen to as an introduction to jazz!

My experience in hearing great jazz guitarists is similar yours: it can be inspiring, but also awfully intimidating. If the expectation was to play just like Lenny or Chet, I'd quit right now. Those guys were already legends at the age I started playing!

Nevertheless, the path of learning can be so fulfilling. In my experience, the biggest obstacle to learning jazz guitar is getting overwhelmed. I guess it's good to start slow, and stay focused on those small steps (instead of wanting to sound like a master right away, and then getting frustrated). Those small victories can be so rewarding, you might even stop thinking about all those guys who are better than you for a while. And so what if it takes you 5 years to learn something that George Benson learned in a day? Once you're having fun, you'll want to keep playing, and will eventually reach your goals.

Have fun!

Mike

[arp]

Take your time. You're young.
You dont really need a huge "vocabulary". Start simply by choosing one nice sounding chord voicing for Major/Lydian, Minor, Dominant and Altered dominant. Choose a nice tune. Apply these voicings to it. Plan your solos and melodies. Use the related arps for your soloing as the foundation for your solo. It doesn't have to be difficult. Jazz takes more preparation but once you get into a routine everything will oen up. you will need an understanding of harmonised scales.

cheers

[mahayana]

Here's a thread for you, Prof (and for all teachers).

I started by learning standards, comping and singing. My solo work is stll mostly riffing off melody, using scales sparingly, devising my own chord-melody (which get used mostly for intros and endings). Also play along with recordings, and memorize lessons that challenge me in one way or another.

What's your advice?

[Professor1]

Well, my opinion is that jazz is a very learned style. It requires a full background in all that "fundamentals" stuff. The reason is that jazz breaks alot of "rules", and you have to know what they are first.

As far as soloing goes, I make it up as I go. I don't like the stuff that is just arpeggios on the changes. To me it sounds too contrived. I have a blues and rock background, but I have an even longer classical guitar background. I don't sound like the record, I sound like me.

I've been lucky to play with a group of guys who let me improvise, because that takes practice, too. The results? Most of my solos are okay, some aren't very good at all, and some are just like magic. When I'm done, I sometimes wonder, "Wow, where did that come from?" It doesn't last long thought, because I have to stop playing the wrong chords, and catch up to the band again. But later, we all agree that we should have been recording. I love the way it feels when a solo goes just right, it makes all the hard work worthwhile.

[slowpoke]

I think the most important thing is to listen. Listen to who you like and listen to all sorts of players (i.e., not just guitarists).

Of course you need to spend a large amount practicing. Everyone is always working on this. The good thing is learning becomes more fluid the more you practice. It's just so important to learn with context.

I think the Jamey Aebersold play a longs can be pretty helpful (jazzbooks.com)

There's lots of chords you can practice, and things like that. How much do you know after 4 years?

One thing that helped me tremendously was to play the major scale in two octaves and also in patterns (like going up/down in groups of 4). And to constantly be questioning note relationships (intervals) what notes are in chords I'm playing what makes this that, etc, etc.

listen, practice and play. that's all you can do really. immerse yourself in it.

[jazzalta]

Professor said:

...I love the way it feels when a solo goes just right, it makes all the hard work worthwhile.

That's it exactly Prof. There are days (more than I like) when I can't put two notes together. And then there are those "magic" times when I can hardly play a wrong note. I don't know. A lot of it is mood with me, and as one affected with bipolar disorder I can really attest to this. For me the important advice I can give is to never give up. Keep at it. And remember it is a journey that requires a lot of practice, preparation and patience.