The Guitar

Play Jazz Guitar

Jazz guitar music is based on various guitarists’ attempts to experiment with the form used to express musical ideas. Jazz began with the African slaves combining the song and dance forms they found in America with the musical traditions they carried with them from their homeland. Since then jazz musicians of every nationality have developed certain methods of taking a musical idiom and turning it into jazz by interpreting the music using jazz chord substitution and improvising techniques.

The trademark of the jazz guitar player is that he is inventing new music all the time. When people learn to play musical instruments it is usually with the aim of playing the songs or instrumentals of a famous musician. In jazz the aim is to build new music using other musical genres or the works of composers from outside jazz. A jazz guitarist with a number of years’ experience will have developed his own ways of improvising over a song or instrumental piece. Quite often his improvisation will be based on the techniques of using the notes in the chord he is playing to provide the material for his solo, or to simply use the notes he finds in the melody.

Whichever approach the jazz guitar player uses he will always depart from the melodic structure of the musical work he is improvising over and use melodic figures or “licks” which he has made up or learned from other guitarists. A lick is a combination of notes which can be used in improvising over music in any key. A lick is like a very short tune or fraction of a melody. Listen carefully to a jazz guitar solo. Try imitating some of the licks that you hear. You do not need to play them exactly, just imitate them and see how they fit with other licks to carry the solo to its ending.

Other jazz guitar techniques are the substitution of chords using other chords with more interest or color, the use of walking bass to add interest or changing the rhythm of a song. You can find examples of all these jazz guitar techniques by listening to the music of jazz guitar players like Charlie Christian, one of the pioneers of jazz guitar, Charlie Byrd, an exponent of latin jazz guitar who developed a genre of his own using classical guitar techniques to play jazz, or Wes Montgomery, a guitar player who ventured into many fields of music.

Anybody wanting to learn to play jazz guitar will be wondering what guitars give you that distinctive jazz sound. Of course you can play jazz on any guitar but when musicians think of a “jazz guitar” they usually have in mind a guitar with  “f” holes in the body, an arched top and a piezoelectric pickup. This gives that warm, expressive jazz feel that people associate with jazz guitar and is expressed so well in the work of Wes Montgomery. Epiphone is the brand name most jazz fans associate with this kind of guitar but they are also made by D’Angelico, Gibson and others.

To learn to play jazz guitar, even in a comparatively superficial sense entails listening to alot of jazz guitar music. As you listen you need to analyze what jazz guitarists do and what you, as a musician, WANT to do. Maybe you do not want to learn jazz as a genre but just to play in the style of a certain jazz guitar player. This will cut your work load considerably as you can find tabs for the work of many jazz guitar players on the internet.

About the Author

Do you want to learn to play the guitar? http://playaguitarforfree.com/ is my blog which shows you that there are many people like you who wish to learn how to play bass, acoustic or electric guitar. You will find guitar lessons, videos, articles and reviews to answer your questions, calm your fears and help you play the guitar.

Jazz Blues Acoustic Electric Guitar Solo #1

Fender Presents: Getting Started on Electric Guitar — A Guide for Beginners $13.92 Over 3 hours long with 50 interactive guitar lessons on DVD. Covers tuning, essential chords and scales, music reference, practice tips, rhythm techniques, play-along tracks with a band, 3-D fretboard graphics, instrument care, and more. Includes 5 languages: English, French, Spanish, Japanese, and German. Hosted by Keith Wyatt of the Musicians Institute….

What’s It All About $9.48 METHENY PAT WHAT S IT ALL ABOUT…

Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out! $9.23 No Description AvailableNo Track Information AvailableMedia Type: CDArtist: ROLLING STONESTitle: GET YER YA YA’S OUTStreet Release Date: 08/27/2002…

Jimmy Bruno: No Nonsense Jazz Guitar $15.37 JIMMY BRUNO:NO NONSENSE JAZZ GUITAR – DVD Movie…

Robben Ford – The Art of Blues Rhythm DVD $17.46 ROBBEN FORD:ART OF BLUES RHYTHM – DVD Movie…

Beginning Fingerstyle Blues Guitar (Book and Audio CD) (Guitar Books) $13.28 A step-by-step method for learning this rich and powerful style. Takes you from the fundamentals of fingerpicking to five authentic blues tunes. Includes graded exercises, illustrated tips, plus standard notation and tablature….

Chord Chemistry $10.28 Ted Greene’s Chord Chemistry from Alfred was originally published in 1971 and has become the classic guitar chord reference book for all guitarists. Whether you are just beginning to search beyond basic barre chords or are already an advanced player, this guitar chord book is a harmonic treasure chest filled with exciting ideas and sounds designed to inspire creativity….