Jazz Guitar Lessons: Key Things You Need To Learn

Are you looking for jazz guitar lessons to take your playing to the next level? Make sure you keep reading as there is some very important information to follow that you should know.

Jazz Guitar Lessons Fundamentals

Jazz guitar requires understanding and mastering very specific techniques. The following musical ingredients are key areas to understand when it comes to learning with any jazz guitar lessons:

• Rhythm
• Harmony
• Melody
• Improvisation

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Rhythm

Unlike other guitar styles like rock or pop music, rhythm guitar isn’t quite so important except in the case of big band jazz or jazz manouche. A special technique called ‘la pompe’ is used to provide a steady beat rather than a drummer.

Harmony

Jazz guitar chords use much more complex voicings as compared to other guitar styles. A good knowledge of jazz theory and harmony is needed to often emphasizing a chord’s 3rd or 7th notes. Other jazz guitar chords which should be learnt include major/minor 7ths, augmented, diminished and dominant 7th chords.

Melody

Any decent jazz guitar lessons should include study sessions going over arpeggio patterns and scales as these are the foundation building blocks to performing jazz guitar solos. The way notes are phrased in a jazz guitar solo often replicate the same phrasing one might expect to hear from a horn player like a saxophonist.

Another important aspect with jazz guitar solo playing is the ability to ‘push’ and ‘pull’ the feel which helps to build up and release tension.

Improvisation

Being able to improvise is another key element which needs to be learnt with jazz guitar lessons. By understanding the chord progression within a song, a jazz guitarist can employ the necessary arpeggio, mode and scale that follows along to it perfectly.

Usually a jazz guitarist doesn’t so much play by ear anymore when it comes to improvisation but rather constructs a melody based on his thorough knowledge of the relationships between scales and chords in the song. Of course, no solo would be complete without a bunch of predetermined guitar licks which a guitarist can draw upon as and when needed.

Different jazz guitar playing styles

Jazz guitar playing can involve a few different types of playing styles. Big band rhythm involves the jazz guitarist being a core part of the rhythm section with the focus being on playing routine chords that don’t require much improvisation.

Small group comping is where the jazz guitarist performs with a small group of musicians and the main purpose is to provide accompaniment to another instrumentalist’s solo. This could involve rhythm playing as well as more sparse chordal voicings depending on the song.

Chord-melody and unaccompanied soloing is a playing style where the jazz guitarist performs both the rhythm and the melody at the same time. Sometimes depending on the tune, they may even be able to incorporate a bassline but the general idea is to be able to play a complete song interpretation on his or her own.

‘Blowing’ or single-note soloing is pretty much like your traditional guitar solo where as jazz guitarist is backed by other instrumentation and able to improvise and play melodies. Sometimes electronic effects can be included, something which has been influenced from rock music.

Last but not least, there can also be chord soloing. This is where melodies are added on top of chord voicings but unlike the chord-melody style, chord soling is not unaccompanied.

As you can now see, there is a lot to consider when it comes to learning jazz guitar. First you need to learn and understand the basic building blocks which make up the jazz guitar sound, then you will have a solid foundation to explore the various jazz guitar playing styles. Make sure any jazz guitar lessons you choose to study covers these key topics.

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