Yes, these are a few of MY (yes... me, me, me!) favorite scale exercises. Some of them are tricky, some aren't as tricky, but they all accomplish the same thing... getting us more familiar with our scale shapes. Scale Exercise | 4 Note Pattern ...
My last blog post on this subject (Jazz Key Structures | Part 3) talks about what scales to use when and my best at a brief explanation of the Minor ii-V-i. While it gets you playing the right notes, it doesn’t sound too jazzy… why? Chord tones. ...
Jazz requires a bit of foresight before jumping into taking a solo. In my previous posts I talk about recognizing a Major ii-V-I (Part 1) and a Minor ii-V-i (Part 2) and this will start expanding these concepts into how to begin the process of soloin ...
With all the inversions, extended chords and key changes how can we begin to understand jazz? This is part 2 of a series in which I'm going to talk about how to spot keys and how to treat them in soloing and rhythm playing. The Minor ii-V-i The ...
Alright I'm just going to give you a practice schedule. You can alter this depending on where your at and where you want to work on. Essentially I'm going to give you 4 days worth of practice, giving you specific things to focus on each day: A = Chor ...
Jazz is complicated due to the crazy Extended Chords and the fact that it changes keys all the time. This will be a series of blogs that will talk about how to spot keys and how to treat them in soloing and rhythm playing. The ii-V-I The ii-V-I ...
I sit in with a lot of bands and people. I'm constantly asked to play a song that I've never heard, with people that do know the song. It can be intimidating! Having a grasp on some theory concepts, common song structures and some listening skills, y ...
This is a follow up to my "Know Not Memorize Your Fretboard | Steps" video lesson. In that video I talk about using the dots to learn the 6th and 5th string to learn half of the notes on the guitar neck (6th and 1st string are both E, so once you kno ...
What you can do with licks is virtually limitless: changing the first/last note, playing with the rhythm and even changing what beat you start the lick on will give it a different feel (more on this on my blog “Phrase Development”). But one of the co ...
Like most of you I had visions of grandeur when I began, but soon I found myself playing the same thing I was playing for years. A lot this comes down to lack of focus on your goals. I always recommend taking time out of your guitar playing to lay ou ...
