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 ...
The Golden Rule of most music is: K.I.S.S. - keep it simple, stupid. A lot of times over complicating your part actually takes away from the over all effect you can have on the song as a whole. I can't tell you in how many songs I perform sometimes j ...
Minor Four chords are tough to get familiar soloing over, although they tend to be one of the more common borrowed chords we find in pop music. Where does the chord come from? Let's take a look at my Theory Sheet and check it out. The Chord Progre ...
