Introduction Music has a language of its own, and jazz, with its complex chord symbols, can sometimes feel like a foreign tongue. How do we make sense of the seemingly complicated chords and summarize them? In this blog, we will be discussing an approach to thinking about chords and chord families. By grouping chords into four main families, we can simplify the process and helps us understand the underlying structure of jazz harmony. Hang on tight as we explore the major, minor, dominant, and "misfit" chord families.       Major Chords: A Family of Bright Sou ..read more

Introduction Modes! What do you think of when you hear this word? Most beginners to intermediate players think, “Ugh! Music theory!” and stray from learning modes as they have this impression that modes are really complex. This is how I can help you understand and master modes without relying on memorization.       What are modes? Modes are collections of tones derived from a parent scale, changing one note at a time. In this lesson, we will use the C major scale as a reference scale, alternatively, also called C Ionian, which is the first mode that you will learn!   C Ioni ..read more

Introduction Over the course of years in JazzGuitarLessons, I have shared tips, lessons, and what to do to improve your jazz guitar playing. In this blog post, we will be discussing things that hinder and hold back your efficiency and progress in learning. Here are the top things that you have to stop in order to become a better jazz guitarist:     STOP SITTING DOWN WITH YOUR GUITAR WITHOUT A PLAN Not including your warm-ups, it is always fruitful to have a plan before practicing. Practicing without a plan is like going to the grocery store without a shopping list – this can waste yo ..read more

Introduction Most of us are familiar with the common “jazz sounding” maj7/min7 chords, but in this lesson, we will be exploring chords that are more vibrant and easier to play.     Alternative to C major 7 shape Everybody loves the good ol’ Cmaj7. The maj7 chords sound jazzy because of the tension the 7th gives, but you can take this up a notch just by just changing a few notes. An alternative to playing these maj7 chords is by using major 9th or major 6th chords. To get around with this, there would be some fingering positions we will have to get used to, especially partially barri ..read more

What is a Diminished Scale?     The Diminished Scale is formed by the symmetrical pattern composed of whole steps and half steps, which is super convenient to play with our instrument, because the shapes can be repeated all over the fretboard. There are many approaches in using the diminished scale, commonly played on diminished or dominant chords.     Starting from the third of the chord   In this lesson, we will use the diminished scale in the context of the G chord – G7b9. To build the first shape of the scale, we will be using the tones 3,5,b7 and b9, which are B ..read more

A guest post by Mike Strausbaugh Pippen and Jordan. Batman and Robin. Sherlock and Watson. Lloyd and Harry. 3PO and R2. Every Buddy Cop movie. Dynamic duos, to be sure. And while each member of the duo is completely self-sufficient, one is definitely saucier and attention-grabbing than the more stable and reliable one. If you've spent more than a few minutes studying Jazz, you've heard about this thing, 'the ii-V.' We're told to practice them in every key, and as you analyze more and more tunes, you start to see them. Everywhere.       Simply, 'ii-V' refers to the second and fif ..read more

Here's an interview snippet with the man himself, Pat Metheny, legendary jazz guitarist.  Lots of students of jazz guitar ask the question (to myself and other instructors): "All these scales, exercises and chord progressions are well and good ... but what do you *think* about while improvising?!?" I'll let Metheny do the talking here:   Transcript: Well, for me, playing at its best is a lot like talking with somebody that you know really well, that you feel very comfortable with, and you sort of forget about time and space and everything. You're just kind of inside the id ..read more

A guest post by Andrei Kryssov Producer and guitarist Rick Beato recently sat down with legendary guitarist Pat Metheny for a 90+ minute conversation about guitar playing, soloing, Pat’s career and so much more. This interview is filled with insights that any guitarist can benefit from. In this post I’d like to highlight five insights that stood out to me. Let’s get started.       Triads over bass notes During the creation of his album “Bright Size Life” (1976), Pat recollected utilizing the concept of triads over bass notes, or inversions. For example play an A major chord ..read more

  A Guest Post by Bryan Wesley   Playing the guitar can make a person's life beautiful. It can help you express your talent, style, emotions, or even relieve your stress. However, that might not be the case when there are guitar squeaks. They can totally ruin the mood and your performance. Fortunately, there are ways and a technique to get rid of the "The Curse" of guitar squeak and make your instrument sound better. So, keep reading and discover some useful tips.   What is Guitar String Squeak Guitar string squeak is also known as guitar noise and finger squeak can. It is ..read more

      Five Components for Soloing on a Jazz Blues The ability to improvise over jazz blues is crucial to anyone looking to progress as a jazz guitarist. In truth, it's not all that different from soloing over a good old 12-bar blues with 3 chords, we're just adding a few chords to set up the changes in the progression. In this video/PDF lesson, we'll focus on the jazz side of blues improvisation. We'll play using a mix of pentatonics, modes, arpeggios, and more.   How-to Improvise Jazz Guitar Blues: 5 Basic Concepts Learn these 5 basic concepts to practice improvisin ..read more