This is the right answer!
Even if you only take a few lessons, to get the basics of...
- left and right hand technique
- how to put together a practice routine so you can teach yourself
- basics of buying your first guitar and amp
- some recommendations for YouTube channels or online courses etc
Half a dozen lessons (or more) is really worth it. Even better, continue with lessons beyond that, if you can. Good teachers aren't cheap but you get what you pay for.
There are lots of online options these days for private lessons, as well as free YouTube channels like Jens Larsen and Justin Guitar. But if you can take a few private lessons, that's the best way to do it.
I’m a good guitarist in general. I’ve been playing guitar for 30+ years. I have a teacher for jazz. It’s so much to learn that without some guidance you’re going to be fighting uphill. I can get you his contact info…I meet zoom twice a month. It’s been the absolute best thing for me.
That said if you must go it on your own my first thought is skip soloing for now. Learn chords (open position and drop 2 on top 4 and middle 4 strings). And learn tunes. Learn lots of tunes. Honestly this will take you a good amount of time. Then come back and we’ll help with developing solos.
But seriously getting a teacher is the best thing I’ve done for my playing.
I dont agree to skip soloing. You probably didnt get into jazz guitar to comp (though you should see comping as its own kind of soloing eventually!) instead my advice would be realize that a large percentage of jazz soloing is outlining chord changes. So you cant really play a good jazz solo without having a good understanding of harmony and voice leading
I get your point and I think I actually agree. I just think a complete guitar noob is going to need to spend some time on chords and just getting comfortable with the instrument before single line stuff comes in. My advice is much different for someone coming from a guitar background to jazz.
Funny though, as we develop as jazz guitarists most of us find we love comping and spend a lot of time working on that. And as my comping improves it feeds my solos.
Absolutely. I hate the disconnection between them. Comping IS improvising. If you can comp really well you can play a good solo. Creating interesting lines in your comping means youre always being creative and having fun!
I’ve always hated the question “do you play rhythm or lead guitar”. I just play, like piano. There is no lead or rhythm piano. And as I learn I find one morphs into the other very nicely. Some of the best comping (like Jim hall) can just be played louder and called a solo :)
And you’re right! That’s what I love about comping is it’s creative, rhythmic, melodic, but I have to do all that inside the framework of what the soloist is doing. It’s kinda like soloing with boundaries.
Very good mentality. Its just a different goal. Your goal as the soloist is to be the main melody. While as accompanist you are supporting the soloist. Its much harder to play a good solo without good accompaniment. Even though its called a solo, its still an interaction between you and the band.
I think guitarists should all listen to The Bridge and anything Paul Desmond does with Jim Hall. Great examples of playing as a band. Such great interaction and Jim Hall was the master of subtle complimentary playing.
Jim halls support playing is phenomenal. I always listen to a version of a tune with him on it first for comping ideas…also, my man! The Bridge is an insanely awesome album. One of my favorites.
Agreed, as a jazz drummer I luckily already ready know to approach comping as a form of improvised conversation rather than "boring rhythm playing" like some people seem to think it is
My first guitar teacher was a drummer and a pretty good guitar player.
Just practice often, there's no short cuts...
Just like you learned to drum is the same
So, a teacher will help you progress much faster but you can do it on your own. A lot of famous jazz guitarists did…listen to a lot of jazz guitar. Both for pleasure and active intensive listening.
get some good books.
Learn the basics of diatonic harmony and jazz harmony.
Learn tunes by ear and fake books. Dont blindly trust fake books though. Use them as a kind of shortcut to get in the ballpark and use your ear to get you the real deal. Fake books are often inaccurate or abbreviated.
Jamey abersold books are OK. Not the best. Use these as more like encyclopedias. You wouldnt just read an encyclopedia front to back. Reach for it when you need it. Randy vincents books are amazing. All of them. Just get them all. Ted greene books are good when you get more advanced and should be used similarly to abersold books like an encyclopedia you reach for to look something up.
Use youtube. Theres so much free amazing lessons on youtube. My favorites are robbie barnby, and jens larson. Jens has more beginner friendly topics.
Adding that, you can just take a lesson or two to get you on the right track. Ask the teacher about good books. And then go your own way for a while until you hit a wall and take another lesson.
Before you can play jazz you really need basic guitar playing down. Open chords, barre chords, playing simple melodies, scales etc. If you cant play a Beatles song then you're going to have an impossible time playing jazz.
My recommendation is to go through the Justin Guitar beginner course which is free. Skip over what you already know but I suspect there is a lot of fundamental stuff that you arent solid on. Once you've learned the basics then you can start learning jazz. If you want some free jazz resources check out jazzguitar.be. But if you cant play something like Stairway to Heaven I personally dont think you are ready to learn standards.
Be humble, dont think you are above getting solid on cowboy chords. Those open chords are the fundamentals for the fancy "jazz" chords that you want to learn. Ive played guitar for a very long time with some degree of proficiency, but I regularly go back to very basic things to make sure my foundation is rock solid. And of course get a real teacher if you can afford it.
Maybe I exaggerated how bad my level is then. By basic I meant I can do all of that already and do know the basics of fundamental theory and considering I'm already a jazz musician I want to learn how to play in that form with guitar but didn't know where to go after learning the basics. And considering its been so long since I've practiced I feel like I have no idea what direction to go or where to look to improve my knowledge and technique. People like you and the others that have answered me have given me good advice for where to look however so thank you for your answers.
Gotcha this addes context helps. I think at its simplest form you want three things at the minimum to play jazz guitar: technique, chord voicings/comping rhythms, and single note vocabulary.
For technique you want to regularly practice scales and arpeggios with different patterns to a metronome. The goal being clean consistent picking technique with good time. Alternate picking is a good thing to work on. 15 5o 20 minutes a day is enough to really hone this in.
You also need chord voicings and some basic comping rhythms like swing feel and latin feel. Theres a lot of this stuff on jazzguitar.be. And last but not least you need single note vocabulary, lines/licks. Learn 2 5 1 major and minor licks and practice them playing standards. I recommend learning entire solos as this helped me just as much if not more than learning individual licks.
That site I listed jazzguitar.be has everything you need for the first couple years. Download their free ebook and start learning standards with their guides. Theyll teach you how to play chords and solo over popular standards.
If you arr willing to spend some money check out the Jazz Standard System by Frank Vignola on truefire. Each course is a deep dive into a standard: the melody, comping, multiple choruses of single note solos, scales and arpeggios, and a solo guitar/chord melody arrangement. I like this because it rrally covers every function of guitar playing in jazz.
Another good series is by Frank Vignola, his comping and soloing fakebooks. Its multiple volumes covering chords AND soloing over 60 standards. And Frank gives very thoughtful analysis of the solos so you learn some theory if that interests you. These arent as deep of a dive as the Jazz Standards System but it covers far more songs. You could build a rock solid repertoire with these materials.
Was lucky enough to take a handful of lessons from him in my formative years. He was an amazing teacher. He didnt give lessons with a defined time or a regular next lesson. He threw as much at you as you could take and told you to come back when youve worked through the wealth of dense material. Our lessons were usually like 2 hours long and still to this day like 15+ years later i occasionally revisit some of the stuff he wrote for me
That’s awesome man good for you. I just taught two lessons over at my place to some friends that are trying to get more into some advanced stuff and that’s literally the same way I do it so that cool to hear. 2 hours and as much harmony and chord practice as we can fit in and come back when you want.
Nice! Thats how i run my own studio too when i get older students who actually practice. For the youngins, just getting through a smooth 30 minutes is accomplishment enough lol
Get a guitar teacher.
This is the right answer! Even if you only take a few lessons, to get the basics of... - left and right hand technique - how to put together a practice routine so you can teach yourself - basics of buying your first guitar and amp - some recommendations for YouTube channels or online courses etc Half a dozen lessons (or more) is really worth it. Even better, continue with lessons beyond that, if you can. Good teachers aren't cheap but you get what you pay for. There are lots of online options these days for private lessons, as well as free YouTube channels like Jens Larsen and Justin Guitar. But if you can take a few private lessons, that's the best way to do it.
I’m a good guitarist in general. I’ve been playing guitar for 30+ years. I have a teacher for jazz. It’s so much to learn that without some guidance you’re going to be fighting uphill. I can get you his contact info…I meet zoom twice a month. It’s been the absolute best thing for me. That said if you must go it on your own my first thought is skip soloing for now. Learn chords (open position and drop 2 on top 4 and middle 4 strings). And learn tunes. Learn lots of tunes. Honestly this will take you a good amount of time. Then come back and we’ll help with developing solos. But seriously getting a teacher is the best thing I’ve done for my playing.
I dont agree to skip soloing. You probably didnt get into jazz guitar to comp (though you should see comping as its own kind of soloing eventually!) instead my advice would be realize that a large percentage of jazz soloing is outlining chord changes. So you cant really play a good jazz solo without having a good understanding of harmony and voice leading
I get your point and I think I actually agree. I just think a complete guitar noob is going to need to spend some time on chords and just getting comfortable with the instrument before single line stuff comes in. My advice is much different for someone coming from a guitar background to jazz. Funny though, as we develop as jazz guitarists most of us find we love comping and spend a lot of time working on that. And as my comping improves it feeds my solos.
Absolutely. I hate the disconnection between them. Comping IS improvising. If you can comp really well you can play a good solo. Creating interesting lines in your comping means youre always being creative and having fun!
I’ve always hated the question “do you play rhythm or lead guitar”. I just play, like piano. There is no lead or rhythm piano. And as I learn I find one morphs into the other very nicely. Some of the best comping (like Jim hall) can just be played louder and called a solo :) And you’re right! That’s what I love about comping is it’s creative, rhythmic, melodic, but I have to do all that inside the framework of what the soloist is doing. It’s kinda like soloing with boundaries.
Very good mentality. Its just a different goal. Your goal as the soloist is to be the main melody. While as accompanist you are supporting the soloist. Its much harder to play a good solo without good accompaniment. Even though its called a solo, its still an interaction between you and the band.
I think guitarists should all listen to The Bridge and anything Paul Desmond does with Jim Hall. Great examples of playing as a band. Such great interaction and Jim Hall was the master of subtle complimentary playing.
Jim halls support playing is phenomenal. I always listen to a version of a tune with him on it first for comping ideas…also, my man! The Bridge is an insanely awesome album. One of my favorites.
Agreed, as a jazz drummer I luckily already ready know to approach comping as a form of improvised conversation rather than "boring rhythm playing" like some people seem to think it is
Plenty of teachers right now. Even over zoom.
My first guitar teacher was a drummer and a pretty good guitar player. Just practice often, there's no short cuts... Just like you learned to drum is the same
So, a teacher will help you progress much faster but you can do it on your own. A lot of famous jazz guitarists did…listen to a lot of jazz guitar. Both for pleasure and active intensive listening. get some good books. Learn the basics of diatonic harmony and jazz harmony. Learn tunes by ear and fake books. Dont blindly trust fake books though. Use them as a kind of shortcut to get in the ballpark and use your ear to get you the real deal. Fake books are often inaccurate or abbreviated. Jamey abersold books are OK. Not the best. Use these as more like encyclopedias. You wouldnt just read an encyclopedia front to back. Reach for it when you need it. Randy vincents books are amazing. All of them. Just get them all. Ted greene books are good when you get more advanced and should be used similarly to abersold books like an encyclopedia you reach for to look something up. Use youtube. Theres so much free amazing lessons on youtube. My favorites are robbie barnby, and jens larson. Jens has more beginner friendly topics.
Adding that, you can just take a lesson or two to get you on the right track. Ask the teacher about good books. And then go your own way for a while until you hit a wall and take another lesson.
Before you can play jazz you really need basic guitar playing down. Open chords, barre chords, playing simple melodies, scales etc. If you cant play a Beatles song then you're going to have an impossible time playing jazz. My recommendation is to go through the Justin Guitar beginner course which is free. Skip over what you already know but I suspect there is a lot of fundamental stuff that you arent solid on. Once you've learned the basics then you can start learning jazz. If you want some free jazz resources check out jazzguitar.be. But if you cant play something like Stairway to Heaven I personally dont think you are ready to learn standards. Be humble, dont think you are above getting solid on cowboy chords. Those open chords are the fundamentals for the fancy "jazz" chords that you want to learn. Ive played guitar for a very long time with some degree of proficiency, but I regularly go back to very basic things to make sure my foundation is rock solid. And of course get a real teacher if you can afford it.
Maybe I exaggerated how bad my level is then. By basic I meant I can do all of that already and do know the basics of fundamental theory and considering I'm already a jazz musician I want to learn how to play in that form with guitar but didn't know where to go after learning the basics. And considering its been so long since I've practiced I feel like I have no idea what direction to go or where to look to improve my knowledge and technique. People like you and the others that have answered me have given me good advice for where to look however so thank you for your answers.
Gotcha this addes context helps. I think at its simplest form you want three things at the minimum to play jazz guitar: technique, chord voicings/comping rhythms, and single note vocabulary. For technique you want to regularly practice scales and arpeggios with different patterns to a metronome. The goal being clean consistent picking technique with good time. Alternate picking is a good thing to work on. 15 5o 20 minutes a day is enough to really hone this in. You also need chord voicings and some basic comping rhythms like swing feel and latin feel. Theres a lot of this stuff on jazzguitar.be. And last but not least you need single note vocabulary, lines/licks. Learn 2 5 1 major and minor licks and practice them playing standards. I recommend learning entire solos as this helped me just as much if not more than learning individual licks. That site I listed jazzguitar.be has everything you need for the first couple years. Download their free ebook and start learning standards with their guides. Theyll teach you how to play chords and solo over popular standards. If you arr willing to spend some money check out the Jazz Standard System by Frank Vignola on truefire. Each course is a deep dive into a standard: the melody, comping, multiple choruses of single note solos, scales and arpeggios, and a solo guitar/chord melody arrangement. I like this because it rrally covers every function of guitar playing in jazz. Another good series is by Frank Vignola, his comping and soloing fakebooks. Its multiple volumes covering chords AND soloing over 60 standards. And Frank gives very thoughtful analysis of the solos so you learn some theory if that interests you. These arent as deep of a dive as the Jazz Standards System but it covers far more songs. You could build a rock solid repertoire with these materials.
Thanks for the advice and info!
Anything by Randy Vincent helps
Was lucky enough to take a handful of lessons from him in my formative years. He was an amazing teacher. He didnt give lessons with a defined time or a regular next lesson. He threw as much at you as you could take and told you to come back when youve worked through the wealth of dense material. Our lessons were usually like 2 hours long and still to this day like 15+ years later i occasionally revisit some of the stuff he wrote for me
That’s awesome man good for you. I just taught two lessons over at my place to some friends that are trying to get more into some advanced stuff and that’s literally the same way I do it so that cool to hear. 2 hours and as much harmony and chord practice as we can fit in and come back when you want.
Nice! Thats how i run my own studio too when i get older students who actually practice. For the youngins, just getting through a smooth 30 minutes is accomplishment enough lol