Learn Jazz Guitar

A while back I posted an article entitled “8 Essential Jazz Chord Forms for the Beginning Jazz Guitarist“. This article focused on the importance of developing your knowledge of seventh chords with their roots located on the 5th and 6th strings.  To take this concept further, let’s take a look at the same jazz chords [...]

I remember when I first started playing jazz guitar. I was simply overwhelmed by everything that I had to learn. So many tunes, chords, scales, arpeggios, licks…. It was crazy. How was I supposed to learn all this stuff in a reasonable time. But I was really passionate about the music and the instrument and [...]

I thought I’d share this excellent video of jazz guitarist George Benson playing the tune, “Take 5″ on the Tom Snyder show sometime in the 80s.  This is only the second video I’ve seen of him playing this song.  There are some great shots of his right hand technique and some amazing lines. His timing, [...]

Anyone who’s followed my site for awhile knows that I emphasize building your jazz vocabulary by listening to the players you like and working with good transcriptions of solos.   The idea being that the more you work those licks and phrases into your own playing, you’ll eventually create your own voice when improvising.  This is [...]

I thought I’d share this video with everyone.  I was pretty shocked when I came across it. It’s an old performance by Norman Brown at GIT(the Musician’s Institute in Los Angeles).  Norman studied there in 1983-84. According to Musiciansguide.com, “In 1984, Brown joined the Musician’s Institute of Hollywood as a staff instructor, having completed the [...]

I recently came across the free electronic version of Jody Fisher’s Rhythm Guitar Encyclopedia.  Just click the picture below to view the book and print any pages. Rhythm is the most important element of successful jazz guitar playing. So, the more you can incorporate a wide variety of rhythms in your playing, the better you [...]

I just wanted to turn you guys on to a jazz guitarist that is local and well known in my area, Oakland, CA. Many of you may be unaware of who he is but Calvin is such a good player that I felt I had to let you know about his playing. He’s been around [...]

Ok, I’m back — Helping you build your jazz vocabulary. Here’s a nice jazz guitar lick that can be played over a Dm7 chord.  Also, try it over G7 or other chords in the key of C.

 
To download the pdf chart for this lick just click below and sign up for my email newsletter:
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Check this out:
Learn Jazz Guitar directly from George Benson
Jazz Guitar tips from the man himself!
Enjoy,
Leon

In one of my previous articles, I discussed how important it is to develop a jazz vocabulary so that you actually start sounding like a jazz player instead of just playing up and down scales.  I mentioned the importance of learning licks and phrases.  But even if you know some licks, it can still be [...]