General Advice

Jazz Inspiration and Advice from Russell Malone

Hello all, I hope everyone had a great holiday season.  Happy new year!  I wanted to start off the year with some excellent videos of Russell Malone, one the best jazz guitarists on the planet.   The first couple videos are of him playing with Dianne Reeves in Paris. The next few are of Russell telling …

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Free Version of Jody Fisher’s Rhythm Guitar Encyclopedia

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 …

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Using Licks and Phrases in Your Solos

The first video in this lesson demonstrates how to play a 2-5-1 phrase in the key of F. Gm7-C7-FMaj7. The concept that I used to create this phrase is the same as with the phrase that we learned last time. I’m basically using a Gm7 arpeggio and then transitioning to a diminished substitution to the …

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How to Use the "5 Penny Method" to Learn Jazz Guitar Faster and More Efficiently

Here’s a technique that I came across that has really helped me to learn jazz guitar a lot faster and more efficiently.  It’s called the “5 Penny Method”. I just made up that name. You can use pennies or licorice sticks. It doesn’t really matter. The idea here is to use a goal/reward system to …

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5 Ways to Gain Maximum Enjoyment from Jazz Guitar Playing

Playing jazz guitar is a fun and rewarding pursuit. But there’s no question, it’s one of the most difficult instruments to play jazz on.  This can certainly increase your frustration level. Sometimes, I just feel like throwing my guitar out the window.  But I always come back to it. Here’s a few tips to help you …

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