Jazz Guitar Technique

Master the technical aspects of improvising and accompanying on guitar and earn a certificate from the Conservatory of Amsterdam. In this truly interactive course you will learn the fundamental of Jazz guitar playing. At the end of this course you will have a better technique and have improved your soloing and accompanying.

Video's
4 hours

Skill Level
Intermediate-Advanced

Backing Tracks
40 Backing tracks especially recorded for this course

Language
English

Certificate
Certified from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam

Feedback
Personalised video feedback every lesson.

Watch the video for more information

Content of this course:

Lesson 1: Right Hand Technique
In this lesson we will talk about right hand technique and we will focus on a few of the universal principles that work for all people in right hand picking technique, regardless of the style of music you are playing.

You will learn about:
- Posture
- Rotary Wrist Action
- Economy of Motion
- Alternate Picking
- Where to Pick
- Angle of the plectrum
- Dynamics

Lesson 2: Using the major triad for your single note improvisation
In this lesson you will learn a study routine and several musical examples that will help you internalize and embellish the sound and the shapes of the major triad for your single note improvisation.

You will learn about:
- Using Triads for single note soloing
- Examples in the style of J.Coltrane, C.Parker, B.Evans and C.Adderly
- Using the “approach notes”
- Diatonic approach notes
- Chromatic approach notes
- Combining diatonic and chromatic approach notes
- Improvisation assignment: Trading four bars improvisation with me
- Assignment 1:Etude in the style of B. Evans
- Six phrases based on the F triad that you could use in your improvisation
- Applying what you have learned to a blues in F

Lesson 3: Using the minor triad for your single note improvisation
In this lesson you will learn a study routine and several musical examples that will help you internalize and embellish the sound and the shapes of the minor triad for your single note improvisation. We will also discuss several harmonic applications of the minor triad.

You will learn about:
- Examples in the style of S.Rollins, B.Evans and C.Adderly
- Using the “approach notes”
- Diatonic approach notes
- Chromatic approach notes
- Combining diatonic and chromatic approach notes
- Improvisation assignment: Trading four bars improvisation with me
- Harmonic applications of the minor triad
- Assignment 1: Etude
- Four phrases based on the C minor triad that you could use in your improvisation
- Applying what you have learned to a chord scheme

Lesson 4: The Bebop Scale
Widely used from hundreds of players this scale is a must for any jazz improviser. We will study several examples based on the great jazz tradition, defining a study routine that will enable you to musically use this scale in any key and everywhere on the fret board.

You will learn about:
- Fingerings
- Combing the bebop scale with arpeggios
- Use of enclosures
- Harmonic applications

Through the use of several exercises and assignments you will assimilate this scale.


Lesson 5: Accompanying using the guide tones of a song in the style of Jim Hall
In this lesson you will learn several techniques that will make your rhythm guitar playing sound even more musical, functional and steady.

You will learn about:
- Developing a study routine
- Finding the Guide Tones of a chord on the whole fret board
- Connecting the Guide Tones of a chord moving horizontally through the fret board using only the D,G and B string
- Guide tones are the basic of any chord shape
- Examples
- Accompanying using the “Guide tones” of the chords
- Assignment 1, 2, 3, and 4
- Examples in the style of Jim Hall

Lesson 6: Enriching the sound of the guide tones of a song
We will study two techniques that will enable you to enrich the sound of the Guide Tones shapes you learned in the previous lesson.

You will learn about:
- Enriching the sound of the “Guide tones”
- Approaching chromatically the Guide Tones of the chords of a song
- Assignment 1: Applying this technique to a Jazz Standard
- Using the chromatic approach for accompanying a modal song
- Assignment 2: Rhythm guitar part on the song “My Funny” in the style of Jim Hall
- Adding a subdominant chord to enrich the sound of the Guide Tones
- Embellishing the Guide Tones of the chords of a “Rhythm and Change” using this technique
- Applying these techniques to a “Rhythm and Change” 

Lesson 7: Enriching the sound of the guide tones of a song
We will proceed by studying two techniques that will enable you to to enrich the sound of the Guide Tones shapes you learned in the previous lesson.

You will learn about:
- Enriching the sound of the “Guide tones”
- Approaching the Guide Tones of the chords of a song using the so-called “Flat Five” substitution
- Harmonic applications of the Flat Five Substitution
- Example 1: Applying this technique to a Jazz Standard: “Autumn”
- Example 2: Applying this technique to a Jazz Standard: “All The Things”
- Analysis of the previous examples
- Assignment 1: playing together. Using the Flat Five substitution to accompany a soloist
- Changing the character of a chord to enrich the sound of the Guide Tones
- Example: Embellishing the Guide Tones of the chords of a I-VI-II-V chord progression, using this technique
- Assignment 2: playing together. Changing the character of a chord when accompany a soloist

Lesson 8: Rhythm guitar lesson 4: Creating a three parts harmony rhythm guitar part
In this lesson you will learn to melodically connect three notes voicing’s gaining unity and musicality in your rhythm guitar playing.

You will learn about:
- Accompanying using three notes voicing’s
- Examples based on a “Blues” in G and on the chord progression of “Someday”
- Study Routine: Step 1: Imagining a melody to use as top note of your three notes voicing’s
- Step 2: Learning and connecting the shapes of Dominant, chords horizontally
- Step 3: Harmonizing a melody with the voicing’s you have learned, creating a rhythm guitar part
- Assignments: Playing together with me trading four bars accompanying guitar parts
- Assignments: Learning and connecting the shapes of minor 7 and Major 7 chords horizontally, harmonizing every note of a mode
- Assignment: Applying what you have learned to a Bb blues

Lesson 9: Expanding and organizing your rhythmic vocabulary
In this lesson you will learn a study routine, several examples and a rhythmical vocabulary that will help you improve your rhythm guitar playing. So let’s have a look to the content of this lesson.

You will learn about:
- The Charleston Rhythm pattern
- Shifting this pattern in the bar obtaining other 4 rhythm patterns
- Study Routine: Internalizing five rhythm patterns
- Combine these rhythm patterns creating longer rhythmical patterns
- Examples

Lesson 10: The major scale
Develop two practicing routines that will enable you to visualize the scale in relation to a chord shape placing automatically the chord tones of any desired chord on the downbeat, gaining harmonic clarity in your improvisation. Develop a solid horizontal overview through the whole fret board and challenge yourself playing any key in only one position.

You will learn about:
- Naming and reviewing the seven fingerings/modes of the major scale
- Assignment 1: Improvising using seven scales in one position
- Practicing the major scale with the chord tones on the downbeat: Study routine N1 and N2
- Exercises: Combining the seven fingerings/modes of the major scale with chords and arpeggios
- Assignment 2: Applying the study routine you have learned in this video to the Eb major scale
- Using the study routine you have learned in this video for your single note improvisation
- Example in the style of J.Coltrane
- Applying Study routine N1 to the chord scheme of “Donna”
- Examples: Applying Study routine N1 to major and minor II-V-I’ s


Lesson 11: The Melodic Minor scale
In this lesson about the melodic minor scale you will learn a study routine that will enable you to practice and connect these fingerings placing the chord tones on the beat, gaining harmonic clarity in your daily practice routine.

You will learn about:
- Connect seven fingerings of this scale horizontally using pattern in the style of J.Coltrane
- Improvise with me
- Applying the study routine to a V-I chord progression
- Connect the scale fingerings with chords and a musical phrase
- Several musical phrases based on this scale, which will serve as an example and inspiration
- Five harmonic applications of the Melodic Minor scale

Lessons 12 - 15: Arpeggios
In these lessons we'll go deep into several aspects of Arpeggios because they are the backbone of many solos in jazz. These lessons will help you familiarizing with the shapes of many arpeggios and, especially, they will teach you a practice routine that will enable you to make music while studying the shapes of several types of arpeggios. 

You will learn about:
- 4 techniques that will enable you to translate into melodies the arpeggio shapes you already know
- Inverting the order of the notes
- Adding the ninth and a chromatinc passing tone to the arpeggio shapes
- Combining two different arpeggios to improvise on one chord
- Using drop two voicing’s to build wide sounding single note lines
- You will learn to apply these techniques to modal songs and chords schemes of several common Jazz tunes 

Lesson 16: Etudes
Several comprehensive etudes reassuming the whole course.

What students say about this course:

Ofir Milo, Israel:
"This course is amazing, goes very deep to each subject. The exercises are really usables in real life as a player and it serves in a nice way that it is fun to watch and practice"

How it works

The course is a series of related video lessons, each structured around a specific topic or topics. By the end of this course, you will have developed a strong sense of direction in your daily study routine.

Weekly video lessons
After joining the course, you will be able to view a new video lesson weekly. Each video lesson consists of:
- Examples that musically define the sound of the topic you are studying in each video
- A study routine section in which we first discuss how to study the specific topic of each lesson. We will then play several exercises specially written to show you how to structure your daily study routine
- Assignments that will help you consolidate and practice what you have learned in each video.

Weekly assignments
After each lesson, you will be asked to study, practice and then video record yourself playing an assignment which may consist of several exercises. When ready, you submit the video of your assignment. The process of having to record yourself every week, significantly helps to internalise the material discussed in this course - quickly and naturally.

Weekly feedback
You will then receive a video with individual and personalised feedback to each assignment, every lesson. The personal feedback that you receive will enable you to improve and clarify any questions that might arise during your weekly study. You can view the feedback as many times as you like.