Jazz Guitar Faqs PDF

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JAZZ GUITAR SOLOING

Frequently Asked Questions
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READ THIS FIRST!!!
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IMPROVISING ON CHORD CHANGES
What's the easiest strategy for improvising off chord changes? If I look
at the changes ahead of time, I'm fine. On unfamiliar chord changes, I
get stuck!
How can I solo over a jazz piece and stay in key, and also be able to
follow the chords within the piece?
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How can I improvise jazz over moving chords?
What are the very best core chords to learn when you begin to play Jazz?
How can I improvise through changes, say, Giant Steps?
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How can I more efficiently convert what I hear in my head on the fly into
reality on the fretboard with fast changes coming at me?
What is the best approach for soloing over more frequent chord and key
changes in Jazz progressions?
How to play soloing into the right chord?
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How often should one "shift gears" while soloing using arpeggios?
Keeping it smooth is tough when you go too fast or to slow. Every time
there is a chord change, or continue soloing on the ii over the V?
Scale / Modes playing

How does one play solos modally?
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I find that a lot of practicing scale modes becomes mundane and much
more technical than musical. What is the easiest way to practice
different scale modes and make it fit contextually and musically into a
song?
What it the best way to choose the correct/easiest scale to follow a chord
progression, and to make it sound like a musical phrase, instead of just
running up and down a scale?
How can I make the transition from practicing patterns, scales, etc., to
applying them in improvisation?
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Do you interplay diatonic scale theory and modes simultaneously (like
hybrid patterns)? I guess I would like to know how to use the modes
better over polytonal chordal theory...
How many scale forms are really necessary to know and which do you
consider the most efficient?
What are the most commonly used scales and/or modes when soloing in
"bebop" style on old standards?
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How can I master modes effectively in order to sharpen improvisational
skills? At the moment it's hit and miss based on ear and feel. A more
knowledgeable grip on modes might increase confidence in performing.
What is a good way to figure out how to combine scales when

improvising?
Can you give me some ideas on how to know which tone to use as a focal
point when making a modal motif?
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How do you quickly visualize modes over chord progressions and chord
changes? Is there an easier method or formula?
Chord / Scale Relationships
How do you know which scale goes to what chord when improvising?
How can I play good sounding chord comps and solo properly over
them?
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Could I play relative minor blues scale or dorian to a piece? Let’s say
that my blues song or jazz piece is on C7...could I use the A blues or A
dorian scale since A is relative minor to C?
How can I learn what scales to play over each chord of the song as the
progression moves along?
How can I easily understand chord/scale relationships?
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Practicing & General
What to practice in order to have great improvisation skills?
How can I fit practice into everyday life?
How can we make it simple?
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How do I use harmonic chord scales to transcribe tunes?
I just want know everything I can about jazz guitar
I’m a beginner. Is it hard to learn?
Make practice a part of your daily life and you will succeed!
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Keeping track of all the modes, scales, chords, altered chords, and
voicings useful for jazz, and where and when to use them to good effect
is a daunting mountain of information, confusing and intimidating to
learn. How can I simplify the theory down to the really useful stuff?
What's the hardest thing to learn in jazz guitar and what's the best way
to learn it?
Melodies
What is the most effective method for memorizing melodies, and do
melodic cells or building blocks play a role in this?
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What are the elements of jazz melody lines?
Substitution Dominants / Tritone

Substitutions
When and how do you use b5 chord substitutions? When do they not
work?
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TENSIONS
How can I play solos that follow the chord progressions and land on key
tensions that are important in that chord? I have a hard time playing
outside of my comfort diatonic scale and landing on 7ths and 9ths.
PHRASING
Since theoretic information is finite, does phrasing really separate jazz
musicians from each other? So, what is a good approach to phrasing? I
guess that's two questions!
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I'm interested in obtaining fluid, musical solos, not so much how to play
them but how to think about soloing...
Positions / Neck / Fretboard
How many positions do you use?
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How do you visualize the fretboard? Do you think note names, interval
shapes, scale patterns or some combination?
What are the best guitaristic shapes to use when soloing over a II V I
(both minor and major)?
Planning A Solo
How do you plan your solo?
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Since the song already has a melody, how do I
construct a similarly interesting melody to play
overtop of the changes? When I hear really
accomplished players go off on an extraordinary
musical tangent over the tune's chord changes,
I'm left wondering "where the heck did they get
THAT from?"
Technique
What is the best way to improvise a barre cord when you can't make the
chord?
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What's a better approach to play linear (up & down the neck) instead of
getting caught on the 5th fret, for example?
Do you recommend performing improv with a guitar pick or without?
Feel / Intangibles
How do I play more effortlessly and with more soul?
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I keep thinking ahead and can't stay "in the moment". It makes my
sound stale and my motivation difficult. What do you recommend?
Is it following the chords religiously, or just feeling the sound and

playing by ear, the most important thing to do when improvising?
How can I make my improvisations melodic and flow smoothly?
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Do you have tips on playing improv jazz not just with superb technique,
but also without losing the emotional aspect?
What is the process that great jazz players do to write strong jazz lines?
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How do you sustain a line, technically and conceptually, so that it tells a
story, not just runs scales, however hip they may be?
Tunings
Why don’t Jazz Guitarists use alternate tunings?
Licks / Riffs
What is the best way to tie in several riffs in such a way that they sound
natural and not just “one riff after the next?”
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Soloing in the style of...
How to solo "in the style" of famous improv artists -- Wes Montgomery,
Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, etc. over any (typical) chord changes?
What are the best things and most efficient ways to practice in order to
become a world class jazz guitar improviser, such as Pat Metheny, John
McLaughlin, Larry Coryell etc.?
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Blues
I am heavily blues based...is it possible to play jazz from this?
Why is it that blues tunes are notated in a Major key when a blues scale
follows a minor pentatonic pattern?
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Speed
How can I get faster at improvising?
Comping & Sight Reading
Do you have any tips for comping and soloing for sight-reading charts?
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Instrument
Is there a certain type of guitar that has to be used in jazz soloing?
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Editor's Summary
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1

JAZZ GUITAR SOLOING

How can I improvise through changes, say, Giant Steps?

How to play soloing into the right chord?

Scale / Modes playing

What is a good way to figure out how to combine scales when

Chord / Scale Relationships

How can I easily understand chord/scale relationships?

How can I fit practice into everyday life?

How can we make it simple?

I just want know everything I can about jazz guitar

I’m a beginner. Is it hard to learn?

Substitution Dominants / Tritone

Positions / Neck / Fretboard

How many positions do you use?

How do you plan your solo?

Do you recommend performing improv with a guitar pick or without?

Is it following the chords religiously, or just feeling the sound and

How can I make my improvisations melodic and flow smoothly?

Why don’t Jazz Guitarists use alternate tunings?

I am heavily blues based...is it possible to play jazz from this?

How can I get faster at improvising?

Comping & Sight Reading

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