[AudioAUnderdog]

Well, I'm really trying to learn to play jazz since I want to continue playing guitar into college. I'm making reasonable progress reading chord charts and sheet music, but when it comes to improvising solos over the changes I feel completely lost. For example, my band wants to cover "All of Me" and when the time comes for me to solo I just can't make anything sound good. In blues you get a set groove and chords which lend themselves to soloing very well. In jazz you're over here, but when the chord changes a second later you have to be over there, and then in another second you've got to be back over here again, and you have to tie them all together so that it doesn't sound like you're jumping around everywhere.

I've tried changing between scales, but it sounds like I'm thinking too much about what the scales are when I play (because I am). I've tried playing the melody, but I can't do much with it. My go to things for articulation are bending and heavy vibrato, which are generally frowned upon in jazz like two handed tapping is in blues. I've spent the last two years developing a really bluesy style, and I just find it incredibly different to play like I've never heard Albert King. Which is not a bad thing, I want to learn new things. I guess I'm just completely stumped. I kind of know what I want to sound like playing jazz, I know a decent amount of theory and intellectually I know what I want to do, but my fingers feel like they're blind, if that makes any sense.

Maybe someone who had to start learning jazz from square one can help me on this. I'm just frustrated because it's like being a beginner again. I don't know where to begin to learn jazz improvisation.

Edit: And just to be clear, this is something I really, really want to learn how to do. I'm just frustrated with myself because I can't seem to make it happen at this point, but it's not something I'm going to give up on.

[Rainer.]

Learn. The. Vocabulary.


It's late, and I don't think I can come up with an incredibly coherent response at the moment. But they key is to learn to speak in jazz.

And how do you do it? Start transcribing solos. Transcribing lots and lots of solos. You have to read poetry if you want to write a poetry.

[northbayguitar]

Hmmm, AudioA, just my opinion but you're probably not going to get a good answer on that here on this board, born out by the single response you received. Hope you got others on the side. Couple thoughts, as I check in here couple times a year-

Your previous effort in learning Blues will pay off as American Jazz is based on a Blues foundation. The feeling and push of the music, the 'swing' and rhythmic gestures come out of blues. But of course jazz is very diverse to say the least so...Having gone somewhat the route you're on I get where you're coming from on players like King, Albert Collins, B.B. and all the many Blues guys that have developed so much of the foundation. It's stuff that should be learned and absorbed IMO and then built on.

My advice - on a practical level "you play the gig you're on" so if it's a more traditional sound you want to get to, listen a LOT to the players whose sound you like. Definitely Wes and Benson, Grant Green, those kinds of guys and see how they did/do what you're trying to do.

Listen and absorb the music you're going to solo over, and learn the melody, note for note as it's sung or played in the version your groups playing from. IMO it's important to respect the melody of a song, use that as the basis to work from.

Work that melody out in positions on the neck using basic scale theory. Listen to other versions of other instruments and the melody - piano, sax, trumpet, etc. as well as guitar. That will give you a feel for how other instruments nuance and articulate the notes. Learn some of those - transcribe or get transcriptions and learn them.

The deal with Blues is that the electric blues and r and b oriented blues stuff is going to use that minor pentatonic scale and "box" format you've learned and work with melodic and harmonic development within that scale structure.

There's a lot of methods to use for soloing over changes - I'd recommend getting any of Ted Green's method books, and also browse the web and youtube and check out the many short jazz lessons that are around. Robben Ford's a guy who's fused his blues and "jazz" in a unique way that works really well. Larry Carlton - hard to beat. The "smooth jazz" players like Norman Brown do some nice stuff.

Also if you want to scrub tha stretch out of your strings real quick, put on a heavier set of flat wounds (which may involve some resetting on your saddle and neck but might be worth it with a set of .011's - if you use xtra light .010' s now you can probably put them on without much hassle) My all round guitar is a Tele solid body with two DiMarzio's and a split coil switch and using heavier round wound strings I use the neck pickup and tap the coil to get a smoother richer tone, with the bite coming out when the volume knobs up all the way. I can play pretty much any style on it - rock, blues, jazz, country, etc. and get the sounds I want, and just about every guitar's been used by one "jazz" player or another - I'm a believer in getting the sound out of the guitar you've got rather than chasing down a specific guitar although having said that, nothing beats the sound of a big box guitar so if you're going down this road for awhile you might look into a Gibson 175 s or d model as a way to find the middle ground. Just a thought. : )

Hope your progress has been good....peace!