George Benson
His live show was on tv today and I saw him play some funky jazz, my first time seeing a jazz guitarist going at it fully with a band :) How do you go about playing jazz guitar? Is there some scales/chords jazz players use often?
# 1
You should check out Bensons' albums from the 60s...that guy was smokin'
A good and classic place to start learning jazz is the old Mickey Baker books...
http://kronosonic.com
A good and classic place to start learning jazz is the old Mickey Baker books...
http://kronosonic.com
# 2
There was a thread on "jazz scales" posted by Christoph not too long ago. Try using the search feature to find it, there should be some information there.
"My whole life is a dark room...ONE BIG DARK ROOM" - a.f.i.
# 3
Jazz is a whole nother musical language. Imagine if you ran into a guitarist who lived in a remote region of Africa and who had never listened to rock music before and by chance had heard a song one day by Iron Maiden and had said to you "I want to learn how to play rock guitar". Well the 1st thing you would probably do is give him a whole stack of cd's and tell him to listen to these and get back to me within a week.
If your interested in jazz start by doing a lot of listening, there is no magic scales or chord progressions in jazz but just a lot of subtle nuances to stuff you all ready know. Just like rock music, you must be able to "feel" it before you can start to reproduce it.
If your interested in jazz start by doing a lot of listening, there is no magic scales or chord progressions in jazz but just a lot of subtle nuances to stuff you all ready know. Just like rock music, you must be able to "feel" it before you can start to reproduce it.
# 4
Originally posted by chris mood
...there is no magic scales or chord progressions in jazz but just a lot of subtle nuances to stuff you all ready know.
Well, there are defintely some scales widely used in jazz that you would have to know before you could really sound "jazzy" in your playing. Try learning the bebop scales, melodic scales, and the diminished scale. I've noticed that jazz players like to use a lot of chromatics too.
# 5
Yes, there are some scales that can emphasize the jazz sound, but even these scales do not sound jazzy by themselve when taking out of context. Such things as swing, syncopation, and phrasing are the key elements.
George Benson and Wes Montgomery both utulized the Blues scale in their playing, as do many other famous jazz musicians. Chick Corea is a big fan of pentatonics.
If you transcribed every jazz solo ever written I think you would find 75% are contained or based off the major scale.
George Benson and Wes Montgomery both utulized the Blues scale in their playing, as do many other famous jazz musicians. Chick Corea is a big fan of pentatonics.
If you transcribed every jazz solo ever written I think you would find 75% are contained or based off the major scale.
# 6
Good response! Thanks alot people :D I see I see... cause I listened to heavy metal from the start I can't imagine producing anything else but metal when I jam. I better start getting familiar with more songs. Also I'll check that post about jazz.
And damn I love guitar... theres never a ending is there? :)
And damn I love guitar... theres never a ending is there? :)
# 7
Yeah. Definitely listen to some jazz because it isn't something that you can explain to someone. I think you'll be pleased from whatever you learn from the jazz world and start applying it to your metal playing. Like using odd chords instead of power chords in those thrash riffs. It will add alot of tension which will make the riffs sound even more wickedly hellish. Also syncopation on tapping is fricking rad!! ;)
"My whole life is a dark room...ONE BIG DARK ROOM" - a.f.i.
# 8
# 9
Check out Frank Gambale if you want to get into complex stuff. He's more of a fusion player, but it's still jazz.
# 10
Originally posted by andy82
Recommend any jazz guitarist I could listen to??? :)
Two that come to mind right off the bat as some really good Jazz Guitarists are Wes Montgomery (probably heard his name meantioned) and Kenny Burrell. Also some other guys to check out are Charlie parker, John Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Earl Hines, and Len Lyons just to name a few.
"My whole life is a dark room...ONE BIG DARK ROOM" - a.f.i.
# 11
Check out Jimmy Bruno, probably one of the best be-bop guitar players alive on the planet!
http://www.jimmybruno.com
Also, early Pat Martino, cd's like Exit and Consciouness are amazing.
http://www.jimmybruno.com
Also, early Pat Martino, cd's like Exit and Consciouness are amazing.
# 12
Very pent oriented. All of his licks are pent produced.
Thank you, Chris Mood! I started as a street player and became very lucky from very good teachers. Listen to Chris.
George, was not a reader, in my time. Technique is life.
How do I explain?
Thank you, Chris Mood! I started as a street player and became very lucky from very good teachers. Listen to Chris.
George, was not a reader, in my time. Technique is life.
How do I explain?
A lie goes around the world before the truth gets it's shoes on. (Mark Twain)
# 13
Yeah, George was (is) not so amazing by what he plays but how he plays it. All those quintuplets, sextuplets, and 7 over 1 (whatever that is called) note groupings is hip and very hard to do and make sound good. Plus he is the god of octaves, I never heard someone play octaves so clean and fast. Plus he adds that extra note to the octave, I believe it's the 4th (?).
Not to mention he plays with so much soul.
Not to mention he plays with so much soul.
# 14
There's not a jazzer or a rocker in the world that would deny jim Hall. One of my very favourite players. My view can be odd. Unreal player, major unreal influence, in every thing I do. Likewise, Chuck Wayne. Amazing!
A lie goes around the world before the truth gets it's shoes on. (Mark Twain)
# 15
I could never really get in to Jim Hall, I honestly tried, I know he has quite a devoted following. I was always swayed by the notier, aggressive players.
# 16
Cool. You'd like Chuck Wayne. He could improvise a fugue, and on the spot. Unreal.
A lie goes around the world before the truth gets it's shoes on. (Mark Twain)
# 17
I'll have to look into Chuck Wayne. I'm always looking for new players to listen too.
Jim Hall. I remember having a group discussion in grad school w/a professor over wether Jim Hall would achieve the same success as a jazz guitarist if he had to do it all over again w/todays standards. Sad , but true the consensus was no, that his lack of chops would not get him through the door in most places.
Jim Hall. I remember having a group discussion in grad school w/a professor over wether Jim Hall would achieve the same success as a jazz guitarist if he had to do it all over again w/todays standards. Sad , but true the consensus was no, that his lack of chops would not get him through the door in most places.
# 18
Originally posted by chris mood
Jim Hall. I remember having a group discussion in grad school w/a professor over wether Jim Hall would achieve the same success as a jazz guitarist if he had to do it all over again w/todays standards. Sad , but true the consensus was no, that his lack of chops would not get him through the door in most places.
I've had many discussions about the same thing. Don't know whether this was part of the equation that led to that conclusion. But would he have been a success if he was part of a this generation instead of a past one?? Would he have been able to learn the skill that is the standard today?? He surely made well in his time and sometimes success is whether you can master the standard set presently. I know if you pull people from the past and ask whether they would be a success now it's usually no. Because as we grown through life, we are influences by the standards we live in, maybe Jim Hall could have lived up to the standards of today. Don't disagree or agree, just food for thought.
"My whole life is a dark room...ONE BIG DARK ROOM" - a.f.i.
# 19
I think the most relative thing to consider here is at the time Jazz music was the Pop medium of that genre. The emphasis was not on chops, but instead melodic interpretation and song form. People wanted to hear jazz tunes that they could sing the melody and dance to. Jazz now has become somewhat of an archiac art form whose emphasis is on pleasing the artist not the listener.
# 20
