Guitar and music stuff
With Alternate picking we (you) encounter a big problem: when switching strings you need to hop over te neighboring string to be able to pick that string. There is a solution for this . It is called “pick slanting”. Fast players/ shredders like zoals Al Di Meola, Paul Gilbert…use this technique, even if they are not aware of this. … Read more…
Learn every lick in all positions and with every fingering…That is a phrase I read many times in books and heard guitar teachers tell their pupils (be it in real life or on the internet).
I agree that knowing how to play a lick in a lot of ways can be beneficial (it is). The road you follow to do this can already be enlightening. Finding out how to play a short lick in lots of different ways can teach you a lot.
But! There are arguments against obsessing over this.
Working hard at finishing the free Jazz Guitar Chords Ebook. I really hope to finish the book before the end of August. Not in the least because in september it is the start of a new school year, leaving me with less free time (I teach jazz guitar full time). Luckily I can use everything I write for … Read more…
Once you learned what shell chords are and how to play them, it’s time to play a tune with these. Sunny (Bobby Hebb) is a very popular song that is quite repetitive in its harmony (chord progression) and therefore not that hard to learn. The song can also be played in different styles, you should check out the versions by Pat Martino and Greg Howe. This is by the way one of the criteria to that defines a “good” standard (and one of the reasons why a song becomes a standard), the strong melody and harmony allows for multiple interpretations.
Sunny also emerges regularly at jamsessions, so it’s no luxury to learn to play it (well). Besides that, it’s just a fun tune to play.
Video at the end of the page.
Here is a free backing track for Bluesette (Toots Thielemans) for you, enjoy: Backing track by PlayJazzStandards.
A week ago this site was “history”. I’m very busy re-writing the lessons. A lot (most) of the lessons will feature video and that is even harder work, so please be a little patient 🙂
Shell chords are a “simpler” way to play 7th chords (all families, maj7, dom7, min7 etc…). To obtain a shell chord we cut the “fat” by omitting the 5th degree of the chord. So you retain only the root, third and seventh degree of the chord.
Why are we omitting the 5th degree? By doing so we make the sound of the chord less bottom heavy AND you economize on fingers (you only have 5 fingers from which you use only 4 most of the time ). Fingers that you can use for more interesting notes, like a 9th, 11th or 13th later on. (video bottom of the page)
My old site was hacked. Can happen. Too bad, life goes on. Should have made backups (people: backup, backup and backup, that goes for your computer too). So I had to wipe it out and start afresh. That’s why you don’t see much here yet. No problem, I’m working on it 🙂