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Jazz Guitar Theory – What is It?

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:06:09 +0000

Jazz as we know it now grew from a form of music that was passed directly from musician to musician without too much theory being involved. Jazz guitar theory is a collection of ideas and traditions that has grown over the decades of jazz playing.

The original jazz players did not need theory. They needed to know their guitars well enough to be able to provide part of the rhythm for other instruments in the band or to play solos if they were needed. The nature of guitar playing in jazz bands varied over the years and depended on whether the guitarist was in a big band or a small group.

Jazz guitar theory is the product of the need for jazz players to communicate musical ideas to one another. To pass these ideas on a guitarist needed to be able to read standard musical notation and, as jazz playing became more sophisticated, he needed the technique to play the exotic barre chords that became the norm in jazz guitar music.

A part of jazz theory is what we could loosely call traditions of jazz – ways of approaching music that have become standard practice for jazz players. None of these traditions is set in concrete, but the use of the electric archtop guitar has become widespread over the years as is the use of barre chord voicings rather than open chords.

If you learn jazz guitar theory you will learn to rely on the seventh and third notes of a chord and how interest can be added by the use of the ninth, eleventh or thirteenth notes. These notes may be totally foreign to the original melody the guitarist is improvising over, but jazz players have the work of guitarists from previous generations to draw on when they make use of these unusual voicings.

A big part of jazz guitar theory is the types of techniques used to express musical feelings. Jazz guitar players have their own strumming patterns and chord progressions that may vary greatly from the ways of playing the original genre they might be interpreting. Also, although rock and blues guitar players of the past thirty or so years have left their mark on jazz, there is a tendency among jazz guitarists to use electronic effects rather sparingly.

To examine the basis of jazz guitar theory we need to be aware of the founders of modern jazz playing, like Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall, Barney Kessel, Joe Pass and Herb Ellis as well as the founders of guitar tradition like Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian. Jazz guitar theory has been shaped by modern players who have departed from tradition, such as John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola and Pat Metheny.

By: Ricky Sharples

Jazz Piano

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:36:00 +0000

Jazz piano is one of the most vibrant, energetic, specialized types of music. Famous jazz artists you may want to listen to are Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarret, Bill Evans, to name but a few. To learn jazz piano you need to take some time to listen to jazz CD’s and maybe watch DVD’s as well. To learn jazz piano, one needs to be very patient and dedicated to practicing the genre.

Jazz piano is characterized by a lot of improvisation. A jazz musician can be given a fake music sheet or chord chart and he can improvise on the spot over those chord progressions. It is recommended that a jazz musician know or have standard songs in their repertoire. Standard songs include songs like “Willow Weep for Me,” “Summertime,” and “Georgia on My Mind” to name but a few. Standard songs are songs that have been covered by many recording artists in the past, usually every year. For example one may consider the gospel song “Amazing Grace” a standard gospel song because a lot of artists have covered the song throughout the years.

Knowledge of scales and chords are essential tools needed to be a good jazz musician, let alone the technique needed to play this genre. As a jazz musician you will need to practice different types of scales, chords, arpeggios, staccato playing, legato playing, playing chords on the left hand while playing scales in the right hand at the same time.

To learn jazz you need to start with the basics: minor and major scales and minor and major chords. Once you master these then you can go forth to learning advanced chords(jazz chords) and scales. These chords include diminished, dominant, major nine, tritone chords, etc. Advanced scales will entail learning lydian, diminished, chromatic, melodic minor scales, for example.

You must remember that when it comes to playing the piano, it is not how you play but how you play is very essential as well. This is the reason why you need technique: how hard or soft do you play the notes, how you sit at the piano, breathing, how you position your hands and fingers on the piano, playing chords and scales, etc.

You will definitely need resources to play the piano, someone to hold you by the hand. The key to mastering jazz piano is to learn (get as much information as possible), patience and practice!practice!practice!

By: Jay Mtimkulu

Jazz and Blues Steeped in Down-Home Tennessee Heritage

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:36:00 +0000

In addition to its beautiful, mountainous terrain and friendly, Southern appeal, Tennessee is well-known for its thriving music scene, particularly in the jazz and blues genre. From Nashville to Memphis, some of the greatest minds in the music industry have recorded, lived or played in the state, taking advantage of its musical heritage and deep-rooted fan base. Both the jazz and blues genres have their roots in African-American communities; however, over time, the genres have evolved to reflect and include all cultures and faces.

Jazz Roots

Tennessee blues is rooted in piano, guitar and vocal chord progressions and raw, gritty lyrics that reflect the struggles of everyday life. No topic is taboo when it comes to the blues, with songs relating to racism, love, loss, finances and more – all meant to reflect the pain and emotion of society at the time. Meanwhile, jazz is a bit more upbeat, incorporating blue notes and vocal improvisation to a melodious sound. Jazz is generally a bit more polished and includes more instruments than blues, which is usually more dependent on percussion, guitar and vocals.

Founding Father of Blues

When it comes to great artists, W.C. Handy is known as the Father of Memphis Blues and is credited with writing one of the first Memphis blues songs, appropriately titled “Memphis Blues.” He also was the author of “Beale Street Blues,” aptly written to describe one of the main thoroughfares through the heart of Memphis. Many people credit Handy with the entire inception of the Memphis blues genre and for bringing it to the forefront of the music industry.

Tennessee Music Festivals

Since music is such a large part of Tennessee’s history, there are several festivals and celebrations centered around music annually. Two of the biggest festivals held in Memphis, both of which are well-attended by residents and tourists alike, are the Memphis in May music festival and the International Blues Challenge. Both of these festivals draw large crowds and feature some of the best performers in the industry.

Past artists in attendance at these festivals have included BB King, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, the North Mississippi All Stars, James Brown and many others. The Blues Challenge is a competition that draws more than 100 acts from around the world, all of them competing for cash, industry recognition, record deals and other prizes. The Challenge is put on by the Blues Foundation in an effort to continue the tradition of showcasing new talent to keep the genre from being eclipsed by more popular musical trends.

Another great festival is the Memphis in May music festival, which spans an entire month and incorporates the Beale Street Music Festival as one of its events. For visitors looking to hear some real, down home jazz and blues, the Beale Street Music Festival is the place to be. It most represents what Tennessee music is all about and boasts an unlimited amount of raw, real talent in one place.

By: Jason Hagemann

How to get a Jazz Guitar Sound

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:12:18 +0000

The word Jazz often evokes a darkly light Smokey club with musicians expertly improvising against seemingly complex chord progressions. Featuring passionate tone – getting that jazz sound can be a complex process – in this article we’ll address what you’ll need to get a great jazz guitar sound.

A Jazz Guitar

Getting the right guitar for a jazz sound used to be expensive. Jazz masters such as Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass may have played expensive Gibson Semi’s but these days there are a variety of entry level guitars that are suitable for getting a jazz tone.

For an authentic jazz tone, you should have a semi-acoustic hollowbody electric guitar. Models such as the Gibson ES-175 or the Gretch Tennessean can run into thousands of dollars but there are also excellent entry models such as Ibanez Artcore line of guitars. Guitar manufacturers such as Yamaha or Guild also make entry level semi-acoustics similar to the more expensive Gibson 335. There are also numerous Epiphone hollowbody guitars that will also be suitable and come from the Gibson stable. Explore your local music store and try out what they look for something that is comfortable to play and can produce a tight clean tone with plenty of sustain.

Hollow body guitars will provide a suitable mellow tone and most will be fitted with two humbucker pickups allowing you to vary your sound accordingly. Most guitars will be fitted with tone controls. Practice rolling the treble off your tone and experimenting – Jazz guitarists often play with a less trebly sound as it produces a rich mellow resonance that is suitable for the style.

A Jazz Guitar Amplifier

Whilst it could be said that there is “no jazz amp” there are a number of considerations for the jazz guitarist when selecting an amplifier.
Firstly it is important to determine the playing style and sound that you wish to attain. Traditional jazz guitarists often choose amps that can produce a clean sound which compliment acoustic archtop guitars. For this sound solid state amps produce a nice clean tone. For a more distorted sound a tube amp may be more applicable. There are many popular amps that are used by Jazz guitarists for example – try experimenting with a Fender Pro or a Polytone
Another requirement may be on board effects this may range from simple reverb to an overdrive channel – again this will depend on the style your trying to achieve.

Effects

Traditional Jazz may only require a hint of reverb but many modern jazz guitarists apply a range of effects from Chorus, Overdrive through to delay. There are many effects units available from single stomp boxes to complex digital “modeling” devices such as the Line 6 Pod. When choosing effects ensure they compliment your playing style and that you retain that “clarity” in your tone. Too many effects often muddy the sound and do not produce a quality sound.

Conclusion

In summary there are primarily 3 things that you should investigate when trying to get a jazz tone. Ultimately you should also listen to a wide range of jazz greats – listen closely to their sounds and try to emulate them. Ultimately when you have done this a few times they will begin to merge and you will begin to develop your own tone that will sound equally brilliant!

By: Adrian Martin