The last class of the year will be 23rd Nov. We have spent the last few classes of Sussex Jazz Guitar School focusing on the art of solo jazz guitar playing. We have looked and explored numerous approaches to applying movement between chords including use of chord substitutions, shell voicings with inner movements on the 3rd and 7th and much more and also looked at a structured and systematic approach to developing a chord melody of any given jazz standard, looking at ways of how to vary this and improvise over the tune. I’ve received lots of positive feedback from various students who perform in public and say that they are using the concepts in their gigs. For example, when vamping over a static Fmaj7 chord in a tune, now being able to create movement, linking related chords thoughtfully and chordal lines over that vamp rather than just chugging away on the same old Fmaj7 chord!
The next class will be reverting back to creating single note solo lines over jazz tunes, however I will be showing you how to comp for yourself whilst weaving these lines to fill out your playing – placing emphasis on phrasing, off beats, down beats and other interesting devices. Guitarists that use this self comping to great effect are Kurt Rosenwinkel and further back many other guitarists including the late great Lenny Breau. Mixing chords effectively with concise single note lines on the guitar can actually be used in solo jazz guitar playing. When used in addition to previous solo guitar concepts covered, this will add to your solo guitar skills even more, creating variation and interest.
As usual, we will be cramming loads of information into the class! Areas will include effective use of both major and dominant bebop scales, detailed exercises focusing on down and up beats – where to start and end lines to create phrases of varying length and interest, landing on chord tones & colour tones and mixing superimposed arpeggios with the bebop scales. We will be covering new ways of outlining chord changes in contrast to the previous classes. Many more things and effective practise techniques will be covered including methods of using the metronome to nail your phrasing, starting and ending phrases on every possibility of down and up beats in a bar. We will also be looking at how to group fast moving chord changes together and come up with a new method of soloing over fast moving changes! Check out Pat Martino, Jimmy Raney et al for a taste the style of lines we are aiming at.
The work covered in this class lays the foundations for the work we will be doing in the following class – “Creative use of the Harmonic minor / Spanish Phyrgian scale”. When some guitarists first try to improvise using this scale, all they are really doing is noodling around with it and it can end up sounding a bit like cod flamenco or some Carry on Film set out in the desert or something. We will be looking at which arpeggios to superimpose over which chords, how to link them with use of the Spanish Phrgian Bebop scale – Whhaaatt??!! And phrasing.. using different beats of the bar. Basically an extension of the class mentioned above!
Sat 23rd Nov, 11am til 1.30pm – 2.5 hours of intense, no nonsense Jazz Guitar Tuition!
Brunswick Pub, 1 Holland Rd, Hove.
£20 (£55 for three classes, next dates to be confirmed)
I will send the prep work out in the next day or so, speak soon!
Ps, here’s two clips of the syles we are working on..
1. Pat Martino, thats what we’re working towards in this style of playing, creating intricate zig zaggy bebop lines..
2. Lenny Breau “self comping”
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