Jazz Festivals » Metronome

Learning How to Play Jazz Guitar

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:13:11 +0000

Jazz guitar is an extremely popular guitar style and learning this style of music can pose quite a challenge. There’s no doubt that it can be very time-consuming with many hours of practice to put in if you are to master this rather difficult style. Determination is a deciding factor in those who eventually ‘get there’ and can call themselves ‘jazz guitarists’!

There are many unusual harmonies and chords associated with this style and, at first, this might seem unusual to your ear. However, practice is the key and over time, your ear will adapt and get used to these slightly more ‘exotic’ sounds. You will also need to be very familiar with your guitar and listen to as much jazz guitar music as possible. Get used to the different beats and rhythms, surround yourself with the style. Don’t forget to explore different eras as well. Modern pop often incorporates jazz guitar styles, but also listen to the ‘hot’ jazz of such luminaries as Django Reinhardt. Remember, Reinhardt had fingers missing and he was still a gifted guitarist. There’s hope for you yet!

Use a metronome. This is an invaluable tool that will help to keep you in time. Many musicians have a tendency to speed up as they play, especially if they are solo. This is a natural phenomenon, but one that need to be curbed. Many jazz styles need to be ‘laid back’ with a lazy style of playing that isn’t rushed. Keeping a steady metronome pulse will also allow you to feel the subtleties of ’syncopation’ (the notes falling ‘between’ the beats). Electronic or wind-up, it doesn’t matter, but get a metronome at once!

Open up your mind to the new sounds, harmonies and rhythms that you will experience over the coming months and years. Invest in some good jazz guitar CDs (do a quick search on Google or visit Amazon), find a reputable local guitarist/teacher who can demonstrate this style of playing. Make sure that whoever you decide on to teach you has good references (ask around, listen to him/her play, what qualifications have they got, etc).

Finally, don’t be afraid to have fun and experiment with jazz guitar. More than perhaps any other style, it is free and diverse with a variety of ’sub-styles’ or ’sub-genres’ to explore.

At the end of the day, just get out there and ‘play guitar’, don’t hang back.

I wish you well with your musical exploration!

By: Washington Stoker

Practice Jazz Bass Lines by Making a Play List

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:23:01 +0000

Jazz falls in the spontaneous forms of music. Nobody is a Jazz expert from birth; rather it is rigorous practice and love for Jazz music that extracts an expert from a common Jazz lover. Take the example of any Jazz expert, you will find that continuous improvisation and repeated practice have made them the master of the art. First they learn all genres of Jazz and then they tried to specialize and have expertise in one form.

On the path of specialization, your interest plays a significant role. Once you know the basics, step forward to have mastery in one. The logic behind it is very simple. One lifetime is perhaps not the enough tenure to excel in all forms of jazz and having expertise in left hand Jazz piano playing like Art Tatum, thundering blues lines like Oscar Peterson and the harmonic complexity of Bill Evans. Hence, specialization leads to excellence. This article comprises of beneficial tips that make your Jazz piano practice easier.

1- Expose yourself to a variety of Tempos

When you practice jazz piano, Practice at a variety of tempos like slow, medium and fast. From quarter note = 40 to 360- never be scared of any tempo.

2- Be creative

While using the metronome, let the creative part of your Jazz-love perform its best. Click on the upbeats (beat two and four) instead of downbeats (one and three). Set the metronome in your comfort zone and practice Jazz piano for all patterns in both hands. It helps you to be more creative and develop a greater level of dexterity.

3- Apply the golden “Five Time” rule.

While practicing Jazz piano or baselines, play the scale, chord, lick, pattern, phrase or song five times in a row without committing any errors. If you commit any mistake (whatever negligible it might be), you are lacking in concentration. Practice this rule until you have not attained mastery.

By: Akhila Choudhary

Practice Jazz Piano With Useful Instructions

admin — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:32:40 +0000

Jazz music has had a checkered history. It is widely believed that jazz was possibly born in New Orleans sometime in the 1920s. It is said that early African Americans, probably slaves, stumbled on to jazz music while trying out a fusion between their native folk music and the European form. In its early days jazz was more popular in bars. Perhaps it was this dubious association which prevented the growth of jazz music till the advent of the radio. The instruments popularly used were accordion, fiddle, flute, guitar, various percussion, wind, string and chord instruments. The most popular of them all were the guitar and the piano.

Today jazz music is popular once again. The main reasons for the popularity of jazz are two. Firstly, jazz has an individualistic style of rendition and secondly, jazz has a natural rhythm which is lilting and captivating. Amateurs and would be professionals today practice jazz piano using a variety of means. The obvious choice is of course the internet. One common method is to use websites which have a wide selection of songs using the piano as the prime instrument. You as the learner have a number of options. First of all you can select your favorite song. Secondly, you can select your choice of accompaniment and then you can practice jazz bass lines. Your options do not end here. You can also select the pitch, the song duration and its rhythm as well. Therefore, you could use a metronome as a guide for the rhythm or the beat. Since the metronome’s beat is adjustable you could increase the beat gradually while you practice jazz bass lines. You can practice to your heart’s content till you are satisfied. Once you are convinced that the result is satisfactory you could download in either the MIDI or MP3 formats.

An amateur wanting to practice jazz piano no longer faces the insurmountable task of looking for a teacher and commuting to his school during each visit. In the comfort of his home he can now learn jazz music.

By: Akhila Choudhary

Jazz Guitar Tips and Tricks – Learning Jazz Guitar Playing

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:22:09 +0000

Jazz is more complicated than any other music genres as far as playing guitar is concerned. But there are a lot of jazz guitar tips and tricks that you can use to make it easier for you and to help you become a better jazz player and a well-rounded guitarist.

At the top of the list of the important jazz guitar tips is knowing your scales and modes. Internalizing jazz guitar scales is considered to be one of the most challenging part of learning to play jazz because of the many scales to be learned and mastered. These scales provide the basis for the improvisational sound of jazz music.

When it comes to modes, it becomes confusing because many guitar players call modes as scales. Technically, a mode is a scale but modes are used by many musicians to open doors to new sounds. Jazz players rely on the major and minor modes in setting the tone of their music. They use these to get the great flavors of music out of the scales aside from just using the full neck of their jazz guitars.

Other important jazz guitar tips include eliminating the feedback produced by the guitar, using a software to practice improvisation, and using a metronome in your practice to achieve good timing.

In learning to play jazz guitar, you should also learn and memorize the lyrics to help you recall the music better. Recording yourself will also give you a clear picture of how does your guitar playing sound.

And of course, you cannot play jazz guitar better if your guitar itself is not in a good condition. Before starting to play, check first if it needs some tweaking. You will know if it needs a tune-up when it begins to feel tiring to play.

The basic adjustments you need to do are in the truss rod, the bridge, height of the pickups and intonation. To ensure that the strings are on the proper height, you have to regulate the nut. Examine also the high and low frets and level them as needed.

In adjusting the intonation, do it in small increments and consider your ear’s accuracy in deciding the pitch between two notes. For more accurate results, use a highly accurate tuner with analog-style needle display.

Other helpful jazz guitar tips that will bring your performance to the highest level are ensuring the proper location of your guitar and your hands. The strap of your guitar should lift the instrument up to about midway on your chest. It will feel tighter but will give your left hand more mobility. Your right hand should not also exert much effort in picking out the notes.

To sum it up, you should be familiar with the important components of learning jazz guitar which include effective scale usage, harmonization, rhythm, melody and jazz chord improvisation.

Also, learning jazz guitar requires an astonishing skill that you can’t develop by just relying on your music sheets or music teachers alone, so keep in mind to practice and persevere.

By: Carolyn Anderson

Jazz Piano Practice Tips That Work!

admin — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:59:06 +0000

Warm up and stretch. Bill Evans used to put his arms under a hot-air dryer (you know the ones in the bathroom?) to help warm up his arms. Warm ups and stretching are very important. You can run your arms under warm (hot-as-you-can-take-it) water and rub them. You’ll be surprised how this helps a lot! Try running through 5-finger scales, Major scales and arpeggios.

Practice in “Chunks”. When you are learning a piece of music, break it into chunks. A good chunk is 2-4 measures for a difficult piece or 8 measures for an easier piece.

Vocalize Rhythms. I cover vocalization of rhythms on my DVDs. Basically, you assign a non-sense syllable to each rhythm and “sing” the rhythm. This helps you to really feel the rhythm rather than over intellectualizing it.

Practice slowly, then build up speed. Think about this: Every time you play something wrong, you are getting better at playing it wrong! Basically, you want to play slow so that you can play accurately.

I see so many students play fast and make the same mistake over-and-over again. Go slow, then build up speed. You’ll see a big difference!

Use a metronome. Digital metronomes are more accurate than the “wind up” kind. Set the metronome to a slow tempo to start, like 80 or 90. If you are playing jazz, try setting the metronome on 60 and think of this as beats 2 and 4. Beats 1 and 3 do not click. You think of them in your head.

Keep your eyes on the music. You do not need to look at the keys in order to play. If this were the case, how would people with impaired vision play? We look at the keys as a “crutch”. Try your best to look more at the music and less at the keys.

15 minutes a day is better than 2 hours on Sunday! There are several reasons why practicing throughout the week (even for 15 minutes, but try for 30) is better than the “big” practice session once-a-week.

First of all, most of us (me included) can only really concentrate for about 30-45 minutes on one task. So, I’d rather see you practice for a concentrated 15 minutes rather than a “What’s for dinner tonight? How much homework do I have? I need to call Jill after this….” 45 minutes.

Second, 15 minutes spread out over 7 days will help you to remember concepts. Imagine studying math for only one day a week, then taking a test? Practicing every day helps to “lock in” what you are learning.

Comfort. If you are uncomfortable, you will not want to practice. Remember:

Sit on a comfortable bench that is not too high or low. Practice in a well-lit room. You do not want to strain your eyes to read the music. Avoid a room with a T.V. in it. Too much temptation! Try to practice at a set time every day. This helps you get on a schedule. Sit up tall, but not stiff!

Patience. This should go without saying, but you need to remain patient with yourself. Learning to play the piano (or any instrument) can be frustrating. Some days you’ll amaze yourself at your progress. While other days you’ll feel like you have stepped backwards.

Learning is cyclical. It’s like the rising and falling of waves in the ocean. Some days you’re up, some you’re down. Once you realize this, and accept it, you’ll be able to step back and look at your musical journey in “perspective”.

This is a great way of looking at practicing. Remember the old saying that “It is not the destination but the journey?” Think about where you started and where you are now. You’ll probably be amazed at your progress.

If you are just starting the piano, I’d like to suggest that you record yourself on CD or video tape playing your first piece. Reason: when you feel down about where you are, pop in the video and look at where you were.

There are many other tips that can be added to this list, but this is a great start.

If you have not subscribed to the free JazzPianoLessons.com E-Lessons, I’d like to encourage you to do so. I have created 20 video lessons that are absolutely free. The E-Lessons are for students of all levels.

Have Fun Practicing!

By: Willie Myette