Jazz Festivals » Playing Guitar

Jazz Guitars – An Introduction

admin2 — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 03:34:18 +0000

Music can prove to be the healer for many of us. In today’s fast life, many of us suffer from worries and tensions, which can be relieved by music through its soothing action. As a result, music has become a way of life for many of us. There are many types of musical instruments in the market today. We can go for playing guitar, piano, drums and violin. But if you want to do something different, then a jazz guitar is the musical instrument for you. A jazz guitar is cool and classic at the same time. The number of jazz freaks is growing all over the world, and Jazz guitarists are earning much fame and adulation. So, if you have decided to buy a guitar, you should have some basic knowledge about the music instrument.

There are many types of guitars and the playing styles, which can be called jazz. In the beginning, Jazz guitars were mostly played through the normal acoustic ones, but in today’s techno modern age, they have been replaced by electric guitars. Through a guitar, a guitarist can produce umpteen sounds and tones, which can then be arranged and practiced to be turned into harmonies and melodies. But this ability and talent to control the strings come after many weeks of practice. If we are experienced enough, we can use different combinations of the pedals to give out different types of sounds.

There are two types of guitarists, one who are learning to play guitar just as a hobby and to impress their friends and family. But there are others who are much more serious and want to learn guitar to take it professionally. For such people, there should be special focus on their instrument. They should have a guitar which is made by experienced hands. Only if the guitar is finely made, it will be able to give out clear and harmonious tones. There are many shops which will sell you good quality jazz guitars, at not very expensive rates. But you can opt for having a guitar custom made for you, by the hands of experienced guitar makers. It could cost you a little more, but you can afford the high price, if you want real quality.

There are various types of jazz guitars and one of the most famous types is the Archtop guitars. This guitar is known for its adjustable bridge and its ‘F’ cut body. The sound and quality of a guitar depends on many factors. A very important thing is the kind of wood used to make the guitar. Guitars can be made of ordinary wood, but real music lovers would like to go for guitars made from the exquisite mahogany and ebony. Another factor which affects the quality of the sound is the shape of the guitar and its sandbox. A very important aspect to look is whether you guitar has the right pickups.

If you look at these basic things, you can get for yourself a jazz guitar, and begin to impress everybody with your new found skills.

By: Salil Kothari

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

Online Jazz Guitar Lessons

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 15:52:11 +0000

There are many websites offering online jazz guitar lessons, but before choosing it is important that you are ready to play jazz guitar. Many budding jazz guitarists specialize too early and find themselves lacking in technique when they come to the more complex aspects of playing jazz.

If you have not had proper formal training in guitar before, it is important that you register for a course that first takes you through the basics, even if you believe yourself to be a good guitarist. You must be well versed in the basic chords, keys, scales and perhaps even be able to play harmonics – both natural an artificial. What you need to know will be determined by the scope of the jazz guitar course.

It is probably better for you if your online jazz guitar lessons were part of a fundamentally more extensive course in playing guitar, that takes you from the basics of your instrument right through the progression of strumming, chords, scales, fingerstyle and so on in way that trains you in a holistic manner to be able to play any genre you choose, and so that jazz is simply an extension of your course.

By learning guitar that way each technique will be mastered before you progress, and no assumptions are made. The problem with a one-off jazz guitar course is that it will not be suitable for all skill levels. Some will lack basic techniques needed to follow the course, while others will already have inbuilt bad habits. Yet others might find a particular course too elementary, so it is important that you are able to adjust the course to suit your personal needs.

As a very minimum a jazz guitarist should understand chords, keys and their relationship with each other. A knowledge of tempo and time signatures is essential, as is knowing how to play harmonics that are widely used in playing jazz. Once you are accomplished in these techniques you will be ready to learn jazz, with its many voicings and jazz rhythms. You will learn about the circle of fifths which geometrically represents the relationship between the twelve pitch classes of the chromatic scale in pitch class space: if this is gobbledygook to you then you need a good jazz guitar course that takes you from the basics through the intermediate stages to real jazz guitar theory and practice.

There’s no good learning how to play if you don’t understand the theory, since only then will you be able to be innovative. Even players that learned by ear eventually had to learn some theory, and scales and pitch are extremely important components of practically all music, let along jazz guitar. So what is the best way to learn jazz guitar, and where do you find the best courses?

Online is best, and you have a choice between one-off courses supplied on DVD or a membership site where you pay monthly for ongoing lessons. What are the benefits of each? Without a doubt, the DVD is the cheaper option because you only have one payment to make. In the same way, a single football ticket is cheaper than a season ticket, but which is best value? A DVD gives you one course of lessons and that is it, whereas a good membership provides you with a series of lessons, not only in your chosen genre, but any style of play you want to try.

A good membership site will offer you a choice of guitar teachers, and will update their course from time to time. They can also offer pages of chord diagrams, scales, songs to play to and backing tracks to play along with. You don’t usually get this with a DVD. Not only that, but if you feel like trying some of the classical techniques while learning jazz, you are not just restricted to online jazz guitar lessons, but can try out some of the other lessons as well.

You can try some of the classical guitar techniques, have a look at what heavy metal are teaching and might want to introduce some blues into your jazz. You can do all that with a good membership site, but not with a DVD. It’s a no-brainer really, and you can start at the very beginning, get rid of your bad habits, and progress through the stages until you are an accomplished jazz guitarist. Many people choose to do that – to start all over again with the right techniques.

So if you are looking for online jazz guitar lessons be honest with yourself regarding your current ability, and if you need a few beginner or intermediate guitar lessons first, then an online membership site will likely be your best option.

By: Andre Sanchez