In this bluesy jazz guitar lesson, you'll learn a solo composition that works on acoustic or electric guitar. I'll show you where all of the licks and chords come from so that you can improvise in this style or even write songs like this. This was inspired by the great jazz guitar player Kenny Burrell. Take a listen to his classic "Midnight Blue" to hear the inspiration for this chord structure. … [Read more...]
Western Swing Style Rhythm Guitar Lesson – EP185
In this guitar lesson, you'll learn how to spice up your rhythm playing with some jazzy sounding chord substitutes. Western Swing is a great format for this because it combines, blues, jazz, and country and creates techniques that can be applied to any of those styles. In addition to explaining the theory behind the chords, I'll break down the rhythm pattern. The MP3 jam track for this lesson comes in 2 tempos as well. … [Read more...]
Mixolydian Mode – Learn To Play an Easy Jazz Blues Lead in this Guitar Lesson – EP179
In this bluesy, jazz guitar lesson. I'll explain what Mixolydian mode is and how you can easily find the Mixolydian scale and use it in any key. I'll also show you how to play this slow, easy bluesy, jazz lead in the key of B. You could do this on acoustic or electric guitar. … [Read more...]
Western Swing Style Guitar Lesson – Lead Guitar Lesson – EP171
In this guitar lesson you'll learn how to play a jazzy sounding, western swing lead over a I, IV, V chord progression for a much more melodic sounding lead. I'll show you how to play a few jazz runs by targeting the notes within the chord. This gives you a much more melodic sounding lead, and you'll find it's really not that difficult to do! This works on acoustic or electric guitar. … [Read more...]
Solo Blues Guitar in A (With Some Added Jazz) – EP141
In this blues guitar lesson you'll learn how to play a solo blues composition in the key of A with no accompaniment. You'll start by playing a call and response rhythm and lead. This is a great technique to learn because it helps define the song when you're playing solo like this. The 2nd and 3rd time through you'll be playing single string lead on your own but will define the parameters of the song by the notes you play. … [Read more...]
Solo Jazz Guitar Lesson – Create a Melody With Chords – EP139
In this guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a jazz chord composition that creates a melody. This is played with no accompaniment and sounds great on it's own. You'll learn about the II V I jazz progression and how to create melodies out of chords. If you'd like to learn more about the chord numbering system (as mentioned in this video), be sure to check out last week's guitar lesson where I cover it starting at 3:00 in the Part 1 video. … [Read more...]
Bossa Nova Style Rhythm With Fill Licks – EP137
In this guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play the Latin Bossa Nova style rhythm with no accompaniment. I'll break down the rhythm in detail and show you exactly how to count it. In addition, I'll show you how to improvise and play some fill licks in-between the chords so that you can have your own mini jam session. … [Read more...]
Solo Blues Composition in A (Jazzy Chords) – EP134
In this blues guitar lesson, you'll learn how to play a solo compositions (with a pick) in the key of A. This isn't your traditional 1, 4, 5 chord progression. I've added several major and minor 7th chords to give it more of a jazzy feel. The first time through you'll just be playing the chords (to establish the song), the second time through, you'll be adding fill licks in-between the chords. This works great on acoustic or electric guitar as well. ep134, 134 … [Read more...]
Jazzy Blues Rhythm and Lead – EP133
In this jazzy / blues guitar lesson you'll learn how to play an up-tempo, poppy sounding rhythm the first time through. The second time through you'll be changing scales to match the chords while playing lead, giving you a more sophisticated sounding lead. You'll also learn how to play double stops (2 notes that are harmonized) on both the 1 and 2 strings, and the 1 and 3 strings. … [Read more...]
Jazz Up Your Chords Guitar Lesson – EP063
Back in the late 90s, I was in a guitar store in Memphis and heard someone playing this jazzy chord progression. I had him show it to me and I still remember it and now I can share it with all of you, it's somewhere between blues and jazz. Be sure to download the MP3 jam track to practice with! … [Read more...]