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Jazz Guitar Theory

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Jazz as we know it at present grew from a form of music that was passed right away from musician to musician without too much theory being involved. Jazz guitar theory is the product of the need for jazz guitar 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 guitar playing became more sophisticated, he needed the technique to play the exotic barre chords that became the norm in jazz guitar music.

If you study 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 aid of the ninth, eleventh or thirteenth notes. These notes may be totally foreign to the original melody the guitarist is improvising over, but jazz guitar players have the work of guitarists from previous generations to draw on when they make use of these unusual voicings.

A big Element of jazz guitar theory is the type of techniques used to express musical feelings. Jazz guitar players have their own strumming patterns and chord progressions that may vary greatly from the Methods 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 Look at the basis of jazz guitar theory we need to be aware of the founders of modern jazz guitar playing, like Wes Montgomery, Jim Hall, Barney Kessel, Joe Pass and Herb Ellis as well as the founders of jazz 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.

Here is a great introduction to jazz guitar chords from TresMambo

If you want to learn more about jazz guitar, Jazz Guitar Online Their free guitar lessons cover a wide range of topics. There are lessons for beginners as well as for the guitar professional. All online guitar lessons are illustrated with guitar tabs and traditional notation, some have video and audio. Some of the subjects include: Jazz Guitar Chord Theory, Jazz Guitar Scales, The Pentatonic Scale, How to Play Bebop, Latin & Blues Guitar, Arpeggios for Guitar and Guitar Technique Exercises.

The site features a licktionary which has guitar riffs, licks and patterns from master jazz guitar players such as Pat Metheny, George Benson, Bill Frisell, Django Reinhardt, John McLaughlin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joe Pass, Al Di Meola, Mike Stern, Les Paul, John Scofield, Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, but also Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington and John Coltrane. You can use these jazz guitar licks as an inspiration for your guitar solos. They are written in both standard notation and guitar tab.


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Comments

3 Responses to “Jazz Guitar Theory”

  1. guitar dealer
    August 11th, 2009 @ 6:59 am

    good job, man!! this is a cool website that i’ve been looking for. jazz is my favorite music and i’d love to learn to play it with my guitar. thanks!!

  2. Guitar Blog » Blog Archive » Jazz Guitar Theory - What Is It?
    August 29th, 2009 @ 8:33 am

    [...] original jazz guitar players did not need theory. They needed to know their guitars well enough to be able to provide [...]

  3. Jazz Guitar Theory - What Is It?
    August 29th, 2009 @ 12:26 pm

    [...] original jazz guitar players did not need theory. They needed to know their guitars well enough to be able to provide [...]

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