why do i find learning jazz guitar hard?

Question

okay ive been into jazz for about 2 months. i own wes montgomerys "smokin at the half note" and the kiko louriero solo album (latin jazz fusion).

i been taking lessons from my previous teacher from last year for 3 weeks now (3 sessions) and so far were just improvising over "freddie freeloader" by Miles davis (Bflat blues progression basically) and learning the Maj.7th arpeggio in a few positions.

but what else can i do? im getting alot better at the "clawing" finger picking type technique. but learning four on six in near impossible to me because of the swing type rhythm and its VERY different from the blues and megadeth that i already play.

can anyone help? or suggest music? im really into smokin st the half not but im not intrested in alot of other jazz (not the biggest fan of smooth jazz)

Answer 1

Jazz is one of the most difficult guitar styles to learn. One thing that is absolutely necessary is a good "fake" book. The fake book is a book of jazz standards with popular arrangements for many classic pieces. There are many different variations of fake books available. To become competent at jazz will take years, not months, to truly be able to "comp" with other good jazz musicians. I played with a local community college jazz band for a couple of years and that really helped to hone my jazz sensibilities. A good chord dictionary is very helpful, as is knowing how to play at least 3 versions of all the basic chord voicings such as maj7th, min7th, dominant7th, m7b5, and at least 2 versions of all the 9th,11th and 13th variations all over the neck. When reading jazz charts I was dealing mainly with rhythm slash marks and very little single note lines (other than solos). Chords are often changing on EVERY beat so practice variations of I-IV-V and ii-V-I progressions in major and minor keys to become proficient at being able to quickly and cleanly change chords. Listen to a lot of different types of jazz including more progressive styles. There is some awesome stuff that will totally blow you away! Frank Gambale was one of my teachers at G.I.T. and he is one of the best jazz/fusion guitarists in the world. Check out his solo stuff and his work with Chick Correa. This will give you a whole different view of what jazz guitar can do.

Learning standards is a great way to introduce yourself to the idiom and can help you start to understand the "vocabulary" of jazz guitar. Keep studying with your teacher and start buying a lot of books related to this very interesting style of music.

Answer 2

You sound a bit too uptight and impatient for jazz! Just kidding, it sounds like you're making great progress. The key to great jazz playing is to thoroughly understand music theory and practice all the chord shapes, scales, and modes until your fingers fall off. Mastering jazz is more about being totally comfortable with the instrument, feeling the music, and just letting it go. You can't get there by copying someone else.

Answer 3

I have a question. If you can't read music and you play everything by ear, that means that you have to hear someone else play it first? So how do you know that what you are learning is what the composer wrote and not a bad interpretation by the person you have heard play it. If you can't read music you have no way of checking this. I am a music graduate and qualified music teacher and I would disagree with your father about this. I sometimes had pupils who couldn't read music and they always copied someone else playing. They did not produce original interpretations of anything, because they couldn't read what the composer had originally written. Not being able to read music means that your ability to play the piano is very limited. I don't believe that you are a perfectionist when it comes to playing the piano. A perfectionist would want to be very sure that what they are playing is as close to what the composer intended as they could get, if you can't read music you can't do this. I would suggest that you buy a beginners piano book and start to learn to read music.

Answer 4

How long it takes to learn guitar depends on how good you want to get and how much practice you put in. How good you can get with 1-2 hours a day for a few months depends on what methods you use to practice. There are effective practice methods that will help you make the best use of your time. This course is one of the best. https://bitly.im/aM7Sd It's not just about how much you play but how effectively you play that will determine how good you will get.

Answer 5

Because it IS hard.



It's completely different than something like Megadeth... it's different musically, utilizes different techniques (so different physically), and you have to think differently too. You can't expect to just be awesome at jazz because you can play a few Marty Friedman solos.

Answer 6

If you intend to learn to enjoy the guitar from your property but like you were with a instructor by your side then your perfect online program is the Jamorama online program for guitar from here https://tr.im/mqv8s . 

Jamorama simply attempt to re-create a situation in which you would have a instructor, or are playing in a band.

They give you Jam tracks (to reproduce the band), ideas and popular problems (that your guitar instructor would have described while teaching you).

Everything in it is in order that you could have a similar knowledge to having a teacher.

Answer 7

Playing guitar has enriched my life, and I want to help you get that same feeling by going through these guitar lessons https://tr.im/xNww1



By the end of some lessons, you’ll be able to strum and know enough chords to play a few of your favorite songs, which will be a lot of motivation for you.

Answer 8

If you push it any faster, you are just going to mess it all up. You most likely will not really feel comfortable playing jazz for quite a while.

Answer 9

It sounds like you're doing alright for 2 months of practicing a completely different style of playing.