How To Create a Jazz Guitar Chord Solo Intro Jazz guitar students often ask me how to create a chord melody solo and I guess when you’re first starting out, it can be kind of a mystery.  Some people try composing a solo on paper first and then learn it, but I personally find the

Scale Studies for Jazz Guitar (Part 1) 44 Daily Warm-Ups to Build Killer Chops Most all musicians agree that scale practice is essential to building good technique on your instrument, but the trouble is that while it’s great for building up your hands and learning the finger pat

Guitar students often ask about the difference between “sweep” picking and “economy” picking and it seems these terms can cause a little confusion.  Sweep picking is actually just a result of applying the principles of Economy Picking to an arpeggio where the n

When I was young (and still somewhat green) I had the very good fortune to have master jazz pianist Hal Galper play with me on my first album.  I soon realized that I still had a lot to learn and a few years later I took some private lessons with Hal which completely changed the way I

 Chord Construction Workshop Some years ago I wrote a series of articles entitled Chord Construction Workshop for Just Jazz Guitar Magazine. The concepts were really nothing new, but consisted mainly of synthesizing ideas I’d picked up over the years through the old Mel Bay Rhyt

Bill Evans was born on August 16, 1929.  Today would have been his 85 Birthday.  Here’s one of my favorite Bill Evans tunes “Very Early.”

The rhythm section of Cedar Walton (piano), David Williams (bass) and Billy Higgins (drums) lay down a deep groove on this F minor vamp while Jackie McLean plays an amazing alto solo that’s 1 minute and 20 seconds of pure bliss!  Check out his use of a variety of inside and outs

Recently a few people have asked about the difference between “derivative” (or “relative”) and “parallel” modes, so here’s a little video I put together to explain it. Derivative Modes When we discuss “derivative” modes, we’r

“Where do I play that note on the guitar?” This seemingly simple question is a good one, and it comes up a lot! Unfortunately, the answer is not as simple. Maybe you’re a beginner, or learned played another instrument first, or maybe you’ve played guitar for aw

The Trouble with Chord Symbols There often seems to be confusion and disagreement about chord symbols (not just among students, but professional musicians as well!) This is something I’ve thought about a lot and covered extensively in my “Chord Construction Workshop”