THE JAZZ GUITAR VLOG
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Peter Bernstein’s Chord Melody Snippets
If you’re a jazz guitarist or aspiring to be one in this day and age, you’ve most likely heard of Peter Bernstein. If not, it’s time you check him out as he is one of the finest and most influential players of the day! If you’re already familiar with his playing, and...
Master “Minor” Rhythm Changes
As you most likely know, back in 1930 George Gershwin wrote “I Got Rhythm” based on the major I-VI-II-V progression which is the basis for hundreds of standards, as well as the initial portion of what jazz musicians refer to as…. “Rhythm Changes”. Today this...
“Tenderly” – Chord Melody
If you enjoy jazz ballads, here is my chord melody arrangement of a classic..."Tenderly" written by Walter Gross and Jack Lawrence in 1946. If you're not familiar with it, be sure to check out the numerous renditions of this beautiful standard which includes Sarah...
Diminished Chords Intensive
When it comes to playing diminished chords, most guitarists resort to one or two of the same voicings. But, did you know that when a progression calls for a diminished chord you have dozens of chord voicing options to play? In this lesson I demonstrate what I like to...
La Vie En Rose- Chord Melody
I’m sure many of you guitarists have heard this tune countless of times even though you’ve probably never actually played it...and I’m referring to “La Vie en Rose” written by french vocalist Edith Piaf back in 1945 right as World War 2 was ending. And it’s...
Sleigh Ride
Here are two jazzy arrangements of a holiday favorite: "Sleigh Ride"! I like to think of this tune as "Santa's Rhythm Changes" because it features a fast recurring "I-VI-II-V" progression over the A and C sections. Maybe that's because it was written in 1948, and the...
White Christmas
It’s that magic time of the year again, and I just posted a new jazzy chord melody arrangement of a holiday favorite! I’m referring to Irving Berlin’s classic “White Christmas”. It’s a solo guitar piece with lots of nice chord voicings. If you start practicing it...
God Only Knows
Brian Wilson may not be a jazz musician, but among the great compositions he wrote during his career with the Beach Boys, there is one that is as harmonically sophisticated as any of the standards included in the Great American Songbook! And I’m referring to “God Only...
I Fall In Love Too Easily – Chord Melody
If you like ballads, please check out this chord melody arrangement of “I Fall in Love Too Easily” written by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn. It was originally introduced by Frank Sinatra in the 1945 film, Anchors Aweigh and was nominated for an Academy Award for best...
Bach Jazz Lines
I recently posted a series of videos demonstrating how jazz musicians are using the different concepts employed by the impressionist composers, namely Debussy and Ravel. In this lesson I step further back in time to the baroque period, in order to demonstrate how the...
Chordal Planing
So what on earth is planing? It is often associated with a practice that was frequently used in the music of Debussy and Ravel. During the late 19th century, composers started experimenting with the use of upper extensions in their harmony and ended up creating large...
Monk Chords for Guitar
Do you like bebop? Do you like Thelonious Monk? Are you looking to expand your jazz chord vocabulary? If so, read on... In my newly posted lesson I share several snippets of Monk transcriptions I’ve done, in order to adapt some of his unique piano chord voicings to...
Ravel Chords for Jazz Guitar-Part2
In this 2nd installment of Ravel Chords for Jazz Guitar, I go deeper into Ravel’s impressionist harmony and its application to jazz standards. For starters, I play and analyze an excerpt from a composition that many believe influenced John Coltrane to compose “Giant...
Ravel Chords for Jazz Guitar
Did you know that the bebop pioneers discovered how to use upper extensions from analyzing the music of the impressionists...namely Debussy and Ravel? But the exploration of impressionist harmony on behalf of jazz musicians did not end there! Post-bop musicians have...
One Note Samba
If you’re a fan of bossa nova, Antonio Carlos Jobim needs no introduction. Almost every one of his compositions is pure jazz harmony! And in this video I am happy to share with you my solo guitar arrangement of one his most beloved pieces: "One Note Samba". In the...
7 Exercises to Learn Any Scale
Learning and mastering scales is something we all must do before we can actually play jazz. After all, scales serve as our music alphabet! And so in this video, especially recommended for jazz newbies, I show you some of my favorite time tested exercises intended to...
The Locrian-Lydian Exchange
Please take a brief moment to consider this scenario… After a substantial amount of time practicing your major II-V chords and scales, you finally decide it’s time to do the same with the minor II-Vs. Next thing you know, you’re confronted with 2 of the most...
Latin Jazz Guitar Blues
If you dig Latin Jazz, I hope you had an opportunity to watch my lesson titled “Afro-Cuban Latin Jazz Guitar 101” where I explain in detail all the fundamentals of this style as applied to the "6 String Beast" ! (lol) As a follow up, in this lesson you'll learn how...