Hi all. It's great to be part of a community of such knowledgeable
folks in the field of jazz guitar.
I'm 49, have just acquired a very nice 18 year old Ibanez archtop and
wish to get back into jazz guitar learning and playing. I don't play
professionally, just for fun with a couple of friends (folk, blues,
smidgeon of "jazz"), and occasionally accompany a couple of latin
american female friends in playing brazilian songs (bossa nova, MPB)
that I learned during a period of infatuation with Brazilian music
about 10-15 years ago.
About 20 years ago, I decided I want to expand my playing from the
blues and folk which I learned to play initially, and try to play some
of the music that I loved so much from the jazz masters (Pass, Kessel,
Smith, etc) I was hearing on radio. It was a foreign world, guitar
wise, and my guide was Mickey Baker's "Complete Course in Jazz Guitar
1", where I learned most of the chords I still use today. Never got
to the end of the book though. I switched to a couple of "Fake Books"
to get the basic chord structure of classic tunes, and got Mel Bay's
Chord book to allow me to find the chord voicing that sounded "right"
to me. I would sometimes transcribe these on tab chord sheets so I
would remember my "arrangements".
I was really inspired the other night, watching a TV special on jazz
bars in NYC that showed Les Paul playing onstage at 90 with arthritic
hands, and having so much fun. I thought: jazz guitar can be a source
of learning and pleasure to the end of my life too, and a source of
growth, both musically but also spiritually. That's when I went out
and bought a nice jazz guitar, to inspire me to go further down that
path.
I'm now pondering what is the best course to refresh my jazz knowledge
on the guitar (which is somewhat rudimentary) and proceed to higher
and more satisfying levels. Should I pick up Baker's book again and
work deeper into his lessons? Should I rather invest in some of the
DVD-based courses now available? Should I invest in private lessons?
One drawback I have is that I don't (easily) read music notation. I
mean, I can figure out things but it takes me a LONG time, note by
note. So I largely rely on tabs, chord symbols, and my ears. I tried
a few years ago to teach myself music reading, but it was like going
back to kindergarten so I stopped in frustration.
Once I become more confident in my playing, I would likely seek out
opportunities to play with others, which provides a real growth
opportunity. For now, I have a digital recorder that allows me laying
down chords and overlaying with melody, which allows me to develop my
lead playing. I could benefit from learning some more standard lead
phrases and fingerings, as I find I usually fall back on the same
patterns, and often fall in the trap of playing fast runs instead of
seeking slow melodic lines.
I look forward to ideas and suggestions on how to learn to become a
better and more satisfied jazz player.
Thank you.
--RObert
