Improve your blues playing

[Triple-o]

I always thought that this was a pretty good guitar course. The one session I always thought didn’t belong was session 18. Jazz, don’ you need a masters degree in music to learn Jazz. Now I’ve changed my mind. The more time I spent trying to master the blues solo the more I realize some of the answers to improve my solo can from from Jazz. One way to improve your solo would be by adding tension and resolution to your solo.Where is one of the best places to learn more about this subject, that’s right Jazz.

[NeilES335]

@Triple-o Ah ha... a lightbulb moment... Many many dedicated "blues guys" not only use but rely on " jazz" chords, phrases and progressions to spice up the ol' 1- 4- 5. Use of 9ths , 11thths and 13ths  , Dim 7ths 6/ 9 's etc . are common and differentiate the player from the norm... (Robben Ford is a prime example...) Do yourself a favour and pick up a copy of Steve K' s Fretboard workout Jazz chords, and watch how adding these beautiful sounds brings a fresh appoach to any style you choose.

[colder]

Great points 000. 

Personally I never had an interest in jazz when I first did L&MG, and I even skipped over that lesson because of it. Later I came back and thought "whoa, this is cool". Started learning some jazz chords, bought a The Real Book, toyed around with it.

Then I developed an actual interest in Jazz itself outside of guitar playing and discovered another musical landscape I had never visited before. All new colors, all new ideas... all things new. 

I just wish more jazz books were written for people who can't read music, but maybe I just need to learn 

[V7#5b9]

10 hours ago, colder said:

I just wish more jazz books were written for people who can't read music, but maybe I just need to learn 

More and more books tend to use both regular notation and tab. But, there is one resource that goes a step further. It’s called Bebop Guitar Improv Series. The study includes a notational system occasionally referred to as intervallic script. It is in no way meant to be a substitute for traditional music notation. The main purpose of intervallic script is to serve as a system of staff-less notation, to analyze and memorize melodic phrases in numerical formulas that can easily be recalled, transposed and applied to any key as improvisational vocabulary.

In addition it has proven to be an invaluable system in training the mind to visualize the components of a scale and their melodic function in relationship to a given chord. This is a crucial resource when improvising, due to the fact that it is much more practical to think in transposable numerical patterns rather than actual notes.

Intervallic script has its limitations, of course, therefore conventional notation and tablature are used throughout the study as well. If you are not a proficient reader, your best next option is to use both the regular notation and tab.

[V7#5b9]

13 hours ago, Triple-o said:

I always thought that this was a pretty good guitar course. The one session I always thought didn’t belong was session 18. Jazz, don’ you need a masters degree in music to learn Jazz. Now I’ve changed my mind. The more time I spent trying to master the blues solo the more I realize some of the answers to improve my solo can from from Jazz. One way to improve your solo would be by adding tension and resolution to your solo.Where is one of the best places to learn more about this subject, that’s right Jazz.

Let’s not forget that jazz evolved from blues and not the other way around. You can improve your traditional blues playing without knowing anything about jazz. It’s more about the blues scale, phrasing, using bends, hammer-ons and pull-offs. On the other hand, if you want to enhance your blues playing, you will move from Traditional Blues to Jazz Blues to Minor Blues to Bird Blues.

[Plantsman13]

@V7#5b9  Agreed, just far easier said than done!  ?  I'm still trying to "lose the training wheels" when it comes to blues...much less, ordering my new Ferrari (but I will keep the poster of it on my wall)!

[Randy120]

I started working on Steve's Blues DVD course. 

I have three Jazz books by Jamey Aebersold which Steve sold a few months ago. They come with jam along CD and tab to teach you how to improvise. 

Jazz Guitar Volume 1

Nothin' But Blues Volume 2

The II-V7-I Volume 3