The D7#9 chord is one of the most recognizable sounds in jazz, blues, and funk — gritty, colorful, and packed with tension. But if you’ve only played it from a chord chart, you might be missing how much power it has in your comping and soloing. In this post, we’ll break down: What Is a D7#9 Chord? … Read more
The Dm7 chord (short for D minor 7) is one of the most useful voicings in jazz guitar. In this lesson, we’ll cover a versatile Dm7 guitar shape that works on the top four strings — perfect for comping or solo guitar. You’ll also learn how to voice-lead it into a full ii–V–I progression, how … Read more
The G7b9 chord is one of my favorite ways to add instant tension and color to a V7 chord. Whether you’re comping through a jazz standard or looking to spice up your ii–V–I progressions, this rootless voicing sounds rich, feels great under your fingers, and is easier to move around than you might think. Let’s … Read more
There are many tools available for learning to play scales on guitar, and most of them are rooted in traditional music education. Some focus on reading notation, while others rely on tablature (TAB), which is essentially a simplified version of notation for guitar. However, in my experience, the best tool for any guitar player is … Read more
Key centers are kind of an old-school way to approach jazz improvisation. Used correctly, they make your life easier. By giving you one scale to play over a progression, key centers let you think less. And listen more. It’s interesting to me. Because this was actually the first way I learned to improvise – back … Read more
Sometimes it’s hard to know how to get into jazz guitar. Especially if you’re already pretty good at a different style, like rock or blues. I’ve heard from some of my older students that they always wanted to get into jazz – but it just seemed too intimidating. That there’s too much to learn. They … Read more
Jazz guitar gets kind of a bad rap for being too complicated to learn. And when it comes to playing jazz guitar solos, I actually kind of get it – especially the way that it’s usually taught. Most of the time, the advice you get about playing solos in jazz is overly technical. There’s a … Read more
Unlock Your Jazz Improvisation Skills 3 Easy Jazz Improvisation Exercises For Beginners Getting started jazz improvisation can seem scary at first. That’s why it’s important to find jazz improvisation exercises designed specifically for beginners to help you get started. Whether you’re new to playing guitar in general, or just new to jazz… learning to improvise … Read more
I never thought too much about how to learn jazz guitar. It just kind of happened. One day, I found out there was a band in my middle school where I could play guitar before school. The class was called “jazz band.” I didn’t know what jazz was and I didn’t care. I just wanted … Read more
For me, jazz improvisation was never something that was scary. Partly because I didn’t know much about it, and partly because It just seemed cool to be able to play solos… so that’s what I wanted to do. I was also really lucky – my middle school jazz band director strongly encouraged everyone to improvise… … Read more