5 Common Mistakes When You Learn Jazz

[@JensLarsen]

What do you think? Share your advice or experiences! Content: 0:00 Intro - Be Efficient with your Practice 0:33 You can fix it by thinking differently 0:45 #1 Modes 1:00 Most Jazz Repertoire is Tonal, not modal 1:26 Breaking down Modal vs Tonal Analysis 2:04 Chords are in a context - use your ears 2:37 Play the movement 3:11 Dm7 G7 Cmaj7 vs Dbmaj7 E7 CmMaj7 4:06 Understanding and stripping down Chord Progressions 4:29 #2 Learn Songs 4:30 it's not all exercises. 4:49 Just Listen to Scofield! 5:21 #3 Listen To Jazz 6:02 What Jazz Do You Like? 6:13 Jazz is not a Skill, it is a type of music.... 6:58 #4 Learn Vocabulary 7:30 What is having Vocabulary? 7:48 How To Learn and Develop Vocabulary 8:15 #5 Practice the Right Techniques and Exercises 8:32 Arpeggios and how they appear in a Jazz Solo 9:31 Keep in mind that you need to improvise 9:54 Like The Video? Check out my Patreon Page!

[@damonshanabarger2604]

The more you explore and discover things on your own the more your creative abilities will blossom. Avoid to many lessons and theoretical objectives. About twenty percent lessons and eighty percent attitude will always make for the new musician. Whenever I listen to any teachings, I walk away with twenty percent learned and at least eighty percent attitude. If it doesn't sound different, I won't play it.

[@DovidM]

Part of practice for me is playing transcriptions of recorded solos. They don’t need to be guitar solos. Transcriptions of piano solos are particularly useful to me. I am not playing these transcriptions to mine licks but to better understand what a professional musician did with a particular song. It helps me to understand which parts of the solo rise above what the average musician would probably have done with the same changes. I often focus my practice for a few days on one standard. I take two to three performances of the standard to analyze what choices the musicians made regarding the tempo, and how their solos fit those choices. I then select a tempo that seems right to me, and work until I feel I have done a credible job with the standard in that tempo.

[@damonshanabarger2604]

@@DovidM It's always a good idea to play measures of music in whatever style you should happen to start out in, but then again you should start trying to experiment with your own imagination. Take just three chords and try to form them into as many different swings as possible. You will be able to expand upon whatever style of music your own heart desires later and develop your own voice. Most of our direction as musicians is formed within the first two years we start playing. Although Rock musicians are looked down upon by many Classical and Jazz musicians, what other style of music can take three Major fifth chords and turn them into every possible swing imaginable. Pick up your guitar and have fun. The greatest contrivances in music started out with simplicities. Don't complicate things to much. The worst thing you could possibly do is tense and rush the beat. If anything pull back in the beat to cause a desirable effect or not. If you learn to do your own thing, you will have a much easier time feeling good about your playing and will be able to play other music pieces better also.

[@damonshanabarger2604]

Saxophone and piano players are a very good place to learn. Bob James Trio, album straight up is an excellent choice. I also like Chris Middle from Benny Carter. Benny Carter plays very good saxophone. I think a lot of people seem to rush into to many complexities early on as musicians and skip a lot of the basic fundamentals of music at the very start. This seems to be predominantly a problem amongst the rich and well educated.

[@damonshanabarger2604]

Sitting on the top of the music staff, 3, 8, 12, 17, 22, G could it be any easier, they're all diagonal. I figured this out last winter while I was doing the dishes. Now I am applying it to your exercises on diatonic Major scale chords. I'm filling in the blanks across the tabs. I am thinking about purchasing some music staff paper with tabs and writing out all of the Major diatonic and minor pentatonic scales in order clockwise in this manner. I have a music symbol dictionary I purchased back in 2003. Why are you using a different symbol on the eighth fret G ???? I'm going to look up this symbol. I don't know, but doesn't it have something to do with the tritone of C ???? And if so, why are you using it on the what is clearly [G] ???? Example number 6 ( using an Em7 arpeggio on a C∆7 arpeggio, in the third measure on one of the eighth notes, the G on the top of the staff, what is with the Gb/F# tritone symbol? I haven't looked at this in a long time, but I'm pretty sure that it's a cycle of keys tritone symbol. I have to move some things around the house and do some cleaning because I don't trust my desktop computer as much anymore. It seems to be working good since I convinced it that it is the year 2004. Windows XP SP2 can't surf web, not powerful enough to get upgraded operating system. Wimpy CPU only supports 2G ram. Not going to put my songs I have recorded analog off of my pocket size WAV 16, 44.100 recorder into CD architect program, instead going to record analog into hard disk recorder with CD burner. If this works, I might try doing it on the computer to. They are only a few of my many musical ideas, they are not completed songs. I can't ever remember a time in which I ever had trouble writing new music.

[@NahreSol]

As a newcomer to playing jazz, your videos are so helpful. Thank you for explaining things in a way that is clear, and most importantly, memorable.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you very much, Nahre! I really find your videos useful as well, both in terms of the topic and the impressive way you can make videos

[@mindfield7]

I play in the idontknowian mode mostly.

[@JensLarsen]

That can sound great in many cases though :)

[@eeroniemela8137]

The idontknownian mode works particularly well over the 2nd perversion of the demolished chord. Try it over Giant steps.

[@raphaelkelly861]

@@eeroniemela8137 if you play only the white keys of the idontknowian mode, it can often work over giant steps in c

[@danraats5840]

@@eeroniemela8137 Awesome comment!

[@LikeMonk]

all the diatonic modes are in the major scale , avoid start lines from the root though ( j Bruno and g Benson advices..)

[@daegabmusic59]

One more idea: when improvising I often find that the ideas "in my head" are better than those "in my fingers" (or sometimes I might play something out of pure inspiration that I'd never played before, or didn't know I could play)... so one thing I force myself to do, from time to time, is just stopping to listen to what's in my head, on the spot, or singing melodies in my head to the chord changes (with a metronome) and then trying to play them... this helps me get away from patterns and phrase-clichés. Of course, you still have to "know your stuff" and "get your chops together" I guess... :-)

[@JensLarsen]

That is very true! It is important to practice to listen to yourself and getting that out on the guitar.

[@korkenknopfus]

Exactly, that helps a lot. You can sing an improvised short idea in your head and then try to play it and ornament it. This helps to develop more musical ideas.

[@joehernandez5600]

I totally agree. When I listen to a lot of great jazz players I find I create lines in my head that are interesting. I can’t always translate them to guitar but I have managed to create fragments that I can use. I aspire to be able to play what I hear in my head but that will take much more practice.

[@ashliang6812]

Francesco Barberini Well maybe that is called：Able to play the melody from your heart any time🤠

[@daegabmusic59]

@@ashliang6812 I guess you're right! :-)

[@dingoswamphead]

"Focus on what you want to listen to". Great advice for intentional practice.

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks. Yes, important not to forget 🙂

[@7empestCL]

I'm a bass player and you can't imagine how discovering your channel (I did it just this afternoon) helped me with a lot of issues, mainly some advices that I definitely will bring into my playing and my practice schedule. 2 thing that got my attention: 1. Your way of teaching is far more clear than other channels, you dont waste time rambling, just to the point and in a very clear way. 2. You're the first youtuber that takes time to answer to almost (if not all) every comment, it's very kind from you! Thank you a thousand times! hugs from Chile!

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks Llewellyn! Really glad you like the videos! I don't answer all comments, but I do try to get as many as I can :) Keep at it!

[@xMTLKx]

bass player too, great cannel !

[@Fabio_Enne]

Another bass player here, from Italy. Great channel, excellent teacher and amazin community

[@kls1236]

Always wonderful advice and discussion points, but the moments leading up to 6:41 are glorious. I say this as a total metal head and absolutely love this.

[@donngoodside6885]

Jens ___ As a 'newbie, to 'Guitar at 76, I have visited many Instructional Guitarists On-Line, and YOU', Sir, are the most concise, and informative I have seen... Thanks for being here.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you Don :)

[@motherlessblues1565]

Jens Larsen : I have played & listened to blues for 40 years + to please myself,, along the way I have been open to jazz and learn to play by ear some jazz phrasing,, lately I watch your clips here and I think your approach is very good,, considering many perspectives you talk about,, like listen to jazz you like , internalise it so when you practice it helps to smoothen your playing etc This inspires me to listen more to you ,, there’s things to learn & think about which relates to any music . I say Thank You for such very fine advise & musicianship your sharing!!

[@motherlessblues1565]

Something to consider Jens: which I am sure you do however worthwhile to mention is: when playing thru a sequence of chords,, one should try different “ time motion” between any two chords while still being within the overall time,,, you may add some notes or double stops or slip in a triad ,, all before the next chord voicing which can change /add much more colour and lift to what your playing. To me this is creating music & it applies to all forms , blues, jazz etc This I find works best when you insert some variation in the “ time motion” between the chords. This variation is better if it’s not simply the same between the chords,, in fact it defeats the purpose. So you need to think and develop this area as much as “ formal “ playing. Does it make sense ?

[@DereBear]

YES! A jazz theorist on KZbin making good content using a guitar! Instant. Sub.

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you appreciate it :)

[@marktwain368]

You are nothing less than brilliant as a teacher, Jens, because you understand the music--not just the technical qualities and relationships. Chords and modes must lead to making music and I think you express that very well in all your videos. So, thank you from Canada!!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you very much! Really glad you like the videos! :)

[@archangelmichael9037]

I spent so much time learning Modes, i never was able to make the right melodic statement (only licks for blues)and was never was taught about the importance of following chord tones. Also when i started learning in 1980 everything was a trade secret Teachers wouldn't show you the simple facts without confusion. Thanks for making it clear .... so much more to learn as i have been just aimlessly playing scales

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks, Mick Mick. Glad you found it useful!

[@theqoulyv]

6:40 I agree 100% while I mostly listen to metal, I have a strong affection for jazz and listen to piano based trios mostly because I play jazz. It's obvious when a guitarist approaches jazz like you said, and I'm grateful you said that because it put into words a feeling I've had.

[@AXPena]

I knew you were talking about metal guitarists (probably progressive metal guitarists specifically) when you made that comment lol. That's where I come from and I love jazz, but I know I'm not a jazz guitarist. I've learned a bit here and there, I know jazz concepts and tendencies of players, I know a few standards, love many jazz artists, and I still don't think of myself as a jazz guitarist. I think this trend of "pretending to like/play jazz" comes from people thinking that anything dealing with advanced harmony/chord extensions is jazz. I see it as a complement to those that helped jazz evolve to where it is now. I think (hope) it's more of a misunderstanding of jazz, rather than a notch on their guitar belt. Love you, Jens! -dumb metal guitar player

[@JensLarsen]

No worries, it was mostly a joke that could also serve as a wakeup call :)

[@Thiago_Alves_Souza]

Progressive metal and rock can can be complicated since they have roots in classical music and jazz/fusion. Take Emerson, Lake and Palmer for example. A lot of jazz influence. I incorporate a lot of jazz voicings into my riffs, but build a functional harmony first. The melodic minor scale is really good if you want to give your sound a more progressive element. Too many bands out there calling themselves progressive when they're not even close to it, be careful bro. Prog metal bands that use a lot of jazz are Dream Theater (more the old dt), Haken, Between the Buried and Me, Leprous, Beardfish, Native Construct. Typical metal and rock are more modal and use pedal tones inside those modes. Modulation, chromatism and arpeggiation is what prog inherited from jazz as well. Study some Allan Allan Holdsworth, a lot of prog guitarists, including myself do. Also Pat Metheny and Scott Henderson.

[@jazznotes3802]

Thiago Souza Yeah, there’s so much great stuff guitarists can actually learn from Jazz, regardless of style. I’m from a rock background but really love what these modern jazz/fusion guys are doing, like Tom Quayle, Tim Miller, and that guy “who’s so far ahead of us, that we’ll only truly understand and appreciate in a 100 years or so,” called Allen Holdsworth.🎸🙌🏻

[@chrissguitarshow206]

I have played jazz on and off for twenty years learned circle of fifths and fourths, learned many great jazz songs along the way teaching. At first i saw david gilmour with pink floyd but mr larsen you sparked my interest again and i cant get enough of your videos on vacation on gulf coast but when i get back i am joining your patreon page thanks sir for all you do.

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks Chris! Glad you are back into jazz, and of course very grateful if you want to join us over on Patreon.

[@ekdguitar123]

Thank you so very much for this clear and intelligent discussion of why we should study traditional functional harmony and not start with modal harmony. I was a piano and composition major decades ago and having left music years ago (never left, really) and now returning to jazz, I was confused with the "modal" emphasis. You completely cleared it up and cleared my concience so I can move forward with confidence. Thank you!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was useful 🙂

[@michaelfoxbrass]

Thank you for this. I keep hearing my classical musician buddies tell me they’re practicing modes because they want to learn jazz improv. Then I hear them run modes over changes in isolation from the functional harmony. Listening to earlier/simpler jazz solos, and transcribing/playing along is a much more impactful way to start, in my experience.

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks Michael! I completely agree with that :)

[@NewtNuke]

I needed to hear that first point. Thanks Jens, I always look forward to your videos.

[@JensLarsen]

You're very welcome 🙂

[@cafiristanemperor]

Hey, Jens, how are you? My name is André and I am from Brazil. I am studying jazz on the keyboard/piano now (I study classical music at a university here) and I agree with you about paying attention to the harmony and playing the harmonic movement instead of just matching the right scales to the right chords. One technique that I am using now is to develop motives that come from the original melody, in order to help me keep track of it and not be lost in the form. Another reason for that technique is to try to achieve coherence in my solos. So, I am now trying this exercise: In the first chorus, I play the melody exactly as the original. Then, on the second chorus, I just use the first beats - or the first the motive or pattern of a given phrase, for example) and then I try to develop some lines until the end of that phrase. Then I play again the first beats and try to make the same improvisations until the end of the phrase and so on and so forth. Studying like this has helped me to acquire a better image of the whole form, so I can get a better understanding of the entire song. It is like retelling a story that I heard using my own words, but without changing it too much so it won't sound like an entirely different story altogether. I understand that this view is one among many, there are other ways of seeing improvisation over chord changes. Nevertheless, I think that this a dillemma for all improvisors to think when it comes to playing standards: the degree of improvisation in relation to the original melody: to try to achieve that kind of "donkey's carrot", that impossible goal of finding a sweet spot, a compromise solution to get the best of both worlds. Maybe you could make a video for us with techniques over a specific song and then show us how to aplly those techniques in general. Some people may find easier to understand a general concept after seeing how it is actually applied on a specific song that they have already heard/played a lot. Specially beginners that are playing just the original melody over a chord change and are trying to develop their own lines. I am sorry for the long text and keep posting these wonderful videos! Cheers from Brazil!

[@Nestor_Fernandez]

I see the point when you improvise through a chord progression. It is a basic need to understand the modes but a more intuitive and logical way to link phrases when soloing is though voice leading. It makes the line sound connected. I play the sax and not the guitar but I learn a lot from your lessons. They are pure well founded jazz wisdom based on knowledge and experience. Thanks a lot !!

[@JensLarsen]

Exactly! Glad you find the videos useful, Nestor 👍🙂

[@jackmeginniss6327]

Really good point. On a related subject, another guitar instructor said something in one of his videos that I thought was pretty profound and made a lot of sense to me. The mode that one is playing is determined by the underlying chord. For example if I am playing C Ionian over a D minor chord, the listener is going to hear D Dorian. So, it makes more sense to me to me to be more familiar with the parent scale and it’s constituent diatonic chords than where and how to finger every mode.

[@priscillamorris4124]

You're awesome, Jens! Thank you🙏🏾

[@swiftmastering]

I totally agree! It took me a while to understand why I sucked at Jazz... I was never listening to damn thing.... Then I got into listening to alot of gipsy jazz (guys like Django, Birelli, Rosenbergs & Co etc...), and I was surprised how naturally some of that translated into my playing. This guy is good! Thank you.

[@JensLarsen]

Exactly 🙂

[@gabrielrothley]

What i really like about Jens is, that he talks about having a musical goal in mind and having the right mindset to practicing theory. Otherwise you get lost in all those shapes, licks and exercises without knowing how to use them

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you!

[@petermuller161]

Jens is going to do some full shred face melting metal one day. It's going to be legendary.

[@RC32Smiths01]

Again, another informative and true video to go by. Really strong content indeed!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! Yes, I think some of these points are really good to start discussing a little more with Jazz education and practicing 🙂

[@RC32Smiths01]

@@JensLarsen Definitely man! There's a lot more indeed to understanding the fundamentals to the genre!

[@mv9787]

I used to play along with the radio years ago quite a lot. It improved ear. Songs never heard before. I think it was one good way to practice.

[@AmandaKaymusic]

Anticipating the chordal movement with improvisation is something I have been working on. Thanks for another useful clip Jens.

[@JensLarsen]

You're welcome Amanda! :)

[@GuerreiroGiese]

Thanks Jens!! I am a Brazilian guitarist and your videos have a great contribution for my learning in the language of jazz😃

[@mark-ze4en]

Thanks for the great videos Jens! I will be joining up your club. I finally bought another semi hollow body gtr to get the more solid sound after playing a Tele for decades. I also play piano. I am 70 yrs old now but jazz has been a growing passion over the last 10 year. I played club gigs in the Seattle area for 28 years but never got enough opportunity to stretch any Jazz licks. I also play Piano and without "formal Jazz" training I have made many of these theory connections simply improvising,, but your naming some of the changes and tying the ideas together is great for me. I have a couple of years of theory but ,, one has to play the style one is trying to learn. You have touched a lot of my concerns and tied some functional aspects together for me. Big Fan! Hang in there, great stuff and,,, don't worry about the Clapton fans!! Ha!

[@TheJamieAbraham]

This is an excellent lesson. There has been a lot of discussion on the guitar hour about this and I think you have put this very concisely. Thanks Jens.

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks, James! I am glad you like the video :)

[@blainelilly2971]

Thank you Jens, this was extremely helpful for this old Ami who has picked up the guitar again after 30 years. Your advice makes a ton of sense to me.

[@LUig43]

this is so right,,if you play till bebop period you'll never come across modes,,Barry Harris refers that cats didn t have any idea about modes,,to them it was just a matter of movements,,notes that move according to the harmony.

[@TheDilligan]

I'm a guitarist of 14 years with a blues background. I've always struggled with Jazz and just minutes ago I saw a video about the importance of Miles Davis "Kind of Blue" album, focused on the novelty of modal jazz at the time. It never occurred to me that modal improvisation is prety modern and that jazz standards typically are not modal. Then I watch your video and you point out exactly that issue. I think this has been a roadblock for me.

[@word67]

Slowly but surely I'm "getting it." Agree with NewtNuke. I really needed to hear that first point. Jazz can be very confusing if you get a little "technical knowledge here" and a "little tech knowledge there." This is the best explanation I've ever heard about the modal era and how it differs from following chord direction. On the extreme plus side -- I've listened to Jazz for nearly 5 decades ( mostly 1950s modal by the way). I'm comfortable playing blues, getting better at swing chords and slowly but surely plugging to jazz. Thanks again Jens --

[@ronreis6023]

Listening Great video. One thing I don't hear people mention enough is rhythm. Thinking in four bar chunks which is what you were touching upon. Look at four bars as one phrase. Chord by chord drives you insane. Find where it starts and where you want to end and find the path with respect to the harmony. Heinrich Shenker would approve. Really knowing the song form is so important so I agree with you so much on learning songs. My Jazz repertoire needs to improve for sure. The more songs you know, the more people you can play with and that is what it's really all about.

[@JensLarsen]

Excatly! :)

[@shaft9000]

So true that rhythm is under-emphasized. A beginner can learn how to jam on simple tonalities if the rhythm and dynamics are interesting and lively; it's one way to learn to play along and 'keep up' with more advanced improvisers. Phrasing is rarely mentioned today, too. I can't improvise worth a damn without it, nor organize anything good from my jams unless I think in those terms:)

[@jumemowery9434]

Another excellent lesson. Thank you Jens!

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks Jume!

[@GiovanniBottaMuteWinter]

Totally agree that modes are not for beginners. They are just confusing at the beginning and focusing on tonal harmony, triads, arpeggios, leading tones and standard progressions are the best tools to start with. That being said, once those concepts are well established in your ears and hands, modes can be useful to enrich them further. For example, I find it useful to think about a mode as a pool of notes available on a chord, each with their function. That gives the right importance to upper extensions and correct passing tones, e.g., playing a 2nd on a semi diminished chord or a #4 on a major or dominant chord: the mode puts those note choices in context even tho they sometimes don’t belong to the tonal harmonic structure.

[@khbgkh]

What you say is right, but you are ignoring his point that thinking of all seven notes is usually erroneous. Creating triad pairs and using hexatonic and pentatonic approaches, with your choices guided by modal thinking, will always create a more exciting result!

[@GregoryPearsonMusic]

Very complete and many core helpful tips

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you Greg! 🙂

[@davidmarsh3104]

Excellent advice. Particularly #3 and #4. As a classical trombone player of many years I am well versed in the repertoire and "language" of Baroque, Classical, Romantic and so on. However, when I recently started playing in the horn line of an R&B group, my biggest challenge was learning the vocabulary so I was able to improvise hits and swells that made sense IN THAT CONTEXT. The same is true of learning any style of music on any instrument. Amazing video as always!

[@whocares8735]

David Marsh nobody cares

[@davidmarsh3104]

@@whocares8735 You cared enough to respond. lol! The point is, Jens is 100% correct: learning the language and vocabulary is essential to any musical style.

[@whocares8735]

David Marsh i mean nobody cares about you, douche bag

[@rexroman5211]

Absolutely brilliant! Especially your points about functional harmony. Thanks

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it, Rex!

[@DARKLYLIT]

Ha, ha! "It's Heavy Metal Guitarists". Very funny Jens. Thanks for another great vid. I'm always so impressed at how you stress the practical. It gives us a better idea of how to break things down (or even start) to help combat inevitable overwhelm. I wish I'd had a teacher like you 30 years ago! Many thanks. :)

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you get it :)

[@courtneywinfield1947]

Great advice! I definitely fall into the category of people who practice a lot (exercises scales etc...), yet I don't spend nearly as much time actually playing and learning songs. Thanks!

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! You can easily fix that though :)

[@ViniAndradeMusic]

I stopped playing jazz when I realized I had to play all the standards to learn how to play it. I mean sometimes I come drink it from the jazz fountain, but I'd rather play other styles. I even evolve more on guitar when I start playing popular music, instead of only jazz, samba and bossa nova.

[@coopermccormick]

You are a really great teacher brodie. If I were to have face-to-face guitar lessons, you are exactly what I would hope for. You are saying all the things that someone who is learning needs to hear. Thanks!

[@Trombonology]

Jens, all excellent points! In particular, it's good to hear the discussion, which should be so elementary, on the importance of actually listening to jazz and becoming acquainted with its history and foundational material. It seems so obvious to me ... but it's often clear from comments on jazz guitar channels that players are trying to apply jazz as a technique to other genres, with no real interest in the songs (like Berlin's HDITO in this video) that largely formed jazz's improvisational basis.

[@Nikosi9]

I believe that, in addition to listening to jazz, you should also sing/whistle what you are hearing. This is a great way of instilling the music in your brain. Lennie Tristano was big on this and had his students vocally memorize solos of top players.

[@JensLarsen]

True, singing is a core part of any type of ear-training.

[@garymcelima]

good video. I needed the pep talk. I have a lot of very pleasurable hours of work ahead of me. As I watch more of your videos, I can see where my weaknesses lay. Thanks.

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it Gary! Looking forward to your arrangement :)

[@soundguitar]

You talk about not thinking modally on each chord, but then you say to follow the chord tones. I personally find it really hard to target chord tones without thinking of the mode, or rather, by knowing the chord tones really well first then I can see the mode around it. I do think this way in traditional functional harmony, and I love to also just outline chord tones to get a handle on any chord progression. When I think of only the parent scale during a chord progression that is in one key I don't like the results as much - when playing like that and not thinking of modes are you still thinking of chord tones or just thinking of the parent key and playing by ear more? Thanks!

[@JensLarsen]

I think about the song. Not isolating things in a mode just makes it easier to see how the different chords connect. You need to have the movement of the harmony in there, not just the chord tones, especially if you play mainstream Jazz

[@soundguitar]

@@JensLarsen That's helpful, thanks!

[@max-fj7np]

I took a jazz improv class, I really wish you were the teacher because we learned the modes to play over each chord instead of learning the direction of the harmony and how to reflect the melodies in the direction of the progression

[@JensLarsen]

It's never to late to learn some more stuff though :)

[@jodi183]

Not just listen, go see live jazz performed by great jazz musicians--not just the well known marquee players, but if it's possible, anyone in your local area who plays the music really well. I learn way more in a short amount of time when I go see a live performance (sorry, youtube live videos are not the same thing).

[@muhammadrezahaghiri]

One thing I really do a lot to learn a new style/genre is listening to a lot of that genre. I did that for metal (and its subgenres like doom metal or black metal as well), blues and even jazz. It really helps. Thanks for your great video!

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! That is indeed a must! :)

[@leftyjazz7269]

So true. i'm crying for the years losts trying to figure how to sound right with modes. Which never happened. Wish I had these advices many years ago! My advice : focus on the melody. Play it in the 12 tones inevery position, uspide down etc. There are so many fingerings possible on guitar that with a single melody you can learn a lot. Thanks Jens..

[@AlanHearnshaw]

I feel your pain. I too wasted years thinking modes were the answer. They were not. Still, we take the technical fluency that gave us and let it help us now follow the right direction.

[@MeikelFernweh]

Hi, Jens! Another great lesson. As a newbie (2 years of jazz study so far) it helped me a lot learning modes to get a way for my fingers over the fretboard meaning away from the minor pentatonic I played for the at least 25 years before. ;) Watching your videos and getting some essences for me (some lot essences indeed!!!) helped and helps me to get more into the material. I came to a point where I am learning the tunes by heart and try to find some nice chord progressions of my own. Its a neverending journey but a great way to go! Thx a lot and keep on with your wonderful works here.

[@McOuroborosBurger]

Thank you, your video really inspired me to go look for my polytune while listening to your lesson.

[@pogchamp7983]

Wow thank you for #3 cos I've been able to solo thinking 'what key are we in' for some time now and getting frustrated cos I thought you were supposed to take the 'what chord are we on' approach as gospel... whilst struggling to make it happen... Nice to know that's to get a different effect. Jens the man!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it 🙂

[@markusfrey4256]

This is really great stuff Lars! Of course it sounds logical however it needs already quite some experience to own this perspective. There are a lot more "fundamentals" from you out there in KZbin that contribute the right mindset - this is big value! Thanks.

[@coopermccormick]

This was excellent. Thanks so much!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it!

[@lamusicadelblas]

Mr. Larsen, thank you for sharing these amazingly informative videos! I am a college student learning all of these things at school, the advice you give here is very similar to what is being taught at schools. Great stuff!

[@tomcripps7229]

Great video Jens. One thing I've been practicing is keeping the solo within 3-4 frets of the chord of the key that the song is in. It's restrictive but just as a good drummer is one who can play well with a small set. I had a teacher who said something about assigning a note as a chord in passing. I'm a rhythm player at heart and it has taken a long time to get away from chords and use some single lines to solo. So after many years the chords have intersected each other in my vision to go after the solo. Following single line scales makes me sound like I'm playing scales so I just try and play the melody adding variations to it.

[@atocox166]

Thank you for the video. Judging from what you , Larsen ,explained, I think I may want to learn Bebop type of Jazz due to its tendency towards chord progression, while at the same time making licks. Yes I have an open mind but I tend to be attracted to playing basic Delta Blues ,Classic Rock, Reggae, Folk .I intermediate player. Ok time for me to finally get around learning jazz guitar.

[@Suire1000]

Good tips. Thanks, Jens.

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks, Marc :)

[@dannyvaughan7332]

Well done, Jens. When I saw Joe Pass in '77 (or '78?) he said to the audience, "I just learned my modes the other day." : )

[@RyanAlexanderBloom]

I asked a music professor and veteran jazz player about modes once ... he told me they weren’t important and brushed off the question. I’ve also noticed the biggest mistake most jazz players make is that they think jazz is about freedom, when it’s really about doing exactly the right things that everyone expects only not exactly like anyone else does those things. Sound confusing? It is. You must do things “correctly” to be taken seriously. Preach individuality and practice conformity. This is the true Jazz way. 😉

[@davidrb2083]

Hi Jens, I would love to see more of the 8:32, more functional arpeggios forms. Thanks for this great video bro!

[@JensLarsen]

Maybe this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIvIY2V4g8und6M

[@rationalalan5486]

Many thanks for this.

[@JensLarsen]

You're very welcome! I am glad you like it! 🙂

[@chethelesser]

Hi Jens! Beautiful shot at 9:09 😏 I presume that is post-processed? You raise an important point about chord movements rather than chord-schales, learning to improvise should come from learning how melody and chords move. Even in a non-functional chord change you can voice lead to emphasize movements. To me instructions like 'play this scale on that chord' seemed vague for a beginner looking to make music and not run a scale up and down. 'Emphasize release of tension' is more specific, and feel the harmony just by playing 3rd and 7th chord tones. The topic of 'non-important' chords is also interesting... Ive seen Barry Harris students say that even whenever you see a 2-5-1-1, think of it as 5-5-1-1 to get a string sense of motion. And about listening to jazz - recently I felt that inspiring effect of hearing great musicians play jazz live in Prage - it was as though I got to know those people and wanted to play a couple of choruses at them in response, although i am not very proficient at my instruments, in my mind's ear I could hear what I would play, just the music, without rationalizing it as scales and arpeggios. I get that when listening to recordings sometimes, but to a lesser extent.

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! It actually isn't in terms of colors (I thought so to for a second when I got it back from the editor), the sun was just really working with the guitar. I did add the blur though. Glad you like the video :)

[@comaranagroove2347]

Ye, as I don't play so much jazz,but when I play problem is apart the hood swing feel lines that sound like I'm playing from root all chords and not playing over bar lines. Love when fraze is a 4 bar melody rather then short frazas.

[@BrettplaysStick]

Another great video. I love the way you explain forward motion. One of the main thing Metheny has been saying in recent interviews is that not enough people will tell you that “Jazz is hard”. It is hard and having teachers present logically like you do really helps. Thank you

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks Brett! I am really glad to hear that! Forward motion and playing towards the next chord is a huge huge part of what I do :)

[@rhondarussell4884]

I have found it most helpful to study the solos of the greats. Either by transcribing by ear or transcriptions on paper and listening to the recordings or both. Music is a language.

[@gabinacu777]

Your advice is highly appreciated. But a lot of guitar players these days (like myself) don't actually like traditional jazz, we want to spice up our blues or rock solos with some interesting lines that we hear in some modern jazz (Frank Gambale, Jimmy Herring, Bret Garset, Larry Carlton, etc...). Improvising on the II-V-I sequence is definitely a must for the ones who like the "old" sound, personally I like more to improvise on suspended, dominant 79+, minor 69 chords . I used to play in clubs and venues a lot of "cafe concert", instrumental standards where the "sweet" sound of II-V-I makes the taste of wine sweeter for the listener.. but I want something else in my journey searching for the holy grail of improvising ;-) Thanks for your helpful and excellent videos.

[@JensLarsen]

You should go with whatever works for you. The type of chord is not what determines if it is modal or tonal though :)

[@M3Z4C]

I think I've heard you mention this before, but playing with other musicians is really important.

[@JensLarsen]

Certainly, but often difficult to realize for beginners in Jazz

[@M3Z4C]

@@JensLarsen I agree, another advantage of having a music teacher as well. You can play comfortably with someone much better than yourself, the best way to learn.

[@korkenknopfus]

One of the last things I was doing was, instead to look only at the chord that is playing, was to find the tonality of a passage and then, depending on the chords playing, identify which notes get altered from the main tone scale. For example, a song in C, and in bar there is a Em7b5-A7b9-Dm7: when the Em7b5 plays I think the C scale with this modification: I eliminate the B and replace it with the Bb. When the A7b9 plays: C# instead of C, Bb instead of B. All other notes are from the C scale. But thinking so is not purely horizontal improvisation, as one track the changes introduced by chords. As I started to think so was much much easier to react fast to chord changes and could me better concentrate to get more musical ideas. Of course one can mix this technique with the playing of arpeggios or some other things (out side or chromatic lines, for example) in other places of the song.

[@rickymolina7390]

Great points made. I also think that learning chord/arp subs is important. For example, to approach a major chord from a minor perspective or vice versa, or to use m7b5 or augmented sound over dominant idea - to get the ear use to these concepts is useful (not for everything all the time, but every now and then). Thanks again.

[@binface9]

Really valuable instruction here Jens. Tusind tak!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it and velbekomme :)

[@urtziazkue]

Great lesson Jens!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you 🙂

[@dkwvt13]

Context, Context, Context... Every lesson you teach is wrapped in context. When I first started learning Jazz guitar I was a collector of chords and scales but I learned (by jamming) the collections did me no good, I was not making MUSIC...! Wonderful lesson, Thank You... 😎

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it, Donald!

[@doordashh]

TY for sharing your wisdom jens 🙏

[@robertdouglas4293]

Thank you Jens,

[@JensLarsen]

You are very welcome 🙂

[@hearpalhere]

This is very helpful, I quite enjoyed it and have subscribed to your channel. Looking forward to seeing more of your lessons. Thank you!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! I hope you find something you can use! Don't be afraid to ask if you are looking for something specific. I have made a lot of videos..

[@jcomm120]

I'm still a beginner but found this video very useful. Thanks so much!♡!

[@bradleystroup1457]

Interesting. I never thought about playing over the chords as a movement. I tend to follow what the melody is telling me and let the melody connect the harmony and licks connect the melodic points. I heard Josh Smith talking about his teacher saying that it's about how the chords connect and you want to outline the connect or passing tones/chords in your solos. But I never thought about it as a movement.

[@JensLarsen]

If you put the chord tones next to each other across a longer part of the song you will probably find that they move a lot in step-wise motion :)

[@Neboviews]

great tips, thanks Jens!

[@nago5142]

Excellent video! I'm a big blues lover and I'm trying to get into jazz these days and I really believe that this video is really useful. I'm new here and I'm feeling so happy and lucky that I have found your channel. About heavy metal (wich I also play sometimes 😅) I think that if you really like music you have to be open minded to anything you like. Obviously you will always have preferences... I think that the most important is to be an open minded music lover. Thanks for sharing 👍 🙂🎸

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! I fully agree that you should be opened minded as well :)

[@SamChaneyProductions]

Great video! One thing I definitely need to work on more is playing through tunes with different voicings (on guitar I guess this would be different positions). For instance I could first comp through the chords with “standard” voicings, then later try using “skeleton” voicings in the LH and improvising in the RH. Then maybe I could comp through the tune with big 2-hand voicings or even quartal or quintal voicings.

[@nogoogleplus]

Excellent info, well done!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! Glad you like it :)

[@looppool]

As a professional drummer for over 40 years, one of the things that strikes me the most about jazz musicians (at least in the lower realms of jazz jams) is that they rarely seem to actually listen to what the other musicians are playing: there are a set of skills which really take a lot of time to develop and, I suppose, they are so complex that it is tough to actually listen to what else is being played. I really see this in comping musicians who seem to comp almost algorithmically, instead of actually listening to where the soloists go and actually 'ac-COMP-anying them. I really see this when so called more advance players play with more beginning musicians in jams. To me, the rhythm sections prime directive is to not only provide a foundation for the soloists, but also to really listen to then entire ensemble. Steve Houghton has an excellent video where he demonstrates a small big band playing together. First they play together, just playing what they always play. Then he has the comping musician listen intently to the drummer. Then he finally has the entire rhythm section listen to ALL of the members of the ensemble. The results are like night and day. One sounds like mediocre jazz.....the latter exercises sound like MUSIC is being made.......completely engaging to the listener because their is a functioning organic unit that is playing with each other and cognizant of each other's motion. Thanks for the nice video. I appreciate it,,,,especially your comments about being aware of the motion of the chords, as opposed to just what 'correct' mode one plays underneath the progression.

[@JensLarsen]

You go to some really strange jam sessions. That's not how we do it around here.

[@looppool]

@@JensLarsen I'm happy for you, Jens!

[@JensLarsen]

@@looppool I usually teach my students to lock in with the snare of the drummer for comping swing grooves and that it is more important to have a connection there than listening to the notes of the soloist (this is also always what you hear on records). In general, you are right that not that many people really teach comping.

[@looppool]

@@JensLarsen It's interesting, I came to the world of jazz from playing world music for 25 years , as both a composer, drumset player, hand and finger percussionist in many different global traditions. All of the rhythmic theory of jazz can be found (in spades) in the West African traditions and then augmented heavily with the Indian and Middle Easter paradigms of rhythm. I've found that a lot of jazz musicians (and, of course, not all) are relatively narrow minded when it comes to rhythm and that the world is, surprisingly, to me, very conservative in that regard. I really resonated with Dave Brubeck when he talked about the fact that Jazz and it's rhythms were novel and 'dangerous' when the idiom first started. It scared Southern white people sufficiently, that they called the music "Jazz" (the slang at the time for sperm). He noted that by '59 that jazz rhythms had largely calcified and an inherent conservatism had set in. His specific intent with the "Time Out" record was to infuse jazz with new rhythms' to make it challenging and progressive again. Miles Davis also felt that Jazz had calcified in '59, claiming that BeBop had become so complex, harmonically that it had taken away a lot of the expressiveness and freedom of the single line players. His whole move towards the Modalism of the 60's (thanks to the genius of Bill Evans and one of the most amazing bands in Jazz history) was to , specifically, liberate the Horn players and let them take back some of the leadership roles in terms of creating Harmony with their lines. This is, to this day, still a controversial change in jazz and many musicians I know think the BeBop is the epitome of the expression of Jazz. Again, and this is just where I live, so my jam sessions may not be indicative, but I constantly encounter an attitude like I encountered last night in a jam, where after having played Stolen Moments I called Footprints. The pianist said, it's the same song', harmonically. Exasperated I said, tell that to Oliver Nelson and Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. There are sooo many different ways that one can purposefullyl re-harmonize the Modal approach................so many polyrythmic ways where Footprints can be taken (witness an 18 year old Tony Williams's approach on the original), so many textural and timbral ways of expressing the music. So, consequently, I tell my students: "Listen to EVERYTHING and everyone in the ensemble." To me, it is obvious when one hears a trio, quartet or quintet who are deeply listening to each other as well as playing their asses off. One of the best examples of that I've ever heard live was the Brian Blade Fellowship at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center. People in the audience were literally weeping because they got soooo deep with it in that respect.

[@245L6GwM]

Well put - thanks!

[@JensLarsen]

You're very welcome 🙂

[@harrisfrankou2368]

Nice explanation on going from mode to mode...is not playing the changes

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! That was indeed also what I was hoping to illustrate :)

[@JRHockney]

Curses! You exposed the reason most of us metal guitarists want to learn Jazz!...I'll never forgive you for this! NEVAAAH!!!...Oh ok maybe the next video ;) lol ...Actually I want to learn it more to complement the other styles I play like Blues, Rockabilly, and Country since I do more of those kinds of gigs these days but I do want to eventually play Jazz gigs too. Half the problem is finding a good open Jazz jam to practice at since they're no were near as common as open blues jams

[@JensLarsen]

Haha! That's the spirit! I don't know how it is with jazz jams where you live of course. Here we have quite a few weekly jams :)

[@billjohnson9379]

Hey Jen's! Great advice 👍 The one thing that I thought was in order to internalize Jazz Improvisational Concepts ( such as Pacing, Phrasing, Rhythmic Density/Sparsity, Song Melody embellishments, Motivic Development, etc.) I have found that in order to absorb concepts from the conscious into the the subconscious level, it is best to focus on one, two, or possibly more topics for a certain time period to have the concepts come out in your Playing! Composition using a specific device, works well for me. So I agree with you on that, the only thing is changing up certain types of your practice routine only works for me, if I cycle back to the material/concepts. It can be easy to think you have learned something new, without spending sufficient time on it. Great job 👍 Your content and style are awesome!

[@johnhannon9349]

Thanks Jens. Very useful and practical, especially for a beginner-ish player.

[@JensLarsen]

You're very welcome! I am glad you like it! 🙂

[@argentstrat5471]

Great, great stuff, really on point, especially the part about jazz being viewed more as a skill than a style of music. I think you missed one thing though and that is how much people underestimate the time investment that is needed. Some people dont realize that you need to spend years and years of (almost) daily practice to get good at this music. I hear a lot of my friends (im 18) that play instruments say that they want to get better at improvising but they practice 30 minutes every other sunday lol.

[@lucasanderson7369]

Thanks Jens

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it, Lucas

[@COLDMKULTRA]

🤣😂🙂 ... Totally spot on Jens ... Thank You! 👍 ( Have to admit though ... I love Modal! )

[@JensLarsen]

Nothing wrong with that, just don't force on stuff that isn't modal 🙂

[@COLDMKULTRA]

@@JensLarsen Spot on Brother!

[@The_Power_and_the_Glory]

Fantastic teacher!

[@JensLarsen]

You're very welcome! I am glad you like it! 🙂

[@vasishtakanthi4231]

Hi Jens!! The advice is epic, and as a metal guitarist, I will say that you nailed exactly the genre where ppl believe say their music is jazz inspired from this and that... but what they really mean is not the art of jazz, but the chords ..... this is especially case for the so called djent - ambient - progressive metal ppl … I do like the genre and its has its catch.... its just that its a huge misconception when they say their music is jazz inspired, because if that was the case, then they should be using progression and melodies that come from or are based from some jazz songs... but lol, that's absolutely not the case... they play a Maj9 or a min7b5 with no function, and say its jazz inspired, and the thing with this genre is how technical ppl get with just one chord, such as extreme 8 finger tapping, sweeping, and syncopated scale runs... IMO, they all just want to sound like Animals as Leaders and Periphery, because these are the two bands that have kick started the genre, but they end up sounding like meshuggah.... there's nothing wrong in that of course, but its getting way too monotonous …

[@7caesar7]

Awesome. nothing to say after this lesson!!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it! :)

[@rickshafer6688]

Modes are a misnomer. I should have said patterns. There are no modes in the sense of three notes a string, just steps in the scale. Inversions are most important, as to find the 1357 or 3571 or 5731 or 7135. And the 246 are merely the extended thirds of the 1357. As the great Joe Pass said, there is only major, minor and dominant; so any extra is superfluous. So he is thinking only in M, m, & D. So anything added is an adjunct. Which goes to either the scale step or the melody or both. He kept it simple. Majoe, minor, dominant and the melody.

[@Ralphjons]

You've got to "get" jazz before you try to play it. I like many guitarists my age listened to blues and rock. Where I differ is as a developing guitarist I was not a passive listener. I was leaning to something I didn't hear until on Jazz 625 I heard Wes Montgomery. I suddenly got it and left rock music. That thing that Wes was doing was altered harmonic tension and I got it.

[@beckholland8367]

Do you have any videos or ideas on how to improvise better melodies? Thank you Jens!!

[@JensLarsen]

Yes, quite a few actually: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHfXXop_l5KBebc

[@beckholland8367]

Thank you Jens!!