5 MISTAKES That Stop You From Learning Jazz Guitar

[@guitarlicksntricks]

1:52 that pentatonic improv is such a good demonstration 🙏🏻

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! :)

[@mattsun71]

i saw you yesterday! i was the singer bassist of the other band in the blue suits, cheering from the other stage waiting to go play after you. When I heard the guitar solo's i said to the guys: Wow listen to that! And the trompettist was great too. i fact i loved the whole easy accessible yet continuous harmonically interesting songs you guys played. Then i looked up and recognized you instantly from the jazz guitar jazz lessons i follow on your channel! Always a blast to watch and very inspiring., so thank you for that. Ik wist trouwens niet dat je uit Nederland kwam.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you Matthieu, really glad you enjoyed the concert! Ellister is indeed an amazing soloist, and it is a fun to play with. I am not actually Dutch, but I have lived here since '98 when I started at the conservatory :)

[@kevindonnelly761]

I've known a lot of Classical and Jazz Theories for years. The hardest thing for me to find was a teacher who could point me in a useful and productive direction in terms of creating Music. You do that very well Jens ! I wonder too if your Mathematics background has helped you present material in logical, sensible and digestible ways ? Groovy video. Loved the 'hood' dude !

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you Kevin! Glad you like the format! I have to say that my time at Uni studied math included some pretty horrible teaching 😂

[@rongibbs390]

There’s a lot of us Maths and Physics types who look for logic and order in music. Maybe that’s why I’m drawn to Jens’ presentations?

[@kevindonnelly761]

@@rongibbs390 I studied a little Physics at Uni MANY years ago. My Maths is horrible. Music is quite Mathematical so I guess that is why I'm drawn to Jens' presentations as well. They are well presented and logical, so they can be followed logically.

[@TheDilligan]

This is a great video. I love your outlook on learning music. I think often times when people are diving into music theory, they have a hard time remembering that music is an artform and the application of music theory is not so rigid and academic. Theory is just a bunch of tools and tricks to add to your arsenal. But when you play, you can't forget that you are an artist.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! Yes, theory is for describing music, not rules for what is allowed 😁

[@antonparas4782]

i like the increasing silliness in your youtube videos over the years btw, idk how old you are but you seem young in spirit :)

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! That is great to hear! I don't know how old I am either, but I sometimes feel very old 😁

[@randyhetlage9202]

Thanks , the thing you do that I think is the best is that you make players know it is ok for them to be where they are now while empowering them to move forward... and that is truly commendable. Thank you.

[@benkatof5852]

All great tips Jens! One thing I did was to focus on transcribing heads rather than solos. As a beginner, i really wanted to learn more songs, and transcribing solos was so time consuming that i felt it was hindering me. Plus if I didn't really put in the effort to analyse and understand the solo, it didn't translate easily into the rest of my playing. So I started with bebop heads. I learn the melody by ear and the chords from the chart. Now that I can do it a little faster I transcribe the head and the first chorus of solo, which is often easy to hear. It's been productive and keeps me challenged without biting off too much.

[@JensLarsen]

That's great! I think it sounds as a solid strategy!

[@t3hgir]

Your humor is underrated lol, icing on the cake of a great educator...

[@JensLarsen]

I appreciate that! 🙂

[@MAGGOT666]

I absolutely agree with the approach of putting jazz songs in the background daily. I started learning donna lee just because I've been listening it on my spotify playlist for weeks

[@RC32Smiths01]

Jazz might certainly feel complicated at first. But the payoff and reward, as well as the appreciation for the genre, makes it all worth it!

[@JensLarsen]

Certainly! Thanks for checking out the video :)

[@mikea75201]

Great video with solid advice. Learning jazz from YT seemed like such a good idea, but it’s like trying to drink from a fire hose. It helped a lot finding one or two people whose teaching style worked for me. The first thing I learned was Jens’ easy chord melody to Autumn Leaves. It was so much fun and was the first song I ever learned to play all the way through. I just started on the Jazz Guitar Roadmap about two weeks ago and it’s a great course. I’m something of a plodding, methodical learner and am planning on spending about 6 weeks on the first chapter, which may seem like a long time but since this is the foundational chapter it’s worth going slow and doing it properly. Jazz is a journey not a destination.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you Mike! :) Really glad you find the Roadmap useful! 🙂

[@stephencarter5090]

Great presentation Jens. GIANT STEPS backwards in 11/8 ,practice 12 years to learn a solo !! Really good approach, thanks.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you, Stephen 🙂

[@KristopherJohnson]

"Enthusiasm that turns into stubbornness" perfectly describes how I've learned everything worth learning.

[@JensLarsen]

Yes, that is indeed also how I feel about most things I wanted to learn :)

[@ericstrauch3215]

Great advice here, Jens. The starting points you give are perfect for folks wanting to learn jazz without drowning them in a sea of information. You mentioned chunking. This entire video would be best followed in chunks. As before, entertaining and Instructive lesson! Keep up the great work, Jens. Peace!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you very much Eric! :)

[@AlexVonCrank]

Thanks for this Jens. As a possible topic suggestion: “What to look for in a JAZZ guitar.” Or what to look for in your first Jazz Guitar.

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it! If I have access to some guitars at some point I might do a video like that, but I think I don't think my own guitars are especially useful examples to be honest 🙂

[@zedius24]

I find your way of sharing knowledge very accurate. Also nice editing :)

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you think so!

[@heirling25]

Lol, this was me until recently, i.e., going down the music theory rabbit hole and getting nowhere- I found that I tend to learn concepts better when I go back to connect the dots at the point internalize a particular tune or lick to reasonable level, at least reasonable to my ears, lol. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

[@jean-marcsabourin2477]

Thank you Jens. Your advices are always right to the point. Great information!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was useful 🙂

[@mattherman6189]

Another great vid! Excellent humor, graphics and overall spirit as always. Yes learning (especially) for a beginner on the internet is largely chasing light bulbs - they are *real* light bulbs, but they keep adding up and adding up, until you thought you had a clear direction or realization, but that just kinda get snowed under more material. Solution to light-bulb chasing? More light bulbs! Hahaha… It’s a vicious circle. Here’s another good one - Get an in-person teacher. (very expensive) 😊 and be a good student. On this vid, I started out understanding everything, but then your honesty and thoroughness, and unobtrusive rigor makes for extremely dense stuff. It’s not always that the music part is difficult, it’s a double punch, because it gives your straight abstractions “food for thought”, but each non-music sentence has a lot to it. So as you’re chewing on that, the music detail comes on and then overload. So each vid, seems the equivalent of a 4-hour course. It’s great, great stuff… But I need to pause, think and look ever 10 seconds or so, hahaha. (Btw, not saying the music detail is necessarily overwhelming on this one, but it goes quickly from general statements to specifics and then back again) Thanks Jens! Vids are the crème-de-la-crème (I feel sorry for anyone else making jazz guitar vids, hahaha)

[@MisterSparkles]

Paul Desmond solo on Black Orpheus Theme. Good easy solo to transcribe from a good easy song.

[@JensLarsen]

Great suggestion :)

[@davidsonmick]

Thank you so much for this absolute goldmine of really helpful info! You’ve described all the things that have gotten in my way of learning to play jazz. Brilliant!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was helpful 🙂

[@UnvisibleINK]

To piggyback on the idea of finding songs in easy keys that are easy to hear, I'd like to put this out there for anyone who has a rudimentary understanding of music already; sometimes the least overwhelming way to ease into jazz, is to put all of the theoretical stuff out of your mind and play by ear along to a jazz recording you really like. What I mean by this is that if you're comfortable trying to figure out simple songs by ear just by listening and playing along, then by the time you've gone from figuring out Ramones songs, to Nirvana songs, to Beatles songs to Jimi Hendrix songs... then you're probably ready to just put on something like 'So What' by Miles Davis and just feel it out for a while. As a guitarist, regardless of whether you start with the piano riff, the horn stabs or immediately begin attempting to mimic and transpose Miles' trumpet lines to the guitar you are gonna learn how to play some sick Dorian shit. You might eventually come up with your own phrases and become comfortable improvising in that mode without ever stopping to think about what's going on. However from that point you're already more comfortable with jazz than you would be if you sat there trying to learn the Dorian mode up and down the neck, you already are capable of making those jazzy sounds that you like to hear which incentivizes you to keep playing, plus you've given yourself some more hours of precious ear training and from this perspective you can now look at what you are playing almost as a cipher from which you can reverse engineer all of the theory you want to, if you want to. Obviously not a one size fits all approach, but if jazz theory feels like an overwhelming info-dump, but you also find that your ear and hands have a bit of an understanding and that they don't typically lead you THAT far astray, I'd suggest giving this method a go. Perhaps learning not to hesitate is the best jazz preparation you'll ever get. Jazz does come burdened with a lot of barriers to entry, so best of luck to everyone looking for the in road that works for them. But rest assured once you suss out that one key access channel it becomes a lot easier to start branching out.

[@SkwisgaarScampini]

Great video…”Havona” is a great tune to practice pentatonic patterns

[@daveb8799]

Hi Jens, I really appreciate the quality of jazz instruction material that you present and your desire to make it manageable for the mere mortal. One question, at 2:13 you mention adding 2 notes to pentatonic scale yielding a major scale but the image appears to be of a minor scale with b3, b6, b7 assuming the red dots are root notes. Am I not reading this correctly?

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! Yes, I felt that actually going through all explanations of the process would be off topic so I just left it like that since it is the same set of notes as a major scale.

[@samdefrancomusic]

Jens, great job with the videos! The content is always spot on and the videos are super enjoyable to watch. Thank you!

[@JensLarsen]

Great that you think so :)

[@hectorrascon2671]

Thank you so much Teacher Larsen great lesson

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it 🙂

[@ericmorrison4188]

Sooo well said…. Keep simple…..

[@maurizio7209]

Grazie Jens… your video is encouraging me a lot… I am just a passionate about guitar and try to play some songs i like …. 😊🙏🏼

[@JensLarsen]

Go for it!

[@christianeauthier9603]

I just love all your videos. Thank you so much

[@jamescopeland5358]

Great video Jens, I'm getting better at hearing. Thx

[@JensLarsen]

Perfect!

[@claudiotacconi7763]

Jens, this video is simply GREAT - thanks a lot!!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you liked it!

[@gregbianchi561]

Thanks so much Jens I needed that encouragement.

[@JensLarsen]

Go for it Greg! :)

[@wilfriedmarkenstein]

again TOP video dear Jens 💪👍💐🎸

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you so much 😀

[@jbjorn8888]

Great video! Even though I play sax rather than guitar, I find that your content is the best that I can find on the net. One problem with Aebersold and others is that the non-modal songs almost always tend to be up-tempo. Everyone says that practice should always be slow, but in almost all playalongs a stream of chords whizz by all too quickly. It is better to play along with Billie Holliday's slow tempo version of All of me or Eric Clapton's version of Autumn leaves than to learn changes by playing Aebersold (or other playalongs). Playing "rubato" as you discuss in another video is one good solution to the problem of tempo, but I think this works better with a chordal instrument like a guitar than a sax.

[@JensLarsen]

Thanks! Backing tracks in general are far from ideal :)

[@gideonk123]

@jbjorn You might consider slowing down the playback speed on KZbin

[@jbjorn8888]

@@gideonk123 Thanks for the suggestion. I have an app (ASD) to slow down Aebersold, which helps a little.

[@ricklaino6385]

Very informative and entertaining lesson... Thanks Jens...!!!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was helpful!

[@cbolt4492]

Thanks for the shot of motivation ☺️

[@JensLarsen]

Go for it! Glad that it is useful!

[@cbolt4492]

Great information Jens

[@trevortimoko7512]

Great advice thanks Jens

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it! :)

[@fchaves68]

Cool advice!

[@AntarblueGarneau]

Love the humor Jens and the acting)

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you, Antar 🙂 I really appreciate it

[@sakshamrawat8034]

Pls do a song explanation on the song In the wee of the morning by Frank or John Mayer 🙂

[@JensLarsen]

Specific songs need to be very famous if thy are to make sense for a video. I don't think that one is that, sorry 🙂

[@nickgiordan7890]

Amazing advices !! Thanks:) And i was laughing half of the time hahah

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@simonfivez2947]

thanks again, Jens :)

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it is useful Simon! :)

[@giancarlorebagliati3379]

love, man! thank you =)

[@JensLarsen]

You're welcome!

[@willy1986tralara]

Ahahahah man you Make me crack up. But you are right, and a good Guy Thanks for sharing

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@dimmmmmmp]

Your editing gets funnier over the years lol

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! :)

[@stevenmartinellimusic]

Lol! Thanks Jens. You make it sound possible.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you, Steven 🙂

[@thijs199]

I found an app for learning the fretboard seems to work well

[@HugoPortilloMusic]

awesome!!! thanx a lot.

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you liked it!

[@codydafoe2951]

is there baking track for the jazz guitar road map course

[@JensLarsen]

Yes, the download is in the first chapter

[@k1dayone]

when he says 'transcribing' does that mean physically writing on staff paper or just by ear?

[@JensLarsen]

No, that is not what he means. He means learning it by ear (though for some things writing it down can be very useful)

[@k1dayone]

@@JensLarsen thank goodness, that's a lot of work. I'll try it any way love these videos why not

[@BillyJ57]

Jens Thanks so much for helping. I was wondering if you have heard of Jim Snidero Jazz Conception book (Advance Music) It comes with play along CD and would help many. Track 6 Total Blues is based on chord changes of All Blues by Miles. I love this tune. Thanks again.

[@JensLarsen]

I know of it, but I have never used it. I tend to give students themes instead as exercises.

[@adamfarkas7069]

What's a 'turnaround'?

[@JensLarsen]

A short progression at the end of a form to take you back to the beginning. In Jazz, usually a 2 bar progression with 4 chords

[@adamfarkas7069]

@@JensLarsen Thanks. I keep practicing then. Going through your Comping Basics course now.

[@stuartwatson3648]

Another great video that makes me want to pick up my guitar.

[@JensLarsen]

Go for it!

[@stuartwatson3648]

@@JensLarsen Will do!

[@jamessidney2851]

Harris: there is no ii chord. Martino: it’s all just a ii chord!! I’m laughing out loud! Classic. And such a great observation. Also, your video clips of the pre-internet world-transcribing on a piece of rock, with a stick! Laugh out loud AGAIN! And the winner of best comedy performance in a jazz guitar instructional video goes to…Jens Larsen! On a non-comedy note, one thing you might address for beginners is how they should deal with ireal pro. It’s the new Realbook. Everyone has it now. Everyone uses it, even at jam sessions. But very little attention has been paid by teachers to what beginners get from it, and how they should use it. IMO it’s a blessing and a curse. I’m noticing that, as with the real book, there are changes I don’t agree with but they are nonetheless becoming codified through widespread use of the app. An interesting upside of the app is that it has no written melodies, so that becomes an ear-driven journey that sometimes sends people to the recordings, which is a good thing. But the incentive to learn tunes gets lost for some players because why worry when every chord chart of every standard is right in your pocket at all times, and a key change is no more complicated than the press of a button? The downside: soloing over a chord chart of a song you don’t really know never sounds great, even if you are proficient enough to do it. It’s an interesting new world. There’s a famous guitar player here in New York (his initials are the other half of the sandwich that has jelly) who kind of bemoans the widespread reliance on that app and suggests it cheapens people’s depth of knowledge. (He also advocates tuning your guitar by ear from time to time without using your clip-on electronic tuner, so maybe us guys who remember the pre-Internet caveman days of lore are just a bunch of weird old cranks?). Oh well. But SERIOUSLY, is it no ii, or all ii? I have to know!!!

[@JensLarsen]

😁 It is both. I talked a bit about IReal in my video on apps. I agree with PB that it often makes it too superficial with understanding harmony and melody, but I guess it is how it is right now. It does have advantages too, and a huge part of the problem is copyright 🤔

[@vincentsantiago2gmai]

i will like to see you strumming the guitar 🎸 in jazzy way

[@JensLarsen]

Not sure what you mean? 🙂

[@Arthur_My_Dear]

You really seem to be enjoying video production these days 😁

[@JensLarsen]

I am! If I didn'¨t have fun then I would not make videos 🙂

[@meestermaxim]

I had a good laugh. Super funny video. Good content also.

[@JensLarsen]

Awesome, thank you!

[@ManfredElsingBielefeld]

uhhh.....thx for posting!!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it 🙂

[@JensLarsen]

*What advice do you have to pass on? What worked for you?* ✅The First 10 Jazz Standards You Need To Know kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6KTc6WKgLBpnc0 ✅5 Easy Solos to Learn By Ear and Boost Your Jazz Guitar Skills kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWiygGCpaJajhbc

[@wyssmaster]

Jazz is incredibly simple: just play whatever notes you want whenever you want and say "oh, I only play free jazz"

[@antonparas4782]

hey jens after 20 years i can now play hot cross buns in all positions & all keys & all instruments & all timezones. i really want to learn all the things you are -- do you think after I learn all drop 2/3/2+4/99 chords i can start learning it? jk but actually i really do enjoy learning a simple song, then trying to play it all over the neck in different keys. I am a beginner and it's probably not the most efficient use of my time, but I love deepening my knowledge of the fretboard. sorry for disobeying :(

[@JensLarsen]

I actually think that is exactly what I suggest in the video? You take a song and then you make sure you can play that, you are not just learning scales or have problems so that you have to skip around when you play songs 😁

[@cbolt4492]

Hello 🤩

[@WoodyGamesUK]

You can use the major scale (and relative minor which has the same notes), and when there's a weird chord with notes outside of the scale, be familiar with the notes used in that chord, and use those notes to your advantage. Or sometimes I pickup the fact that on a certain chord you can alter one note, but I still think of the major scale and change that note, rather than think of a different scale. The exception (for me) are the dominant 7 chords, where it's worth learning a bunch of options (altered scale, half-whole tone scale, tritone substitution). That's how I get by on the piano (I'm not saying it's the right thing to do, but also having limited time to dedicate to your playing is something to consider, you want to play and not have to memorise and practice tones of scales).

[@JensLarsen]

I am not saying to not learn other sounds, I am just saying don't start with 10000 options if you are just getting familiar with Jazz 🙂

[@AngelX]

Jens Palpatine is menacing

[@JensLarsen]

😂😂 Yes, very!

[@startreker8591]

I want to sing jazzy songs too😢

[@nononouh]

5 9

[@Liofigsguitar]

The caveman! That was funny !

[@JensLarsen]

🙏😁

[@midnightwind8067]

The desire to play with a deep understanding is present but the idea of playing these “standards” bores the life out of me. New stuff seems like a chaotic and obfuscated place to pretend or feign music. To play music. To flow in a stream of something more than an echo from some past idea. To express something that someone else can relate to and flow along with, perhaps even add to. That is what I want. But so often I find ego and fear squirrelling away the needed knowledge and fogging up the path with self provides more rabbit trail than growth. Often the only way forward seems to be to turn it all off and find your own way on the fretboard. Our skills are treasures we must search out for ourselves. Though it often feels like we are foolishly tilting at windmills like some musical Don Quixote, the truth is, skill sets all grow like a tree. No one notices until the sapling is suddenly a huge Oak. I believe the music is only found at the end of that road, where a new road starts. When the quality of the music you play is the only applause you need.

[@JensLarsen]

But what if that music at the end of the road is a "Standard". Surely it could be any song and if there is one repertoire that is more about the interpretation than the song then it would be Jazz Standards. You almost sound like you don't like the word more than you know what it is (but I can't tell from a YT comment, of course)

[@kevindonnelly761]

Prose is English Language. Music is harmony, melody and rhythm language. It is much more oblique.

[@midnightwind8067]

Hello Jens, I think it’s the idea of the covering of material. It’s seems like a rabbit trail instead of a new horizon. So many want to gather identity in someone else and say see! I’m great too! When , if they were, they would write the music everyone else plays. But that requires something more. More than a trend or a concupiscence. More than the false histories and lore behind songs and equipment etc. and Something that is more than the empty echo of yesterday. It’s a level where the song itself disappears in the music and the music influences the culture to understand what matters. The Standards do not speak to the world around me anymore. I don’t hate them, but you would think all these great musicians could write a new song over the past 50 to 100 years. But it would seem not. One thing is sure though. We cannot lead where we will not go. I cannot become something new if I only focus on the old. That’s all I’m saying. I am waiting to hear something with a better purpose. I guess the song “ All the things you are”. Just ain’t all that anymore. Not for me anyway. Let’s put it this way. I visit my parents grave, but I don’t dig up the caskets. Their time is past, but it doesn’t mean I don’t still love them for who they were. It’s time we create new days. Our days.

[@JensLarsen]

@@midnightwind8067 your idea of a cover is probably a bit off. Maybe just listen to the music instead of judging stuff

[@midnightwind8067]

@@JensLarsen not judging. Just looking beyond. How else will anything new be innovated. Sad you seem to be taking this discussion personally. Enjoy.