The Single Best Piece of Advice for Learning Jazz Guitar

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Here's a quick and nasty version of In the Wee Small Hours of the morning for ‪@fivewattworld‬ and some good advice from Jonathan Kreisberg....
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/ johnnathancordy get my backing tracks here
www.buymeacoff... - if you like what I do and
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[@TheToneWork]

My Jazz professor tricked me into learning. He told me to learn all the 7th chords, then ii-V-I in every key. The third week, after learning all those, he show me a lick that was basically a descending arpeggio of each of those chords and then said, "Let's play." The first song was Autumn Leaves. I was surprised at how easy improv was after that. Just mix up the lick. Anyway, it was a great start and got me playing Jazz in about a month.

[@412781965qq]

can you share the lick lmao i would like to practice that

[@khalilhabib9607]

Who is your teacher and does he offer online lessons?

[@TheToneWork]

So it's the ii7 descending, V7 descending, I7 descending. The notes are in the key of C major - C-A-F-D, B-G-F-D, E-G-D. If you play those notes in any rhythm or order, it will work. The real trick about this was that after practicing all the 7th chords and then the ii, V, I progression in every key, I recognized it whenever I heard it. @@412781965qq

[@TheToneWork]

My teacher was Bob Richardson, who passed away my last year at university. He was the best. Never heard him say a negative thing about anyone. After he died, we found out that he had played and written charts for lots of big names. Just a super cool person.@@khalilhabib9607

[@AlexGroen]

Please make a video of explaining this 😁

[@JohnSmithiuyytw]

I was just thinking that I missed your jazz Sunday things. Love your jazz stuff, it makes it accessible for mortals.

[@JohnNathanCordyFactBot-br8is]

John passionately dislikes mushrooms yet he himself is a fun guy.

[@Herfinnur]

I now consistently need to rewind the video three minutes because you throw me that much off track

[@chrisgmurray3622]

Take care with that joke, it's an antique😄

[@JohnNathanCordyFactBot-br8is]

@@Herfinnur _beep boop counts as a second view so Johnny won’t mind_

[@JohnNathanCordyFactBot-br8is]

@@chrisgmurray3622 _beep boop it’s a fact_

[@ogmakefirefiregood]

When playing "Among Us," Jonathan plays the Green character. His handle is "Fungus." Be sure to put him out the airlock.

[@michaelstevens8]

Great video and great advice John. Let's keep in mind, It's Never Too Late To Start. This applies to Almost everything. Wes Montgomery was almost 20 when he first started playing the Guitar. Their isn't just One way to Teach or Learn Jazz Guitar. Their are many ways. Part of it depends on what your Goals are. If you want to make it your Career as a Professional, then a good place to start is with Comping. On the other hand, if you don't want to take it that far or maybe you just want to add some Jazz Language to your Rock or Blues etc. genre, then a good place to start would be Superimposing the Minor Pentatonic Scale over different chords. One thing that always works with Jazz soloing is to play Variations and Development of the Melody/Head. In other words, it doesn't have to be difficult. Also, let the Songs teach you how to play Jazz. Everything you need to know about how to play Jazz is in the Songs and Recordings of those Songs. In other words it's about Critical Listening and Transcribing, then immediately applying it in a Song. The Songs are what matters most. That's the Fun Part. Playing Songs with other Musicians and Responding. Hope this helps anyone that needs it. Thanks.

[@goneaerial41]

No matter what skill you are learning there is always a huge advantage by learning it at a younger age, mostly because the young mind forms neural pathways much more rapidly, and their mindset is usually much more playful. That being said, you absolutely can learn jazz at any age, it's not black magic, just learning a lot of the little idiosyncrasies that make it the style what it is, and the scales and arpeggios that let you navigate it. It's a lot of work, but completely doable with a disciplined approach and a realistic timeframe. I think the disadvantage that guitar players who've played other styles for a long time struggle with is understanding that playing jazz compared to rock or blues, or many other styles, is akin to a "form change" in sports, where you need to actively reject a large portion of the physical and mental approach you have ingrained into yourself for playing music and adopt new ones to accomplish an accurate jazz sound. I just don't want anyone to hear this video and give themself an excuse to not try learning jazz. It's simple, not easy.

[@johnzuker]

Beautiful arrangement of one of my favorite Frank Sinatra tunes. Learning tunes is essential. It’s mostly how the original greats learned, before Jazz was a college major. Joe Pass even thought it important to know the lyrics of a song even if you’re just playing it instrumentally.

[@srwaite7]

I’ve been studying jazz guitar with Chris Whiteman. He’s not only a great player but a terrific instructor 👌🏻🎸🖖🏻

[@Treadplate367]

Thank you so much for doing this video! I am 47, and just now seriously trying to get into jazz. It feels like a monumental hurdle. I’ve been told that if I want to learn jazz, I have to essentially know every scale and every chord in every position. But I’m trying to just start at the bottom and work my way up as best as I can. Thanks for your tips, it helps me feel like I can do it.

[@ramilak]

Definitely listen to whatever John says. Also check out jens Larsen. He has a great road map for learning jazz

[@davidkeller6156]

I second watching Jens Larsen’s videos. I wish something like that had been around in the early 70s when I was learning guitar and wanted to learn jazz. Also, you don’t need to know every chord. There’s a lot you can do with just learn how chords are constructed. If I run into a complex chord, there are simple tricks to let you get by with less complicated voicings. Jens explains a lot of this in his lessons.

[@Treadplate367]

@@davidkeller6156 I've been watching some of his videos. They are extremely helpful! Thanks for the encouragement. As I keep at it it's feeling more and more possible. One of the things Jens talks about that I have completely neglected is actually learning songs. That's how I learned to play everything I know! But when it comes to jazz guitar for some reason I start to think the theory is more important than the music you play. I'm going to learn some jazz and fusion songs by ear, and I think getting the music under my fingers will help a lot.

[@kengoodman7719]

Of course jazz would be a great add. Bring it as you see fit. Thanks! God Bless!

[@RobertFisher1969]

I just want to encourage everyone that, if you ever hear someone say that you have to start something young to be very good at it: (1) Be skeptical. Even if it is true, it may not be very true. (2) Even if it is true, plenty of people have started whatever it is late in life gotten good enough for it to be rewarding. (And since the bulk of this video is giving tips, I think JNC would agree with that. But I still think it bears saying.)

[@DoubleDguitar]

Sting’s “Nothing Like the Sun” and Steely Dan “The Royal Scam” when I was a teen and learning were my gateways to wanting to learn these tonalities.

[@jeremyhickersonsalem]

Lerch's idea of making the groove central when playing solo guitar and building the improvised lines from notes that are within reach while playing the groove seems like great advice, and something I haven't heard elsewhere.

[@kmjansen]

More jazz please

[@ryan.painter]

Thanks for this! Starting today!

[@ashishashen]

Love this video. I kind of come from a similar background and worked on a bunch of tunes before hitting a jazz jam. But whatever I learned at home in my room didn't translate at all. The rhythm, tempo, chords, everything was different than what I had practiced or worked on. I survived but I was no where near the other cats. So, I believe another way to get better at playing jazz is to play and jam with other jazz musicians + learn them standards.

[@JohnMcGFrance]

I tried a few chord melody jazz standards a couple of years ago. They were pretty easy ones but taught me a lot of new chord shapes in an enjoyable way. I’d love to see some easy ones on the channel and I’ll be checking out those already up. The thing is that when someone says to you ‘Play us a song’ they don’t want virtuosic improv, they want a tune they recognise. Chord melody versions do that so well. I enjoy Sandra Sherman’s channel - Guitar Versum - as she has a lot of easier chord melody arrangements.

[@jeremyhickersonsalem]

I was inspired back when you first mentioned the idea of a tune a week, I believe you are on to something there, mainly the idea of internalizing the jazz song/tune book by exposing yourself to many many representations of it, and so internalizing the details of the genre.

[@rfpho1456]

My teacher is trying hard - I wanted to understand Jazz guitar to understand what some of my favourite jazz infused blues players were doing. Tim Lerch’s TrueFire stuff is great, but you do need to have some understanding of chords and substitutions - realising just how deep that gets after a year just exploring!

[@leestanford2452]

My teacher gave me pages of melodic studies that play through the ii V I progressions, utilizing the diminished arpeggio (7b9) on the dominant. I learned them note for note. I don’t have them memorized still, but the “concept” stuck with me. You should always hear the changes in your solo even without bass or accompaniment. It’s not just “up and down scales” like so many guitarists tend to think.

[@bumrecordingstudios]

Really good video that kinda validated what I was coming to as an older guitarist who is now doing jazz rhythm gigs. Listen, learn, learn melody, play chord melodies. As awesome as improv solo it is, it’s not really required. Kind thanks! A song a week here I come!

[@chrohm]

intro tone, playing and mix was so enjoyable to listen to i forgot to watch the rest of the video

[@matt_greene]

you're a fantastic jazz player, don't sell yourself short!

[@johnnytwo-shoes9798]

Love the Jazz

[@KozmykJ]

My inability to "Jazz" authentically was always a guilty omission. I recognised it as encompassing the essence of improvisational structure but putting it all together seemed like such a cliff to climb. I have faked 'jazz bass guitar' at enthusiast nights and was rewarded by a nice curry afterwards ... but deep inside I knew I'd been 'cheating' . I've never been a strong reader, despite passing a few Grades. Learning thin string guitar has helped a lot with putting the right scales with the right chords aka actually applying the Modes ... I wholeheartedly agree with the "Learn Songs" approach, and not only for Jazz either. Filling one's own 'Song Book' with songs you can actually play all the way through is truly constructive practise.

[@EdoLeonardi]

My God this was magic John!!! So nice melody and harmonies

[@tb27tb27]

Thanks John. You’ve been helpful with a lot of stuff these last few months. Appreciate it.

[@joelabbott]

I saw a video where Peter Bernstein said play a tune over and over, and after a while you’ll be so bored of it that you will improvise on it and make it more interesting.

[@petergoddard1960]

I love your tone on this, is this a patch on the HX? It's almost exactly what I'm aiming for. Yes more jazz on the channel!

[@jeremyhickersonsalem]

I'm not as far along at jazz guitar as you are (though I've been at it for longer, but on a very part-time basis :) ), but based on some recent progress I've made since I half-retired from my job I'm pretty convinced that it's never too late (i.e. you don't have to start very early), but whenever you start, the journey is very long in total hours. This might be easier to accomplish when you're very young and have more time, but I doubt the hours needed are longer just because you're now an adult.

[@Jay-fp4ii]

One tune per week, got it!

[@duster722]

Very much appreciate this video and your advice. Love the jazz intro, would enjoy hearing more John. Cheers

[@worthmoremusic]

Gorgeous...my type of guitar playing. Thanks John ! Stunning, and melodic. BTW...were you playing "In The Wee Small Hours of The Morning?" Big hit for Sinatra. Lovely rendition John. My dad played woodwinds in the big band era.. so I grew up listening to lots of olds school jazz. I have been listening to a lot of Barney Kessel, Wes Montgomery, Charlie Christian, Joe Pass, Kenny Burell, etc....

[@omuraj0]

Thanks for the advice and solid chord melody playing - very inspiring to someone learning to play jazz guitar. Please keep your Jazz vids coming!

[@joemilausnic8409]

Absolutely gorgeous tone and playing in the intro (guitar and drums). Thanks for sharing!

[@TLMuse]

I love the tone you used for "In the Wee Small Hours" in the intro, and the way you lagged the beat *just right*, esp. for the slow intro bit. The rhythm aspect of jazz guitar playing (swing, etc.) seems to me to be an especially hard thing to learn and teach. Re: TrueFire, Frank Vignola also has some great jazz guitar courses. -Tom

[@jmendi55]

Would love to see more content that explain the thinking behind the chord / melody and soloing process. I seem to find a valuable nugget every time I watch a Jens Larsen, Chris Whitman, Guitar Versum, Barry Harris video that I try to make part of my jazz toolbox. Would love to appropriate some of your ideas as well.

[@dcboogie]

Beautifull played. When playing all strings also the low E and low A youl get a more Jazz sound in the II V I"s , just a little tip.

[@CwGuitar01]

id love to see more on incorporating jazzy lines and ideas into non jazz styles. im in a jazz student but played blues and rock for years and would love to get into playing more like tom quayle, jack gardiner etc. right now my playing feels like it has a switch from jazz or blues not so much a fader if that makes sense. thanks!

[@cyrnoz1803]

Transcribing these guys and analysing their lines will get you there

[@jeremyhickersonsalem]

nice to see the Herb Ellis again!

[@aberyscirbrecon7949]

Brilliant - as always - and thanks

[@treyshoaf]

Love the video. Would certainly be down for more Jazz videos on the channel.l

[@Carlo_Grande]

If you want to swing an not learn boring Real Book stuff, just check out Frank Vignola‘s Jam Class lessons here on YT. He has a unique way of teaching by jamming with you over backing tracks and is slowly building solo ideas starting with really simple licks. He also has a lot of great lessons on Truefire. He shows you how to play Jazz without learning endless scales and arpeggios. Biiiiiig recommendation!!!!

[@Jeb_binch]

For those interested in getting on the path, resources I’ve found helpful from a fundamentals perspective are Steve Herberman’s courses on Mike’s Master Classes, namely “Fundamentals Checkpoint” and “Developing a Personal Practice Routine” which are both more about taking the time to internalize the fretboard from an intermediate perspective, and in the case of the latter how budget time effectively for both advancing skills and fluency along with repertoire. Steve is also a monster player with a lot of wisdom concerning solo jazz guitar.

[@jasonkucharski7411]

More Jazz Yes!!!

[@tomm5023]

I guess 1 song/week comes with experience and time available. In my case it will rather be 1/month at best, depending how detailed one goes. Solid advice though. I’m dabbling with jazz since a few months and learning tunes makes indeed the most sense. Analyse songs using theory vs practicing theory.

[@erajad]

All By Myself → *ERIC CARMEN!!!!!* Gorgeous song. Nothing to do with Celine Dion. ;)

[@johnlong5003]

Just bought a couple off Jazz lessons from true fire infotunatley they don't suit my needs but I will continue to go down the Jazz road Road it feels right at the mo'

[@TheBbtlegit]

New Guitar? Thanks for the information. Ive always wanted to play jazz. But thought it was too hard.

[@johnplaystheguitar123]

I can't jazz. I once came up with my own arrangement for Stella By Starlight. That's the extent of my jazz.

[@jeremyhickersonsalem]

what do you think of Aimee Nolte's edict of throwing away the RealBook and learning the tunes (the changes) by ear, going for the bass notes to figure out the chords. I think she has something in that if you figure it out this way you tend to remember it forever, and hence can lose the chart. But I haven't stopped using charts, I must admit.

[@pawlowski6132]

During your one-song-per-week period, how many hours per be week/day were you practicing??

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Solid advice. 👍🏻

[@shamonoise]

Can somebody tell me the model of this beautiful guitar?

[@GuitarSmartsPodcast]

Great tip John thanks for this! From where do you select your songs? Real Book?

[@Chris_Nouvelli]

John, what happened to the 'Signature Guitar' video yesterday? I watched it, and then it vanished.

[@johncordy4189]

This is John on my phone, it went up earlier than i intended, will be back up today!

[@JohnSmithiuyytw]

Great vid! How long per day working on a jazz song per week would you recommend for players with lots of other stuff to work on?

[@davidthomas9960]

As much time as you can consistently dedicate to it tbh.

[@ElmoRitter]

One time in uni, I bet John 100 quid he wouldn’t go a full week without changing his underwear. He was there to collect the very next day.

[@mathmusicstructure]

I was attracted to jazz because of the seemingly endless options that are available. However I lost interest when I realized how prevalent ii-V-I is. As you say it really is a repertoire-based study, and I really don't love many standards. Also I found that the freedom was too much. I know many would disagree but I got to the point where I could basically play anything that included guide tones over the V and get away with it as long as I landed on the resolution. I just find the ideas in classical music far more varied and interesting. Chopin by himself is more important to me than the entire history of jazz now.

[@handyc77]

JC, you are a versatile wanker. Damn you. "That boy can play! Whew!" Also why are John's always good guitar players? Is this a Chuck Berry Johnny B. Goode world we live in?

[@theelderskatesman4417]

We know so much about John, and yet we know nothing.

[@michael1]

Would be "Don't. Learn something people will pay to listen to instead"

[@shitmandood]

I don’t know where this is coming from to gate keep with : to be good, you have to learn jazz at an early age. Complete nonsense.

[@larrydering1598]

Not to dispute this discussion but to me this is merely single note blues playing. Where do we define the term jazz in our playing? The tones are nice and soft playing at lower volumes doesn't make it jazz. I prefer some chord based tones mixed in the melody.

[@THEItchybruddah]

Um… there’s a lot more going on here than blues playing. He’s outlining the changes, I see drop-2 and drop-3 voicings. And, he did a lovely chord melody arrangement and tossed in some really nice substitutions. He’s earned the “music of unemployment” merit badge from me.

[@BeefNEggs057]

Nothing wrong with “disputing” the discussion. If everyone agreed and saw things the same we’d all be university woke-bots.

[@roryt1985]

Jazz 101 - create a tone bereft of any character or articulation. Play at a speed where whatever note you play can be passed off as a passing note and not a blatantly incorrect one.