I Learned Jazz Guitar in 7 Days

[@chichili5ways]

Refreshing to see someone with a large following be vulnerable enough to share their weaknesses as a player. Keep it up dude. You’re moving up in skill. This is how it’s done.

[@unknownunknown6201]

Very true.

[@MuayThaiDreadlock]

strongly agree

[@DieselWeazel]

Agreed. The struggle equals respect.

[@PierAlexandreHarvey]

Hey Mike! So I'm studying jazz guitar in college right now and I was mainly a rock and blues player before that so here are a few pointers. - Lose the vibrato for now, it's not a big part of jazz vocab. Some very light vibrato can work for ballads or slow swing. - Learning where the degrees of II-V-I inside the major scale was the thing that helped me the most with improv. - Chromatic approaches are a big part of jazz vocab so try to work that in your playing - A great way to absorb vocabulary is to transcribe and learn solos, I recommend Wes Montgomery solos because they're accessible while remaining challenging (appart from being so good!). Spot licks that you like in these solos, figure out what progressions they're being played over and try to work them in your improv. - Chords are also important! Learn new voicings and comping rhythms. - Learn jazz standards! The more standards you know, the better you'll be prepared for a jam session, and you'll learn new progressions. With all that you'll be able to survive a jam! I hope you'll continue jazz cause it's hard to get started but once you "get it", it's the most fun I've ever had playing music!

[@jzgtr100]

Yes, I agree on all that you’ve said. I just posted a comment that despite his great successes with Donna Lee, there are easier tunes on which to start. One of my favorites is Wes Montgomery’s Sundown.

[@johni-m8944]

New voicings is the hardest part for me for sure

[@SamandRie]

What exactly do you mean by learning the degress of 251 in major scale? Are u talking about knowing what the specific chords you need to play a 251 per major scale?

[@PierAlexandreHarvey]

@@SamandRie I meant the chord tones my bad, english isn’t my first language. Like basically knowing by heart where the root third fifth and seventh of each chord are within your scale

[@Eric-dd8bk]

Agreed. I want to add just one more thing to the end of your comment after your "With all that you'll be able to survive a jam! I hope you'll continue jazz cause it's hard to get started but once you "get it", it's the most fun I've ever had playing music"! statement. I wanna add "with all that, you will be having the most fun while you make the least amount of money". lol

[@limpneckmike]

“They never had Marty Schwartz” made me spit out my tea in laughter

[@JensLarsen]

Not bad for 7 days! 👍😁

[@mikecole4489]

WOW!! That means a lot

[@justinwhorl1190]

larsen you are my hero

[@Sean_Plays_Guitar]

May the Schwartz be with you 🙏

[@uoka009]

Yogurt

[@alexs9168]

Matched luggage

[@robertbosfield8027]

Praise Be Marty 🙏🏾

[@Sean_Plays_Guitar]

@@robertbosfield8027 he has blessed us all

[@syalda0001]

Nice

[@SoundAuthor]

I think the real joy of studying these "jazz arpeggios" is when you begin to fully appreciate the sound of major/minor 7th, dominant and diminished arpeggios, because then the real fun begins when you plug them into your bluesy pentatonic stuff, or even pepper in some fusiony bits like tetratonic Lydian and Dorian arpeggios. All of a sudden you're actually _playing_ the instrument instead of just playing songs from memory.

[@RodVonLongrod]

Jazz guitar players are very talented. They know every chord there is to know, and their technique is so smooth and refined. They get the most out of every note and are very nuanced. Their guitar tone is so clean. Jazz guitar music will never be my thing but I do respect their talent.

[@bronzewand]

Two words for you brother.. Barry Harris. The only man who lived through every era of jazz, played with the greats and dedicated his entire life to educating fellow musicians.

[@maxcuthbert100]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5nJi5qKi52shLs&ab_channel=ThingsI%27veLearnedFromBarryHarris. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHKWY3xtf5toaM0&ab_channel=TheLabyrinthofLimitations

[@GM-qz9fo]

Never a truer word said! RIP Barry Harris LOVE LOVE

[@rrhett2119]

THE Jazz educator, you could study Barry Harris improv single line technique AND his amazing harmony theory and keep yourself learning and engaged for years. Most importantly you will be making great music all along the journey.

[@spawncampingnoob]

as someone who only picked up the guitar about 2 years ago, and basically only plays rhythm parts, its seriously impressive as shit that you managed to pick all of that up in 7 days. mad respect

[@spaghettisauce445]

i mean imagine you had 4 times the amount of time on guitar

[@thomasjohnston4136]

how to get good at jazz: listen, listen, listen. listening is EASILY half if not more of how to get good at jazz. listening to tunes, famous records, and records you enjoy, but also how to hear certain common sounds in jazz. such as 2-5s, minor 2-5s, how to identify a normal jazz blues vs say a bird blues, backdoor 2-5s, etc. Developing your ear, as well as obviously practicing, is how to make serious progress. learning standards are super important too. also, something to keep in mind is learning a tune is not just knowing the melody. It means knowing the changes, the head (the main melody), and how to solo. there are some great comments in here about guitar-specific things regarding tone, vibrato, etc. but as a bass player, the cats I play with roll the tone off, and usually have a darker sound, and are very relaxed when they play. just watch the tension in your left hand. Hope this was helpful!

[@veaseyrb]

As in intermediate blues player, I found the Jazz Pathway with Pickupmusic to be super helpful. I think it's a 7-week course. lessons are usually only 20 or 30 minutes. They do a nice job of integrating theory/playing/improvising. The Neo-soul pathway with Melanie Faye is also really good, and blends many of the same principles from the jazz course.

[@Keegan3005]

dude - i'm watching this while trying to learn my way through Continuum for the first time - currently on the Belief solo and it's just cool to see that no matter where you are, you're always striving to get better. Thanks for being so real

[@menamgamg]

Improv over JM albums hs been incredibly helpful to me. I realized the way he plays is very much like singing, so i started to try to follow along just his vocal melodies with my guitar, and that has just done wonders for my playing.

[@chasingforeverbb]

I've been at it for a few years, teaching myself for the most part. being a music teacher at a local music store, I've been around it a lot more in the past five years. hearing the cats in the other rooms ripping some of the most beautiful stuff pushed me to go further. I hit plateaus every now and then since I mainly play more rock driven stuff; and I only have one guitar student advanced enough to care about jazz, so it's been fun to finally share some of what I've dug into! don't ever stop!

[@jsb1181]

Haha I love this! Props for getting so far with Donna Lee, it's a struggle on guitar and even Jaco Pastorius would talk about how hard it is. One other thing I have found helpful in my own jazz journey is making an effort every day to really learn the names of all notes on the fretboard - start with a scale, play slow and call each note name out as you play, work up to doing the same with scales harmonized in triads and arpeggios, build speed. When you progress it will be really helpful to just see the names of all notes on the fretboard without even thinking and I think this gets overlooked. when you start trying to flow appregios and triads into each other over chord progressions this is a HUGE help.

[@Kpkryptonite3]

Thanks!

[@unknownunknown6201]

I know nothing about jazz, but everything I’ve played in a jazz context, I’ve always just had the mindset that no notes are wrong notes. Just don’t stop till you hit a right note, then let your ear reacquaint with where you are. Half step slides are also a really easy way to blend pentatonics into a more jazzy sound.

[@danielhoskins4690]

Mike, you’ve genuinely inspired me to finally do the same thing. It sounded like a clickbait challenge, but the way that you approached it was great. Thanks

[@elliotttadanier5971]

Hey Mike, I think you made great progress in a week. As somebody who has spent probably 10 years trying to learn jazz guitar I gotta tell you the big breakthrough for me was when I discovered a few of my favorite records and really did a lot of deep listening. I think it’s hard to play jazz convincingly as an athletic exercise if you don’t actually enjoy the music. I didn’t hear you mention any specific jazz players who really inspire you, so I guess I’d recommend going on a listening journey because I think once you connect to your favorite players the ideas will start to come together for you more inside your own head. Personally I love Wes Montgomery, and I can appreciate Pat Metheny but it’s not as much to my preference in terms of personal style. Discovering that and focusing on a couple players instead of trying to learn the whole entire world of jazz made it easier for me, cause there’s just so much. Happy practicing!

[@stelliumeleven2889]

So true! Ear training.

[@benbenpotato]

So true! I didn't start getting good at jazz or understood it until I fell in love with the music. Listening is so important, and why do something you don't love?

[@gulapula]

100% Agree. You can’t learn jazz just playing arpeggios and scales, you have to listen to the music and understand the syntax of the music, the grammar of jazz. If you don’t listen to and appreciate jazz you won’t ever understand how to play it!

[@notozknows]

Good for you! I'm proud of you, young man.

[@montypy]

That scream lick at 10:15 is sick

[@WandaBread]

I love the thumbnail, and I don't say that often. Or like... Ever. But just the confused face is great, and then all the confidence with the cool hat and the sick electric guitar, it just looks... Way better than all the other "Day 1-Day 7" thumbnails.

[@christophermason5811]

bro, I genuinely relate to EVERYTHING you have said and experienced in this video. I just finished my first year intensely studying jazz. I love to play Donna Lee. I've noticed that it's hard for me to play a pentatonic solo now after plating harmonic and melodic minors for so long. This is an Awesome Video, thanks.

[@kamcosmic]

Dude it's wild how we are EXACTLY in the same position, like I even had my 9 year anniversary in january as well. Always relied on scale shapes to get me through improv, never really caring about the chords underneath as long as I was in key. My ear is also good so never learned why chords work the way they do. Felt like I hit a plateau and would just not improve (because I also wouldn't really practice anything above my skill level) I finally managed to tackle music theory in a way that didn't overwhelm me (found a method to learn the notes on the neck which works for me, and practicing my triads and inversions), and I also found that "spark" again. Also I finally got a good guitar after playing on a shitty squier lol, and playing it feels amazing which helps. I'm even learning to read sheet music because there's some jazz books I wanna study, and I'm so excited to get better at it, just as excited when I started playing. So yeah, nice to hear that you found that spark too. It's very liberating.

[@JBGWAlain]

Mike, I’m really enjoying your videos and taking part in your journey to be a better player. Jazz is not as mystical as so many players make it out to be. It’s all about creating melodies. I’ve seen too many students take the approach you have by starting with a tune like Donna Lee. It’s a flashy head and sounds great. Really, a true classic of the genre but honestly, you’re just going to set yourself back by starting with something like that because unless you understand why those lines work, you will not be able to apply them to your own improvisations. It’s better to start with something simple (2-5-1) and work more on the rhythm than any scales. And the best advice is to just listen to a LOT of jazz in order to internalize the clichés. Good luck and enjoy the journey.

[@kane6529]

That’s exactly what Grant his teacher did is a 2-5-1 in c and targeting chord tones

[@JBGWAlain]

@@kane6529 you’re right but then he fell into the temptation of learning Donna Lee instead of focusing on the 2-5-1 first. We’ve all been there. It’s a great bebop head but takes years to get absorbed into your playing.

[@jzgtr100]

I agree with you, especially concerning Donna Lee. I just commented earlier today. He did a great job with it, but I think Autumn Leaves and Satin Doll are going to set you up for earlier success and then move on to the more daunting Donna Lee and eventually Giant Steps or whatever he chooses.

[@rigelloar7474]

Buddy, you don't start with Donna Lee, that's RIDICULOUS. Learn Autumn leaves, Blue Bossa etc to start.

[@Joshua.M.S.]

i too am learning jazz in my lessons. I'd like to give you something to think about thats helped me so far: first, instead of thinking in pentatonics, think in chord tone arpeggios. and practice those a lot. break it down to do 7's alone, 11's alone 9's alone and then do melodic patterns. then target lead tones and enclosures to vary your solos.

[@bernard4664]

What you described in the beginning is exactly a place I've been. However, my goal was to lean jazz in 15 years, not 7 days! Awesome video. Thanks!

[@JP.s_Underdog_Guitar_Repair]

I love how candid and genuine this is. Very refreshing. Plus I love Jazz, so there’s that! Great job, keep up the playing!

[@PTam09]

Hi Mike. When I first saw the name of this video I was really concerned. As a music teacher and professional musician mostly playing jazz I can attest that it’s impossible to learn anything let alone jazz in 7 days. It turns out the video is excellent. It’s a perfect example of how to practice difficult material. I like that you reached out to other players for insight and inspiration. The only thing I find sad is the fact that we need to use click bait titles to get the views. Not blaming you man. It worked and the video proved informative. So….rock or should I say Jazz On! Thanks for sharing.

[@memorysplinter1337]

Bro I was yelling "DO DONNA LEE" and then you did Donna Lee. Yayyyyy!! And it turned your guitar pink!! Yayyyyy!!!! For a moment you kind of scatted/sang what you were playing and dude, just keep doing that, idk how but it just locks you in and helps so much to do that when learning a new piece or even when improvising.

[@rcieszkowski]

Really enjoy your channel Mike. You and Tyler Larson are 2 of the most entertaining and enthusiastic storytelling YT players out there. Subbed.

[@bobstevens7028]

Love your playing Mike and how you actively engage in exploring new styles.

[@Tsudkyk]

I love playing improv jazz using a looper pedal. I use this format to experiment with time signatures, new chords and just groove.

[@Wyrdo999]

Hey, I found your channel when Christian Van Hemert made a video. I Loved his video. I think you'er a guitar player who can REALLY become a GREAT jazz player, especially under the Tutelage of Christian Van Hemert. I've been a guitar player for over 45 yrs, I just became a gypsy Jazz player 3 yrs ago, I actually went back to guitar during Covid, and Gypsy Jazz is ALL I play now. I believe christians audience would LOVE to see you and him do a a compilation video. All the best Cheers!!!

[@Markstun]

Great video. If you really want to sound like jazz on a 2 5 1 play the upper part of the Dm7 FACEG, then add b9 and #9 on the G7 GBDFBbAbGF resolve to E on the Cmaj7. Main thing is add altered notes on the G7. Try this lick for G7 start on D string - FAbBEbBbAbGF resolve to E on string 2

[@ryanfitzpatrick2051]

well said, I just started to learn jazz guitar a couple month's ago. Chords are the coolest thing about it because I never had to play chords like them ever. In some ways some of the chords are easier than rock chords and in other ways way harder, but something really natural about it.

[@jzgtr100]

Great job! Very enjoyable video. I’ve been trying to learn jazz for over 50 years. I actually do get gigs. Did 5 this week, from Mother’s Day brunch at a country club, to a brewery, to a restaurant, to an art gallery opening to cocktail and dinner music for a 60 year high school class reunion. You are on the right track. Donna Lee is harder that steel, but you did pretty well. It’s a contrafact based on the song, Back Home In Indiana. If possible, learn Indiana, also. I’m doing that right now with the standard, It Could Happen To You and its related contrafact, Dexter Gordon’s Fried Bananas. If you continue to pursue jazz, I think you should try something easier than Donna Lee. It’s insanely difficult. Your work ethic on that was insanely beautiful. Check out Satin Doll, Autumn Leaves, Birks Works and Wes Montgomery’s The Thumb. Do what you did with Donna Lee, starting slowly. Maybe learn some of Wes’s lines, just a short passage over a 2-5-1 and learn to apply it to other 2-5-1 chord progressions in different keys. Concerning pentatonic scales…. still very useable on your 2-5-1 in C, try Am pentatonic over the Dm7, then use Bbm pentatonic over the G7(will sound a little dissonant, but the tension is beautiful). Finally use Bm pentatonic over C Maj7. Yes, I said that. It doesn’t contain the root at all, but has the 9th, major 7th, 6th, #4, and major 3rd. After you get used to the sound you will love it. Sorry for the long post. Just felt inspired to type😎

[@JazzCultivation]

Im teaching myself voicing and impro. The approach Im going to use is to lv up my tone changes. Many good impros happens around that. A single note can be different tone/interval depending on that, even chords. Thats the use of a pedal note. What an experience jazz musician do is doing it on real time, changing his tone but going to the same point. Some musicians are not doing chromatics, they asume what sounds chromatic as the note under the chord of a changed key.

[@commodoor6549]

As a jazz guitarists, my sense is that _Donna Lee_ swung; the feel (the timing, articulation, and accenting) was excellent. Your feel is right where it should be at one week, actually it sounds much more seasoned than one week. But as far as improv goes, that would just take time - unless you're a prodigy, it will take time to acquire the jazz vocabulary and understand the changes you're playing through. Still you tried. But the feel is there, and that is what many people, regardless of how much time they invest, just can't capture. You did it! EDIT: *What this means is that your jazz ears are hearing what they need to in order for you to become a competent jazz musician* . I look forward to seeing you as you progress on your jazz adventure.

[@peppers776]

Started 🎸 in 1984. I have solid gear. Your guitar/music (re)views are good, but your video editing and presentation are off the charts greatness. Fr! You are a very effective communicator Mr. Cole! 🏆

[@ghostldr1]

I loved the journey bro and feel your pain. Learning Jazz is a beast. You should post more videos like this, showing your process and end result. Its inspiring

[@szymondudzinski6661]

5:55 this is his first ever jazz lick and he's already years ahead of me.

[@macsarcule]

Literally cheered out loud for you during this! Made me want to practice harder, this was great! ✌️😌🎸

[@catspajamas482]

Huge tip, Listen to Grant Green. Highly underrated jazz guitarist and he plays relatively simply compared to others like Barney Kessel and Kenny Burrell. “Idle Moments” might be one of his best albums.

[@menamgamg]

Putting off dealing with your guitar playing issues (or any issue for that matter) will inevitably lead to a compounding amount of pain later on. After 10 years of playing i finally started learning theory and understanding the fretboard and it has been one of the most stressful things i've ever done. Forcing myself to finally embrace that feeling of inadequacy was incredibly difficult.

[@noahtenshen]

I thought you read my journal at the start. I've been in a rainstorm for a couple years and getting that spark has been somewhat non-existent. The stagnant-quo has been my companion for a while now. I loved the journey and the fact that you chose to step quite out of your comfort zone--aka rut. I can only hope it nudges me toward that learning place from which I've procrastinated for some time. It was an obsession for years and it needs revisited. Thanks for sharing and Stay Well Groovy One!

[@juzo888]

Nah fr this is my favorite video you earned my respect. You should make more videos like this sort of a journey to virtuosity where you study a ton of genres of guitar. Next one could be Gypsy Jazz on acoustic! I have heard a lot of players talk about how Gypsy Jazz allows them to become even greater guitarists.

[@kirbyjakescarborough4515]

I was a metal/rock singer for decades and am now a tourism singer songwriter doing pirate band shows.... That being said, I developed a crazy assed passion for jazz and it snuck up on me! I love it and stop to listen everytime. Wild. Music is awesome and amazing. Great job! Over my head, granbted, but great to watch ya figure it out, Mike. Youre great buddy. Cheers! Dm9.... LOL

[@adammkoss]

I remember learning to play the head to Donna Lee in high school - brutal chart, and I was a full two years into jazz study.... But so satisfying!

[@eljosecamero]

Mike, this was an awesome video because I too have been struggling with guitar since I am nowhere near where I want to be, and if someone as awesome as you can feel the same way, then I’m reassured, thanks for this type of genuine content!! :)

[@billbaldwin3564]

Awesome video Mike. Enjoyed watching you progress.

[@SpencerHowe]

Definitely gonna share with my students. Thanks for keeping this video so deeply focused on the topic.

[@averygottshall217]

You’re a legend for this 🙏 Haha and starting with Donna Lee! So great man

[@JoshGUITARofolo]

Love your story telling, man. And I can totally relate to lacking jazz chops, haha. I also love the comment about needing to turn the tone knob down if you’re a jazz guy, LOL

[@moosicmonkee3592]

I would like to see this continued I really enjoy the pace of the video.

[@stackerpon]

You made me wanna keep up playing my guitar. Thanks so much for passion.

[@andreapass8605]

Just in these days i'm learning Donna Lee on bass, and i'm empatizing with you on this video.

[@mileswatkinson8135]

That's a fine start, what you've accomplished in a week would take me months. Good luck going forward, I'm sure you'll get there and enjoy the journey.

[@marcsullivan7987]

I’m not “Deadhead”, but I love Jerry! J Garcia said ““It’s a good thing to have some one thing that you can work on on a daily basis and be able to see improvement in your own terms.” One thing that you will NEVER be done getting better at. Ever since I heard that I have noticed how most people DON’T have that ((are they workin’ on getting better at watching TV? Shopping? Ranting online?). Keep practicing guitar (or dancing, or painting, or woodworking…) It’s good or your “soul”.

[@hayleyhooper7523]

Seriously, that's a really impressive improvement in seven days! Respect!

[@maleek9573]

We got another one... Good stuff. Keep going!

[@andrecheongavocadojudo2114]

Hats off to you for tackling Donna Lee for your first jazz standard 😮

[@blow-by-blowtrumpet]

You made some real progress in a very short amount of time. Hope you continued your journey.

[@EmperorSmith]

The thing about Jazz is, it's all encompassing. People hear the word "Jazz" and have an immediate charicature in their head. But Jazz is basically all modern music.. Do they mean Blues-Jazz, Swing-Jazz, Jazz-Funk, Free-Jazz, Jazz-Rock - basically take any genre or style of music, and it can be encompassed by Jazz.

[@mr.smithgnrsmith7808]

I did the same a few yrs ago dude…and it paid off big time…fun playing jazz solos with heavy distortion etc

[@midge2671]

I’ve only been playing guitar for about a year and a half to 2 years and decided to join my schools jazz band. To someone like me who had barely known how to play guitar parts like that, it was very eye opening and actually helped me get much better at the instrument, even though I didn’t even understand the chord shapes when I had started.

[@williamconway4460]

This episode is awesome. Mike sounds really good , but to get the full experience, you might want to look at the Real Book which has 6 volumes. Volume 1 is awesome . . .you'll learn a lot in book 1. Other books you might want are: The Guitar Style of George Benson - you get 13 songs and some help with jazz theory - it's by Dave Ruben. Joe Pass has a book for guitar you might like: It's the Joe Pass Virtuoso Standards Songbook Collection. There is Thelonious Monk for Guitar, by Gary Wittner, There is a Bill Evans Guitar Book - I had a few problems with this book - audio learning could be the key . . . .We have Miles Davis for Solo Guitar, arranged by Jamie Findlay, . . . Best of Wes Montgomery is good, by Wolf Marshall- I'm not sure if you are into licks, but Wolf has a really good lick book for jazz. . . .A good book that taught me about 4 songs or standards is Cocktail Guitar by Bill LaFleur - really good - Over the Rainbow is a favorite, What a Wonderful World brought tears to my sister's eyes when I played one of my mother's most favorite songs (unfortunately, my mother had passed away) Anyway, Cocktail Guitar covers classical, jazz, and pop - all needed for a cocktail lounge performance. Get back to me if you want to know what an Omnibook is!!!!!

[@pedrocacela1885]

Bebop/Hard bop, and everything that follows, are the musical peak of electric guitar. However, imo, Grant Green is the man. It's the blues, always the blues. Miles Davis never said he played jazz, he said he played the blues.

[@misterknightowlandco]

Grant Green is one of the best…

[@luznis139]

I jumped into donna lee way too early as well, it was a struggle but it really improved my technique and the feeling of swing

[@bluz1n]

damm, I am at this exact point in my life too (on bass), I've been playing for 7 years as a hobby, but today I got my first bass lesson after a while. It's amazing

[@tmmuscics2753]

Nice man, been playing guitar for about a year and I kinda feel you, but ima look into jazz

[@MrPaul8870]

Nothing is hard of you know the solution. When studying a new style of music in this case jazz. What I genuinely do is always play g mixolydian on top 3 strings. All notes as you can see are placed on the dots 357 This makes it really easy to know where home is when moving off the dots. This is also c major scale for those that don't know the names in order. This scale is a must for anybody who wants to learn anything new and a good skeleton than working on the scale from where we do 233 notes on strings than 332 which makes it difficult to understand as the semi tone notes are placed next to a note than on the upper and lower string. Hope this helps for future projects

[@dinosaursr]

Joe Pass! Kenny Burrell is one of my favourite guitarists. His album with John Coltrane is fantastic. Good job discussing and demonstrating the challenging jump to jazz. Inspiring.

[@ensoniq2k]

The thumbnail is just simple and genius!

[@djmileski]

Transcribing just the rhythm of a lick (using any notes you want) will help broaden creativity in sounding jazzy.

[@discocat2500]

Congrats Mike! I'm in a similar spot in my guitar journey. This is really motivating! Thanks.

[@dwainmcbain5263]

I totally get it! Since really learning the 5 major & minor pentatonic scale forms and jumping around on them plus the E form major scale which all took a lot as I was much older in age, and yes arpeggios and using 2 string harmonic 6ths and 3rds while trying to recall faster where the roots 3rd 5th and 7th intervals are in each of those scales for the 1-4-5 progressions in all keys.

[@djmileski]

Good luck and enjoy the journey

[@samsantanamusic]

Props to you for highlighting your own weaknesses and showing how you work on them! More people should focus on that rather than trying to always prove how good they are.

[@princehallel1320]

Imagine me, I picked up a guitar in 99', self taught but never reached the level I hoped but my spark is lit! Subbed!

[@freddymclain]

here's the thing...we're talking about something you can't see. You have to listen, and as John Wayne would say, 'Lissen tight!' See if you can hear Wes' use of diminished, altered, melodic minor, minor 7th, scales and/or arpeggios. How the young lions (Pat Metheny, George Benson, etc.) play through a 'turnaround.' Listening is what gives you direction. It's where you begin. It's what put you on the path to begin with.

[@joshuareid3778]

Just love the whole attitude and ethos of this video

[@whiteyshred4330]

Slowly becoming my favorite guitar channel

[@jazzup13]

Welcome to Jazz 😎 It’s challenging and rewarding! Sounds great for 7 days 👍👍 well done!

[@tydenbinsted2843]

... deep secret sauce from scary jazz bootcamp conservatory: solo landing on 3rds and 7ths of each chord, specifically on beats one and three of the measure. Practice that for for as long as you can stand, playing only 8th notes in the scale, or until you can't help but deviate and still land. Sing every note too. It will probably sound weird at first. Then kind of try and stop thinking about it and move to something else. I don't know why this works, but it just kind of burns key landing points into your muscle memory. This is basically jazz pushups. All The Things You Are is good for this. RIP Barry Harris check that dudes lessons out

[@MegaGameHunter]

Funny thing about picking lighter... in opposite to gypsy jazz where downstrokes should be played like reststrokes and "from the elbow" - means harder because of the volume guitar produces that way. But this is maybe for acoustic and archtop guitars AND you can still find players that can play fast with this kind of picking style: Stochelo Rosenberg, Jimmy Rosenberg etc.

[@rockkstah2550]

Gotta woodshed Brutha! It’s how I got real good. After 35 years I still do a lot of woodshedding. Learn chord voicing and different places to play the same chords. In a band context it’s about playing a lot of chord voicing at the same time work on shredding cause you get call on it, especially when the band know you can do it well.

[@jordanfrancisco27]

Eyyyy Mr. Cole, thanks forbsharing your journey with us. Much love from the Philippines. 💯✊🇵🇭

[@MrPDTaylor]

Greetings from Pittsburgh!!

[@luisdavid2615]

it took me 4 years to be able to solo,over chord changes, i just got frustrated but now i can kinda find my way in a solo

[@BrandochGarage]

I can't believe it took you seven days to pick out a good hat.

[@VixCrush]

I think you should listen to more jazz if you want to get into it. No guitar player is happy with their playing. I have been blessed with the motivation to practice lately and I hope that continues. You are a real good guitar player. Keep it going.

[@jonnyrugg]

Thanks Mike for sharing this! I've recently felt exactly the same, and also went to learning jazz as a solution... Yeah it's hard😅 Best of luck as you continue that journey!

[@ZK_SHREDR]

Always good to try another genre,I randomly became interested in classical. I suppose its because I play alot of metal and we all know metal is just classical with electricity

[@mm24f]

it's encouraging to see someone who actually knows how to play struggling like one of us sjsj!

[@MitchHaman]

You did great, especially for only 7 days. You'll be teaching in 6 months.👍👍👍👍

[@darvyowolf]

love the fact we have the same D'Angelico!

[@stupatrick]

Love this...your honesty is tops Mike. Funny enough I'm going through a similar transition from blues to jazz, although I've not yet made the progress you have despite having gone beyond the 7 days. But you've given me some crucial inspiration. Cheers mate 👍

[@zackaaron8921]

Bro, my Jazz professor was working on Donna Lee when I started school in 2020. Start with something easier!!!!! 😂 You got this! 😁

[@il-r9954]

See I play Ukelele and it is WAYY different than guitar but I can agree that learning jazz will make u progress a lot of improvising and learn new chords along the way and it actually helps you know how to listen by ear