I'm trying to learn Jazz guitar. . . what scale should I start with?

[jetmarshall]

Just want to learn some leads. Is there a scale that is a good platform from which to start?

 

What is a good website to access various scales?

[SHIVmongrel]

what scales do you know in every position?

[The Eristic]

Modality.

[acravero]

 

Originally posted by jetmarshall Just want to learn some leads. Is there a scale that is a good platform from which to start? What is a good website to access various scales?

 

 

If you seriously want to learn jazz guitar, do yourself a huge favor and get a good teacher. If you don't specifically have a jazz guitar teacher in the area, your local college probably has a jazz teacher who could properly teach you the art of jazz improv.

[Keelbolts]

Getting a good teacher is good advice, but I would add listen alot to jazzers who *don't* play guitar. If you focus too much on the guitar, at the expense of the music, you'll become a guitar player not a musician who plays guitar. There are things that fall under your fingers when you play guitar that if you use 'em too much makes you sound like everybody else. Listen to horn players. The need to breath goes a long way towards requiring good phrasing. Guitar players often have rotten phrasing. Most of all, 8 notes IS NOT neccessarily better than 1. Play to sing, not to impress.

[pennypusher]

The goal of jazz lead playing is being able to fluidly play over chord changes, so you will probably want to take more of a harmonic approach, as opposed to a scalar approach.

 

The reason for this is that most jazz is typified by complex chord changes, so in order to play lead in jazz, you have to use more than one scale to follow the chord changes.

 

I would suggest learning CHORDS first, and the theory behind them, and then learning the scales and their respective modes in relation to the chords.

 

If you're not really interested in all that, here's a basic list of the scales that every jazz player is expected to be familiar with:

 

Major scale and it's modes (this includes the natural minor scale)

Melodic Minor scale and it's modes

Harmonic Minor scale and it's modes

Whole tone scale

Both Diminished scales (half/whole and whole/half)

...and then there are just endless altered scales used in jazz, like the Bebop Scale, which is basically just an altered Mixolydian, for example.

 

A very huge part of jazz lead involves passing tones, and knowing how to use dissonance for musical ends. This is an extremely difficult aural skill to develop ... it just comes from knowing the scales inside and out and having really good ears basically. You can play notes that are outside of the scale if you know how to USE them properly, but it takes a lot of discipline and taste to do it.

[pennypusher]

So... basically, to answer your initial question ... start with the Major scale.

[jerry_picker]

It is very old school, but the scale exercises in the Mickey Baker Jazz Guitar method book 1 are pretty good. He teaches scales relative to chord progressions...a practical, if old-fashioned, tack.

[Loud'n'A-noise]

Start with chord progressions to get a feel for the style, then improvise off that.

 

 

http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/f/p/fpm108/glw/lessons/lesson32.htm

[Loud'n'A-noise]

More

 

 

http://www.scroom.com/mus_lessons/tot.6.html

[Virgman]

I just read a book by Steve Khan. Apparently Steve is a well known jazz & fusion guitarist.

 

It was titled:

 

Pentatonic Khancepts

 

 

He said when he is faced with a new progression he thinks "minor".

 

Get it? Minor. As in Minor Pentatonics. The pentatonics gives him a quick lead into playing over the progression. Of course he uitilizes all the scales.

 

Hey you probably already know minor pentatonics.

 

 

Wow!

 

 

 

 

[guitarcapo]

I would think knowing the major scale and all it's modes ( the scales are the same just knowing theory behind what position you are at) would take you pretty far by itself.