4 Problems Playing Jazz Guitar Scales
Sun, 05/28/2017 - 3:06pm
If you want to develop a well-rounded jazz guitar skill-set, learning and practicing jazz guitar scales will be critical. However, it is important to keep in mind that as with any other discipline, you will encounter roadblocks and hurdles along the way. Let’s dive into four all too common struggles you may face as you progress your way toward jazz guitar mastery.
1. Hand Cramps
While cramping and soreness are ubiquitous problems for every guitarist, they can be especially troublesome when you are playing through jazz scales. Many of the major scale positions outlined by our jazz guitar instructor, Chuck Loeb, here require a fair amount of stretching, so be mindful of what your hand is telling you while practicing to avoid injuries and fatigue. Stretching your fingers will be your best tool to keep your hands in the proper condition for playing scales.
One simple stretch is to hold your hand in front of you with your palm facing outward and pulling each finger back towards you, for five to ten seconds each. Another way to reduce the chance of cramping is to shake your left hand out and let it hang by your side. This will help to increase circulation, and gives your hand a brief chance to relax.
Jazz Guitar: An Introduction to Improvising
Fri, 04/28/2017 - 4:11pm
The art of improvisation can sound pretty daunting when you are just starting out learning jazz guitar. Quite literally, you are attempting to pull order out of chaos, and to build something from scratch. Good for those who have Chuck Loeb's excellent lessons at ArtistWorks to guide you along the journey to jazz greatness!
Let's discuss a few key elements of improvisation as well as the tools you need to help you ease into the creative art of playing in the moment.
Live at the Blue Note: ArtistWorks Jazz Allstars
Tue, 04/25/2017 - 12:51pm
Making their debut performance at the Blue Note Napa, we're proud to introduce the ArtistWorks Jazz Allstars! Featuring Eric Marienthal on sax, George Whitty on keys, Nathan East on bass, and Peter Erskine on drums. This was an incredibly rare lineup of ArtistWorks teachers and we were honored to film it for our students here!
As an ArtistWorks Exclusive, we've just added a special 2-part segment we recorded before the show about their ideas and methods on improvisation.
Also available:
- "Northern Cross" by Peter Erskine from the album First Steps Ahead and recently rearranged for his Dr.Um album.
- "Sir Duke", the Stevie Wonder hit re-imagined by Nathan East for this version that appeared on his debut solo album.
- "101 Eastbound", written by Nathan East
- "Baby Cakes", written by Eric Marienthal & Jeff Lorber
- "Hipnotherapy", written by Peter Erskine
- "Goodbye Flash Superboy", written by George Whitty
- "Renaissance Man", written by George Whitty
- "Puentes", written by Chuck Loeb & Eric Marienthal
- "Hawaii Bathing Suite", written by Peter Erskine
- "Last Minute Blues", written by Chuck Loeb & Eric Marienthal
- Plus "How to Prepare for a Gig" and more!
It's all available in the Learn Area, here's how to find it: From anywhere within your school, click on the Learn icon on the left, then choose the +Music tab, and in there you’ll see it labled as "ArtistWorks Jazz Allstars - Live at the Blue Note in Napa".
Jazz Guitar Beginners Need to Master These Basic Chords
Fri, 04/07/2017 - 2:34pm
When you hear someone swinging through those classic jazz guitar standards, it’s easy to feel jealous. It all sounds so smooth, yet harmonically rich! But if all you know are rock and folk fingerings, jazz chords can often seem like an alien language.
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