Blog - Lessons
Welcome to the blog of jazz-guitar-licks.com,
This blog covers different subjects and contains several useful lessons both for beginners, intermediates and advanced jazz guitar players.
Whether you're looking for tips on playing jazz guitar, this blog surely has the information you crave and will help you expand your music knowledge and technical skills.
You will find here tutorials grouped into several distinct categories (Jazz Guitar Lessons, Licks and Transcriptions, Scales and Arpeggios, Chords, Jazz Standards, Music Theory, Guitar Practice Tips, Guitar Gear Reviews, Music Production, Music Reviews, Uncategorized, Guest Posts) as shown in the menu on the right.
The content is regularly updated. If you're new here, it's a great place to start learning jazz guitar. Don't hesitate to subscribe to the newsletter in order to receive the latest posts in your mailbox.
If you want to see me talk on a specific topic or if you want to submit articles, let me know using the contact form.
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Octave Playing - Guitar Lesson With Lines and Theory
- By Stef Ramin
- On 12/30/2018
- 0 comments
What's Octave Playing?
Octave playing is a big part of jazz guitar language, this technique has been popularized by guitarist Wes Montgomery one of the greatest improvisers and jazz genious of all times. Theoretically, the principle is quite easy to understand. You just have to play lines using two simultaneaous notes separated by twelve semitones. In practice, it is more difficult because of the fingerings. Indeed, you have to move two fingers at the same time while keeping the same hand position. This lesson provides guitar diagrams and easy guitar lines for a good mastery of this technique. -
Locrian Mode Guitar Cheat Sheets - PDF and JPEG Formats
- By Stef Ramin
- On 12/25/2018
- 0 comments
Locrian Mode Cheat Sheet For Guitar
The Locrian mode is the seventh mode of the major scale. It has a particular sound because of the b2, b3, b5, b6 and b7. It is probably the least used and the most misunderstood of all of the modes of the major scale. The Locrian mode is usually played over minor seventh flat ninth chords (m7b5).
The Aeolian mode is built with : root (1), minor second (b2), minor third (b3), perfect fourth (4), diminished fifth (b5), minor sixth (b6) and minor seventh (b7).
locrian-mode-guitar-cheat-sheet.pdf (145.18 Ko) -
Aeolian Mode Printable Cheat Sheet - PDF and Jpeg Files
- By Stef Ramin
- On 12/25/2018
- In Cheat Sheets
- 0 comments
Aeolian Mode Cheat Sheet
The Aeolian mode (also called "natural minor scale" or "relative minor scale) is the sixth mode of the major scale, it is known as a relative minor to the ionian mode. It is a minor scale containing a minor third (b3), a minor seventh (b7) and a minor sixth (b6).
The Aeolian mode is built with : root (1), second (2), minor third (b3), perfect fourth (4), perfect fifth (5), minor sixth (b6) and minor seventh (b7).
aeolian-mode-cheat-sheet-for-guitarist.pdf (137.92 Ko) -
Mixolydian Mode Guitar Cheat Sheet - PDF and JPEG
- By Stef Ramin
- On 12/25/2018
- In Cheat Sheets
- 0 comments
Mixolydian Scale Guitar Cheat Sheet - PDF / JPEG
The Mixolydian mode, also called dominant scale is the fifth mode of the major scale. It is a major type scale. This is the mode to know when you want to play over dominant chords (not altered). The Mixolydian mode is widely used in jazz and blues music and one of the most important to master.
The Mixolydian mode is built with : root (1), second (2), third (3), perfect fourth (4), perfect fifth (5), sixth (6) and minor seventh (b7).
mixolydian-mode-sheet-cheat-for-guitar.pdf (134.74 Ko) -
Lydian Mode Cheat Sheet - PDF and JPEG
- By Stef Ramin
- On 12/25/2018
- In Cheat Sheets
- 0 comments
Lydian Mode Cheat Sheet
The Lydian mode is the fourth mode of the major scale. It is a major type scale very used to play over major chords. It gets interesting when it is played over a major chord, indeed it brings a little bit of tension because of the raised fourth / raised eleventh (#11).
The Lydian mode is built with : root (1), second (2), third (3), augmented fourth (#4), perfect fifth (5), sixth (6) and seventh (7).
lydian-mode-cheat-sheet.pdf (130.63 Ko) -
Phrygian Mode Cheat Sheet For Guitarist - PDF and JPEG
- By Stef Ramin
- On 12/25/2018
- In Cheat Sheets
- 0 comments
Printable Phrygian Cheat Sheet
The Phrygian mode is the third mode of the major scale. It is one of the three minor modes of the major scale. The Phrygian mode is a minor type scale, indeed it contains a b3. It can be played over minor chords but it is rarely used because of the b2 scale tone.
The Phrygian mode interval pattern is : root (1), minor second (b2), minor third (b3), fourth (4), perfect fifth (5), minor sixth (b6) and minor seventh (b7).
phrygian-mode-cheat-sheet-for-guitar.pdf (138.44 Ko)
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Dorian Mode Cheat Sheet - Printable PDF and Jpeg File
- By Stef Ramin
- On 12/25/2018
- In Cheat Sheets
- 0 comments
Printable PDF / JPEG Dorian Mode Cheat Sheet
The Dorian mode is the second of the seven musical modes.It is a minor type scale because of its minor third (b3), often the first choice to play over minor chords and one of the most important scales to know.
The Dorian mode is built with a root (1), a second (2), minor third (b3), fourth (4), perfect fifth (5), sixth (6) and minor seventh (b7).
dorian-mode-sheet-cheat-for-guitar.pdf (131.29 Ko) -
Ionian Mode Cheat Sheet For Guitar
- By Stef Ramin
- On 12/25/2018
- In Cheat Sheets
- 0 comments
Printable PDF / JPEG Ionian Mode Cheat Sheet
The Ionian mode (aka major scale) is the first of the seven musical modes. The other Greek modes are Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian modes. The Ionian mode has exactly the same notes as the major scale and surely the first scale to learn for a beginner musician.
The major scale consists of a root (1), second (2), major third (3), fourth (4), fifth (5), sixth (6) and major seventh (7).
major-scale-sheet-cheat.pdf (138.61 Ko) -
10 Dominant Octave Licks For Guitarist - YouTube Video Lesson
- By Stef Ramin
- On 12/18/2018
- In Licks & Transcriptions
- 0 comments
Octave playing technique involves playing the same note on two strings separate by one octave. An octave is 12 semitones higher than the root note. You will find in this blog post a new video from the YouTube Channel, containing 10 dominant octave licks with tabs and standard notation overlayed.
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What's An Inverted Chord - Open and Close Voicings
- By Stef Ramin
- On 12/16/2018
- 0 comments
What's An Inverted Chord?The notes of a chord whether it is a triad (containing just three notes) or a tetrad (built with four notes) can be reshuffled in different order. The name of the chord will still remain the same, but the bass will not necessarily the root note. This is the lowest note (the bass note) that determines the name of the inverted chord. So, chord inversion simply refers to which note is in the bass. You will find here some example for a better understanding of what are inverted chords.
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One Note Samba - A.C Jobim - Transcription For Guitar
- By Stef Ramin
- On 12/01/2018
- In Jazz Guitar Lessons
- 0 comments
One note samba is a song composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim. The title refers to the main melody of the song, which consists of a serie of identical notes (F and Bb in this arrangement for guitar) with a syncopated rhythm typical of bossa nova and a number of chords typical of this genre. -
Extended Diatonic Arpeggio Infographic
- By Stef Ramin
- On 11/27/2018
- In Infographics
- 0 comments
Extended areggios, Extensions, Upper-Structure of Chords, Superimposition, Secondary Arpeggios, Chords
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Extended Diatonic Arpeggios - Upper-Structure of Chords and Superimposition
- By Stef Ramin
- On 11/23/2018
- In Scales & Arpeggios
- 0 comments
When learning how to play jazz guitar, one of the most important device to master is to play each tone of a chord in order to outline a specific progression. This is what we call arpeggios. They are great melodic tools when you want to highlight the chords you are soloing over.This article is focused on diatonic seventh arpeggios and their extensions. In a first time, before applying these extensions, it is recommended to have a very strong knowledge of the triads, both the chords and the arpeggios.
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Three Kinds Of Minor Blues Scales
- By Stef Ramin
- On 10/23/2018
- In Scales & Arpeggios
- 0 comments
The minor blues scale is mostly referred to as the minor pentatonic scale with a b5 thus giving the interval pattern 1 - b3 - 4 - b5 - 5 - b7. However, few musicians know that there are three types of minor blues scales depending on wether you incorporate the flat fifth (b5), the major third (3) or the major seventh (7) to the minor pentatonic scale. In this lesson you will learn how to build, play and recognize each of these three minor blues scales. -
Major and Major 6th Arpeggios with Chords - Guitar Infographic
- By Stef Ramin
- On 10/21/2018
- 0 comments
Major 6 and minor 6 arpeggio shapes with chord diagrams.
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10 Best Jazz Drummers Of All Time
- By Pete-Drummer
- On 10/11/2018
- In Music Reviews
- 0 comments
There’s no doubt about it that if you want to be the best at anything, it pays to borrow a page or two from some of the most popular legends before your time. The swing feel is a fundamental aspect in jazz band music, and if you didn’t know, most of that fire in the rhythm comes from the drummers. Yes, the other instrumentalists such as the pianist, trumpeter, and guitarist may get more attention, but we can’t overlook the importance of the drummer in jazz music. But back to the earlier mentioned idea, who would you look up to as an aspiring, learning, or practicing drummer in a jazz band? Perhaps you might just find your role model in this list, here are the 10 best jazz drummers of all time. Beginyourdrumming.com/ have compiled a list of their favourite Jazz drummers of all time.
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