Composing and Improvising Strong Melodies (June 18, 2008)
Creating memorable melodies can be challenging, especially in the midst of an improvised solo. I get a great deal of inspiration from the master composers of American popular song, drawing from the solid compositional principles inherent in these tunes. One example, when I’m improvising over a tonic minor chord for several bars, I might use the solid architecture of a guide tone line starting on the tonic and descending chromatically, to add motion to my line. Yes, this is the same descending line used in the opening changes to "My Funny Valentine" and even "Stairway To Heaven" and thousands of other tunes. If the improviser practices this sequence melodically weaving in other notes, the result can be a complex line that has a solid substructure...
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Fundamentals Checkpoint: Got Gaps? (March 24, 2008)
We all know how important fundamentals are. But are they mastered to the point that they can be called upon at any instant during performance? For instance when a guitarist comps, he/she must be able to put any note of their choosing on the top of their voicing quickly and accurately. Without knowing at least the common chord voicings in all of their inversions one’s comping may fall short of the mark. When soloing, having complete command of chord scales and arpeggios in a variety of positions is crucial. Getting serious about really knowing one’s fundamentals allows the musician to focus on the business at hand: music making...
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The Van Eps Inspiration (October 24, 2006)
George Van Eps set his goals higher than most solo jazz guitarists. He enjoyed discovering new ways to turn a phrase in the moment and often going to “the woods” and having to find his way back, inventing most of his journey. He would often tell his audiences that he found it hard to believe that they found his “noodling” interesting. Granted he had his comfortable material to fall back on like any improviser, but he insisted on trying to improvise a string trio arrangement on the guitar’s fretboard. His use of an extra low seventh string helped him get closer to a piano’s wider range.
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Online Masterclasses (June 8, 2006)
A couple of months ago I was approached by Mike Gellar, a fine Maryland guitarist/computer whiz, about teaching online masterclasses. I had been thinking that it was only a matter of time before someone got this type of project in action. Kudos to Mike for following through! He enlisted some of the best jazz guitarist/educators such as Jack Wilkins, Sid Jacobs, Tony DeCaprio and Sheryl Bailey with more to follow...
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Seven-String Guitar (December 29, 2005)
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Modern Guitars reader recently asked me to talk a bit about the seven-string guitar, why I chose it and what keeps me playing it. My introduction to the seven-string was hearing the recordings of the great George Van Eps. The first time I heard about Van Eps was in high school at the school's library. They had a good supply of back issues of
Guitar Player magazine one of which had Van Eps on its cover. What high school library today would have something like this? I learned so much about jazz guitar and other guitar styles from reading GP back when it was less concerned with what was popular. So, before heading to Berklee I knew quite a bit about Van Eps and Johnny Smith courtesy of
Guitar Player...
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