Hey Jazz Guy

Hey Jazz Guy, I love the sounds of solo jazz guitar, how do I play a walking bass and chords together? –Crawling in Cleveland   Dear Crawling, Ah, the walking bass! This is a wonderful sound that works really great in solo, duet, or small group settings. Mastering this technique will give you an excellent […]

Hey Jazz Guy, I’m tired of the same old 7th chord voicings, can you show me something different and new? –Tired in Toronto Dear Tired, One of the best signs you are improving is when you become frustrated with what you know and start looking for something else. Two voicing concepts that have a modern […]

Hey Jazz Guy, What are some more ideas for re-harmonizing a melody? –Standard in Syracuse Dear Standard, Using re-harmonization to spice up a melody can be very exciting. One method that is useful and interesting is to change the bass note. In the examples here we’ve used F as the melody note, and re-harmonized it […]

Hey Jazz Guy.. How can I make my blues soloing more jazzy, to fit the jazz-blues chord changes? –Blue and Bored in Birmingham Dear Blue and Bored, The best way to become accustom to the shift in language is through listening. Particularly by listening to older jazz (bebop and hard-bop) you will get a good […]

Can you talk about Drop 2 Voicings? I’ve heard of them, but what are they and how can I use them in my playing? — Dropped out in Denver Dear Dropped Out: Drop 2 voicings are simply re-arranging the order of notes in a chord, to make the structure wider (so the chord spans more […]