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Step 1
Consider that jazz rock is a music style born in the late 1960s, a time of experimentation in many things, including music. Young jazz artists had grown up with the new rock-and-roll music and began to blend jazz elements with rock instruments to create a different sound visited by artists like Frank Zappa, Lou Reed and, later, Herbie Hancock.
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Step 2
Listen to jazz rock recordings by different artists. From Miles Davis to Jeff Beck, each artist has his own jazz rock style. "Bitches Brew" by Miles Davis is a classic.
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Step 3
Understand that jazz-rock fusion might also use elements from reggae, heavy metal, country and hip hop. Fusion is often instrumental with complex rhythm patterns.
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Step 4
Play jazz rock with a variety of instruments, including guitar, bass, saxophone, trumpet, keyboards, drums and violin. Some artists have even used synthesizers.
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Step 5
Conquer the different rhythms and time signatures of both rock and jazz. You need to know the basics before you can branch out and play the different sounds of jazz rock.
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Step 6
Be comfortable with improvising in music. Jazz has a long history of improvisation. If you plan to play in front of audiences, you must know how to wing it.
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Step 7
Know that while jazz rock continues today, it peaked in the 1970s. It evolved from an experimental style of combining the structure and harmony of both rock and jazz. In a way, music boundaries between musical genres blurred.
