How to Play Jazz Guitar - Learn to Improvise / Improvisation Tips

Having learned some of the guitar basics, how does a player begin to take on the huge topic of jazz improv? Answer: Go to the source! The first person to improvise on the electric guitar was Charlie Christian, and here's an idea of how he did it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Your Guitar!
• A basic knowledge of chords, and how to play them in barre (not open) positions
• Some patience, and time to practice!

1. I have rated the difficulty of this article as 'moderate' as you'll need to understand how chords are built, and how to find them on the guitar neck. You should also be familiar with how chords are named and what the intervals mean.
   
   If you need to learn harmony for the guitar, how to find the notes on the neck and visualize scales easily (with audio examples), check out the "Master The Fretboard" "Charlie Christian Method" and "Ultimate Chord Guide" guitar learning methods at www.joedocmusic.com
   
   The good news is, any idea you learn that isn't based on the open position (where you may depend on an open string) is moveable to ANY other part of the neck, and therefore to any key!
2. copyright joe dochtermann may not be copied or reused without permission As in another article I wrote for eHow.com, let's start right in with a practical example. This is an example of how Charlie Christian viewed the guitar; by expanding on a chord 'shape' he visualized, he added important chord tones, and created a collection of notes (a scale!) to improvise over each chord.
   
   Keep in mind; in jazz, the chords often change rapidly, so Charlie needed to have a new shape ready in his mind's eye - and inner ear - for each chord!
   
   Let's start with one chord shape; a dominant seventh chord, which is very common in jazz. You can already use this shape to play jazz lines in a 12 bar blues by just moving the whole shebang up and down the neck as the chords progress. After you get better at this, you will learn to smoothly 'voice lead' the chords, and therefore the scale patterns. "The Charlie Christian Method" on joedocmusic.com goes into depth and includes audio examples.
   
   Here's the shape - an E7 chord, based on the A string. NOTE: The A-string root note is at the 7th fret:
3. copyright joe dochtermann may not be copied or reused without permission Now, we do a couple of things to our E7 chord shape. We are now turning it into a scale shape, and you won't be able to play all the notes at once, but rather as a scale.
   
   We have moved the octave of the root note to the G-string from the B-string. This helps us sort of 'box in' the scale shape, making it easier to visualize in the heat of improv!
   
   The 2nd (F#) - also known as the 9th - has been added to our diagram on the 9th fret of the A-string, and the on the 7th fret of the B-string.
   
   The 5th (B) naturally belongs to the E7 chord and now appears on the D-string 9th fret and high E-string 7th fret.
   
   What we actually have here is a stack of notes - all of which make up an E9th chord. But we now see this as a scale. You may even just call it an E9th scale! (You could also call it and E dominant7 scale with an added 9th...etc etc)
4. copyright joe dochtermann may not be copied or reused without permission Now, we add in a C# note, which is the 6th (13th); a common extended tone in jazz. For more about why certain tones are added to chords, how these sound, and how to use them (all with audio examples) check out the "Ultimate Chord Guide" at joedocmusic.com - there is a lot of jazz oriented content in there!
   
   So, have a look at our filled in box-shape for an E7 (9,13) scale. This could also be thought of as a nice, useful form of E mixolydian. It makes a very easy form to visualize due to it's symmetrical shape. Don't forget - you can move it anywhere! Try playing through a blues in E, and when you get to the 4 chord, move this shape up to the 12 fret (A-string) and it becomes an A7 scale. Let 'er rip!
5. So, now you have a great tool to begin working on your jazz improv. You should now pick up a CD of Charlie Christian (there are some inexpensive collections out there, and he recorded with Benny Goodman, so you may wish to search both terms). And don't forget to pick up a copy of "Charlie Christian Method" and/or The "Ultimate Chord Guide" at www.joedocmusic.com
   
   You'll need a lot more than this one scale to become a fluent improviser, but this is the right way to start. Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Barney Kessel, and Jim Hall have all cited Charlie Christian as their main influence in starting to play guitar! Learning Charlie's vocabulary of Jazz phrases is a great way to get started, and you'll also be going to the original source, so as you develop your own voice, it will be influenced by the greatest early jazz player to pick up the electric guitar.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice in small bites. Jazz is more cerebral than rock, and there is more theory to absorb. Yes, it can be a physical challenge on the fingers, but you shouldn't let the fingers get ahead of the brain and start running through scales. Play clear melodic ideas, and your lines will have power.
• Listen Listen LISTEN! No jazz guitarist was made alone on an island. Jazz is a musical vernacular, and you need to talk the talk to create your own sentences and stories. Absorb ideas from the greats - Hall, Pass, Christian, Montgomery, and non-guitarists as well - Coltrane, Bird, Davis, Monk, and on and on...
• Always practice responsibly - be aware of tension, strain and pain - if this occurs, stop and recuperate. Don't force anything or you could wind up with tendonitis or carpel tunnel syndrome, and be a very sad jazzer!