Using Octaves in Jazz Guitar

Video Transcript

"Hello! My name is Dustin, and I am going to talk about octaves. Using octaves is a way to add a little flavor, a little spice to simple melodic lines. The basic idea is that if you have a single note in a melody or a solo, you play a lower note, an octave below at the same time, or an octave above, and those both at the same time, it just increases the body and adds a little something to the sound. So if you have a simple melodic line like this… you play it like this with octaves… it has kind of a jazzy sound, something that Wes Montgomery made really popular. So practice this octave technique when you are practicing your scales and arpeggios, and it will really help what you can do. There is also when it is very simple line… you add an upstroke with the octave, just a percussive little stroke and it adds even a little more texture to it, something like this…very subtle but it can work, so give that a try. "