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  #46  
Old 01-11-2013, 01:40 PM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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Originally Posted by 815C View Post
Don't forget to have fun.
Yes, but try not to look as if you are...

Do these guys look like they're having fun???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqNTltOGh5c

The idea is to look as bored as possible. That's how you get to be "cool".

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  #47  
Old 01-11-2013, 06:27 PM
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min7b5 min7b5 is offline
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Originally Posted by Neal Pert View Post
Sorry, I should have said, "no money, few gigs, and your wife won't have any competition for you at the gigs!"
Yeah. I didn’t get into music for money and so far that's working out perfectly

Though I would argue that there is much better money in jazz than most other styles at the local/regional level. Obviously famous pop musicians make more money in a week than most famous jazz players do in a year. However, when you compare the average local rocker or singer-song writer gigs to similar level jazzbos it’s very much the other way around. When I was doing weddings as a solo jazz guitarist ten years ago I would usually get between four and seven hundred bucks a pop for a few hours (or less) of work. Often I’d do that twice a day, and then go out at night for a downtown trio gig...
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  #48  
Old 01-11-2013, 06:39 PM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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Yeah, solo wedding gigs are well...the best kept secret in music...takes a jazzer to pull off cocktail hour.
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  #49  
Old 01-11-2013, 06:52 PM
mc1 mc1 is offline
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Originally Posted by JonPR View Post
Yes, but try not to look as if you are...

Do these guys look like they're having fun???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqNTltOGh5c

The idea is to look as bored as possible. That's how you get to be "cool".

that's funny. your sense of humour always catches me off-guard. "another ii-V and i'm walking - you got that? walking."

i like miles, but i'm not fanatical, so no expert, but when does he ever look like mr. fun? mr. cool maybe.

Last edited by mc1; 01-11-2013 at 06:59 PM. Reason: tpyo
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  #50  
Old 01-11-2013, 11:01 PM
Dark Eyed Junko Dark Eyed Junko is offline
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont View Post
Yeah, solo wedding gigs are well...the best kept secret in music...takes a jazzer to pull off cocktail hour.
I'm no jazzer, and I make the majority off my income from solo wedding gigs. And it's not so much that it's a great secret, but that most players (jazz or otherwise) can't play solo stuff that people want to listen to during a cocktail (and even fewer can pull off a ceremony AND cocktail without sounding repetitive).
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  #51  
Old 01-11-2013, 11:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Dark Eyed Junko View Post
I'm no jazzer, and I make the majority off my income from solo wedding gigs. And it's not so much that it's a great secret, but that most players (jazz or otherwise) can't play solo stuff that people want to listen to during a cocktail (and even fewer can pull off a ceremony AND cocktail without sounding repetitive).
Much respect, Junko !
I've played in a band which played weddings and anniversaries in the 70's. I found it to be a good introduction to Jazz and other genres as well...very educational.
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  #52  
Old 01-12-2013, 08:37 AM
brahmz118 brahmz118 is offline
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I get regular wedding gigs, mostly from word of mouth. For some reason guitar rates have generally been the lowest. I tend to play piano more since it is my primary instrument, I'm more versatile on it in terms of instrumental chord melody arrangements, and it typically commands a lot more money (like 2-3x as much as guitar).

Although I have jazz pieces in my piano repertoire, lately none of the 20- and early 30-somethings have wanted any jazz at their cocktail hours. The closest I got was a request for "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" - but it had to be the Lauryn Hill version. When I sit down with the couple and tell them that I'm willing to play music that is meaningful for them - especially for their 'entrance' into cocktail hour - then I get very interesting lists of pop, indie, alternative rock, music from TV / movies, even mashups.

I know I'll never make it in any pure jazz circles. I'm fine with being a dilettante. I respect the purists but I'm more of a crossover type. I listen to Chris Thile playing a Bach partita, or Bela Fleck playing My Favorite Things with McCoy Tyner - and I sense from interviews that they are dabbling in those genres and not immersing themselves in those worlds. I've tried to transcribe a few Keith Jarrett piano solo pieces by ear (still very difficult for me) just so I could fake some jazz at wedding-type gigs. But in all honesty I get more attention and appreciation for my arrangements of Radiohead (inspired by Brad Mehldau and Christopher O'Riley).
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  #53  
Old 04-22-2013, 10:19 PM
IPYF IPYF is offline
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I don't always follow up, but when I do it's with good news.

I actually went for this pretty hard with the new guitar. I'm starting a Coursera with Garry Burton next week to up my improvisational skills. I've been working with flatwounds for the last month or two and my primary focus has been on expanding jazz chords into arpeggios and playing through basic changes. I'll be playing in a concert showcase in a month, playing some Piazzola tangos – which while not strictly jazz fare per se were well beyond my skill set when I started this thread.

Anyway. This isn't to bignote. This is just to come back and say, hey thanks for some good advice. I went through a lot of what was posted here to try and up my game and it was really helpful. Cheers.
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  #54  
Old 04-23-2013, 03:40 AM
mastercaster mastercaster is offline
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Glanced through the thread and didn't see any link to this. Perfect for some someone wanting to dabble in jazz. Great teacher and downloaded for less than the price of one lesson.
I don't have this course but I do have two other 1-2-3 courses. Perfect for laying the foundation of the particular styles they teach.

http://truefire.com/jazz-guitar-lessons/123-jazz/
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  #55  
Old 04-23-2013, 10:50 AM
Davis Webb Davis Webb is offline
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OP

That is great news. Very difficult work but soo rewarding.

Wes Montgomery...thats the stuff!
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  #56  
Old 04-25-2013, 10:43 AM
Howard Klepper Howard Klepper is offline
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Originally Posted by mr. beaumont View Post

Start with Miles Davis' Kind of Blue.

Oh, and shred will get you nowhere in jazz if you can't play changes. jazz tunes don't stay diatonic...gotta address the chords...
This advice is somewhat contradictory. I disagree with the first part. What was most significant about Kind of Blue was that it led a movement away from playing chord changes and toward a scalar, horizontal style of jazz. I've seen many rock players who listened to it, got the idea that they were playing jazz by noodling on the Dorian mode, and never learned to hear or play changes. If someone calls himself a shredder, this album is a bad place to start.

I'd suggest listening to albums that mainly draw on the popular and show tunes from the "Great American Songbook."

And I'd say that jazz tunes do stay diatonic--the great majority are in major keys--but they don't stay in one key, which is probably what Jeff means. Learn to recognize ii-V7-I progressions, and the keys they signify. That is most of what you are hearing on the standard (pre-Kind of Blue) tunes.
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Last edited by Howard Klepper; 04-25-2013 at 10:50 AM.
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  #57  
Old 04-25-2013, 11:02 AM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Howard Klepper View Post
This advice is somewhat contradictory. I disagree with the first part. What was most significant about Kind of Blue was that it led a movement away from playing chord changes and toward a scalar, horizontal style of jazz. I've seen many rock players who listened to it, got the idea that they were playing jazz by noodling on the Dorian mode, and never learned to hear or play changes. If someone calls himself a shredder, this album is a bad place to start.

I'd suggest listening to albums that mainly draw on the popular and show tunes from the "Great American Songbook."

And I'd say that jazz tunes do stay diatonic--the great majority are in major keys--but they don't stay in one key, which is probably what Jeff means. Learn to recognize ii-V7-I progressions, and the keys they signify. That is most of what you are hearing on the standard (pre-Kind of Blue) tunes.
Yeah, advice on Kind of Blue is for building a jazz collection...not so much for learning your first songs...and yeah, diatonic to one key.
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  #58  
Old 04-26-2013, 08:17 AM
pf400 pf400 is offline
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I was happy to read this request....like me you just want to play some songs and become a good jazz guitarist, and you haven't found the entry point yet. I took lessons from a local performer...big mistake. He had this elitist attitude and went way ahead of us even before the 2nd lesson. Only thing I learned was one chord progression and how complicated jazz guitar can be.

I often hear certain jazz rythyms in my head and find myself immitating them in some classic pop songs I do. My plan is just to learn some tunes and add to my repertoire of wedding songs. I picked up "Summertime" on Youtube and I'm proud of how I play it.

It's possible to be a good jazz guitarist but only play a half dozen songs in that genre, as part of you overall mix. Oh oh....left myself open on that one hee hee hee.
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  #59  
Old 04-26-2013, 11:15 AM
Howard Klepper Howard Klepper is offline
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If it is just chording you are after, the first few pages of the Mickey Baker Book 1 are worth price of the book. In fact, page 1 alone is.

You don't need to learn every inversion all over the neck to play good jazz rhythm.
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  #60  
Old 04-26-2013, 11:50 AM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Howard Klepper View Post
If it is just chording you are after, the first few pages of the Mickey Baker Book 1 are worth price of the book. In fact, page 1 alone is.

You don't need to learn every inversion all over the neck to play good jazz rhythm.

This is so true...better to know maybe 10 shapes and how to really use them, versus 100 shapes and no clue...
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