Mastering the Minimum — A Framework for Learning Jazz Guitar
What’s essential to know? Here’s one answer.
Recently I reviewed a stack of materials I used to give to my guitar students back in the 1980s. This is a book’s worth of instructions for scale fingerings, chord voicings, chord-scale relationships, sight reading, improvising, and more. The lessons are massive, complex, and overwhelming — more than any mortal human being could ever absorb.
Alas, in those days I was focused on accumulating information. The more scales, chords, and chord voicings I knew, the better. Whenever I encountered a problem in my playing, I simply assumed that I didn’t know enough.
Today my approach is entirely different. My aim is to master the bare minimum of information that allows me to function effectively in a musical setting — and to have fun doing it. Trying to apply too much information puts me in practicing mind rather than performing mind, and thinking and playing are incompatible. When I encounter a problem in my playing, I now assume that I haven’t mastered something I thought I knew.
As an experiment, I summarized everything that I now practice in the following four lists.
In general
Play simple and singable melodic lines.
Create more intensity by playing octaves and block chords rather than playing more notes.
When in doubt about which notes to play over a chord, stick to arpeggios.
Improvise inside the key center
On I major chords, play a major scale on the root.
On II minor chords, play a dorian scale on the root.
On V dominant chords, play a dominant (mixolydian) scale on the root.
Improvise outside the key center
On altered major chords, play a lydian scale.
On altered minor chords, play a locrian scale.
On altered dominant chords, play an altered scale.
Approach any chord chromatically from above or below.
Precede any chord by its dominant. Example: Precede C7 with G7.
Play any note over any chord, guided by ear (what sounds good to you).
Accompany (“comp”) a singer or soloist
When playing with a bass player, use chord voicings on the top strings (1-4) and don’t interfere with the piano player or other chordal instrument.
When playing without a bass player, use chord voicings on the bottom strings.
Some additional thoughts
If you’re a beginner, the above might look like a lot. However, I can assure you that it’s far less than is presented in other guitar methods. I created these lists based on strategic forgetting — deliberately un-learning masses of information that I now consider unnecessary.
The question remains: How do you learn what I’ve included above? Fortunately we have the internet, including thousands of YouTube videos. Use keywords from the above lists to search in a focused way. I recommend starting with Matt Warnock’s articles and courses, which may be all you ever need.
Note: This post is about what to practice. For how to practice, learn about Effortless Mastery.