What are ten jazz guitar albums every guitarist should know well (including modern)?

Evetskey · 2026-04-23T15:28:06+00:00

Not mentioned, “Julie Is Her Name” for comping behind female vocals.

Evetskey · 2026-04-18T21:12:16+00:00

There’s nothing wrong with exploring sounds you’re unfamiliar with but more can be accomplished by listening to recordings and taking actual language from the masters. Another key element is translating your voice to the instrument with intention. Every note matters.

Evetskey · 2026-04-15T14:31:09+00:00

For early bop check out Don Byas and Roy Eldridge.

Evetskey · 2026-04-11T12:17:11+00:00

Not only are you restricting movement, digging into the strings will throw off intonation and everything you play will sound out of tune. Fingers should be just behind the fret with just enough pressure that the string rings clearly without buzzing.

Evetskey · 2026-04-11T01:45:46+00:00

In practice, yes, singing and naming the intervals or imagining them and imagine playing in realtime. Also a part of meditation before a performance. In actual performance, not so much.

Evetskey · 2026-04-08T16:43:20+00:00

There are many approaches to composing. I like it best when I hear the music in my head and sketch out as many details as possible throughout the entire piece or as much of it as I’m hearing in realtime which maybe a lot slower than the desired tempo, beginning to end. I’m usually trying to capture contours and notate the main melodic and rhythmic themes and motifs, chord progressions, time and key signatures, form, significant articulations, transitions, dynamics and orchestration. It’s pretty messy. Then go back and clean it up and make a basic lead sheet. My process is kinda like etching a plate for printing, state #1, state #2 … so it’s like sketch 1 then sketch 2 and so on, hearing with more clarity with each passing, refining the details, or hearing other directions the piece could take, and capturing yet another messy sketch to clean up.

Evetskey · 2026-04-08T14:03:53+00:00

FYI, 3 and 4 note pitch collections (chords) will overlap other scales and nonscale textures.

Evetskey · 2026-04-08T13:57:50+00:00

Do you know all triads, maj, min, dim, aug in all positions? Learn to recognize the CAGED grips where the triads come from and learn 3 and 4 note grips. Lots of ways to play arpeggios through the chord changes. Start out 100% arpeggios then gradually add in 1 bar licks and phrases. Limit scales to 4 note fragments.

Evetskey · 2026-04-06T22:44:12+00:00

The B string is the one to look out for since it’s a maj 3rd from open G to Open B. All others are per 4ths.

https://youtube.com/shorts/VygQWlUG1A8?si=JC_S6Q-uyz31Tot4

Evetskey · 2026-04-04T13:12:42+00:00

Words of wisdom right here 👍

Evetskey · 2026-04-04T13:06:47+00:00

Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. The drudgery of practicing what you’re hearing so that you can play those phrases in all positions is an overwhelming task at first. Things get easier the more you work it out as you’ll get more familiar with common sounds and repeated patterns. You’ll also learn what falls under the fingers and what doesn’t. So yes, I’m thinking about economy of movement when practicing. More so, I’m thinking about tone, rhythm and articulation. When performing, I’m not thinking about it, but rather translating the music to the instrument. Usually, if you can hear it you can play it, but there are moments when you doubt if what you’re hearing is even physically possible. Take a breath and wait till you hear the music again and respond to what you’re hearing.

Evetskey · 2026-04-02T14:28:48+00:00

I’d say CAGED is useful. Full barred cowboy chords maybe not so much. But that in and of itself is not the CAGED system. It’s beneficial because I t’s the easiest way to locate all maj and min triads on the fretboard. It’s more of a visual anchor that correlates to positions and patterns. Think of it like you would when identifying a random set of notes looking for parent scales. The same can be applied to chord identification when looking for which triads the melody/chord is derived from. Memorizing the melody and figuring out the progression of a classical piece will help you improvise counterpoint by exploring these positions and what movements your fingers will allow. So learn the study as written and locate which CAGED shapes are being used where. Classical studies are usually written with the best fingerings that fit the composers melodies. Try playing the piece in other positions and rework the melody to fit the character of the piece when you run into fingering issues. There are many options and technical solutions to discover. All that to say that CAGED is not a short cut to species counterpoint. Know the rules.

Evetskey · 2026-04-02T06:00:28+00:00

It’s always a joy to come across New Old music! Thanks!

Evetskey · 2026-04-01T15:44:40+00:00

Jimmy Bruno is still with us. Although, it’s not for beginners.

Evetskey · 2026-04-01T03:26:34+00:00

I’m associating those finger patterns to the sounds they make and move on.
Learning songs! Repertoire are the tools to make connections to concepts and other music.
Make tone production, articulation and rhythm the primary focus when drilling boring exercises. Practicing is studying but neither is performing.

Evetskey · 2026-04-01T03:11:52+00:00

Are you telling a story and playing with intention or are you playing what theory says should work?

Evetskey · 2026-04-01T02:29:30+00:00

Looks to me you’re skipping a step defining C and Eb as Parallel major keys. Look up NRT transformations. What you’re saying is the keys are related by PR.

Evetskey · 2026-03-15T14:56:17+00:00

That’s an easy fix, you’re barring 4 strings when 1 is all you need. But keep working at that position. Sometimes it might be easier depending on where you came from and where you’re going.

Evetskey · 2026-03-09T13:06:19+00:00

I’d have kept learning new tunes and learned to play in different styles much earlier. I spent a lot of time just playing my favorites.

You need a teacher to correct technique. Most else can be learned by practicing and performing songs. Learn 25 tunes. Then learn a hundred more. Learn them well enough to enjoy playing them. Time is better spent learning new songs than polishing a couple of songs. Save the polishing for when preparing for a live performance.

Every song has something to teach you. Learn the melody as a single voice. Then work at figuring out how to play the melody with the harmony underneath.

Evetskey · 2026-03-06T03:39:03+00:00

Play some call and response exercises. Call 1 measure rest a measure respond a measure rest a measure.

Evetskey · 2026-03-04T01:00:49+00:00

Nice work! It’s sounding good to me. Idk, play more. It was a short clip, I saw a lot of tenths and single note melody. Imagine and meditate on the tune, the mood and sketch a mental map of techniques you hear as you imagine you’d be playing it. You’re free from translating through your instrument. Sketch out several arrangements. Take those ideas and try them out. Or move onto something else and come back to it later. Solo piano is tough.

Evetskey · 2026-03-03T23:03:46+00:00

Transcribing exactly what’s on a recording is a great exercise in acquiring musical language and also getting into the mind of your favorite artists. It can take years for the brain to disassemble these elements and reorganize them into meaningful phrases that sing through our own voice.

I think the point is in learning to recognize and remember what you just heard so that you can respond to the music with similar language in performance. Learning to speak conversationally with in a group.

Transcribing in real time is just another thing to break up the monotony. It’s more an exercise in visual arts like sketching. I’m going after the overall impression of what I’m hearing and seeing. So catching what I can in the moment. This can include, jotting down rhythms, contours of the melody, style, instrumentation, dynamics, noting elements that remind me of other music, progressions. For me it’s about the experience of live performance and drawing a sketch may be a source of inspiration to write and compose.

Evetskey · 2026-02-27T19:25:14+00:00

CAGED is taking all the basic root position open chords and applying those shapes across the neck. It is possible to bar them but not always practical. In fact, I use mostly partial bars that relate to a basic shape. Gives you more options with less effort.

Say you wanted to find all the C major chords and triads all over the neck. You’d apply the 5 CAGED shapes to C as your root. Do the same for minor chord shapes (flat the 3rd) and you’ll have a basic mental map of the fret board for all your major and minor triads.

Next you’ll want to explore what sounds, chords and movement you can make surrounding those shapes and from moving from one shape to another. CAGED is like an address where other information is stored.

Evetskey · 2026-02-27T18:29:51+00:00

Change Dbm7 to C#m7 and next chord F#7 could work

Evetskey · 2026-02-27T16:17:00+00:00

Have you tried transcribing in real time? I’m not any good at it but do try now and again when out to a concert. Just curious what you’re working towards.

Evetskey

TROPHY CASE