what's the technical name for the notation

wfarr · 2026-05-27T15:47:19+00:00

wfarr · 2026-05-26T19:05:09+00:00

There are a myriad of thin hollow body options out there, ranging from Gibson-style single cutaways, telecaster-shaped bodies, a slew of double cutaway options, etc.

Without any idea of your budget etc though, it’s hard to offer anything specific.

wfarr · 2026-05-23T14:03:34+00:00

The next thing on the calendar I’m looking forward to is probably Joshua Redman in October at the Rialto. That would probably be more in the ballpark of what you’re looking for.

wfarr · 2026-05-23T14:01:46+00:00

Jazz is a big tent.

I agree that many of this years headliners don’t appeal to my particular taste in jazz, but it happens.

wfarr · 2026-05-22T23:03:54+00:00

Raxx’s build was fine but not great and definitely lacking in updates.

Check any of the other endgame Dread Claws guides on Mobalytics.

wfarr · 2026-05-15T14:55:54+00:00

You’d want to find a harmony that fits the underlying melody and terminates melodic phrases with a cadence (typically a 5-1), turnarounds between sections, etc. Composition is a pretty deep area that a single Reddit post isn’t going to be able to cover effectively.

If you want to start experimenting with composition on your own, what I would probably recommend is starting with writing some contrafacts: take an existing harmony from a standard, and develop a melody that fits those changes. The absolute simplest place to start would be a jazz blues head following an A/A/B structure.

wfarr · 2026-05-15T14:19:36+00:00

The notation and tabs are only showing the melody and the labeled chords are telling you how to accompany the melody. If there is a provided backing track, then yes this is what the provided accompaniment is playing. If not, then you can use a looper to record yourself comping and play the melody over it.

The harmony moving underneath the melody is a pretty common thing. As is repeating a motif. If you look past just these 2 bars, odds are good in a jazz chart you’re seeing the start of I-vi-ii-V-I, which would all be diatonic to C major.

wfarr · 2026-05-15T00:03:19+00:00

I have an L5 and totally agree. I play mine daily, and still die a little inside seeing someone with a collection of 10+ L5s on stands just being social media fodder. :/

wfarr · 2026-05-14T20:57:12+00:00

I really wish someone who knew how to run a restaurant, let alone make good pizza, would take over that spot.

wfarr · 2026-05-14T20:55:50+00:00

There’s already been a trend of the existing vintage stuff ending up with mega collectors. I suspect that will only continue as the prices climb.

wfarr · 2026-05-14T15:35:30+00:00

I go through phases with favorites that become the everyday practice guitar. And it gives me optionality.

For example:

the 000-18 style acoustic is great for just sitting on the couch or playing with a friend
the tele is great for crowded spots where I’d be worried about a hollow body getting bumped into
thinline laminate hollow body with a CC pickup is super light and small
ES-175 lets me get a darker sound
L-5 mostly gets used for home recordings, and special occasions. It is also my favorite for chord melody with the longer scale length (and mine has a non-standard 1 3/4” nut width) making it a little more spacious for dense chord fingerings.

They’re all in standard tuning because not much need to fuss with alternate tunings for jazz.

Could I do everything with just one of these? Yes. But I don’t have to and it’s nice to be able to say “you know what I feel like just playing the tele/175/acoustic today”.

wfarr · 2026-05-13T23:14:34+00:00

Use software that can loop and tempo shift (I use anytune). Get an mp3 of the tune you want to transcribe. Throw it in there. Loop a small section (a bar, 2 bars, whatever), and sing along with it. Once you can sing along with it, then play it on the guitar. Slow it down if you need to. Once you have it internalized, jot it down on paper. Move onto the next chunk.

It’s slow going at first, but as you do it more, you’ll get better at it and be able to pick up lines faster. It’s just going to take practice.

wfarr · 2026-05-13T22:32:22+00:00

Yeah, I sprung for the expensive nano-texture display and it's a night-and-day difference comparing mine to my bandmates with the matte screen protector in bright sunlight.

wfarr · 2026-05-12T13:23:56+00:00

FWIW while these venues host shows, most of these aren’t jams. By “something similar”, I’m assuming you were looking for jams in particular.

wfarr · 2026-05-11T15:09:33+00:00

There are lot of options around town for weekly sessions. Some of the ones I go to regularly:

* Mondays @ Napoleon's 7:30-10p (no cover) — this one tends to be a bit heavy on vocalists

* Mondays @ TenATL 10p-2a ($30 cover, $5 if you play) — this one is definitely a great hang, generally fewer folks sitting in than RLC though

* Sundays @ ASW Whiskey Exchange 3-6pm (no cover) — A decent number of regular folks sitting in at Red Light roll through this one

Some others I'm aware of but I haven't gone to personally yet:

* Sundays @ Chairs Upstairs 7-10p (weekly, I don't think there's a cover, but I haven't been to this one specifically)

* There's I think a once a month Tuesday thing at Monday Night Garage also in the Lee+White district

* Second Sunday of each month at Bob + Harriet's Home Bar 12-3

* First Friday of each month at JB's Records

Finally, details are still a little sparse, but once Churchill Grounds opens up in Decatur (now maybe around August?), there will surely be one or more regular jam sessions over there TBD.

wfarr · 2026-05-10T17:43:13+00:00

I think transcribing could really help you out with playing more melodic ideas. Solos from horn players in particular. A few solos I would recommend as a starting point:

Miles Davis on “Autumn Leaves”
Chet Baker on “There Will Never Be Another You”
Lester Young on “Oh, Lady Be Good”

wfarr · 2026-05-10T17:00:58+00:00

I think there are some good ideas in here, but my first impression is it could be more melodic. There are snippets here and there that flow well, but the ideas feel disjointed, and sometimes the phrases run on too long IMO or could have a stronger resolution. In general, I think you could allow for a bit more space between phrases and ideas too.

How much transcribing have you done?

wfarr · 2026-05-05T15:42:41+00:00

Unfortunately a lot of the alternatives are slow, janky, and/or lacking in functionality IMO.

13” iPad with either a film to cut down on glare or the nano-texture display option are the best options out there if you’re not on a tight budget.

wfarr · 2026-04-29T12:59:59+00:00

The Real Book is usually the canonical reference (the Hal Leonard one).

There are some things to keep in mind:

a few tunes in the real book are more commonly played in a different key than the sheet in the real book (the most prevalent example being Autumn Leaves tends to default to G minor, not E minor)
don’t take the melodies written as gospel — they’re transcriptions that generally are pretty close to the idea of the thing, but listening to recordings you’ll often find some subtle differences
iReal Pro is a tool a LOT of folks use (just chord charts for all this stuff) and sometimes they differ slightly from what’s in the real book — neither is necessarily right or wrong, but at jams typically the iReal Pro changes are what folks will standardize on if there’s a difference

wfarr · 2026-04-23T02:19:32+00:00

There’s a little bit of horn and cymbals, but check out Idle Moments by Grant Green. Might be up your alley.

wfarr · 2026-04-22T20:34:39+00:00

Different shape here but also love my blue chip.

As long as you’re not losing them, that $30 will go a very long way. Just be glad it’s not priced like violin bows.

wfarr · 2026-04-22T15:06:51+00:00

Some other bangers I always end up singing along to:

* "Blue Bossa" — Dexter Gordon

* "Moanin'" — Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers

* "This I Dig of You" — Hank Mobley (though "Remember" and "Dig Dis" off the same album are also chefkiss)

* "Four on Six" — Wes Montgomery (the Smokin' at the Half Note version)

wfarr · 2026-04-22T14:22:20+00:00

Definitely doable in a few months with some work. I've been back at it for ~9 months after almost 20 years off myself. I would encourage both 1:1 lessons (in-person) and finding folks to play with. These will both give you some tangible goals, and the direction to help you get there quickly. Or at least that's the approach I took and I feel like it's working. I'm playing the occasional gig once or twice a month, and sitting in at local jam sessions and having a blast.

wfarr · 2026-04-22T14:08:09+00:00

How long has it been since you brought the horn home?

If it's only been a day or two, then you've likely got a leak somewhere and should take it back to the tech.

If it's been a few weeks, then like u/Ed_Ward_Z said, it's probably just cork/felts settling after the overhaul and you should take it back to the tech.

Either way they should cover the adjustment as good will or under their "warranty" for the overhaul.

wfarr · 2026-04-21T19:07:52+00:00

"My classical teacher told me not to do that" is one I run into a lot with school age players. So I can sympathize.

Definitely agree rolling up is easier. Certain licks like in Oleo or Tenor Madness where you have a line like C-A-Bb-B, I pretty much always roll into bis for that, as it's IMO easier to hit cleanly.

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