Erin McKeown playing guitar

A Gentle Introduction to Jazz with Erin McKeown

A smiling Greg Ruby seated playing guitar. Photo by Max Branigan
Chord Melody Made Easy(ish)
Charlie Christian playing guitar in black and white
Learn a Charlie Christian Solo

With its complex harmonies and swing feel, jazz is one of the most difficult languages to master on the acoustic guitar. The lessons here cover everything from the very basics of jazz to chord-melody style arranging to note-for-note Eddie Lang and Django Reinhardt transcriptions.

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guide tone voicing guitar lesson

Guide Tone Voicings

Guide tones are simply the third and seventh notes of a chord (sometimes the third and sixth if the chord is a simple triad or sixth chord). Guide-tone voicings have long been popular with jazz musicians, including guitarists Grant Green, Jim Hall, and pianist Red Garland. Thelonious Monk often used guide tone voicings…

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Video Lesson: Five Jazz Masters on Rhythm Changes

When George and Ira Gershwin first wrote “I Got Rhythm” for the 1930 musical Girl Crazy, they couldn’t possibly have imagined the effect that this catchy song would have on American popular music. It soon became not just one of the most celebrated tunes in the Great American Songbook, the…

George Harrison

Video Lesson: All About the Essential ii–V Chord Progression

Given the guitar’s well-established role as an accompaniment instrument, it behooves acoustic players to learn a lot about chords. Backing up your own singing or someone else’s means you’ve probably recognized familiar chord progressions that occur throughout popular music. As you add songs to your repertoire, you’ll likely notice that…

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