Jazz Soloing Skills - Telling a Story


When learning jazz guitar improvisation, you spend a ton of time on the mechanics.


You learn chords, scales, arpeggios, licks, patterns, subs, etc.


Learning these concepts & techniques is important when playing jazz guitar.


But.


You can put too much time into mechanics and not enough time into the storytelling aspect of jazz soloing.


This leaves you frustrated and, if we’re honest, bored with your jazz guitar solos.


Everything you play sounds like an exercise when you improvise.


If you’re stuck in this rut, don’t fret…


In this lesson, you learn 3 easy exercises that helped me add a storytelling aspect to my jazz guitar solos. And…


You use my favorite soloing form, jazz blues, to workshop these jazz concepts and devices.


First, you solo without restrictions over the jazz blues.


Next, you solo with specific phrasing goals, including a very cool Wes Montgomery phrasing technique.


To finish, you add dynamics and accents to your solos as you move from directly from technique to storytelling.


Do not pass Go, do not collect $200, just improvise killer jazz blues solos today.


Have fun with this lesson, I know they'll help your jazz blues soloing as much as they helped me.

5 Storytelling Exercises for Jazz Guitarists

 

As you take this material forward in your playing, here are exercises that helped me bring a storytelling vibe to my solos.

 

Use any or all of them in your practicing to have that same positive experience in your jazz guitar solos and jams.

 

  • Leave space in your solos, more space than you think.
  • Repeat your ideas when soloing, not just once, repeat and develop a good idea for 8 or more bars at a time.
  • Sing along with your jazz guitar solos.
  • Focus on dynamics in your improvisations.
  • Bring accents to your jazz lines, sudden louds and softs.

 

Have fun exploring these techniques, moving beyond scales, and telling a story in your jazz guitar solos.

 

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Now, grab your guitar and have fun playing today!