How I got into jazz guitar & Why I make videos - Jens Larsen 

I’m 33 and just started listening to and playing jazz this year 🤣 been playing campfire and normal barre chords for like 20 years. Your channel has changed everything for me in that sense . I probably have more screen shots of your videos than regular pictures on my phone 📱

I've started with Jazz at 58! It's NEVER too late!

I like just listening to him talk even if I can't follow completely. I'm getting better it's Fascinating that's the word

Very interesting to hear your story. I started playing guitar at age 15 but without teachers or people to play with. I've only started learning jazz from a teacher about 2 years ago at age 59. My expectations of where I'll go are low because of my age and isolation from other players, and I feel like I lost a lot of time, but it is part of what I do now and an important part of what makes life fulfilling for me.

Been playing guitar for 55 years and discovered Jazz in the 80’s. Your never to old to learn something new. I’m 69 and loving it. Thanks for the videos

I’m a 35 year old choir teacher. Jazz always seemed so intimidating to me. Luckily we have great teachers today that make it accessible to the masses.

Great story! Thx for posting. As an American one thing that leaps out to me about your story is how many opportunities there were for young people is a social democracy. We never had anything like that in US. I had the advantage of growing up in 1950s and 60s in the land of jazz, rock n roll blues and country. And when I was a teen in 60s there were a lot of garage bands to play with. It was the San Francisco Bay area. I used to practice with an older guy regularly; we would play, discover things and share. Also he showed me how to "drop the needle" on a vinyl LP and cop BB King licks. All the hip music was on AM radio,.Also grew up and American music was always playing in the home: Miles, Coltrane. Gil Evans, Ray Charles, Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar, Sabicas. this was the hip music of my parents generation. There were some opportunities when there was a lot of money in the society in 70s and 80s. Colleges gigs, clubs, grants, Ali Akbar College in 1971 in Marin County was an idyllic situation. I learned sitar there for 11 years. I got a free education; a MA univ Hawaii in ethnomusicology. I worked on a PhD at UCLA and taught sitar. From 1980 on the Reagan era the economy in US got worse and worse. Its a sad story. The manufacturing base in US was decimated. That was the engine that generated all the wonderful African-American music in US. The cultural context of American music has been erased; it's a bold new world now. I never gig any more. nowhere to play. I play my sitar on the street sometimes. I have over 500 videos of my music on YT; Blues, jazz, classic rock, classical Indian. I don't teach on any video. I dislike teaching now. Please check out my videos, my channel. My jazz guitar is not very together yet, but it's improving, Ciao

I'm 73 years old and still trying to master jazz guitar. I'm taking lessons. Thanks for sharing your story and providing RU-vid videos, tab, charts, and backing tracks. I will let you know how I am progressing!

I'm 39 and I want to start with payling jazz and I'm happy that I found your videos.

Bought my first guitar at age 25, started listening to jazz in late 20's, mostly through the acid jazz revival, and after 22 years, I am finally at the stage where I can at least follow or understand most of your lessons, but still need work on improvising.

Jens, Thank you for this video. It’s good to hear personal struggles and the learning paths you took.

Dear Mr. Larson...You are a wonderful Player and Teacher...I am 73 Years old I picked up the Guitar at the age of 13...Our Family never had funds to take lessons, but my Dad played and I picked up a lot from Him...Some of my first exposures to Jazz were Howard Roberts and Django Reinhardt...and I always love Jazz...especially Gypsy Jazz as Josco Stephan plays currently...I never had the opportunity to play all that stuff as I always played Country music and Rock...something that really helped me come along With my musical journey...was to figure out the melody and if I didn’t know what chord I would try to find notes that would work with The melody note and then proceed with the rest of the piece of music...And Sir...Thanks so very much for Your Videos..!

I'm 58 yrs old, have been playing jazz since my late twenties. Its NEVER too late to study jazz. Like I was told when I started, which was late, and is basically the same story as Jens story, although I never went to a conservatory, I started studying with a teacher and just learned off instructional videos in the 80's. I also had a recording contract with A&M Records in Canada, went on the road for 2 years playing Rock. The books that did it for me when I was starting was "Scales and Modes In The Beginning," " Chord progressions for Jazz and Popular Guitar," and " Improvising Jazz Guitar." I Truly wish I had a channel like this when I was kid growing up. Thx Jens keep making the great videos.

You are an important person on the internet. I am a late starter bass player. I was 20 but I played guitar before that. Now i'm 66 and I have been a professional bass player for most of my life. I have always had a guitar but didn't devote much time to it but lately ( maybe because of the gigs drying up from CoVid) I am getting more serious with the guitar. Bass is great but It is more fun to play guitar when I'm just sitting around the house. Thank you for your videos.They are very helpful to me.

Here's a little background info on my own Jazz Journey! How did you get into jazz?

So glad I found your channel! You’re an AWESOME teacher! I’ve dabbled in Trying to play Jazz for years. It takes so much concentration and dedication. This inspires me - even at 56 yrs old!

Hey Jens. Thanks for making this video. I'm 21, studying Computer Science myself and just started playing jazz about a year ago. I've learned a LOT from your videos. Hearing your story gives me hope that I'll be good one day! Thanks!

You're a natural born teacher; best on the internet.

JENS....YOU ARE AWESOME KEEP DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING LOVE THE KNOWLEDGE

Jens, from the bottom of my heart - thank you so much for everything you do. I am beyond indebted to you and I don’t even know you!

Great work. Thank you 👍 Tom

Great story, I have been watching your vids for about a year now, I always look forward to them, they have helped me so much and inspired me to continue the journey of trying to improvise over the standards eloquently, and also in composing my own stuff. I share your vids on my fb page because I know many people who are into jazz, thanks for all you do.

Thank you for your lessons, you truly have(earned) the gift of teaching

Thanks Jens - I appreciate your sharing this. At the end there you mentioned that it takes a really long time to internalize something you are learning. That was a good insight for me because I started playing flute late - at 30 - so I always feel like I am taking too long to learn a piece (a year or more in some cases). But what you are saying is that this is how it is supposed to work. It does simply take a long time to learn a piece, especially if you've started late in life and don't have the skills built up yet. I find now that I do learn faster because I play better, but it sure takes a long time to master a song. Thanks for that reminder.

I appreciate all the videos you put up, and the knowledge you have! Amazing stuff!

I appreciate your genuine thoughts and insights. I studied opera in college 50 years ago, after playing garage bands in high school. I didn’t think I had enough real talent to continue this path which may or may not be true since most of our blocks are self constructed!. I went to graduate school, completed a PhD in Biochemistry then medical school and gave practiced emergency medicine for 40 years. That in itself is not all that interesting, but throughout it all, I wanted to learn guitar; I wanted to play every kind of music (except metal and rap😏) but only recently, within the past 2 years I stopped the schizophrenia, and calmed down to study jazz, at 70. Talk about a late bloomer. I particularly appreciate your comments about experimenting and exploring the guitar and phrases. I’m not a good player at all but sometimes I just love to pluck a string or a luscious chord and it’s almost enough. And the learning continues. Peace and thank for your work!

Thank you for sharing! Great video. It is such a journey and so much fun to explore and learn. I'm not much of a jazz guy but I have a great appreciation for it. I very much enjoy your content.

Hello sr. I really enjoy watching and learning from your videos, and taking them as a reference of what I have to learn.

Jens, thanks for sharing your story. I always love to hear how people started with listening and playing Jazz, not only because it is interesting, but also it can always inspire me with the experience everyone been through. After hearing your story, it actually cheer me up that learning jazz is never too late. If you really love this music, it is never too late. Thanks for the inspiration you have given to me Jens. Will definitely follow your up-coming videos.

Thank you for sharing your story. I started following your channel a few years when I was starting to learn the piano. I like to draw from many disciplines at the same time. The topics that you spoke about somehow interested me. I wanted to understand jazz. Now, I’m giving the piano a bit of a break and learning guitar.

Nice change of pace Jens! These kind of videos help understand where teachers come from. I got into jazz because a coffee house I went to when I was young had live jazz bands.

Great testimonial of how you got started, GOD Bless you and keep jamming.

Thanks for sharing; Great story. I started when I was 13 years old back in 1968, and still consider myself a student of the instrument to this day. I have learned from your videos, and others as well. I've thought about making videos sharing what I know, but there are so many out there that know a heck of a lot more than I ever will, so I just keep on being a student. Thanks!

No wonder you play so well! Thanks a million for the lessons from those of us not so fortunate. Cheers!

Fascinating story! I was at Aarhus Uni around the same time as you, doing physics and computer science 90-96. Jazz wise I was very much into "fusion"-style things like late Miles Davis, Weather Report, Return to Forever - albums like "Heavy Weather", "The Man With the Horn", "We want Miles", "Jack Johnson", etc. - music with high instrumental qualities (as I thought) and accessible with an ear trained for rock music. Two years ago (at 54) I started looking into jazz on the piano and have been practicing compulsively ever since. I've also had the experience of needing quite some time to "get it" and understand the music - notably, with many jazz standards I noticed that I had to take time to even understand the melodies. But it has been a wonderful ride, and I believe that jazz as improvised music is "where it at" in instrumental music nowadays. Last autumn I (belatedly) discovered the "new jazz scene" in London with artists such as (to name a few) Nubya Garcia, Joe Armon-Jones, Moses Boyd, Yussef Dayes and Theon Cross - I find it fascinating that they can actually fill concert halls and clubs with *young* people playing only instrumental jazz/fusion. I've also had much pleasure and information out of your videos - I'm focusing on the piano and don't play the guitar that much, but a lot of your advice and analysis still applies. Så tak for det. :-)

Jens you are a real inspiration . the guitar is a journey for me, it's good to hear yours...

Very inspiration to me !! Just made 23, started studying music at 13, i finished law school this summer( i wanted there at the start becouse i tought i wasnt ready for conservatory at 18-also no electric guitar school in my country so that complicated decisions ) My parents even with our differences, they were great to me in regards to studying as much music as i wanted and helped me with it ( the only thing was to have something going on- which was law school, made some money from it, got my full father support for small family business stuf) And now i can fully study and make music (felt like whole lifetime to wait). I want to mostly make videos about composing, having fun with the instrument as im not a night person and until i can support my self from teaching full time and change country, here i won't find a band i enjoy ( nor is my main wish, which is just to find ways to explore the music i love as much as possible). Thank u so much for this video, only at the end of it i saw that its 5 years old ;p. Your videos make my journey so much more enjoyable. Wish u the best >^^> and i'd love to end up making a video together later in my music adventure :D

Jens, thanks for sharing your story on how you got into playing Jazz guitar and onto RU-vid. I enjoyed learning about your Jazz guitar journey while enjoying a cup of coffee during a break from guitar practice.

Thank you so much, you are a great influence. You are so articulate and I enjoy learning like you!

You are definitely one of the best guitar teachers on the net today. I always look forward to the new topics you show in your weekly lessons, as well as the performances. I've learned a lot from them. I hope you keep doing what you're doing for a long time!

Thanks for the overview of your journey.

Very cool story. I'm thankful that there are now fantastic online resources such as yours to make the learning easier. I've been playing rock for many years, mostly focussing on technique and trying to 'shred', with little success :) A little over a year ago I decided I need to improve the melodic content of my improvisations. In time this led me to jazz tuition videos, and yours in particular, which seemed to care more about melody than most of the rock videos I found. I remember quite early on watching one of yours where you said something along the lines of 'if you want to play jazz, make sure you listen to it'. So I did. At first it sounded pretty opaque to me, but the more I learnt, the more I grew to like it. Now I rarely listen to anything else.

love your lessons and love your playing ...

wonderful story......your a fantastic teacher.... I'm so glad I found you..... Thank you for doing what you love....

I'm late to this video. It's cool that you ended up teaching at conservatory years after they turned you away due to ageism. The whole story is inspiring to me as a 44 year old who's still learning. Thanks for thinking of us non-young people. You explain concepts perfectly. I'd love to see an occasional video that's just a performance mixed in with the educational videos.

Hey Jens,Thanks for the sincere story.It's pretty much similar to us.And Thanks for a such good sharings.Your lessons are very valuable for me and I am sure for many of fusion/jazz players as well.Regards.

such an interesting and inspiring video. thank you for all your teaching.

For me it was when i got recommended a live video of Oscar's Peterson C jam blues when i was 17. After that i discoverd all the other classics and since then i mostly listen to jazz

Great video, I feel as though I’m going through a similar journey, didn’t start appreciating or listening to jazz until I was 22, I’m 23 now and its all I listen to everyday, I’m definitely still navigating this complex genre but I relate in that I had to go through different music phases like blues, rnb, soul or even soft rock to really find that jazz is what I really found had a unique value and such a depth to it, anyways, thanks jens for the great and detailed lessons!

You make a point about learning and make multiple references back to that point though the video. COULDN’T AGREE MORE. 👌

Great to hear your story. Your lessons are always clear and well presented. For me, they quickly become overwhelming as you elaborate on the entire path from novice to mastery. I would love to see your approach to jazz from start to advanced in small pieces. That might allow me to bite off chunks to work on. Keep up the good work! BTW I'm 65 and still learning.

I love hearing how people got into jazz - thanks for doing this video. I am a little late to the party but the video came up in my auto play and I’m glad it did.

Jens, you were young when you started. I have played since I was 12 and never got it. Finally one day I saw a video on 4 chords with E,A and D string roots. At 60, I said I have to learn this. Now at 67 I have learned more music than I did in all the years before. I enjoy your channel. Thank you

Such a wonderful mentor to the guitar players guild :).... thank you Jens

I Also studied computer science and started playing rock AND later jazz as well. Pearl jam AND rage against are two of my favorites rock bands. Really love jazz and Charlie Parker wes AND John coltrane. Im glad i Follow your channel Jens. Finally i love improvising

What they said! But beyond that you are very generous and open telling us your own personal story. So refreshing and different from the typical overconfident and talkative online guitar teacher that tries to impress the audience with the brilliance of what they offer. You are more like the helpful friend who drops in on us to share what you know.

Ok Jens! Thank you so much, for doing what do you do.

Dear Jens, your brilliance as a teacher and excellence as a musician are matched by your kindness and your real down-to-earth way of being. I'm learning immensely from your videos. So much gratitude to you!

Thanks a ton. I am new to your videos and lessons. It is absolutely awesome. This video is great and very candid. Bravo!

That was cool to listen to, Jens. Love your passion for music, it means a lot. And thank you for the lessons!

Thanks for sharing this; it was a good thing to hear.

Hey Jens. Thanks for this video (and all of your others). I was quite a late starter to jazz (42) and I've learned much from your videos. Cheers, Steve.

Bravo... Thank you for a great service! i really like how you show the subjects...things i havent understood for years are making sense to me the way you break them down. ... and i got into Jazz only a few years ago...after 40...im 45 now interested in learning to play jazz guitar and bass. Thankfully i have these lessons ;)

I respect you so much Jens!

Thanks for sharing your story !

Jens, I just wanted to thank you. I´m from Mexico, I´m 21 and a year away from graduating in a bachelor of actuarial science. I really wanted to improve in jazz (still struggle with the improvising) and your channel have helped me a lot. I haven't came across any another channel that focuses in jazz guitar like you do. The way you approach it it´s clear and quite helpfull. I´m new to your channel but I've learned a lot these days and watching this video has inspired me to become a better musician.

Great story Jens! Thanks for all free lessons, you are generous!

very interesting story with a lots of twists and turns... and quite impressive to see that you took a big decision in your 20's about ditching a 'traditional' path in maths and now on your way to becoming the global guru for learning jazz guitar online ;-)

Your and mine story are similar. I come from a blues background mostly influenced by SRV, Hendrix and the 3 Kings. I am 23 and I have just started to learn jazz, thanks to you. I can play a couple of standards by now, but there still whole lot to learn.

Thanks for sharing! I've had a similar introduction to jazz "late" in my guitar playing after starting out listening to classic rock/blues rock/90s rock. I learned some Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery solos by ear, but I'm still figuring out how it all fits together. Your videos are really helpful! A previous one you posted about the top tips really resonated with me - a) listen to more jazz and b) learn more jazz songs. I tend to get focused on learning exercises, etudes, etc instead of just playing music. And ultimately, I just want to have the tools to jam with other people (whenever that is possible again...)

Great video, good insight into your journey!

very inspiring. thank you for sharing

Many thanks Jens. I really appreciate the work you put into your videos. I am sure a lot of people like me have gained a lot of excitement and confidence in exploring jazz guitar through your teaching

Thanks for sharing your story Jens! It's funny we both got into jazz around the same age. I'm 21 now and just got into playing jazz and I just figured out that I want do it for a living. Hearing your story makes me want to peruse it even more now! Thanks a lot for all the great lessons, you've helped me so much over the past 5 months. Sense I've been watching your videos you've helped me build a strong foundation for my practicing and now I can play guitar like I never have before. You are one of my biggest motivations for practicing everyday for hours and hours. I can't thank you enough Jens! :)

Thank you Jens

great story Jens , inspiring!!

Bought my ES175 when I was 18yo (parents' money of course) and all my friends were wondering why did I make such a choice instead of a Strat or a Les Paul or even an ES335 at least. I fell in love with the sound a jazz guitar produces and I am trying to play jazz guitar ever since. I also have that feeling of starting late as well because I did not made the progress I hoped for when I was younger but I try to remember that music is a lifelong evolution and development process in which I always have the feeling that I have just started learning! Very nice video Jens, a musician is a journeyman and all the different experiences add to the music he or she creates!

19:50-20:10 Boy does that apply to more than just jazz. I wish I could convince some people I know of that but it’s as if they enjoy making no progress for themselves. Btw I started at 16, but didn’t touch it much until 25. I feel like I wasted 9 years but I don’t care. I reminded myself why I was inspired in the first place and it fills a void left behind from deciding to stop doing things that wasted my time. Finally, the sweet taste of progress. Can’t stop now. This is easily one of hardest things I’ve ever attempted, playing guitar. But so damn rewarding when I make a good sound.

Great idea, Jens. The backstory video! Much appreciated :)

I just watched this video after I saw a comment on the facebook group. What a great story, Jens. I also feel like I started late, since I didn't really start practicing seriously until I was 18. Clearly you had the right idea when you made the decision to simply work as hard as possible and make it happen! You're an inspiration to me and a lot of other people!! Also, congrats on releasing your new course!

Great vid 👍🏻

Thanks for posting this Jens, It's really interesting to understand where people have come from and why they do this.

A BIG Thank You Jens! I'm also on my way to start learning Jazz... I'm starting to like it more than rock n blues nowadays... This video was a real Uplifting Moment for me! God bless n Jazz on Sir! p.s. - I'm now a subscriber! Hope to learn lots from you online! :-)

I really enjoyed that, thanks for sharing. Is 56 too old to get into jazz? Just kidding, you’ve already opened up stuff to me, there is a loooooong windy road ahead but it a road full of enjoyment. You really are a good teacher,. I’m convinced that there is a huge cohort of jazz teachers that like to maintain the air of mystery by telling you a lot of stuff quickly and in a muddled way so that they can then say “but if you buy my system, or blaa blaa book all will be revealed”. Your lessons are clear and very good building blocks to becoming a better player and your passion for music and demystification of the concepts is excellent and very refreshing….. I don’t even play jazz but still find your channel one of the very best.

Very useful Jens, interesting too!

Good morning sir! I can't believe there is so much useful information on this channel for free. I'm in my early 20s and I've bought my guitar, because I wanted to learn metal songs. Now I'm also trying to learn how to play blues and train my ear (I struggle to improvise anything musical, but I hope I will get good some day). Recently I started to get into listening jazz and classical a little bit more and all the things I see here, on this channel seem so interesting. I didn't predict when I started, that my view of music will expand so much. I hope that in distant future I could get myself a teacher and be able to learn some jazz guitar. But for now I need to stick to blues and mastering pentatonics haha. Thanks for your work, some of the simpler videos are very useful.

I remember back when your channel started. Still quality as always. Keep it up

Hello Jens, I am 55 years old and have been listening to jazz for more than 35 years. However, my journey with jazz as a music maker did not begin until less than 1 year ago! I have played classical guitar and classical piano as a hobbyist for many, many years, and one day I just decided to give playing jazz guitar a go (I haven't tried jazz piano yet). I have never been a professional and do not aspire to playing in public, but it is extremely satisfying nevertheless to touch the strings and make such amazing sounds. Very different than Bach and Chopin but every bit as challenging and fulfilling. I very much appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge publicly as it helps to keep my learning moving forward. BTW, your English language skills are amazing! As a mono-lingual English speaker who has struggled for years to learn Spanish, I think speaking more than one language (and doing it so well) is fantastic. Thank you so much.

Thank you for the story! Great to get to know you a bit more. I love your channel by the way, I come here whenever I get sick of my playing and need to work on something new to spice it up. I discovered you through reddit Jazz Guitar nearly a year ago... please stay active there, your contributions are always really helpful! PS. I studied Finance and statistics in my undergraduate. Maybe that's why I like your videos, because I can relate to the mathematical approach!

You inspire me a lot Mr. Jens, and I'd love if you can make vlogs about your life as a guitarist. A while ago I quit studying Engineering and Technology to change my life and study music, the conservatory of the country doesn't accept me because the age limit is 17 yo, your videos are a great help for me and I thank you for being so passionate. God bless you.

Inspirational, Jens.

Thank You for putting great content

very interesting, Jens. LOL you started late???? I'm in my 70's and starting to venture into Jazz - ever so slowly. Great videos you are providing. Motivation pluss.Cheers

Hi, I'm in your jazz guitar roadmap course and I'm checking out your videos on here. I'm late to jazz myself - started playing at 13 and at 35 I'm getting into jazz. I appreciate your videos.

You're the greatest!

Happy to hear you started at 22, because I did as well. I was similar, I'm 26 now but I faded in and out with it the last few years. I knew I wanted to get deeper in to improvisation and I wondered how a lot of my favorite players at the time, like Clapton and Page, were so melodic. I went to school for psychology at first, didn't pay much attention in those classes and just kind of got by, and took a music fundamentals class as an elective a friend. I was hooked and switched majors at my local community college, and started taking my first real guitar lessons. Those teachers were the ones that turned me on to Coltrane, Scofield, Wes and the like. I'm still finding a way to connect it all, between the more modern fusion guys like Govan and straight ahead guys like Lage and Hekselman. Trying to find my place.

The pop up comments are a good chuckle. You have a very interesting background.

LOVE your videos! You are so interesting and easy to listen to. You have opened some doors in my playing that made pieces of the jazz puzzle make sense. Would love to jam with you. Heck I'd live to have a beer with you some time.

Awesome story.

Zoupa is awesome I've learned quite a bit from him Now I watch you trying to learn more Always Pushing. Chris has actually taught me some theory. I'm in his Debt Peace!!!