As a student in your Jazz Roadmap course, and also as a beginner, I can attest that "Take The A Train" is an excellent starting point for learning some of the most fundamental and important skills in jazz. I highly recommend Jens' course, even to you more advanced players. Thank you, Jens!
I am finishing an intermediate course with P Davids and thinking of going for the road map to jazz with jen. You recommended it ? what type of guitar are you playing solid or hollw body ?
I think learning songs that have lyrics is a good thing to work with as well. Listening to a pretty straight up singer sing the melody with the lyrics can get the tune in your head better in some way. Sinatra, Lena Horn, Nat King Cole etc. Sing along with it. Then move to an instrumental version, then go to learn it once you can sing it.
Autumn Leaves was the first jazz tune I learned. It’s a song I know well because I used to love listening to Barney Kessel’s version from his album Autumn Leaves.
I started with all of me - autumn leaves - all the things you are - my funny valentine. Partly on guitar and partly on piano. Piano parts really helped to see the chord structures clearer. The different keys was just what I was looking for. But I must say i’m not bebop soloing over it. I’m just using the scales and go where I feel like.
Chitlins Con Carne is a great song to learn! Not only is it pretty easy, but how it is arranged helps you understand how to play with other instruments. The solo leaves a ton of space, and the chord voicings for the guitar allow the bass guitar to come through great in a band setting or on a mix. This song was the first song that I threw together in Logic and it showed me how each instrument can be arranged to come together perfectly.
That is true, but it is not very good for building your skill when it comes to learning and hearing changes, the solo is too much minor blues on a dominant and not really helping develop your ability to hear changes. I love using the solos as a 1st attempt at learning by ear, but I don't think the song is a great first choice 🙂
Jens I want to tell you I started watching your videos just last year. At first I thought it was way over my head but I'd plug along and often had to put the playback speed at 75% 😂 was overwhelmed with the amount of content but I knew you were my teacher, I just had to stick to practice. Slowly I began to understand more and more concepts and the vocabulary-- both musical and actual terminology! I continued working on what I could outside of your videos then would go in for more...now a year later I am playing jazz chords, have an understanding of basic theory, the circle of fifths, the fretboard, my technique and speed is much improved, I'm playing a variety of scales in positions and starting to work on arpegios and chord melody! I still suck but wow what a lot I've learned! And I actually understand your videos now and I can play them at regular speed 😂 Thank you so much!! Gracias ! Gracias!
I teach a number of beginning jazz students and one of my favorite choices (and most of theirs as well) is Mack The Knife. Compact 16-bar form, easy melody, and is mostly made up of ii Vs and a modulation to the relative minor which is very common in other standards.
That is indeed pretty simple, I find it a bit too stretched out with the harmony if you want to learn to play changes, but that is also a question of taste of course 🙂
Perdido and Satin doll... I think they were the first two tunes my first jazz teacher used with me. Autumn leaves would obviously be an easy choice, then I'd say (choosen by my teacher as well) After You're gone and There's no greater love.
Thanks again Jens! I would recommend: Autumn Leaves, Blue Bossa, Misty, Ladybird, Satin Doll/Just Friends. Focus: tonal center analysis/scale use Next level: Sweet Georgia Brown, After You’ve Gone, Rhythm Changes (Bb), Gentle Rain, Black Orpheus.
For me they are there will never be another you and all of me. Both songs contains in them all the most common cadences in jazz (minor/major 251, 4 minor/backdoor, static dominant, turnaround) while having a simple melody and tempo.
There should be a basic jazz blues on your list, Jens! C Jam Blues must be the simplest head to learn (even in all keys 😉) and Bag's Groove is an easy pentatonic riff for rock guitarists starting out with jazz.
These are all great tunes. I studied a majority of these while learning Jazz. I also recommend Scrapple from the Apple, Billie’s Bounce, and Line for Lyons. Great video!
Thank you, Jens for this revised version of your recommended top songs to learn. I am pleasantly surprised by Afternoon in Paris. And of course I, and I imagine all your viewers and listeners, would love to see your top five standards in a minor key. And your top five tips for being apparently perpetually cheerful.
Great video Jens as always. I have come to realise something about learning Jazz remotely over the internet. The presenter must be watchable. This might seem obvious but if the presenter does not do videos at all, like Dirk Laukens, then that is almost a non starter. Then if the presenter delivers videos which are bland, and unengaging then again, they will not hold your attention. I have been watching your videos for probably 10 years and in recent years you have really upped your game with much improved lighting and interesting amusing video inserts. You do a great job, and I am glad that I have finally made the decision to join your tuition programme. I am not a guitar beginner by any means, however the only reason it took me so long is because you can be quite academic and to a *jazz beginner* that has made me worried that I was not good enough to even understand your lessons. However, I feel confident enough now to take the plunge - it is exciting to make a start!
Awesome vid …. Jens…. Couldn’t agree more on your list …. Those 5 help build solid knowledge of bits and pieces of everything … we will encounter ….take the a train never fails to bring applause. … I love Stella … but way too complicated …. It didn’t teach me anything that really helped … but it sure was cool when I did get it … I always thought that fly me to the moon was a great learning jazz piece … great vid Jens ❤
Sonny Rollins' material is always good to draw from. There is often a simple theme that is friendly enough to start with yet eventually allows for some complex soloing. Tenor Madness and St. Thomas come to mind as honorable mentions. Still, you can't go wrong with Ellington and the A Train and Satin Doll.
Hey, very good advice to practice solo development over a core progression (here II - V - I) playing over different tunes, arrangements and keys. This really can "unwrap things" from brains out. Thanks again for your steady support!
Two years ago I started learning chord melody style, and my first song was In a Sentimental Mood because that was the song that made me curious about Jazz, after that Misty, Satin Doll, Autumn Leaves, all the things you are. There are few that I'm learning There will be never another you, Honeysuckle rose, my favorites things, and so on...
I will try to learn these Jens. Lately I've been thinking Beautiful Love as a good one, though it resembles Autumn Leaves in many ways, but more captivating to me.
I'm just now getting into jazz playing coming from prog rock, and dudes like Wes and Benson are blowing my mind. I'm learning Caravan as sort of my entry point to the genre, and it's incredible. Robert Fripp may be my favorite guitarist, but the technical proficiency of these guys is insane.
I like the list. Although Afternoon Paris seems a little bit higher level to me. I think I would suggest a jazz blues(probably Now is the time or Tenor Madness) and Mack the knife to start with.
One great, invaluable lesson after another, Jens! I swear one of your lessons/month is still plenty. I bet most players of “note”worthy achievement, like yourself, Jens, spent many, many hours working hard, whether or not it might be considered smart.
Great selection Jens! Pent up house made granted you my like to the video. I was expecting a blues tune because it has a form common to other blues songs and generally simple melodies. Blue Monk and Mr. PC perhaps as good examples. However I guess you had a good reason not to choose them. Thanks!
Going back a long time to when I started Satin Doll was the song that made the ii V I make sense to me. I came from playing a lot of 50s/60s Doo Wop (I vi ii/IV V) which I would recommend for learning chord extensions, how 6 7 9 etc alter straight forward changes. As far as soloing Blue Bossa was where I saw how to play chromatic lines and step away from scales. So many Miles Davis tunes are lessons in tonality, they are so diverse just find the ones that speak to you.
I became obsessed with Django’s Castle by Joe Pass right when I started getting into jazz guitar. It was very difficult at first but I eventually got there, and now that I understand more theory it was fun to go back and dissect it to actually understand what I was playing and why I loved the sound.
If you have a jazz melody burned into your mind (typical with popular, and not necessarily jazz, standards) you HAVE to find that on your instrument. So, Sinatra, Deano, and Nat King Cole songs are the best for me (I have been listening to them since I was 10.)
Great video, as usual. In my experience learning songs, I have to know the melody in order to get the swing with the chords, and when Im tapping my feet with the music, then I've learned the song and the theme and then can match to the chords. I've found that singing the words( I'm NOT a singer) helps... If you don't know the theme, you'll be just playing chords mechanically and won't learn the song. Jen going off and for days learning songs is a traditional method in jazz called going to the WOODSHED. Sonny Rollins' woodshed was a bridge in NYC...alone at night...
A good list, no doubt. However, most beginners (me...) Have a very difficult time hearing and internalizing melodies, especially when the song is presented in its fully developed state. The way many self taught guitar players (me...) learn songs is to learn chords, chords with passing chords, basic melody, chord melody with melody lines and lastly the whole production with improvisation (if that makes sense). When these components are teased out and taught as discrete lessons, the whole package comes together much more easily (again, for me). Thanks for your great channel.
I don't think that is a good way to learn. It is 1000x easier to learn a melody by heart (even by ear) and play it than it is to learn a chord melody arrangement with a lot of passing chords. If you have trouble internalizing the melody you need to involve your ear earlier and not focus on chords and certainly not passing chords, spend more time listening and singing.
@@JensLarsen I'm sure that you are right...what I'm saying is that it is hard to 'hear' the melody sometimes, if you are listening to a fully arranged performance of a jazz quartet. I would clearly learn more from a melody line that is played or sung in isolation. So, the bad habit that I have acquired is the method I mentioned. Thanks for your wisdom - I will try warbling the tune first and move on from there. I am 73 and a rank beginner with jazz guitar, but still learning, still teachable. Cheers,
I recently got reacquainted with Begin the Beguine and on the surface feels like a good place to start a well. Would like to hear your opinion about it. Keep up the great work!
Hi Jens, my suggestion, which my jazz tutor and I are working on at the moment is My Favourite Things. It is straightforward, though the jazz waltz rhythm needs work, but so satisfying, especially the same melody for Em7 and Emaj7 etc. My tutor tells me John Coltrane used to record this again and again and again. Lyrics are shite, yes, but then we're not interested in them, it's the music we like.
You mention the idea of making a video about good songs for beginners in minor keys, and I'd love to see that one, even if you leaned on the old reliables you mentioned in this video. Some solid discussion of what makes minor keys hard to play for beginners would be a treat. Thanks as always for the good video and for the recommendations!
I’m learning grant green’s “You stepped out of a dream”. I wonder if that would be a good choice as well for a tune to learn for beginners 🤔 The melody seems to be “learnable” and the harmony seems to also not be too difficult to learn as it is in the key of Cmajor. The form though has some variations, not so straightforward as an AABA I guess.
I see. Well, that’s another challenge for the beginner learner I guess. Understanding what’s easy and what’s not. :) Thanks for this video by the way. I’ll definitely check out the recommendations you’ve made.
Hi Jens Great lesson again! From the Roadmap course I got familair with "Take the A Train" as well. That was a great standard to get into things. A bit off topic question. I live in the same city as you. I would love to see you play live in the area. Is there a place were we can see upcoming shows you are going to do?
I don't have a calendar at the moment, maybe just check the newsletter? Mostly I actually play in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and I have a tour coming up in Spain as well, but I rarely play in the Hague at the moment.
@@JensLarsen Very much so. I've spent the last month practicing "In a Sentimental Mood" from a Fake Book (I'm a total beginner as far as jazz guitar is concerned) and it's starting to dawn on me there might be even better entry choices. 🙂
so in drop D I was playing, fingerstyle; Bm to x10333 and right after x10330 which is really a pain for my carpal tunnel syndrome, so I changed it into Bm to 8x078x and right after 8x0780 I rather have the slide than the other way, it's just to big a stretch, and it's not the stretch, it's more the position and strain on my bend in my wrist I have to make to get it
Hi Jens! How about some jazz blues? Do you think it would be an easier entry point? Thought I would see some on your list. “Straight, No Chaser” comes to mind, or “West Coast Blues” if you want to spice up the rhythms little bit. If you have a better recommendation to those I would love to know, or maybe it could be a good topic for another video. Thanks for all the effort and time you put into teaching and sharing your knowledge! It’s truly appreciated.
It depends, sometimes people have to fight old habits too much when they start with Jazz Blues and it is not always helping you develop your ear that much
@@JensLarsen I guess that’s because most people get to jazz from blues, right? I went the other way around, got to blues from jazz. Always felt that I wasn’t getting the jazz phrasing and feel right because my blues language was super poor. Hope that makes sense!
You have so many videos!i don’t know which video i should first watch to learn the basics about jazz…i know basic music theory.My goal is to apply jazz licks to my metal solos or improvise a full jazz solo can you suggest which video that i should watch first whats the order of learning jazz 😊
It is difficult to give too specific advice because everybody is different and at different levels, but maybe check out this post: jenslarsen.nl/how-to-learn-jazz-guitar-suggestions-to-begin-studying/
@@JensLarsen thanks I already found one of your videos it really helped me I found a really helpful tip from you about using small 7th arpeggios shape in scale instead of playing them in the full shape sweep picking position
@@JensLarsen can you please do a video about marty freidman the music theory behind his sound he sounds so much different from everyone else i really like his playing he is my favorite guitar player I want to really know the theory behind his music instead of just playing his solos I’m sure that you will understand his style very easily because you have so much knowledge about music theory…thank you for helping us☺️btw sorry if my english is bad im little weak at english 😊
Probably a blues belongs in there, not necessarily a 12-bar--Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me is a great candidate, or Georgia On My Mind, a bluesy ballad. Another candidate--a bossa nova like Meditation--pretty basic melody.
How high the moon which goes from major to minor in a bunch of places, but I think that’s a really good first thing to internalize, all of me, girl from ipanema.
Big question from a beginner (as far as jazz is concerned, anyway): your choices seem to be motivated by the educational value of the songs when it comes to playing melody and improvising. You don't seem to be picking songs on the basis of whether they're good songs for developing your comping skills, your comping rhythm, your chord vocabulary, or your ability to make basic/simple chord substitutions. But I was under the impression that that's where I should be starting -- that working on improvisational skills when I can't comp/play rhythm that well yet is putting the cart before the horse. Would you agree/disagree?
@Jens Larsen I agree that melody is more important than harmony; but isn't rhythm more important than melody? Or would you disagree? And if I can't accompany well, will anyone want to play with me? Not disagreeing with you, I promise. I'm just trying to undetstand?
@@Big_Bag_of_Pus You won't be able to comp well if you don't understand the melodies that you have to comp. This is years of teaching experience, I have seen many try to start with chords and ignore soloing but I am not sure I have seen anyone succeed.
I would actually recommend not starting with Jazz blues, which is why they are not on the list. But easy heads would be something like Chitlins Con Carne, Tenor Madness?
@@Dan-Arg For a Cmaj7 find the 7th and make it a 6th instead. It is not super difficult, and you anyway want to know what notes you are playing in the chords 🙂
I started learning Satin Doll. What is a good strategy for soloing over the ii V's that don't resolve to the I chord? I know the diatonic notes work but since the V is not a functioning dominant, the tense notes in altered or diminished are probably not as effective. Right?
If you focus on making lines that hit target notes then you are not really restricted by thinking about the function of the chord: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-r_HZSUfOKwM.html
mmm this one isn't Jazz but it has something kind of jazzy and cool harmony I think '' Book of Saturday" King crimson, what do you you dear maestro ????
@@JensLarsen XD yeah that's true, I think we'd try to be better at Listening to jazz "a lot I mean" than picking the songs we like most even if it's a uneasy taking em as challenges, experimenting and discovering harmony "'switching from key to key repeating the same phrase as simple example " combining standards and solos, getting better at Rythme nd god thanks this channel is very great cause the amount of rules and advice you give are very eye-opening, than with practice every serious player would progress significantly. have a happy Day.😄🙂
i have a question......lets say that Iam playing a jazz standard, do I have to make changes or i must played as the original.........because I watch videos of jazz standards covers and I always wonder why they don't play it as the original, they always change notes and play it different.....can anybody please tell me why.
Hi Jens, would you consider Body and Soul (Wes' version from Movin' Along) a good tune for learning? I started transcribing and analyzing it chord by chord because I love it so much, but the choice of notes in the solo is not always 'intuitive'. I found some dominant #5 arpeggios and some #11s that took a bit more time to wrap my head around... 🥴
