I like to practice scales by adding notes not in the scale to see what they may add to it. Or practice sliding into the scale notes from non scale notes.
I also think that one can forget that the major scale is a musical "thing" and not just exercise. Even when played just as a scale, note for note in an improvisation... is music! What matters is the atittude, not the notes.
It really isn’t. Everytime he says within the scale, there is only seven tones. In an example he gave it literally is incorporating those seven tones as one of three tones in a triad. Once learned, it is a pattern that can be replicated forward or back on the neck several times.
Basically, think of it as value. Every time you learn 1 thing, it lends to several other things, thus better than a 2 for the price of 1 sale! The glass isn’t just half full, it comes with refills! #think positive
When it comes to improvisation, unfortunately the more I learn the more lost I get. I will check out more of Jens's videos and see if I can manage to learn some things that I can apply.
What I love about your content is that you obviously draw directly from your experience, but you have reflected and structured that for us. Great video Jens.
Jens, I've bee playing guitar since 18 years, and yesterday i decided to watch this video. I was playing accordion in my childhood. So, practicing 7th chords by playing thirds up and down gave me a feeling that i've never studied the neck by this way - which is incredible, I would incorporate it in my daily routine and I'm sure I'll know this sequences after a week of practice without even thinking "what the heck is coming after G D B... Eh. What... F, or what, ah u.. ok. It's A, clear as mud" . Especially it is hard for me when playing from up to down, but i think it's a matter of time. Thank you for an inspiration and giving a fresh breath to my exercises on guitar and music at all. God bless you.
Wow what an awesome lesson. I've been noddling around the major scale patterns for sometime in a pretty aimless manner. I can join them all up seamlessly but not actually sure what I've achieved. This has given me a lot more to think about and will hopefully lead to something more musical once I add the arpeggios and some phrasing into the mix. Many thanks again.
speak into our listening. 1. s l o w d o w n, we need time to process the info. 2. is this video for advanced players, perhaps even beyond intermediate? It looks like truly interesting and perhaps even important information.
Jens again coming from a metal hard rock guitar player background scales were always going to be the staple of my practice regimen... but watching your videos has opened my mind to sit back and look and think about why certain things fit with certain things thank you so much keep doing what you're doing I always find something good to learn in each of your videos
Discoverd your channel recently. the quality of this video is superb so many ideas. the key concept of making the scale musical is so overlooked I was struggling to find a way to practice this effectively. Thank you for sharing all these tips (I stopped at half video as I already have homeworks for months to come :D ). I think the other side of it is making the scale a tool available at hand (so that you can indeed focus on musicality) for me practicing scale vertically, horizonally and dianagolly with various excercise is also key get fluent and make it easier to apply musically later (not learning the box but learning notes and intervals)
Thanks! Yes and no, it is not only about knowing the scale, it is as much about practicing the things you want to play in your solo, and you have to watch out that you don't only work on playing the scale and thinking intervals when you should be working on being able to make music with it. For that, a single position is better than the whole neck 🙂
Thanks Jens I needed this !!! Mindless practice of running scale patterns is great for muscle memory but THAT IS ALL , THIS WAS A HUGE HELP !! MUCH APPRECIATED
I like to turn around the idea of pentatonics in a major scale. If 3 pentatonic scales are inside a major scale, then 3 major scales contain the same pentatonic. For example: I write a basic vamp using only the notes of D minor pentatonic. I then have 3 major scales that will fit over that vamp: C, F, Bb. I'll loop the vamp and experiment how each scale works against it. F Lydian Dominant will also work in this example.
Hi Jens, you have a huge number of great videos in your channel. Is there a kind of roadmap to the videos so we can study your videos in order from beginner, intermediate and advance?
I have some study guides on my website, that might help. 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/
Jens I’m just getting into jazz guitar after 20 years of playing rock and metal. I really enjoy your lessons, you are a great teacher and I feel like I’m learning a lot from this channel. I find the jazz voicings so much more interesting than what I’ve been playing all this time. I still love rock and metal but I’m starting a new phase in my guitar journey and you are my go to guy for helping figure out how to play jazz. You are proficient at explaining the techniques to make it sound jazzy. I watch one of your videos every day, trying to learn as much as I can. Thank you for these videos they are very helpful! Cheers!
I figured out this 1,3,5,7,2,4,6,8,3579,46810,etc by ear, on my own. I was so delighted with this exercise, I have , and do , drill it up and down the fret board. It really has opened up my ear. I’m now ready to learn this in a minor voice. Do you think I should proceed as such and go on to augmented and diminished voices? I’m trying everything I can to learn jazz music. I’m a self taught player and grew up listening to Clapton, Beck, Page, and Hendrix( my hero). Now I want to sound like Kenny Burrell, but the going is tough. I’ve been a Patreon member with you for several months/years now. I play daily but struggle to shift to more Jazz vocabulary in my improv. I’m sure you’ve heard this story before. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. You do such a great job. A natural pedagogue. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻✌🏻😎
watching some videos is like eating popcorn and I really enjoy that but YOUR videos are like eating steak and I love them BUT it takes more time to digest steak as opposed to popcorn. If you ever come to the US I would sure like to know just in case I might have the opportunity to meet you.
I like your videos so much! My jazz guitar teacher in one of the few lessons threw there the idea of 3 pentatonics that fit over a major scale, and it sat there without an explanation. Now I'm at peace
Hi Jens, could you tell us how to use the phrygian chords, for example: C, E, Gb, B, or in the short version : C, Gb, B. This chord is awesome to be used, is know sometimes as Cmaj7 (b5) chord. Please tell us how to use it . Thank you in advance.
Here are a few on Quartal arpeggios: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aL8gSJxRE6E.html I have made really a lot on upper structure triads in triad pairs and on dom7th chords. Here's a recent one on using sus4 as upper structures: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c8znTqiYRjg.html A few videos down there is one on upper structures in the diminished scale
Great video - just a bit of constructive feedback in the way you edit some of your videos..... in 6.08 you talk about an important concept but at same time add a separate window with you playing stuff - quite distracting and not sure what it really achieves - This happens in several other videos (sometimes it’s a live concert etc....) and I find myself having to rewind a few times to fully understand what you’re saying
You always start your videos with something that I already know, then quickly go to something on the edge of my knowledge. You always leave me with something new and things for me to practice. That reminds me of a quote, "We only learn what we already partly know." I love your guitar. My guitars are either too big and heavy, are not cut-aways, and/or the necks without truss rods are warped.
Jens, I’m new to your postings and enjoying the material. I do have some ideas about your quartal arpeggios section. Do you have an email to contact you directly?
Great vid. Do you think you should always be aware of notes while playing? I've got this habit now where I'm always thinking of the interval (eg seeing a G as a 5th in C major, not really even heeding the fact it's a G note) instead. Should I really force myself to think of both? I've been trying to follow this approach for a while now, as I do neglect notes in my playing, but it's so hard to improvise while thinking of notes. Same with chords, I would really have to think about what the notes of F major 7 are. Then there's the whole "shape" thing, which again detracts from thinking of a note but just a pattern...in a way the confluence of "shapes" and the idea of scales has probably hampered my playing more than help it.
I think there are more ways to approach this. I can see it both ways with no problem. For me it is so that I am aware of what I am playing, so if you stopped me I could tell you what I was playing, but I don't really think about it while playing. Similar to a car, if you were asked whether you signaled to go left you know but you don't think about it when driving. So I tend to not want to think when I am playing, I am more busy with just playing and then I try to do the thinking while I am practicing. I also don't think of shapes while I am playing (I think) Does that help?
Hi Jens: Love your videos. Much of each goes over my head though. Could you suggest a sequence to start with? So I can more systematically work through them? Or could you suggest a theory book that would augment your videos well? Thanks!
Thank you Gareth! I don't have a sequence, it really depends on where you are at now. The best I can offer is this playlist: ru-vid.com/group/PLWYuNvZPqqcHcRM5XL8rGFh1Xqkft77Qk Maybe browse through it and see if there is something you feel like working on. You can always ask on a video if you want a suggestion of where to go next!
man your videos made me pick up my guitar after sitting in dust for years and start learning jazz.i started from nothing and now i'm practicing solid 5-6 hours a day. I know it's not enough to become a professional jazz guitarist but it's better than nothing. thanks jens..you are a wonderful specimen..
Do you have a video on learning the diatonic arpeggios at all the different positions with the 3nps method within the c major scale you used in the video as example ?
I try to take it one chord at a time, diatonic intervals are very consistent... my fretboard knowledge consists of triads and 4 part chord inversions, pentatonics and diatonic scales as well... but I'm always thinking of the next interval rather than the whole fretboard.
@@JensLarsen yeah like I can see the chord around the note, I can also slide up a hypothetical third and hit the extended chord or accentuate the 1-3-5 of said chord 2nd inversion. Kind of treat the inversions/chord scale as a guide and my ear knows what chord tones I'm on...
Since the fret board is built in the same combinations going up or down the key, this method seems to work pretty proficiently... I know allot of guys play intervalically, it just makes more sense to me...
@TheIntervalicFretboard. Yes, but try to think the notes of a jazz lick with a few arpeggios and then think in intervals instead of the arpeggios. It is the difference between saying something by spelling the words or just talking g normally :)
Great advice. I have found David Wallimann’s Guitar Infusion Videos to be a great way to learn basic theory and how to apply it to playing guitar. Yes, practice, arpeggios and learn the fretboard. A foundation in theory is desirable. It will assist in ear training and technique. Fingers and ears. Practice well.
@@JensLarsen Hello Jens. I look forward to watching more of your videos. I am an old guy (retired lawyer and former music promoter) who has been noodling for years. I tried to learn theory from books and devise my own progressions mostly by ear with some success, but with no formal training. David’s course, Guitar Infusion, (He has other courses as well) is a great resource for learning theory and how to apply it musically. David is a fantastic teacher. See. Wallimann Guitar Artistry.
So, in the end, when you improvise on top of a chord, do you think on the actual note names (C,D,E,F...) or do you relate them to the key root with numbers (1,2,3,4...) instead? I guess the first approach is better for knowing the actual notes all over the fretboard, but the second approach allows developing patterns that work for any key easily. I am trying to learn the fretboard using the second approach, but another problem I see now is that the numbering relative to the key root may be misleading when thinking about the role of the notes on top of other chords of the key other than the I, as your example on quartal appergios shows at 11:27. How do you "read/think" the notes while improvising? Thank you for sharing all this great content!
Hi Pablo, I don't think about stuff like that when I improvise there is not time. I think you want to be aware of the interval as well as what note it is. Understanding only intervals makes it difficult because there is a relationship with the chord and with the key and they are different intervals. I have a video with more info about thinking while improvising here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-L2vHOj2OAeA.html
@@JensLarsen So I guess the idea is to practice up to a level where you don't need to think conciously about what you're playing and let the music flow. Sounds cool but also hard to achieve haha. Thank your so much for your reply!
Indeed there is more than technique in practicing scales, and we can definitely use harmonic knowledge to spice up daily scale/arpeggio routine and make it more close to actual impro.
Thanks for your videos Jens. I play Sax, but at least 90% of what you say is useful for me. The only things I don't use are when you talk about positions on the fret etc. But everything else is great! Thank you.
Thanks Chris! Yes, most of the stuff that isn't about fingerings is indeed general for all instruments. I think I have learned as much from checking out Pianists and Horn players as I have guitarists in Jazz.
Hey from India Jens. Your channel has really helped me on really understanding jazz and improving both my knowledge and technique on guitar. I was wondering if you could break down how to figure out jazz chords by ear. Iv got a real book, but I also want to be able to create those charts myself. Thanks a lot for your videos once again.
Hi again,your videos are very informative,do you have one dedicated to Quartal harmony,its fingering,and diatonic scale,and is E,A,D the Quartal extension for a C major?double thanx.
I have quite a lot of videos on Quartal harmony and how to use it. Here are some of them: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XbqMDl8ipcY.html
People should start teaching HOW to learn which note you're playing against a chord. To me it feels like there are a million options, and I can't memorize all of them. So there must be some trick that nobody is actually teaching.
Sorry, I realize ended my rant early. This is pretty much the only video I've found that brings me closer to this Note how Jens says: "And then you'll start to realize" . That way I know what to focus on and what to look for.
Thanks for a great video! You’ve confirmed what I started reaching for at the end of last year - that knowing your chord structures and intervals from wherever you are on the guitar makes a lot more sense than just memorising the ‘5 patterns’ that a lot of books and systems go on about, without being clear about the ‘why’.
My new year's resolution was to get back to basics with the guitar, learn the fingerboard properly and get a system together for connecting my scales, chords and arpeggios efficiently. I was looking for ideas online, and found this video. It's the first one of yours I've watched, Jens, and I'm an instant fan! There's SO much great stuff inside this 15 minutes. You cover a lot of the ideas I've been trying to think through, but you make them so clear and straightforward...and your whole approach is down-to-earth and inspiring. On top of the "basics" about diatonic relationships, etc, there's so much extra in here - enough to work on for months, maybe years. The material about finding and analysing quartal triads and pentatonics inside the major scale is just gold. Thanks, Jens. I'd better get working..,.
Thank you very much! I don't have an exact list like that, maybe browse through these videos and see if there is something you want to work on? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PyHXN3Vxhz4.html
Hi Jens, you're videos especially this one are very informative and meaty! I have a couple of questions: I am an intermediate guitar player who has been playing for five years, and am primarily a rock n roll guitarist. My inspiration to take up the guitar was Stevie Ray Vaughn. I play Beatles, Stones, AC/DC that kind of music. I want to get into jazz. Can you recommend any books and/or videos intro so that I can get into Jazz. I saw Joe Pass playing Blues Juice and I love it. I have to build a foundation. I only follow guitar tabs. Can you help please? Thank you.
Sorry to broke to support you but good job as always, I am inspired to do videos too, it's been a goal for too long now, I have some stuff up though, it was done more like a test, one take thing, if you get chance please check 'sorry to insult the great guitar God Dave Gilmore with too much distortion and too many notes ' 'all along the watch tower, The Mighty Cadillacs at live and kicking ' and 'let me love you baby at Roke fest, The Mighty Cadillacs' are the only half decent ones, sorry for the shameless plug!
Loved the video! These scale practice tips have helped me a lot, but there's something that I struggle with a lot and that is arpeggios. I really haven't figured out a good way to practice or learn arpeggios that allows me to relate them to a corresponding scale. Is there any advise you can give me?
im pretty sure you had talked about all this stuff before (because I know all of that, and basically all I know, I learned from you xd), but it's nice to have it all in one video. as always.. thank you for your efforts and constancy.
Thank you! Yes, I have pretty much talked about all of these things before, this video is more on collecting the info in one place with the major scale topic 🙂
its very important ! to plays all these major scales with the variations ! for coodination ! but to play a bm scale on C7M ....its not very elegant ? perso i play arpeggio, min penta !!! (benson) M penta , Maj scale obviously, but harmo scale in C , oh yes you can play B m penta on ! try it its like bill connors or abercrombie !
Do you have a video on learning the diatonic arpeggios at all the different positions with the 3nps method within the c major scale you used in the video as example ?
No, but you should aim to figure that out for yourself. It is not that difficult and it will help you get a lot more familiar with the scale and the arpeggios.
These videos are phenomenal but also very annoying, for me a 15 minute video contains so much information and areas i need to explore it represents about a years work! Just not enough time in a day sadly but love the content
Thank you James! The stuff in this video is also meant to be spread out over a longer period. In fact a lot of the videos are as much food for thought that you can try to work into your own practice.
What is the Ibanez guitar you're using? What pick thickness do you use? I have trouble with control unless i drag my little finger of picking hand on the guitar top; i notice you pick both with little finger up on RU-vid and down when performing on stage. Any suggestions to help me get a little faster to keep up 😕 i practice using the"Modern Jazz Guitar Concepts." Thank you Frank
Hi Frank, My guitar is an old AS2630 from the 70s. The pick I use is (I think a 1.5). For me, the key to getting faster was practicing scales with a metronome and also spend a lot of time working on playing difficult things with alternate picking like arpeggios that are one note per string. If you search for "picking" on the channel you can find a few videos :)
@@JensLarsen wow! Thank you so much for your quick response. I use a 1.1 mm pick and have a 60th anniversary Deluxe American Stratocaster. I just can't get a nice mellow jazz sound like you make. Thanks, I'll check the sites you suggested. 👍 Frank
That's interesting, what is that, some kind of Lydian idea? The imposition thing is cool, I've never used it. I know Larry Carlton always uses "melodic minor a half-step up" when playing over altered dominants(eg playing Eb MM over D7#9) because he can see triads etc better. May I ask why you think of that pentatonic scale in B rather than a C lydian? Is it to highlight certain notes or because it's easier to navigate?
I know theory, but I can't just call it up as second nature. I"ve been playing since 1984, not seriously practicing as well as taking at least 12 years hiatus in that time where i didn't play at all. Still, I do ok. I'm thinking of practicing again and I was just thinking of recording a bunch of chord progressions and trying to do practice over them in a 5 fret range with the changes in each of the five scale positions. Pentatonics and major minor scales. I plan on devoting at least an hour a day doing this. I would think that this is an excellent way to get better in the shortest amount of time. Am I wrong?
I recently picked up an interesting and, for me, new way of practising scales from another RU-vidr, Ross Cambell. Rather than just practising scales up and down on their own use the circle of fourths/fifths. Ascend using Cmajor then descend using the next key, Gmajor and repeat around the entire twelve major keys in logical positions up the fingerboard. This approach can be used for not just the two minor keys as well but also triads and arpeggios and other scales. It helps me a lot in getting past the usual guitar keys (up to four sharps and four flats) and in mentally thinking about the notes I'm playing as I'm not reading anything at all from a chart or staff, just my own knowledge that, say B major has five sharps and what they are and then play the scale. It also helps in the logical movement of music so I guess for jazz playing the II, V, I scales in sequence would also be quite helpful. Anyway, just another way of looking at scales rather than just stand-alone keys which we know is not how music tends to work out. There's movement from one key to another in most pieces and it tends to follow logical patterns.
Great lesson Jens! Again a lesson that shows the importance of the fundamentals! I love these lessons! There is so much information: your excellent videos, other YT videos, books, forums etc. but vids like these show that if you really know your fundamentals (diatonic theory, notes on the neck etc, arps in these scales, pentatonic scales) you can play a lot of music (blues, country, pop, rock, R&B) and also a lot of jazz! The 80/20 principle at work :P.
Hi Jens. It’s been a while. So how do I explain to someone how to do all of this in a way that is comprehensive rather than a mindless repetitive exercise that doesn’t help us. Everyone is a different kind of student so... got any helpful information for that you’re interested in sharing. Thanks always!
Simple, practice your scales but be sure to change up the exercises so that you work on becoming flexible with them, which is also what I say in the video :)
It gives me enormous pleasure to watch one of Jens's videos and not learn anything at all. I usually pause, rewind, review a few times, and take a lot of notes, but not on this one. I'll enjoy the feeling until I watch the next one of Jens's videos, but for now I feel pleasantly smug.
Do you have a video on learning the diatonic arpeggios at all the different positions with the 3nps method within the c major scale you used in the video as example ?
the content of this video renders all my attempts of correctly playing a major scale useless. at least now I know how much I don't know on this subject. Thanks again!
@@JensLarsen Your lessons are the best … even for a poor Norwegian ship captain's grandson and great grandson! I love Copenhagen! Tusind tak! Tusen takk!
