The Blues: A Modern Jazz Guitar Approach – Part I

The twelve-bar blues progression has been a mainstay of the repertoire of every jazz musician since the birth of jazz in the early twentieth century.  Over the years, as jazz evolved and sub-styles emerged, the blues form proved itself to be both quintessential and highly adaptable to the varied developments in jazz.  In the early twenty-first century, a new generation of jazz musicians has reinvigorated the genre, but the blues continues to be an essential part of the modern style. If you’re interested in learning more about how to incorporate modern elements while still maintaining a thread of the tradition when you play over the blues progression, then this class is for you.

In this class, the blues form will be explored in detail with the goal of applying modern jazz melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic vocabulary to the progression.  First will be a brief survey of the structure and history of the form along with exercises for gaining mastery over the basic harmonies.  Then, common mainstream approaches for melodic and harmonic variations on the progression will be outlined.  Finally, modern approaches to melody, harmony, and rhythm will be applied to the blues form.

“Tom Lippincott is a masterful and innovative guitarist, educator, and performer. His classes are extremely well organized and full of great examples that can inspire players of all levels. These Modern Blues classes in particular are an amazing tool for the contemporary guitarist, even if you have a solid understanding and grasp of the blues. We are grateful that you offer this information at such a modest price Tom, and look forward to your future endeavors!”

~ Ben J.

“Another outstanding video set from Tom Lippincott. I bought parts 1 and 2. I highly recommend them both! If you’re looking for that elusive ‘modern’ sound, you’ll love these videos. The information is presented in a very accessible manner. Easy to understand and apply. 
I also bought parts 1 thru 4 of his Modern Jazz Guitar series, which are all fantastic. Tom is an incredible guitarist and teacher. The most ‘bang for the buck’ you’ll find in guitar education.”

~ Franklin B.

“The Blues Pt.I is another winner, I found it very easy to apply. Tom is a wonderful no-nonsense teacher. Be prepared to spend months utilizing all the material here!”

~ Michael J.

The Blues: A Modern Jazz Guitar Approach – Part I covers:

• Basic jazz blues progressions defined and analyzed, including harmonic function and chord/scale chart
• Arpeggio and scale studies for Bb and F blues with emphasis on fingerboard mastery and voice leading
• Discussion of approach notes and target notes and the “bebop scale” with examples
• Discussion of mixing blues vocabulary with outlining chord changes in improvisations
• Tri-tone substitution
• Melodic minor mode substitution
• Diminished scale use
• Basic polyrhythm applications for melodic and harmonic improvising; groupings of three
• Modal approach to the blues, including polytonal side-slipping
• Applying 3-part-4ths to the blues
• Running time: 92 minutes
• 14 pages of written examples (including chord diagrams, standard notation and TAB), exercises, and example solos with close-up views of the performances
• Each example performance is titled for easy navigation
• MP3 backing tracks for all written examples and solos

Also see part II of this blues jazz lesson .

“Tom’s classes are so comprehensive that you will never be short of interesting ideas to practice. Of course using the blues as a basis for demonstrating modern sounds means we can all join the party. Thanks Tom.”

~ Ray B.

“Very thorough and musical! Tom’s teaching style is straight forward & easy to apply. The exercises are great etudes that can be applied to blues progressions all across the musical spectrum. There is plenty here to keep one busy–your playing will improve with this course. ”

~ Jon E.

“Some people are great players, and some are great teachers. Tom is an example of the rare combination of both. His material is presented in a very organized, step-by-step way, and he explains everything in a very clear, concise manner. This is very important for those of us who study independently, since no one is there to answer questions. 
What I really like in this lesson is that it Tom starts out with basic jazz blues and progresses to the modern style one concept at a time. This shows his deep knowledge, appreciation, and respect for what came before. His other lessons, especially Modern Jazz 1, are similar in that regard. 
The concept by concept approach helped me identify the things that I need to work on before working on the most modern sounds. For me, this was several lessons in one, as it encompasses so much that it inspired me to create my own exercises to fill in the gaps. 
I highly recommend this video, it will keep me busy for a very long time. “

~ Stephen B.

“Absolutely awesome class, would highly recommend for anyone looking for new ways to approach the blues as well as brush up on some of the fundamentals if needed. This is the fifth class I believe that I have purchased from Tom after viewing some of his modern jazz guitar classes and they certainly do not disappoint. “

~ Anthony R.