Making The Changes – Translating the Jazz Language on Guitar

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Join Jake for his first Mike’s Master Class, “Making the Changes – Translating the Jazz Language on Guitar”.  Jake will cover substitute changes, inside/outside playing and chromatics.  This class is 2 hours long.

Langley discusses several key points:

1. Playing Through Changes: He emphasizes the importance of moving beyond scales and standard licks to play music that feels more improvised and expressive. He suggests breaking down jazz lines into smaller components, like four-note groups, to understand and internalize jazz language better.
2. The Concept of F7: Langley introduces the idea that F7 is not just a scale or a mode but a “color” or “sound area” that can be approached in various ways. He demonstrates this by playing different versions of F7 chords to illustrate their sound.
3. Connecting Guide Tones and Creating Lines: He talks about connecting guide tones (key chord tones like 3rds and 7ths) using small musical ideas to navigate through the changes in a jazz piece. This involves understanding where you’re coming from musically and where you’re going, which helps in improvisation.
4. Exercises and Techniques: Langley provides exercises to help break free from repetitive patterns, like playing in four-note groups and resolving them in ways that are inherent to the tonality being played over, such as F7 in this context.
5. Use of Triads, Chromatics, and Other Devices: He also delves into using triads, chromatic approaches, and other devices to create a more varied and rich musical language.
6. Philosophy on Learning Jazz: Langley advocates for learning by assimilating language from jazz greats and breaking down their lines, rather than focusing solely on scales and theory.
7. Practical Advice: He includes practical advice on metronome use, developing right-hand technique, and understanding the importance of time feel in jazz.
8. Equipment and Setup: Towards the end, Langley talks about his guitar setup, string preferences, and amplification to achieve his sound.

This masterclass is a deep dive into developing a jazz vocabulary on the guitar, emphasizing listening, learning from the greats, and practical exercises to internalize jazz language and improve improvisational skills.