Ben Sher

Note: This was a live three-week course originally held in June 2022. One recorded session is available. In this continuation section, Prof. Sher delves into non-linear approaches to harmonizing tunes. Drawing from the chord vocabulary of Wayne Shorter, Jim Hall, and the contrapuntal style of Gene Bertoncini, Prof. Sher helps students develop highly personalized chord solos.

Wednesday Sessions: April 13, 20 & 27. In this three week section Prof. Sher will delve into some non-linear approaches to harmonizing tunes. Drawing from the chord vocabulary of Wayne Shorter, Jim Hall, and the contrapuntal style of Gene Bertoncini Prof. Sher will help students develop highly personalized chord solos. style. this isa three week section.

Wednesday Sessions: March 23, 30, & April 6. The Brazilian guitar style: Luis Bonfa, Baden Powell, Charlie Byrd. This Brazilian guitar style adds a layer of rhythmic complexity to the standard Johhny Smith-style chord solo. In this style the guitarist is essentially keeping three ‘voices’ happening at once: the bass, ostinato chord pattern, and the melody. Prof.Sher will present several of his arrangements of familiar tunes by Antonios Carlos Jobim. Students will learn some of the basic ‘comping’ patterns and how to apply them in a solo style. this isa three week section.

Wednesday Sessions: March 2, 9, & 16. Wes completely revolutionized the possibilities harmonically for playing chord in a melodic context. He superimposed moving harmonies into stagnant places harmonically within songs and chord progressions. In this three week course Much of his ideas for doing this can be found in Barry Harris’s approach. In this class Prof. Sher will unravel that, show the specific chord voicing that Wes used, present examples and help students to develop this technique in their own playing. He’ll also present a transcription of Wes playing Round Midnight, which features an almost symphonic eight bar chord solo on the bridge! This is a three week section.

Session 2 Still hunkered-down a bit more than you’d like to be as we head into 2021? Ben Sher — professor at Berklee College of Music and a recording artist with BGI Records is still hunkered down as well! So, Ben’s Guitar styles of Grant Green and Pat Martino class returns for a second section! Classes begin January 6th, 2021. In the follow-up class Ben will concentrate on working with the materials from the first section to help players integrate phrasing into their soloing. Standards from the American songbook and compositions by Jazz artists will be covered every week. offering a semester series of LIVE ONLINE 6-week courses! Prof. Sher provides an organized curriculum with lots of fun and vital materials, including transcriptions, charts, and play-along tracks. Perfect opportunity for the socially-distanced guitar student. Classes are Wednesday, January 6, 13, 20 and 27 and continue February 3 and 10 and can be attended at either 7 or 8:30 PM EST. Course fee: $295. 1. The Guitar Styles of Grant Green and Pat Martino Why these two iconic jazz guitarists? Ben explains, “Of course there are many great jazz guitarists to try and copy, but Grant and Pat have one thing in common that’s great for learning: both play with incredible accuracy and clear rhythmic precision. If you really want to learn how to lay down some very well-articulated jazz guitar lines, studying the work of these two masters is incredibly valuable.” Ben will provide transcriptions for both Grant and Pat in three styles: blues, modal, and be-bop — or straight ahead. In each category there’s the opportunity to learn one or both of the transcriptions. Not that advanced? Don’t worry. Some of Grant’s stuff is not that hard to play technically, but incredibly valuable in the phrasing. And want a challenge? Try playing along with Pat’s “The Great Stream”! 2. Prof. Sher’s Global Jazz Guitar! This is one learning experience that Prof. Sher is really excited to teach! As a recording artist, Ben has played many different styles of jazz and has three recordings of Brazilian Jazz on the BGI Record Label which feature Lucian Souza, DuDuka Da Fonseca, Kenny Barron, and Helio Alves. He has recorded and performed gypsy jazz with his World Jazz Duo, and played many Hammond organ trio gigs! Ben also teaches several courses in the Brazilian Guitar Style at Berklee including a course in Latin Fusion. This class is a preview of the book Ben will release next summer which encapsulates all of these different Latin styles!

You might wonder, why these two iconic jazz guitarists? Ben explains, “Of course there are many great jazz guitarists to try and copy, but Grant and Pat have one thing in common that’s great for learning: they both play with incredible accuracy and clear rhythmic precision. So, if you really want to learn how to lay down some very well-articulated jazz guitar lines, studying the work of these two masters is incredibly valuable.” To start off, Ben will provide transcriptions for both Grant and Pat in three styles: blues, modal, and be-bop — or straight ahead. Then, in each category there’s the opportunity to learn one or both of the transcriptions. If you're not that advanced, don’t worry. Some of Grant’s stuff is not that hard to play technically, but incredibly valuable in the phrasing. And if you want a challenge? Try playing along with Pat’s “The Great Stream”! Limited to 6 students. Prof. Sher’s Global Jazz Guitar! This is one learning experience that Prof. Sher is really excited to teach! As a recording artist, Ben has played many different styles of jazz and has three recordings of Brazilian Jazz on the BGI Record Label which feature Lucian Souza, DuDuka Da Fonseca, Kenny Barron, and Helio Alves. He has recorded and performed gypsy jazz with his World Jazz Duo, and played many Hammond organ trio gigs! Ben also teaches several courses in the Brazilian Guitar Style at Berklee including a course in Latin Fusion. This class is a preview of the book Ben will release next summer which encapsulates all of these different Latin styles!

Prof. Ben Sher presents an organized approach to learning samba and bossa grooves to fit different tempos of both Brazilian tunes and classic Jazz tunes that are generally played in a "Latin style". Ben presents five different patterns, all carefully explained, and discusses chord voicings, and rhythmic phrasing to really get you in the groove! Hear Ben play these grooves in context with assisting artist drummer Steve Langone. 32 min 2 pages pdf included

Professor Sher presents his concept called Fretboard Harmony: a study of the intervallic relationships on the guitar neck and how thy can enable you to see and move effortlessly around the neck. Through this concept you’ll be able to move beyond horizontal fingering patterns and travel vertically from bottom of the neck to the top. In this first lesson Professor Sher introduces the basic concept, and then shows how to apply the concept to some fundamental skills including arpeggios, blues and major scales. He the continues with some melodic examples of how to create lines that travel through different registers. There’s ideas for blues, jazz-blues and flowing be-bop lines in the style of Pat Martino. It’s an eye-opening lesson for whatever level or style you are at!