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Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 105
doogiet Offline OP
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Hey, everyone. I'm able to play rootless shell voicings (3s and 7s) on my middle two strings now for when I play with a jazz trio, but I'm finding it really difficult to find the extensions consistently. I keep switching the strings where the fifths and ninths are around in my brain, and because they switch automatically during a mII-V7 progression, I'm having a really hard time getting this down.

Does anyone have any tips, exercises, or progressions I could practice to help sort this out? It's a big stumbling block for me. I've been going through the Real Book trying to play shells and extensions for all of the tunes, but I keep thinking there has to be a better way.

Doogie

Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
Joined: Jan 2013
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Originally Posted By: doogiet
Hey, everyone. Does anyone have any tips, exercises, or progressions I could practice to help sort this out? Doogie


I hear you...and have been there.
Simply put, it's doing more of the repetition/practice diligence and at some point the brain will finally make the (for lack of better words) connections and proficiency will occur.

1) What helped me years ago (early 80's) is picking songs that are more difficult and out of your comfort zone and just work them.
Hence, I purchased Steely Dan Complete, Beatles Complete, Doobie Brothers Greatest Hits and others along with Micky Baker and Ted Greene chord books.
(Ted Greene's stuff totally wears me out before I even get started smile )
They are all well worn but taught me quite a bit.
There in lies your other "progressions" references to kick start your muscle memory.

2) Maybe this link will help keep your desire fired up. I've d/loaded their ebook and read many of the forum posts.
http://www.jazzguitar.be/

My suggestions are purely pragmatic so maybe others will offer more 'tips'.

That's my take on it....hope that helps...if not...you got a bump.

Carry on....

Last edited by chulaivet1966; 07/20/16 03:12 PM.
Woodshedding - Learning to Play!
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 8,490
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In addition to what else has been said the Band in a Box Program comes with a number of great lessons and performances in the BB folder on your computer's main drive. The notation field is a goldmine and you could spend the rest of your life there.

What I find most valuable is to choose a style with soloist and the "load the demo."

Example

_JBALGTS.STY SlowJazz Ballad w/ Guitar Solo

Using notation you can follow along and see the phrasing and licks of a real jazz player. I find this to be invaluable.

Also, for many jazz solo real tracks, they will show up as notation as well.

For example, you can select Oliver Gannon in the soloist slot and just sit there all day and see how he would approach a solo over any chord progression and follow along.

You can add in the comping jazz guitars and look at the same thing with chords, just sit there and study them. (Hit the first G in the notation lineup if that is the case.)

I know a lot of theory, but for my learning style it makes more sense for me to just look at the music (and the tab for fingering) to see what they are doing in a "real world" application and just copy it.

Hope that makes sense!!

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