Having gone through a lot of trial and error in learning jazz, I recommend the following general approach: Get the Aebersold books (1-800-456-1388 for catalog), and use them roughly in the prescribed order : Volumes 24,1,21,2,54...it's printed on the back of each volume. Listen to Jazz. This is *key*...improvisationally, you'll tend to generate, verbatim or with inflection and interpretation, what you've heard before. When I was a rock listener, I produced rock phrases and rhythms..

You can play jazz on any kind of guitar. For example, most Brazillian guitar music is played on nylon-stringed guitars, but Gene Bertoncini uses them for straight-ahead jazz as well. Ed Bickert plays a Telecaster. Lenny Breau played a custom 7-string nylon string (with an extra high A string instead of the more common extra low A string). Larry Coryell uses a Steve Grimes flattop on "Private Concert". See similar questions...

They both have strings and they both have frets; there the similarity ends. A guitar is generally thought of as an instrument for playing harmonies and chords, while a sitar must be thought of as a melodic instrument like a flute or an oboe. If you attempt to play chords like a guitar, you will be missing the entire concept of the instrument. How easily you make this fundamental shift in the way you conceptualize the instrument will determine how easily you can pick up then sitar. See similar questions...

Some people want to learn music just as a hobby and some want to be professional musicians. Some people learn faster than others. Some people are talented and practice hard, some are talented but don't practice enough, some are not as talented but practice hard. So, it all depends how you practice and how much you practice. See similar questions...

See above. After a brief aberration in the late 60's and 70's, rock music has reverted to type, namely in that it is the preserve of the song writer, record producer, and record company, and is an area generally hostile to the ideas of a free thinking instrumentalist. See similar questions...

Navarro began to learn guitar at age 11 or 12 when his father bought him an acoustic at a garage sale. Previously he had taken piano lessons (starting at age 6 or 7) for a few years but never really took to it. You may recall in Jane's Addiction Navarro playing instruments other than the guitar. In the mid-90s, Navarro took piano lessons once more. With his solo record, he has also added bassist and vocalist under his musical belt. See similar questions...

We are all professional musicians who teach as well as perform. Check out our personal web sites on the links page for details. See similar questions...

The answer, according to most posters is "yes", but the reasons they give vary. The following is a short list of reasons of why it might be beneficial to your jazz playing to take some classical guitar (CG) lessons (the assumption here is that you are studying with a good instructor): You will learn how to "properly" hold the guitar. Although there are many fantastic guitarists with terrible technique, it is not a bad idea to see how classical guitarists hold the instrument. See similar questions...

You can learn at least 75 chords in one hour. No joke, no exaggeration. Of course, there are hundreds and hundreds more, and they sound beautiful. See similar questions...

Archtop guitar maker Bob Benedetto has published an excellent book and a video about archtop guitar making. The site of Dave Weimer shows many of the steps involved in making an archtop guitar. You can find them on the Links page of this site. See similar questions...

Well obviously this would be to get 1 on 1 guitar lessons. However if you don't have the time and/or funds to do this then a systematic approach to practice is advised. Go buy some music theory and guitar lesson books. Work your way through these books and try to practice the guitar daily for a minimum of an hour. Also learn scales as this will give you a better understanding of music (important for improvisation) and will help your coordination for both hands. See similar questions...

This is again totally up to you. If you like metal then you'll obviously find it more satisfying to play the electric, whereas if you like spanish guitar then go for the acoustic. Some things that will be very evident to you when you switch between the 2 is how hard you need to press on the frets, the thickness and width of the neck and the way mistakes get amplified on the electric. See similar questions...

Animals. Sort of. They were setting the album up to be released on the US 8-track tape (remember those?) and needed a bit of music to bridge the two versions of "Pigs on the Wing." He was available at the time, and recorded a short guitar solo. tracks had (as you might guess) 8 tracks; or 4 stereo tracks. This meant that albums had to be divided up into four roughly equal parts. See similar questions...

The story is becoming a legend. When Navarro was about 12 years old he was in a skateboard park and heard what he thinks was either Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" or "Purple Haze" on the PA system. He didn't know that Hendrix was playing the same instrument he was learning. All he knew is he loved what he heard and wanted to create the same sound. It was at that moment that he decided he wanted to become a rock guy. See similar questions...

Perfect! Chances are a light bulb will come on and you will wish you played this way all the time! Guitar-eze is not only simpler, it is the most versatile of all systems and tunings. You'll have the best of both worlds. But you may just stick with Guitar-eze as your preferred playing style. See similar questions...

Absolutely - there is no restriction whatsoever on what you can play on guitar and who you can play with. See similar questions...

Until recently, my main flat top you have seen me use in concert was made by John Colvin in the early 90's. I've used it on several recordings: Short Stories, Flatpick & Clawhammer, Promised Land, Rhyme Schemes, and most of Top Drawer String Band, How Like The Holly, and Six Of One. It's a lovely guitar - it always delivers what I ask of it. Not the fanciest looking guitar but a sonic jewel. I think of it as a "Shaker" guitar - simple and functional. See similar questions...

Yes. It is very easy for even complete non-players to play. Guitar players already have good controlof their fingers, afe experienced with rhythms and strumming and fretting. The Strumstick uses different fingerings than guitar, but is so easy that guitar playes adapt to it very quickly. The most often heard comment from guitar players trying it for the first time is "hey, this is cool, and easy" back to top See similar questions...

Although most guitarists know there are 3 octaves on a guitar, few know how to play on a 3 octave scale because they lack a systematic approach to moving continuously down the neck of the guitar. Fingering a three octave scale is a very advanced level of play. Guitar Master's 3-octave method teaches the guitarist multiple scale forms that connect to form a fluid 3-octave scale. See similar questions...

We have guitars available for you to take home for just $19 per month. We'll need to take a deposit of $149 ($119 on child size guitars) on the guitar which is refunded when you return the guitar. See similar questions...