123 Jazz
Frank Vignola
If you want to start playing jazz today, this is the course for you. Yes, there are lots of courses that promise to get you up and playing immediately, but 123 Jazz is one of the very few courses that will actually do that. Frank Vignola manages to teach you the basics of both comping and soloing so that you can start playing real music right away, and yet have the basics for any future study that you may wish to undertake. Best of all, you will have a lot of fun as well as a sense of real accomplishment.
Now if "123 Jazz" sounds a bit hokey to you, or too good to be true, join the club. When I first heard of it I had my doubts, but it had two big things in its favor. First, Frank Vignola is not just one of the great jazz guitarists of today, but also a dedicated teacher with decades of experience. Second, this is a Truefire.com course, and Truefire have an outstanding reputation for the quality of their educational guitar courses. So I spent some time with this course, and I am very glad that I did. You will be too.
Lots of us want to learn to play jazz guitar, but where do we start? What do we really have to know to get going? Frank Vignola supplies the answers with 123 Jazz. Here's how:
1) Learn 3 Basic Chords
While there are entire books on "jazz chords" Frank shows that you can play hundreds if not thousands of jazz tunes with just three basic chord types. The shapes are moveable, so that you will be able to play them in any key.
2) Learn 3 Basic Rhythm Patterns
There are a few basic rhythms that cover a large majority of jazz tunes, and learning to strum them - along with the 3 chord types you have learned - gives you a solid technique for accompanying or "comping." This is a crucial skill, since most of us spend far more time comping than soloing.
3) Learn Melodic Embellishment
Much of jazz soloing involves playing the tune's melody with variation, and so Frank begins by having you learn the melody. Specifically, you learn it so well that you can sing it. This makes playing it easy, even in different keys. Once you can do this, Frank shows you the basic embellishments that you can use to tailor a solo to your own taste. This is a huge advantage of this course: You will not end up sounding like Frank Vignola, but will learn how to create a sound of your own.
You do not have to be able to read music to learn any of the material. In fact, not reading the notation or tab will help to improve your ear, although they are always there to fall back on. Everything in each of the 36 video lessons is explained clearly on the guitar with closeups of each hand so that you see as well as hear what is going on.
To get you going, Frank VIgnola teaches you 6 songs that you will be able to take to a jam session with total confidence. You will know the chords, the appropriate rhythm strum, the melody, and strategies for soloing for each of them. Guaranteed! If you put in the effort, you will get the result.
As a Truefire course, you get all of the terrific support materials that make this a truly interactive learning experience. The Truefire player lets you watch video lessons, loop sections, slow tempo, call up notation and tablature, and even get support all from a single interface. You even get a tuner and metronome built in. The course also comes with jam tracks so that you can practise both comping and soloing with all of the tunes.
If you have been wanting to learn to play real jazz there is no need to wait any longer. This is a fantastic course at a price that makes it a steal as either an instant download or DVD. Check it out for yourself at frankvignola.com or truefire.com