Customer Reviews

Jimmy Bruno: No Nonsense Jazz Guitar

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If I could only buy one jazz dvd this would be it. Jimmy may seem a little confident but he should be, he's kinda funny too when he says you can learn something the hard way and use the theoretically correct jargon if you want to "impress your girlfriend" LMAO

Here is a breakdown:

He shows you how to see the neck in multiple box and diagnal pictures for major, dorian, and melodic minor scales.

Shows the Major 7 and dorian arpeggios and how to connect them to these pictures.

Illustrates a Dorian melodic minor tritone substitution, sounds cool.

Shows his picking style.

Lays out a kick your ass chord lesson, I know more chords than any guitar player I know and this guy gave me a chord tooling.

Has a nice section on bass line chord comping.

Then he explains at the end how you should go about practicing these concepts with jam tracks.

And there are many examples he plays that are long and tabbed out; there are nearly a thousand riffs you could glean from these examples of his tabbed improvizations. He isnt teaching riffs but they are there tabbed out if you want them.

There is enough material here to keep you very busy and will go along way toward improving your ear and command of the guitar.

And best of all he makes it simple and takes the junk science out of jazz theory.

The title says it all. Not for beginners or dabblers, but serious intermediate guitarists who want to improve their soloing, or people moving into jazz from rock/blues/whatever. Enough material to keep you busy practicing for a year. I've seen a bunch of jazz guitar instruction DVDs, and this is by far the best.

This video is great for someone who knows how to play, but isn't very familiar with jazz style. There's enough information here for most players to get somehting out of it, but the video assumes that you know certian theory concepts. Unless you already know what scales are for, how to build them, how to spell chords and how to play a few closed jazz chord voicings, you will have to be very, very patient to really use this. If I were just starting out, I wouldn't get this as a susbstitute for a teacher. I would get a teacher and make them explain this to me when I was ready.

If you're fine with that, then there's plenty of good stuff here. Seriously, the video is two hours long. Even if you can't play anything near the scary fast speed he uses, you can still get the concept. It's all thoroughly explained in a clear, lucid manner. It's very nuts-and-bolts practical stuff, and you won't have to think about it for two hours to use it (but it couldn't hurt).

My only real gripe is that he can be kind of patronizing. I've met plenty of other guitarists who are just as pompous, and can't back it up as well as he can, so it doesn't bother me. When he suggests that you practice scales for "an hour a day to play for your friends at parties" it comes off as a little snotty. Still, he has plenty of good ideas, and he can play like nobody else.

I've known jimmie bruno for almost 20 years. I first discovered him when he was playing at JJs' Grotto on 21st street in Philadelphia. This was before he got a contract with Concord jazz. He was amazing to watch then and he has only gotten better and better over the years. There is no way that you can fail to learn from Jimmy as he presents material in the most basic terms. As a guitar teacher i periodically buy guitar books and DVDs so I know what's out there. Although the literature is improving it is still hard to find a comprehensive and easy to understand and follow guitar tutorial. I have the original VHS and it was an unbelievable amount of material for the money.This time the bargain is even better as you can pre order the DVD from Amazon for under $20. If you have any interest in deepening your understanding of your instrument this is the DVD for you. If you are a listener and want to understand the fundamentals of jazz guitar then don't hesitate to order this DVD. As a matter of fact any guitar player will gain an amazing amount of knowlege from it. I've pre ordered mine and if you're smart so will you.
Good pickin' to you all and thanks to Jimmy Bruno for twenty years of great music.

First, all of the other reviewers make good points. This isn't a video for absolute beginners; you should have some comfort with the fretboard and chord/scale structure. (I think even if you don't there's plenty here for you, it just might come harder.) I disagree a little about the fret markers, because Jimmy usually says what position he's playing so you can keep up.

The reason this DVD is a no-brainer in my opinion is because you get an excellent two-hour lesson from a great, engaging teacher for less than half the price of a single one-hour lesson from your local teacher. AND you can play it over and over again, and really absorb what Jimmy is saying and doing. (If you're like me, you'll need to.) Plus, transcriptions with tab. It may not take the place of one-on-one lessons but there's no way you won't get your $22 worth out of it.

And Mr. Bruno, if you're reading this, thanks for the great lesson!

If scales is something you've escaped from practicing, then this DVD will do it for you. It's not a beginners video but if you've been playing a couple of years and still don't get how scales, harmony and improv goes together, maybe the answer is in this DVD. Jimmy teaches 6 scales that you can use for majors, minors and all the modes. Certainly smartened up my understanding of what to do (and I teach guitar!). It's a great teaching resource and the booklet explains it all in TAB and notation. If you get Jimmy's downloadable PDF ($9 from his site) you'll have even more info to get these scales down pat.

Jimmy's a very good communicator and this is one of those DVDs that really works well (as a teacher I've seen loads; there are plenty out there that are either bad or just a promo for the artist). This is neither - he really wants to get these ideas over to you and does it just like he was running a master class for you alone. A very good example of what a guitar tuition DVD should be.

this is a good instructional video. it has a good amount of information and ideas that you can incorporate into your practice. and they are explained in raymond's term. it covers good foundation, but doesn't get into advance ideas, so appropriate for beginning jazz players that have some general ideas about music and theory, but don't know how to put things together and practice them on the guitar. i really liked how he explained about the structure of his usual guitar lessons, which you can borrow to build your practice routine. dvd format has added features: slow mo play. good index system. etc. also comes with a booklet with tab notation. if you are a self studying musician that feel lost(especial rock and blues players wanting to get into jazz), you will enjoy this one.

I love this DVD for two reasons: 1)Jimmy gives you practical, down-to-earth instructions without using 'academician'-type words; and 2)he shows you exactly what he means! In doing so, he really removes some of the mystery of jazz playing.

I would recommend this DVD if you already know the fretboard somewhat, and want to get started with basic jazz improving. It's not really for beginners, unless you are extremely motivated to get up to speed with the scale/chord patterns.

To elaborate on what I mean by Jimmy being more down to earth, he points out that while knowing exactly what a 'G7 Flat 5, Flat 9' chord is and its notes can be somewhat important on an intellectual level, what's most important is that you can HEAR those notes. Being able to label a scale as this or that is not as important as HEARING how it might be different from a major scale, for example.

In the beginning of the DVD, Jimmy emphasizes the fact that first, you need to know the basic chord patterns of the fretboard. There's no way around that fact. But he helps you by overcome this hurdle by going through each scale/chord pattern simply and thoroughly, thereby laying it all out for you.

As the title of this DVD states ('No Nonsense'), Jimmy isn't promising you that you'll play the most awesome licks in 3 days. He's realistic. You do have to practice. But armed with his tips and samples, you can't help but improve if you practice his ideas for yourself.

One word Outstanding! Jimmy makes this plain and simple no modes I repeat no modes, nothing but melody within the scale simple and practical shapes in all positions. Im buying his second dvd, and also joining his on line school. Finally a teacher that speaks my language "Easy" and not to undermind jazz in anyway. Jimmy makes it easy and fun to learn almost like a guitar coach at your side saying this is easy and yes you cant do this!!The video gives close up shots booklet with all the scale patterns and runs jimmy performs. A must have for any serious guitarist wanting to learn jazz at any level!!

I've been playing a long time and I wish I'd had this years ago. Jimmy makes a very compelling case for his method and it works. Trusting your ear first and then explaining it with theory is a good thing. Exploring Jimmy's ideas will help you inject life into your soloing and comping. It's helped me increase my enjoyment of the instrument substantially.

There are several things that I like about his approach on this video.
1. His recommendations at the end on how to practice and what he'd have you do if you were a student are great. If you work them, you'll get benefit. Of course, you need to consider your goals and how much time you can invest, but the ideas are sound.
2. His lessons on shaping chords and comping are great! Again, if you work the method, you'll see connections on the fretboard and feel comfortable enough to toss away that book of chords that's been gathering dust on your shelf and has kept you locked into the old way of doing things.
3. Following his method will help you learn the fretboard. That's the biggest thing that it helped me do. I knew a lot of theory before, but he helped me unlock the thinking that had me feeling a bit wrapped up, constrained and my playing a bit stale and unimaginative.
4. Regardless of whether you get one DVD or both, even though much of what he plays is transcribed, don't think that you need to learn all his licks or memorize the passages. Follow his advice and follow your ear. Learn the best bits from the passages and use it to up your technique.

With this and his follow on DVD, you'll get some great ideas on how to develop your chops and become a serious player. Additionally, his Mel Bay book on his scales is good. It's thin and to the point. Well documented and a nice companion to the DVDs.