Customer Reviews

Solo Jazz Guitar

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

 

 

I've bought too many instructional DVDs over the years. This one finally has what I was looking for. If you have a basic knowledge of music theory Joe ( you can call him Joey) will show you how to actually use it. He's great natural teacher. He focuses entirely on the I vi ii V progression in the key of C (C, Amin, Dmin, G7). From there he starts substitutions, which were always a mystery to me. No heavy theory here, mostly: "this sounds right", lots of humor. For example he substitutes from Cmaj7 to Emin7, then to E7, then to Bflat13. With other substitutions for Amin and Dmin he ends up with that chromatic movement that sounds so funky, but I always wondered where it came from. He makes it so simple.
The on screen tabs and chord diagrams are just right. I spent 3 hours taking notes and made my own booklet. Pause, or slow motion, and write it down. All the substitutions are clearly diagramed and explained. And all the chords are simple to finger as he says he doesn't like to work too hard. So he greatly simplifies all those confusing voicings. (Throw most of them out!) Then there's a really great section on how to play your scales in a way that's interesting and useful. Then he goes over two very cool running base lines, and explains how to comp with them . (He says the base line is more important than the chords, so he keeps the chords very simple.)
The information just flows out from him like music did. He was a truly great teacher, and this DVD is 10 times more useful and enjoyable than any of the 30 others I've seen.

Mr. Pass really only speculates on that progression. Which, helps simplify things a bit. Bouncing around that concept; he illustrates substitutions, logical voicings, and some pretty stellar chromatic movements. For such an amazing guitarist, I was pleasantly surprised how he kept things "real". Not focusing so much on theoretical hoopla, but focusing more on getting the music in your head and your heart out through this specific medium. A comfort to see that you don't have to bury your head knee deep in the textbooks to come up with your own sophisticated lines and comps. Included tuning feature and chord dictionary a major plus, as well. A recommendation for anyone looking to GET INTO solo jazz concepts as well as group jazz improv!

I expected this video to be more of a 'how to' for solo jazz guitar. It really isn't that. I love Joe and his playing, so anything with him is good, but I found the title to be a little misleading.

What the video does cover is the I-VI-II-V chord progression. Joe covers embellishing this progression and coming up with chord substitutions for it. He then lightly talks about a walking bassline over it and the generalities behind basslines on guitar. I do wish he covered the actual construction of a bassline some.

If this video was titled something about the I-VI-II-V, then my expectations of it would have been totally met because Joe does an excellent job showing how he comes up with chord substitutions for it and other things with it. If that's what you're looking for then this video is a 4 or 5 out of 5 stars. But if you're looking for a 'how to' for solo jazz guitar, this is not it. Maybe try Robert Conti's Chord Melody Assembly Line for an introduction to solo jazz guitar playing.

I loved this Instructional video. I first got this video when it was $50! And trust me, it was worth it! This video SINGLE-HANDEDLY taught me how to play walking bass with chords. And twenty years later, I'm still doing it! Every time I walk into a music store to try out a guitar, I'll play a couple of jazz tunes, maybe some Al Di Meola stuff... But when I start doing a walking bass line mixed with chords, people start to notice instantly! It is crazy! Tuck Andress' video goes a little more in depth but this video is Point A! Start here, and you'll go far in jazz guitar...

I first rented this from NetFlix. Joe takes you through the I-vi-ii-V progression. I think this DVD is good for an intermediate guitarist. The DVD has some bonus features which is nice. There is a chord section, where you can see tabs of all the chords Joe plays on the DVD. There is a slo-motion section where you can see how he fingers the chords (I didn't find this very helpful). But what's really neat about this lesson is that one of the greatest guitarists of all time shares some of his methods - how he looks at the chords, his philosophy of how to play, etc. Extremely valuable is his perception of chord sounds. Did you know he thinks of an Am as being the same as a C chord? That blew me away and opened up a lot of possibilities.

This DVD and the old book Joe Pass Guitar Chords are the best educational materials available for applying jazz guitar harmony and chord voicing and substitutions. Joe was a killer player who also had great speed and tone on his single note runs. Forget about the other Joe Pass DVD's and get this one! Also check out the song Masquerade on the Joe Pass at Montreux 1977 CD. He is easily one of the best players ever.

I spotted a piece of this wonderful teaching video on YouTube and just HAD to find the whole thing. The Hot Licks folks taped Joe years ago (he's been dead for over a decade) and they did an amazing job of nailing the complex but perfect chording Joe's hands fly to in his demonstrations. Then they put the actual chords ON THE SCREEN next to his hands!

This DVD is even better than the original video, because they've added a self-selected chording section that works in your computer or DVD player. It lets YOU ask for, then HEAR, the actual chords so you can work on mastery of that "Joe Pass Sound."

If you ever thought you might be able to keep up with jazz chording, GET this. It's the best tool I've ever found in my decades of playing guitar ... and faking around with "jazzy guitar chords!"