Being in a jazz band as a guitar player is a unique challenge. It’s a completely different animal from playing by yourself, or even in other kinds of groups.
And if you’re used to playing rock or other pop music styles, there can be a steep learning curve. Just about everything seems new, even though you’re pretty good at guitar already.
And you might not get as much help as you’d like from the bandleader. Most jazz band directors have some training in just about every instrument… except for guitar.
And even the ones who “can play guitar” probably can’t play jazz guitar. There’s exceptions, for sure – but for the most part, you’re on your own.
Honestly though, it’s not really that bad.
Sure, there are a few technical things for you to get used to:
- New chords
- Different tone settings
- Minor equipment tweaks
But at the end of the day, learning the style is actually pretty fun! It’s mostly about listening to good examples and trying to copy the things you like.
And when you find the right guitar players to listen to, this part is easy. So why not get started?
Here are my top 5 tips for new jazz band guitar players:
Learn Easy Jazz Guitar Chords
I can’t say this one enough. Don’t worry about doing anything fancy – just learn these easy jazz guitar chord shapes and thank me later.
You see, jazz guitar chords don’t have to be complicated or twist your fingers into pretzels. In fact, most of the pros don’t use the crazy shapes unless they really need to.
In fact, Joe Pass himself said that he doesn’t play any “hard chords.” So stick to the easy ones – at least for now.
There are simple, 3-note chord shapes that are quick to learn, easy on your fingers, and sound good.
Click here for the free lesson on easy jazz guitar chords.
Put these chords to work in your next rehearsal, and you’ll have an easier time getting through the charts.
(You’ll sound better too!)
I still use these chord shapes every day – they’re not just for beginners. But when you’re ready to add more chords to your vocabulary, check out my ultimate guide to jazz guitar chords.
Get your Gear Together
You can play in a jazz band with whatever equipment you already have. There are a couple of things to tweak if you want to get a good jazz sound:
You Don’t Need a “Jazz Guitar”
But it can help sometimes – people “hear what they see” when it comes to jazz. (unfortunately)
Ideally, get your hands on an archtop or semi-hollow guitar if you really want to get into the tradition of jazz guitar. If you’re going for jazz at the high school or college level – or want to play at least semi-professionally – this will be important.
But you can get great sound on a solid body electric, too. Lots of modern players are going that route – you just don’t see them in a “jazz band” setting too often.
If you are using a solid body, make sure you’re using the neck pickup. And roll the tone off – at least down to 4 or 5 to mellow out the sound. That will help a lot.
Use Heavier Strings
Go for slightly heavier strings than you’re probably using – especially if you’re playing a solid body guitar.
I shoot for the high E string measuring 0.11 at least. If you’re on an electric, your high E string is probably 0.09 or 0.10 right now. The thicker strings will make a big tone difference for you.
Flatwound strings can give you an even more mellow sound – I really like using them. If you’re playing a lot of Basie or Ellington style pieces, give this a try for sure. They’re a more traditional string for jazz guitar players.
One exception – flat wound strings aren’t great for using effects. They’re just not bright enough. So if you’re playing music that needs chorus or overdrive… stick with round wound strings.
Everything is a trade off – do what you can and make the best of it. On a lot of my guitars I use flatwound strings – and I always keep at least one instrument with round wound in case I need to use effects on a gig.
Use Heavier Picks
I recommend using at least 1.25mm picks. Lately I’ve been using 2mm a lot though – it just depends on what you like.
There are a couple of reasons for this.
The more mass in the pick will give you a better tone. And the stiffer the pick is, the less the tip will move around as you play.
This is going to give you better control, and cleaner single note lines -especially at faster tempos.
“Dial In” Your Volume
In general, your guitar volume should be lower – and your amp volume should be higher.
Different guitar players have different approaches to this. But I like to have my guitar volume at 4 or 5 for freddie green comping. I’ll turn it up a little if I’m doing something more active and comping instead of the piano.
This lower guitar volume gives you plenty of room to turn up for solos. I tend to go to about 8 for solos with big band backgrounds (or more if it’s a loud band).
Read Chord Charts (and some sheet music)
You don’t need to know a ton about reading music for most jazz band guitar playing. So don’t worry about that right away.
What you really need to be able to read is chord symbols, rhythm slashes, and written rhythms.
More modern jazz band charts do have written lines though. It’s becoming more and more common to see written notation in guitar parts for younger jazz ensembles.
For reading sheet music, guitar method books are not a good answer. They’re slow, boring, and they aren’t a good option for preparing you to read the kinds of lines you need to read in a jazz band.
A better option is Chris Buono’s book Guitarists Guide to Music Reading (affiliate link). This book does a great job of connecting written notation to the fretboard in a way that guitarists can easily understand.
It will show you how the notes on the music staff line up with major scales you already probably know how to play. And that will make it easier to put to use.
It’s also a great resource for getting your rhythm reading together . There are tons of exercises designed to help you develop your rhythm reading chops.
Get Your Rhythm Together
It’s a good idea to have some basic rhythm patterns handy. I’ve provided some of the common “go-to” patterns below to get you started.
These can be played as static patterns, or mixed and matched throughout a tune.
Freddie Green
Charleston
“Reverse” Charleston
To really get your comping skills together though, you need to spend time listening to great compers.
Pay special attention to the piano or guitar in a recording when someone else is soloing. That’s where the magic is.
Try to pick out a rhythm or two that stand out to you – and work it into your own playing. It’s not that complicated – you just have to work on it a little bit.
Listen to Great Jazz Guitar Players
If you want to get good at jazz, you have to listen to a lot of jazz. But it can be hard to know where to start.
There’s just so much out there it can be overwhelming. And the standard advice from jazz band directors isn’t that helpful.
Listening to the Basie Band is a great idea – but it’s hard to get excited about a band where you can barely hear your instrument if you listen really hard. Let’s face it – you’re a guitar player. And you want to listen to some guitar!
And it can be hard to find recordings of a classic jazz band where the guitar is easy to hear.
What you need to do is find some players you like to listen to that still give you the same style exposure – but are exciting from a guitar perspective.
A couple of great options to get started are the Barney Kessel “Poll Winners” albums. These are great trio recordings where he is literally playing some big band shout choruses on the guitar.
You get into the right style – from a guitar perspective. If you want more, check out my article on Jazz Guitar Recordings for Beginners.
Conclusion
Getting started as a jazz band guitar player can be intimidating. Everything seems new, even if you’re already a pretty good guitar player.
But there’s not really so much you have to learn – you just need to focus on the little things that will get your through your first few rehearsals.
A few easy jazz guitar chord shapes and rhythm patterns can be all it takes to get you started – and the more you play, the more chords you’ll learn!
The tone and equipment tweaks are pretty easy to do, and you’ll start getting “the right sound” quickly. And when you sound good, it’s a lot more fun.
Make sure you’re spending some time listening to great jazz guitarists (and other instruments too) to get the most out of this style of music. Getting these great players into your ears will help you play the right kinds of things in your jazz band.
Are you playing guitar in a jazz band right now? Let me know in the comments!