Jazz Guitar Tuition, Sydney, Australia with Peter Inglis

Guitar tuition - "Baroque to Rock" - Rock, Pop, Blues, Jazz and Classical Guitar in Sydney, Australia
JAZZ

Guitar Tuition with Peter Inglis in Sydney, Australia - click here for more details

My approach to new students may seem strange and even off-putting to some, involving as it does asking a lot of questions. ( here - tuition )

That is because my purpose in teaching is to help people achieve their musical goals.

The first question I ask prospective jazz students is :

"What is jazz?"

Answers might range from

Improvised music
Very structured music, with elements of improvisation present
Acoustic music
Electric Music
Music with complicated rhythms
Music with syncopated rhythms
Music derived from the blues
Music derived from ragtime
Music derived from classical music
Traditional American music
Music which is constantly evolving
Dixie
Swing
Bebop
Post-Bop
Fusion
Latin
Bossa nova
Samba
Smooth Jazz
... other ....

All these answers are good and valid.

The second question I ask prospective jazz students is :

"OK, so you want to learn jazz... what for? What do you intend to do with this knowledge?"

Answers might range from

For my own amusement
As a hobby
To get gigs...
To play at home
To play at a dinner party
To play at a work function
To play in a restaurant
To play at an amateur concert
To pass an exam
To play Professionally, in a band
To play at Professionally in concerts
... other ...

Then more questions need to be answered :

"What style of jazz?"
"What kind of ensemble do you want to play in?"

There are forms here - tuition - to help you work through answering those questions.

Once we have got a focus to the endeavour we can begin to assess and work on the various skills you will need to succeed in your jazz guitar effort!

Essential Jazz Guitar Skill Sets

Ensemble skills - communicate and listen to the other members of the ensemble
Play a solid accompaniment
Play a convincing melody on the instrument with a full and singing tone
Embellish that melody with appropriate ornaments
Harmonise the melody with single notes
Harmonise the melody with triads
Harmonise the melody with seventh chords
Play a bass line
Construct a melody in appropriate style, which relates to the original melody
Construct a counter-melody

You might notice I haven't mentioned scales and modes yet, materials which make up a lot of jazz educational material at retail. There is a good reason for this : Scales and modes do not make music!
Yes! A surprising contradiction to the message given to the consumer by thousands of "Play jazz quick" publications.

Playing jazz successfully to an audience cannot be reduced to a simple group of formulae, it is in fact a very sophisticated undertaking!

Music is : rhythm

- melody -

and harmony -

As with all my teaching, the emphasis is on acquiring repertoire and skills aimed at performance.

Before committing to a course of study with any music teacher you owe it to yourself to see them actually perform. You might be surprised how many teachers are not active performers. In which case you might reasonably ask whether they will be able to impart the skills necessary to make you a performer?

There is a world of difference between playing music at home and performing to an audience.

Peter Inglis' Guitar Performances click on the images for information and video samples

Peter Inglis' Guitar Recordings click on the images for information and samples

" Peter's ability to strip technique back to what works has opened up pieces that I once thought unplayable."
Glenn M., guitar student

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Guitar tuition - "Baroque to Rock" - Rock, Pop, Blues, Jazz and Classical Guitar in Sydney, Australia JAZZ

Essential Jazz Guitar Skill Sets

Peter Inglis' Guitar Performances

Peter Inglis' Guitar Recordings

Guitar tuition - "Baroque to Rock" - Rock, Pop, Blues, Jazz and Classical Guitar in Sydney, Australia
JAZZ