If this were not enough, the creativity to put all of these elements together and come up with a spontaneous improvisation, puts the jazz guitarist in the forefront of musicians who have the most demands made upon them.

The idea that the more tools a jazz guitarist has, the more creative he or she will be is both true and false.

This is one of the reasons that keeps many jazz guitarists from achieving their potential at playing jazz, and that is because the more options you have, the more difficult improvisation becomes through indecision.

A painter learns his or her colour skills by using and practising with a limited palette, range of colours. Getting used to, and becoming familiar with the tools of the trade is essential in order to use them well – running before being able to walk is such an easy trap to fall into, that almost everybody does it at some point in their learning experience.

So where does the would-be jazz guitarist begin?
It has been said that you can play a jazz guitar solo on just one note! That could become a bit monotonous or boring, but the point is made … it’s not how many notes you use, but how you play the notes that you do use and the way you play them that counts.

Of course there are many styles of jazz and to say “it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing” is only relevant when we’re talking about swing jazz – but is it?

Jazz is a feel, jazz it an atmosphere created by the sensitivity of the performer creating more than notes, more than harmony, but reaching through to the innermost being and connecting on an emotional level – very few things in life can connect in the same way.

Playing What You Hear
Is it your fingers that lead you, is it your ear that leads you, or is it a repertoire of riffs taken from other jazz musicians that lead you through the chord changes?

Fingers, Muscle Memory and Riffs
If you play anything enough times, it sticks both in your memory and in your fingers muscle memory. This is generally a good thing.
Every musician will know that when under pressure, there are moments when the mind goes blank, and it is at these times when muscle memory can save the day!

However, this is similar to learning a bunch of riffs and playing them in the right places rather than true improvisation.

Playing by Ear
Being able to play what you hear in your head is really the ultimate facility as a jazz musician, whatever instrument you may play, but how do you get to that stage and is what you are hearing in your head, what other people want to hear you play, or what they want to listen to?

Firstly, you can only get something out of your head if you put it in, in the first place. This requires a lot of listening and appreciation of the finer points of style.

Secondly, if one man’s meat is another man’s poison (sorry ladies!), you can only follow the style of jazz that you like and aspire to play well.

Becoming a good jazz guitarist is a monumental task. Take it a bit at a time and walk before you try to run … it’s the only way to success!