Hi jazz guitar and complex music geeks!
I haven’t updated my jazz guitar practice tips for some time, so I’ve decided to just sit down and write.
I have taught guitar for about 25 years of my life, some years less intense, and other years 5–6 days a week of teaching. Well, usually I book no more than 15 lessons a week. I always need time for gigging and practicing.
In recent years, I have been teaching more and more international and advanced students who are interested in jazz improvisation, arranging, and composing.
Here is just one of the ideas I’ve shared with one of my students regarding composing. ( I have dived in on each of these methods on much deeper level with students, of course.)
Composing music can be approached from many different angles. Some will start simply with a melody, adding harmony and arrangement later. Others will build complex harmonic movements first, using things like counterpoint – multiple melodies moving simultaneously in the same time showing interesting chordal movements. One more way of composing is starting with a bass line and then add harmonies and melodies later.
Inspiration for composing can also come from various sources. One very common way is being inspired by a written piece of music and write something of your own following similar musical direction. To get inspired in this case would be listening and exploring tons of records. Always being on a look out for the next record to check out similar to what is it to people who love reading books.
Yes, books too! Educational composing and guitar books are two of the ways I have found inspiration in the past.
Check out a couple of the tunes I’ve written in the past. Some of these performances are a little old, though. But that’s what happens when you’ve been doing stuff for some time…
Looking at educational guitar books have given me inspiration in the past for writing.
Usually, learning and creating practice routine around certain new things i am learning naturally leads me to write a tune idea.
Often times, it’s a matter of finishing the tune to completion, though!
For example, I wrote 17 Etudes for modern jazz guitar in the past. For some of them, I simply decided to explore melodic minor modes. In others, I was exploring certain counterpoint ideas and voicings I had come across in some of the books I was checking out at the time. Here are 2 examples of my etudes.
I like books by Mick Goodrick, Tim Miller, Jerry Bergonzi, & Miles Okazaki.
One interesting approach by Jerry Bergonzi is using triad pairs, or hexatonics. It’s combining 2 different triads to create a scale we call hexatonic. I’ve looked at this in my previous post a little bit.
Another approach I have tried in the past is looking at a certain concept, for example a polyrhythm, then adding counterpoint moving lines to your polyrhythm. Here are some ideas I explored about Composing ideas using a simple polyrhythm with added harmonic movements.
Replacing a chord with a different chord can also be an interesting approach to composition! Here is the video I’ve made about half-diminshed chord being used in jazz blues guitar
That same concept of replacing chords with other chords can be used in composing! I like all the concepts of improvisational techniques and approaches! Try taking a jazz tune; look only at the harmony. Then, to make it more fresh, change the key! (I have done this approach with giant steps and countdowns in the past.) After changing the key, find chords to replace the existing chords!
The concept is explained in the video above.
However. One very important aspect of getting better at anything is doing it regularly!
Implement a daily routine of writing music. Commit to a 30-day writing challenge. You can start a YouTube channel dedicated to your 30-day commitment! Or simply do it with your teacher or maybe your peers! Create a WhatsApp group with other composers and keep each other accountable!
Simply commit to writing a short piece of music every day! After 30 days of 30 pieces of music, you can go through them and decide what to chuck and what to keep! Once you find a few pieces you really like, spend the next 30 days expanding on these small snippets. Arrange more parts, add more harmony, or do any other aspects needed to finish the tune. After 60 days, you might as well have material for an album! Right ??
Let me know how you get on with your composing explorations and goals. And see you soon!
( In case you’re looking for more personal guidance, reach out to book a lesson! )
Nora Bite 