Improve Solos – Right Hand Groove (Jazz Guitar version)

Hey everyone! Best wishes and hope all is well with you!

Here’s some ideas I had for improving my solos (and rhythm)- especially jazz solos on guitar. Special thanks to all the musicians who have shared this knowledge with me.

It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing

Duke Ellington and Irving Mills

I’m still learning a lot about soloing – if anything I’m probably more of a rhythm guitarist and less of a lead guitarist.

Please check out some of my other ideas about playing music and please leave a comment or send a message if you have any questions, ideas, etc. All the best!

Some Favorite Ideas to Improve (Jazz Guitar) Solos

I know have some challenges to become a more fluid and engaging soloist – but here’s some ideas that have and continue to help me – perhaps they might help you, too?

Here’s some general ideas I try to keep in mind:

• Improving the timing and groove of my solos.
• Develop melodic nuggets and looking at soloing more of a theme (and “counterthemes”) and variations. Wynton Marsalis mentioned the idea of melodic nuggets when talking about how Miles Davis soloed.
• Focusing on the basics – especially for jazz guitar – I definitely want to play more complicate lines and phrases. But really I just want to focus on the basics, especially at the beginning of a solo – less notes – more thematic, etc.
• Recording myself (backing track practice technique and just recordings in general)
• Playing along with the greats
• Transcribing (For me, this is very challenging)
• Playing what I sing, Singing what I play
• Telling a story
• Painting a picture
• Having fun!
• Sending out good vibes!

• Learning to Second Line (for Guitarists)!
• Jazz Improv Master Classes with Hal Galper
• 30 Lessons in Jazz Guitar (Groove, Fundamentals, Soloing, Songs)
• Playing what they’re singing
• Six 5-10 Minute Groove Practice Ideas!
• Five 5-10 Minute Practice Ideas
• Kindness in Learning Music
• Great Tunes and Albums (for Learning about Jazz Guitar)
• 12 ways to improve musicality
• Positive Self-Talk in Life and Music
• How to Play Drums (for Guitarists)!

Practice Makes Progress

Ideas to Improve Single Line Groove

This article/lesson focuses mostly on ways to improve the groove of one’s solos. Especially in the context of jazz and even more especially about jazz guitar.

But these ideas could apply to most styles of music, I imagine.

Main Ideas to Improve Soloing (Right Hand Groove & Timing)

Like I said before, I am very much a student of playing music myself. (Please check out my YouTube to hear where I am at musically and/or just to enjoy!)

Focus on the timing, groove and feel of your picking/plucking hand – usually right hand (or left, if you’re playing lefty):

Here’s some (timing/groove) ideas that I think would help most jazz guitarist with their solos/improvs/melodies. I believed they have helped me!

First – Improve Quarter Note Pulse

Why practice with a muted notes?

Muting the notes will help you focus on your right hand timing.

A lot jazz guitarists (myself included) tend to focus on all the cool notes, arpeggios, etc – the left hand stuff.

We don’t always pay as much attention to rhythm, groove and timing.

I’ve heard a lot of jazz guitarist (myself included) tend to sacrifice time and groove to play something cool. And I’ve heard the tendency to not lock in with the band.

Also, by muting the notes, you don’t have learned the notes of the song (yet!) to learn from the groove and rhythmic ideas contained therein.

Simple isn’t always Easy

A simple solo with groove will sound great. Play simple with groove before playing complicated. Remember simple doesn’t always mean easy!

Muted String, Quarter Note Pulse Exercise for Tunes that Swing

Really try to make your notes swing, like your muted guitar is drum!

1. You’re not going to be able to do this all in a day – think more like a week/month/year – relax and enjoy the process!
2. Make sure you’ve warmed up!
3. Mute Your Strings
   1. For muted, single-line, you can play everything on 1 string or change strings
4. Always practice relaxed!
   1. If you feel your right hand tensing up, back track to something that is more relaxing.
   2. This isn’t something you can push – you just have to trust the process. Your body and mind will adjust over time.
   3. If you push your body when it’s feeling tense, it will only teach you to play tensely and your playing will sound tense.
   4. Trust the process – remember just practice a little every day – (good) practice makes (good) progress.
5. Work on quarter note pulse along to swinging jazz tracks
   1. Do muted chords at medium tempos
   2. Then do slow tempos (ballads and slower tunes)
   3. Then up tempos
   4. Do all down strokes
   5. Do up then down strokes
6. Repeat #4 (muted chords, quarter note pulse) with a metronome
   1. Set the metronome to quarter notes
   2. Medium (bpm 100-140)
   3. Slow (60-100)
   4. Faster (140-222)
   5. Then try setting to the beats 2&4
7. Now play quarter note pulse with single, muted, picked strings to great songs.
8. And then quarter note pulse with single, muted, picked strings to a metronome just like for the muted chords.
9. Accents
   1. Accent all 4 notes of the beat equally
   2. Accent the 2&4 notes
   3. Really try to make your notes swing, like your muted guitar is drum!
10. If you want to check how your doing with this, record yourself playing muted quarter notes to your favorite tunes, a metronome, and without a metronome. It should feel good and swing.

Here’s a couple great tracks to get started with:

What Do You Feel/Notice After Playing Along to a Great Tune?

Once you’ve tried this some – you don’t have do all of them first. Try #2 to at least one full track – something more mellow that’s relaxing that also swings.

Questions to consider after playing along to a track:

• What do you notice about your playing?
• What did you start to listen to after playing for a bit?
• What part of the band (bass, drums, etc) did you mostly try to lock in with?

Lock in with the drum and/or bass

I would say one of the aha moments for me was realizing I had the best results by locking in with bass and/or drums. Depending on the style of music, I try to lock in different aspects of the band first.

For example, in bebop-style jazz, I try to lock in with the pulse from the ride cymbal.

Obviously, locking in with the bass player is always a good idea, too!

Lock in with Spang-a-Lang of (Mostly) the Drums

Ok cool – so know that you’ve done the quarter notes – both for muted chords and single lines.

A simple solo with groove will sound great. Play simple with groove before playing complicated. Remember simple doesn’t always mean easy!

Now repeat the above (muted, quarter note) exercise but playing along with the spang-a-lang of the drums. Only play the single line (muted)

What’s Spang-A-Lang?

Here’s the basic Spang-A-Lang pattern:

1 2+ 3 4+

To spang-a-lang make sure to Accent the 2 and the 4!

You don’t have to always play all the ‘ands’ every measure. You can add them and them take them out.

Spang-A-Lang Single Line Jazz Guitar Groove Exercise

Everyone should be swinging, but for these exercises, (and when I’m soloing) I try to pay special attention to the drums.

This is basically the same exercises as the quarter pulse grooves, just with the spang-a-lang instead of the quarter-note pulse.

1. You’re not going to be able to do this all in a day – think more like a week/month/year to get the hang of it- relax and enjoy the process!
2. Make sure you’ve warmed up!
3. Mute Your Strings
   1. For muted, single-line, you can play everything on 1 string or change strings
4. Always practice relaxed!
   1. Now that you’re going to play more notes, it’s even more important to play relaxed! It won’t help if you’re not relaxed!
   2. If you feel your right hand tensing up, back track to something that is more relaxing.
   3. This isn’t something you can push – you just have to trust the process. Your body and mind will adjust over time.
   4. If you push your body when it’s feeling tense, it will only teach you to play tensely and your playing will sound tense.
   5. Trust the process – remember just practice a little every day – (good) practice makes (good) progress.
   6. If a song is too fast, you can slow it down on YouTube
5. Play the Spang-A-Lang – strums/chords with muted strings to great songs.
   1. Do muted at medium tempos
   2. Then do slow tempos (ballads and slower tunes)
   3. Then up tempos
   4. Do down strokes for downbeats. Do up strokes for the ‘ands’
6. Play the Spang-A-Lang with single, muted, picked strings to great songs.
   1. Do muted single-line at medium tempos
   2. Then do slow tempos (ballads and slower tunes)
   3. Then up tempos
   4. Do down strokes for downbeats. Do up strokes for the ‘ands’
7. Repeat #5 &6 (muted chords, then muted single note quarter note pulse) with a metronome
   1. Set the metronome to quarter notes
   2. Medium (bpm 100-140)
   3. Slow (60-100)
   4. Faster (140-222)
   5. Then try setting to the beats 2&4
8. Accents
   1. Accent all down beats – 4 notes of the beat equally
   2. Accent the 2&4 notes
   3. Really try to make your notes swing, like your muted guitar is drum!
9. If you want to check how your doing with this, record yourself playing muted quarter notes to your favorite tunes, a metronome, and without a metronome. It should feel good and swing.

1. Play the Spang-A-Lang with single, muted, picked strings to great songs.
   1. Do muted single-line at medium tempos
   2. Then do slow tempos (ballads and slower tunes)
   3. Then up tempos
   4. Do up then down strokes for down beats. Do up strokes for the ‘ands’
2. Repeat #4 (muted chords, quarter note pulse) with a metronome
   1. Set the metronome to quarter notes
   2. Medium (bpm 100-140)
   3. Slow (60-100)
   4. Faster (140-222)
   5. Then try setting to the beats 2&4
3. Accents
   1. Accent all down beats – 4 notes of the beat equally
   2. Accent the 2&4 notes
   3. Really try to make your notes swing, like your muted guitar is drum!
4. If you want to check how your doing with this, record yourself playing muted quarter notes to your favorite tunes, a metronome, and without a metronome. It should feel good and swing.

Here’s a few great tracks to practice along with (plus the aforementioned ones):

How Does Playing the Spang-A-Lang Compare to Quarter Note Pulse?

Any observations about how the 2 exercises feel different?

More Groove Exercises

A simple solo with groove will sound great. Play simple with groove before playing complicated. Remember simple doesn’t always mean easy!

Still do the muted strings (mostly single-note), but it with the shuffle, the 12/8 grooves, and finally with your own ideas!

1. Repeat the Spang-A-Lang exercise with the Shuffle
2. Repeat the Spang-A-Lang exercise to 12/8 Afrocuban Grooves
3. Repeat the Spang-A-Lang exercise – Now try to your own rhythmic patterns, ideas, grooves

Shuffle Grooves

Shuffle grooves are basically triplets, so you’ll get that underlying swing feel, but just in a different way.

• Try the quarter note, muted chords
• And try quarter note, muted single-line
• Try playing the muted single line/chord stuff from the spang-a-lang exercises along to some of these shuffles.
• Remember keep those hands relaxed!
• If it’s slower, try some triplets – both muted chords and single-line
• If it’s faster, try some spang-a-lang and swung phrases.

Here’s some famous shuffles:

The Purdie Shuffle – try it out.

Check this out, too!

Famous Songs with the Purdie Shuffle

12/8 Afro-Cuban Grooves

The 12/8 grooves are basically the roots of the swing grooves.

So check out 12/8 grooves, too. If think it’ll help round out your playing.

For Afro-Blue, try locking (muted chords and single-line) in with the:

• brushes
• underlying pulse of 4 beats per phrase/measure (basically the bassline)
• underlying 12/8 pulse (basically the triplet feel)
• the bass line
• repeated melodic lines
• congas

DC Swing!

It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got that Swing

Duke Ellington and Irving Mills

Mr Bow!

This a great song that has a “shuffle” beat – I know don’t the actually name of the beat. But it would be a great groove to practice triplets …

https://youtu.be/Fm2X6s66YFY

Do Your Own Grooves, Patterns and Ideas

The last exercise is play muted, single-line ideas that incorporate the quarter note pulse, the backbeat/spang-a-lang, and then any other rhythmic ideas you want to try out!

• Make sure it still grooves.
• Come a back to the simple stuff
• Try to develop rhythmic patterns and ideas
• Do this with great tracks
• Do this with a metronome
• Record yourself to make sure you’re swinging

Practice Makes Progress

Hope these exercises (muted quarter-note pulse, spang-a-lang, and more) help!

I will updating this page with more info, I’ve gotta run right now.

All the best, have fun and peace and love!