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Jazz Anatomy decodes the structure of jazz guitar revealing a remarkably clear approach for comping, melodic development and improvisation. Mimi Fox will demonstrate the comping, improv & soloing over the 5 most common jazz guitar forms.

In this series of lessons, jazz professor Mimi Fox gets you started with these hands-on, playing lessons. Get started now!

Modal Rhythm Performance & Breakdown

Download the tab, notation & jam track for this jazz guitar lesson.

Jazz players love to open things up a bit over modal tunes like So What, Impressions, Footprints and hundreds of others. You can even apply some of the concepts here over minor II-V-I vamps. In order to play hip chords over modal pieces you must learn your chords up and down the length of the guitar. It’s great to stay in one area and know all your chords, but it’s even better to be able to have the flexibility to play any chord anywhere on the neck. Practice this study until you see and hear it in your sleep!

Modal Rhythm Variations & Extended Performance

Download the tab, notation & jam track for this jazz guitar lesson.

Whoever thought playing over one chord could be so hip? With so much freedom and so many options to choose from, players never tire of comping and soloing over modal pieces. This advanced lesson utilizes syncopated rhythms and intricate chord substitutions to “open up” the sound of the harmony. Highly recommend listening to McCoy Tyner!

Modal Solo Performance & Breakdown

Download the tab, notation & jam track for this jazz guitar lesson.

In this modal soloing session, I am utilizing the basic arpeggios of the chords up and down the neck to give a “safety net” for further (more advanced) harmonic substitutions. You gotta walk before you can fly, so practice these moves and get them under your fingertips before moving on to the more advanced sessions. As with all of the lessons in this course, please reference the notation and tab for a clearer picture of everything I am doing.

Modal Solo Variations & Extended Performance

Download the tab, notation & jam track for this jazz guitar lesson.

Can you play your minor arpeggios and scales all over the neck? Good, let’s move on to compound lines, harmonic substitutions, use of poly-tonality and intricate phrasing. We’ll utilize all of these concepts to create hip solos over what is essentially one chord. By now you should be ready to tackle hundreds of modal tunes and jams. Practice smart and have fun!

If you’re just getting started, check out the full course where each form is covered across 8 video lessons, starting with basic concepts, lines and comps, and then progressing to more advanced material. All of the material is easily translated to any key and all solos and examples are transcribed for reference. Learn more here…