Right hand technique for jazz

[Freeman Keller]

I consider myself a decent intermediate acoustic guitar player and sloppy beginning electric guitar player. While I mostly consider myself a "fingerstyle" player (Travis picking, a little classical style, what John Fahey called "American Primative) I can also do a little flat picking, boom-chuck rhythm playing and strumming). I mostly play with flesh and nails but pick up a plectrum from time to time.

I'm starting to experiment with playing jazz and am not sure how to approach the right hand technique. I'm not all that interested in soloing over a backing track, I want to play a recognizable rendition of something like Satin Doll or Take Five. I can find tab for most of the songs I want to play and much if it plays out of chord forms - usually four notes on four strings. Many contain the "x" "don't play this string" notation.

So, very simply, in general how are these chords played? Thumb and three finger pinch? Strummed, if so with a pick or nails or thumb? Pick and a couple of fingers? If fingerpicked do you assign a finger to a string as in classical technique or move the hand around? If strummed how do you avoid the "x" strings if they are in the middle of the chord?

I've got lots of jazz chord books and videos but haven't seen a really good demonstration of what my right hand should be doing.

 

[Edgar Allan Presley]

Left hand blocking for the avoid strings (the fret hand, so right hand if you play left handed). You form the chords so that the fingers mute the unplayed strings.

As for whether to flatpick, nails, flesh, thumbpick, etc., you can be most dynamic when you use each technique when it sounds best in the musical setting. When you're learning, you should probably pick one to master first. But don't be a purist about it. There's nothing inherently better about flatpicks over fingers or vice versa. Use your senses and do what makes the notes do what you want them to.

 

[kuch]

Hey FK,

There's videos like this all over. Here's one person's style. So many to choose from.

Have fun

 

[monkeybanana]

I do both no pick or hybrid pick with fingers. I use real books and play the bass note with melody on top and when possible add notes from the chord. Wannabe Tim Lerch/Ted Greene style.

 

[loopfinding]

you can do whatever you want basically, there aren't really any rules or formulas like travis or cotten, or classical picking. sometimes you want to pluck all at once, sometimes you want to have a syncopated thing in the fingers against the bassline of the thumb, sometimes you just want to strum the chord/chord melody, etc.

look up the charleston rhythm to start, that is like the basic jazz clave (though there are obviously many more). after that just copy the comping patterns that you hear guitarists or pianists on record do.

 

[Freeman Keller]

Kuch, that is very helpful (and pretty much with what I have been struggling to do. I'll look forward to what others suggest, but that confirms what I've been trying to d.

 

[bebopbrain]

I string the guitar with the middle 4 strings only (goodbye muting).
I do the thumb and three finger pinch.
I tune C E F# B with easy shapes for rootless jazz chords.

Dmin7	G7	Dmin7	G7	Emin7	A7	Emin7	A7
5	5	5	5	7	7	7	7
6	5	6	5	8	7	8	7
5	5	5	5	7	7	7	7
5	5	5	5	7	7	7	7

Amin7	D7	Abmin7	Db7	C
12	12	11	11	3
13	12	12	11	3
12	12	11	11	3
12	12	11	11	4

 

[johnnyASAT]

Online resources that have helped me are Martin Taylor’s Artistworks course and Tim Lerch’s TrueFire Channel. If only if they’re one of the few places where you can see successful and accomplished fingerstyle solo jazz players do their thing and have the tools to pick apart what they’re doing.

I’m still a baby jazz player like you, but just learn some pre done arrangements or transcriptions and you’ll start intuiting the right hand stuff. Like someone else said, you’re not playing patterns (which isn’t to say they don’t pop up). In a solo jazz arrangement you’re playing parts and that’s an adjustment from the more typical fingerstyle material that’s out there.

 

[ndcaster]

look up a guy named Jonathan Stout on Insta

 

[Boreas]

I probably use fingers most of the time, whether I play acoustic or electric. I consider picks an amplifier. I pick differently for almost every song, and may that change day-to-day. I am not competent enough to solo. I can't grow usable fingernails. But in my case, I don't use any set techniques, but use any technique that allows me to pick out the important notes in a particular chord. Thumb is usually involved in alternating or running bass lines, and the first two or three fingers. I use the back of my nails sometimes to strum on a downstroke - which can be surprisingly loud. My fingers either pick desired strings, or a flail or banjo-type roll. But I couldn't tell you what the pattern is - my hand just does it and I don't think about it. If it happens to sound good, I am probably doing something right. If it doesn't sound good, I watch TV.

 

[monkeybanana]

Here is a good beginner arrangement:

 

[telepraise]

I consider myself a decent intermediate acoustic guitar player and sloppy beginning electric guitar player. While I mostly consider myself a "fingerstyle" player (Travis picking, a little classical style, what John Fahey called "American Primative) I can also do a little flat picking, boom-chuck rhythm playing and strumming). I mostly play with flesh and nails but pick up a plectrum from time to time.

I'm starting to experiment with playing jazz and am not sure how to approach the right hand technique. I'm not all that interested in soloing over a backing track, I want to play a recognizable rendition of something like Satin Doll or Take Five. I can find tab for most of the songs I want to play and much if it plays out of chord forms - usually four notes on four strings. Many contain the "x" "don't play this string" notation.

So, very simply, in general how are these chords played? Thumb and three finger pinch? Strummed, if so with a pick or nails or thumb? Pick and a couple of fingers? If fingerpicked do you assign a finger to a string as in classical technique or move the hand around? If strummed how do you avoid the "x" strings if they are in the middle of the chord?

I've got lots of jazz chord books and videos but haven't seen a really good demonstration of what my right hand should be doing.

Freeman, Forget all the rules. There's many ways to play just about anything.

With the four note chords and muted strings, those forms are for chunking out the chords when playing rhythm. You can either claw with the thumb and first three fingers simultaneously or swipe with a pick. It's pretty easy to mute the unwanted strings with part of a finger or the hand. If the chord has its root in the bass, then you can thump the bass for the "oom" and swipe the rest of the chord for the "pah"

It sounds like what you're really after is playing chord melodies which can get really complex quickly. I would peruse YouTube and find some simpler versions of songs you like that you can steal pieces of. And just play, see if you can plunk out the melody by ear. Sometimes pieces of the melody run are actually in the chords.

It also helps to know the different forms of each chord and where they are on the fretboard. Can you play Cmajor7 at the first fret in the "C" shape, at the fifth fret in the "A" shape, at the eighth fret in the "F" shape? A bonus is knowing where tonic, third, and fifth are in each shape so you can find the minor form, the 6th, major7th, etc.

Lastly, I know you've built a lot of nice guitars of differing types Freeman. A surprise for me was how helpful it was to have an archtop to work out jazz arrangements on. Something about the voicing of an archtop just lends itself to playing jazz. I find my fingers going places they would normally wouldn't visit on a flattop. Of course it doesn't hurt that it is also so effortless to fret.

Enjoy the journey Freeman! I'm sorry we're at opposite ends of the country. I would love to sit down and play some tunes with you and see your beautifully built guitars in person.

And have a Merry Christmas!!! TP

 

[Harry Styron]

I learned a lot about left-hand (I’m assuming that you’re right-handed) fingering—and ways to voice chords—from some of the easier songs Barry Galbraith’s two books of solos. You can flat-pick, hybrid or fingerpick, creating your profile own style.

 

[klasaine]

Yes to all of that. There's no 'rule'.

Here's a vid where I use mostly 4 fingers (3+thumb) ...

 

[kuch]

Hey FK,

If you can find a copy of this book, it has some chord diagrams to start with but easily intermediate and up if you improvise from there.

have fun

 

[Brent Hutto]

My guitar teacher can play that sort of thing with several different variations on picking style but it's obvious to me, watching him, that using a flatpick along with two or three of the other finger is a technique you (or I) need to master. Even if some stuff is just picked or just played with fingers the hybrid picking is something we need in our toolkit.

It seems the same for many well-known players I admire such as Bill Frisell and Julian Lage. The flexibility to create speed and solid tone with a pick or to instantly grab any arbitrary combination of strings with the fingers is very powerful.

 

[Freeman Keller]

I just want to say thanks to everyone who has commented here. Every bit of advice has been good, even when its conflicting. Which, I guess, is why I asked in the first place. I had seen players do every one of the things you folks have shown, and more, and I am still struggling to sort out things that might work for me.

I don't have enough years left to be a good jazz player but I'm going to keep working on a few things, I've bookmarked the links and downloaded some materials. I just wish I had started this forty years ago.

 

[ASATKat]

I'm going to keep this gem simple.

In soloing start your line on the 'and of 1' it is the best way to fall into the groove, jazz guys do it alllll the time.

Actually, starting your line on the and of 1, 2, 3, or 4 is a jazzy thing to do.

Simple, digest, own it, move on to the next thing.

 

[Electric Warrior]

I'm with the people that say there are no rules. It's all situational and the more styles you learn, the more situations you can adapt to, or ideas to pursue. But you could use just one of the styles you mentioned and have a good time.

 

[ASATKat]

A very effective way of accompanying in jazz is the thumb, index and middle of the rt hand. These are some of the most common and important chords used,

Play this to see what I'm talking about.

.Cmaj7 Fmaj7 Bm7b5.. Em7 ...Am7 ..Dm7.. G7 Cmaj7
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
M-9----9----7-----7----5----5---4---4
I---9----7----7-----5----5----3---3---2
----------8-----------7----------5--------3
T--8----------7-----------5---------3-----

You can stagger or offset each chord in a 'bass/chord' sort of way,

-------
-------
------9 chord
------9 chord
-------
-8 bass