Joe Pass - Rhythm Changes

[chromatixlixrob]

Love the tone man

[RobBrooksMusic]

Real nice tone

[pencap23]

Undeniably Joe pass, what taste! Great job.

[msusano]

Great job thanks!

[bendugard]

Hi, your videos are great, very helpful - just wondering if the Joe Pass Style book has tab or is it standard notation? Thinking of buying it but only if it's tab!

[kayakernz]

thankyou.steve from newzealand

[ledes022]

beautiful guitar what pickups are those?

[bleakanddivine]

@ledes022 P90s on a 1954 ES175

[lralbrecht]

@bleakanddivine P90S are my all time favorites. in jazz, rock, metal, ANYTHING... versatile, honest and beautiful. great tone, greater playing.

i like this video.

[guitarpicka1]

This is wonderful to see that there is some one else out there who is really trying to master these amazing lines...Joe`s book is the `watershed` of Jazz Guitar...and the amount of comment that is shown here defines that point..I have been studying Joe`s Book for many years...and have transposed these solos through many different keys...But I still marvel at what Angelo Debarre and Bireli Lagrene do....they come from another planet.(WORD)..!!

[mic270469]

thank you very much

[GassyCoke]

Hi, is that the orange(or red, depending on the edition) book with a drawing of Joe's face on the cover?

I want to buy it but i've found two different books called Joe Pass Guitar Style, one is from Mel Bay and has a white cover with a photo of Joe and the other is orange with a drawing of Joe's face and is by Joe Pass & Blil Thrasher and published by Alfred Pub Co.

I would apreciate any information.

Thanks.

[bleakanddivine]

@GassyCoke They're all the same book. I've had both the red and orange at different times. The white one with the photo has the same contents.

[GassyCoke]

Nice tone!

[PolloZombie666]

Thank you, this is very useful for my study of that Joe Pass method.

[joeyguitarlo]

Ever wonder how jazz players know how to change scales so fast?

[MrVintagemusic]

Ignore the negative comments. Guys, this is an EXERCISE out of Joe Pass's book, page 46.  This it NOT a "real" solo, it's a note for note peformance of an exercise over "rhthym changes" As a rock guitarsist who is becoming more interested in jazz, I think this clip is extremely helpful. Keep up the good work, and maybe do some more example from his book.....

[Gminor7]

This is a big help to me while working on these myself. It shows a great deal of work on your part, Many thanks!

[thenamesfrancisco]

i find it incredibly lame just running through chords like that. use chords and embellishments too.

[bleakanddivine]

Yeah, that Joe Pass. He's so lame writing things like this.

[bleakanddivine]

@thenamesfrancisco. Yeah, from your clips I can see that the ability to play over changes doesn't form a big part of your style.

[GenericEctoplasm]

@bleakanddivine

I don't mean to be rude, but he is just making a suggestion. The same suggestion that I've heard many great jazz guitarists give.

You're a great jazz guitarist that has his chops down, but the best never act like their hot stuff (to point, you seem sarcastic in your comments).

It wouldn't be a bad idea to throw in a chord or two to give your soloing some spice. Maybe you could try more enclosures, and so on. The best musicians always push their limits.

[bleakanddivine]

@GenericEctoplasm. Like many here you've just shown that you don't understand what this clip is. If you could be bothered to read the description you would see that this is not 'my soloing', this is playing an EXERCISE written out by Joe Pass in his method book, to help people studying it. If it was being improvised as a solo it might well be improved by adding chords, varying the rhythm etc, but it wouldn't be playing the exercise then would it?

[philgar5]

@bleakanddivine Great playing - just had a look at francisco - not even fit to comment. I assumed he must be able to play what you did in his sleep - what a joke !

[carlisme]

@thenamesfrancisco rhythm changes is a right of passage and a workout. This solo has been put up because it's simple and provides a lot of standard basic language to help learners get around the changes, which is what you need to do before you can play like a genius over it. Think you're missing the point

[plusmin09]

Those are some intense rhythm changes. I'm used to Anthropology

[HillbillyJ]

Thanks for telling the notes and chords. It will be a fun challenge trying to tab all this out, I like that. :) Thanks again, this is very helpful.

[englwood47]

are you doing the chord scales of the chords in here?

[bleakanddivine]

Not really scales, more like based on arpeggios of the chords tones, with altered notes added in to spice it up, particularly on the dominants.

[poepneukerobotjes]

Hey!

I was wondering, in this solo there are a lot of b9 notes added to the scales and more stuff like that

In the basic Rhythm Changes the chords are not b9 chords, could you play this solo over the basic chord progression that doesnt have all the extended chords? or even an altered scale over a 7 chord that isn't alterated

[bleakanddivine]

Yes, in fact that is the way to do it. The backing track has unaltered chords, and that's the way a rhythm section would play mainly, to avoid clashing with any alterations the soloist might choose.

[awesomewelles90]

but when I listen to jazz recordings they never seem to play the plain unaltered changes. how come?

[donjuanitaway]

you have to know rules before you break them?

[McMinnManiac]

Do you know Melodic minor? Diatonic to major harmony is the Guideline , the resolve you could play C Aeolian b9b13 in passing over C-G7(ii V) outlining F# pentatonic (vi of Bb) but then you should resove to a dorian idea i can't even play this style but i know the theory this is a very beutiful and melodic style im into fusion FGambale ect

[poepneukerobotjes]

@donjuanitaway

that's a cool phrase about learning jazz man

[fenderbender92]

How essential is it to play like this in jazz? Do I always have to "follow" the rules? Or can I use the chords in relation to scales only. maybe both?

[frgo]

It is quite essential to play like this in jazz.

These "rules" is what is famously called "following the changes". To play the chord notes in a shown chord is the best way to make the most right, perfect sounding solo. Of course, these rules are just here for guides...its up to you to make it swing. Of course you can add different notes and make it your own but when it comes down to it, this technique is the jazz way of soloing. With this technique mastered, you are able to solo over ANYTHING.

[Manford816]

This is a good exercise in using the chord tones in rhythm changes. Unless you have built up to a lot of notes, you generally want to leave space, and not do 8th note runs of arpeggios. You definitely want to use notes in between the chord tones that are in the key, as well as chromatic movements and turnarounds. But this is a good exercise to familiarize yourself with I-vii-ii-V rhythm changes

[trufflesmell]

It's essential if you want to follow one of the main school's from the last century. The other or 'free' method is perhaps best illustrated on Ornette Coleman's first couple of albums, i.e. learn a couple of rules, then break them and play the rest by ear, which to me at least seems more fun.

[maxigoodvibes]

thxxx men

[mofemobile]

sweet playing dude.. was actually thinking of going down to my local music shop to pick up this book and now i will!

[Rossco602]

SICK!!

[oliverf1]

I love this piece - and nice playing!

So many ideas to take here. In bar two he plays a Bb blues lick over the C-7 F7 which I'm going to use everywhere from now on. ;)

I also like in bar 12 he plays the C7 arpeggio instead of the C-7 arpeggio. It really gives the melody a happy lift.

[McMinnManiac]

C7 over C- would imply 1/2 W diminished you get the major and minor third as well as the infamous b5 Look up 1/2 whole Diminished it provides alot of the out side notes of the pentatonic blues , i don't know why teachers don't express this more often although Fusion guys do

[sneakydutch]

thanks for posting man.

[quitefamous]

your version differs somewhat from what Joe plays on the tape, especially in the part with the augmented chords.

try transcribing it from the audio, rather than relying on the notation in the book.

[bleakanddivine]

Sounds to me exactly as written on the CD I have. What are you hearing on the tape?

[quitefamous]

against Daug it says D F# A# F# and you're playing D F A# F, on Gaug instead of G B D# B you're playing Gb Bb D Bb

against Caug it says G# E C E, where it should be C G# E C, and then there are a few more small differences

your guitar sounds great btw

[bleakanddivine]

Yes dammit. I was one fret down on that first F#, and the rest of those aug patterns were fingered relative to that.

[s8thMPkar98]

great! thanks for the upload...and i think PianoHero101 means he/she can do that on the piano....who cant arpeggiate on a piano...-_-

[PianoHero101]

weak. I could arpeggiate any chord progression in 20 minutes. You're not even improvising.

[bleakanddivine]

Ahh, the arrogance of youth. 20 mins? Never played out have you! Maybe in 20 years you could dream of being as 'weak' as the guy who wrote this.

[likeriver]

I can't figure jazz out. I just know that I love it!

[6stringANDacoke]

takes a lot of practice and a lot of listening... ive only been playing two years but im prepared to spend the rest of my life learning it... listen to charlie, dizzy, miles, and wes

[yoshy321]

It's the popular jazz standard Rhythm changes and he is playing the "changes"

good job mate!

[missmistro]

err what the hell r u talkin about this vid made no scence to me

[londonemski]

Excellent vid - well structured & thus really helpful. Lovely tone too - is this a GIbson ES 175 or the Epi version? Thanks so much - makes me want to practice properly.

Greetings from London

[bleakanddivine]

Thanks, It's a 1954 Gibson 175 with P90s. Greetings, also from London.

[juanestebanaliaga]

that sounds more like parker tan joe

[BensonBirdie]

Um...do you realize Bird was one of Joe's biggest influences?

To me it sounds like Joe Pass. He was influenced by Parker, but certainly didn't play like Bird to the exclusion of everything else.

[gbtayc]

Do you have a video of you playing the chords?

Good stuff very educational

[thefatha]

haha,.. those are all bird lycs..

listen to parker..for the foundation

[BensonBirdie]

Gimme a break. They're eighth-note lines, so they're not simply licks...they are ways of moving through the chord progression. Basically weaving through the changes.

To say that what Joe plays isn't valid JUST because he happens to have a similar approach to Parker's is.., just uncool. Listening to his playing, there's great stuff, both original stuff and stuff he drew from musical greats like Bird. Are you going to tell me Bird never used the lines of other players (Lester Young being one)?

[DVD5300]

Great stuff. It's hard to tell from the video, but what guitar (and year) are you playing? It sounds sweet. I'm in the hunt for a new archtop.

[chengharp]

why does that sound, sound so jazzy

[raggedy]

I wish I were disciplined enough to focus more on my chord knowledge. Dammit.

[777gatos]

Amazing!! I wish I could play as well as you

[jazzstuff]

Great stuff man! Good post!

[Bbminorfunk]

Joe would have put me to shame in his sleep. Even if he had gone deaf he would have raped my eyelids and then put me to shame.

[lhurien]

I can't play play what you're playing and I hate to criticize. But you could improve that solo by varying the rhythmn and take a lesson from horn players. You gotta breath once in awhile. Sounds nice though.

[andocrates]

It's not a solo it's an exercise like Hanon exercises for piano.

[theoak84]

so basically learn every arpeggio and go from there? haha

[giannizei]

Yes!! Great theacher!

[clhgr15]

thank you very much !!!

[xzz0195]

Looks like a mixture of the cycle of fifths and as well as step wise changes (the dims). Of course only an expert like Joe would have been able to pull this off during the time that few knew what this was about. He was really a great player in my opinion.

[pufu21]

for how long you play jazz?

[petar870602]

no its not dorian i think it is ionian

[SunRaaaa]

thanks sooo much... this is great!

[artistfood]

ok...this is amazing but i dont completely understand it all.

I see 2 chords. Is one of them the scale? or is he using the same scale over all those chords but in differnt keys?

What scale is that anyways? Dorian?

[bleakanddivine]

Each screen shows one bar of 4 beats. 2 chords per screen = 2 beats per chord. One chord per screen = 4 beats per chord. There are no scales given, just the notes played over each chord.

[enigma373]

Don't think about scales, chords and arpeggios as different things. They are all based off of Chords. In this video the guitar player is basically just outlining the chord changes. Listen to Jazz A LOT and you will hear him weaving through the changes.

[reateguitare]

Thanks for the hard work on putting all of this together...most people just don't get how hard is to do this....and for free! good stuff!

[keitherboo]

Great video! I think it is very helpful for learning bebop.

I don't want to be rude, but I do have some corrections. In the 26th bar, you have an E for the note on beat 1 but it should say Eb. In the 30th bar, you have an E on beat 1 and that should also be Eb. Lastly, on the last bar of the form you have a D on the upbeat of 1 that should be a G and a C on the upbeat of 2 that should be a D. You played and analyzed it correctly, you just made a typo on the note. Again, great video!

[bleakanddivine]

Yeah thanks, good job I play guitar rather than the qwerty keyboard.

[edhewitt]

really well done, both the playing and the instructional value. i'm working on this book now - if you answer questions on this, how did you choose your fingerings? it looks like you have a method of some sort at play, but couldn't be sure. thanks for posting it!

[bleakanddivine]

Good question. I think I try and organise phrases around the basic chordal shapes, so that they pop up more readily when playing other tunes. No system really, but a bit of trial and error to get the most natural fingering (for me) for each phrase.

[racine09]

Thanks - I just joined  a jazz workshop - everyone knows rhythm changes except me and I didn't know how to catch up- this is great!

[chasolguitar]

Thank you. Awesome!! How do you decide fingerings and positions. Also I have an ES 175 and POD XT but can't get the good tone u do. What is your setting ? Thanks again for making vids available..

[mwljazzguitar]

Are those P-90 pickups? They sound really good. Nice video, man. Were you reading this while you played it, or did you memorize it?

[lemotoftheweek]

thank u!

[audiophile85]

nice sound man. i'm a classical/rock guitarist who has always struggled with playing in an authentic bop style over changes. Would you recommend the joe pass book

[Insigma83]

Excuse me for asking a possibly naive question. I am new to jazz but am trying to learn it myself. I have picked up that you are soloing four notes of a harmonising chord over every rhythm chord. My question is, does jazz improv require an extensive knowledge of theory? I mean how do you choose to solo the notes of a Bbmaj9 and Cm7 over the rhythm chords of Bb and Gm7? Whats the relationship?

[bleakanddivine]

Actually I didn't choose these notes, Joe Pass did, but it's a good question. Many people play by ear alone, many people play by theory alone, particularly when starting out. There is no right way, but a combination of both would probably take you furthest.

[bleakanddivine]

There are hundreds of jazz theory books which will tell you what the 'rules' are, although you seem to have started to work them out for yourself. It's good to know them, but not be constrained by them.

[lecale]

I'm far from being an expert at this, but as far as those two examples you cited, a major 7 and a major 9th are common harmonizations on a tonic chord, and the Cm7 harmonizes well with the Gm7 (C Eb G Bb vs. G Bb D F). He just sort of runs through the 11th, 13th, root and third of the Gm7 chord.

[rkmusicnow]

awesome, that solos transcribed in the Mel Bay Joe Pass book.

[MusiciansQuarters]

what book and does she come with tab or standard notation

thxs

[jazzguitarmarc]

both i think

[MusiciansQuarters]

Thanks great work Im inspired have me great job!! Smooth and clean jazz you got to love it!

[guitarastig]

i have watch all your vdo's i like them all very much particularly rythm changes... good tone man!i wish i could learn more from you.

[leocheng89]

it's cool.where did you get those backing?

[jAmguitar84]

thanks joe jr

[b5b9]

Really a nice idea, especially giving the chord notes in the slow section. Very helpful. Thank you!

[j807980]

Sounds excellent. I am a beginner at jazz guitar and was thinking it may be more helpful to state what scales/modes or arpeggios you are playing over the chords, rather than just a list of notes.

Great stuff though!

[ElectricRaff]

P-90 pickups always sound awesome on es-175........,

still clarity on bass lines

[prototek]

Great job. Beautiful tone as well. What amp are you using?

[bleakanddivine]

Thanks. No amp, it's actually DI through a POD XT, just using the pre-amp setting, and a touch of reverb.

[NOORBIE]

vry good joey is the greatest well done

[localpm]

Great Playing!Thanks for making such a useful video.

[pepecoolratzz]

Thank you very much for the video. It's very useful!!!

[voldox55]

Amazing! Thank you! This goes far beyond any expectations. You`re helping me so much! Making Joe

Pass`s music available to any Guitar Players! Thanks