Beginning Guitar

An introductory course for students with little or no experience playing guitar. Students learn the basics including:

* tuning the guitar
* understanding the fretboard
* using proper hand positions
* fingerings for major scales
* learning basic chords, i.e., triads and seventh chords
* playing simple pieces
* reading music

This course is taught by world-class Jazzschool faculty with the objective of "getting it right" from the very beginning.

Required text: Modern Guitar Method Vol. One, Mel Bay (available in the Jazzschool Books & Records store)

Saturdays 10 – 11:30 am
DANNY CARON (10 weeks) $365

Blues and Swing Guitar

This class is designed for guitarists with basic technical facility and focuses on the blues form. Students learn chord voicings, fingerboard harmony and techniques of single string soloing from urban blues styles including BB King and Albert Collins to more complex, sophisticated swing styles including those of Charlie Christian and T-Bone Walker. Alternate chord cycles and rhythm playing are covered. Students also work with transcriptions to develop strong melodic solos

Prerequisite: Beginning Guitar Workshop or equivalent

Saturdays 11:45 am – 1:15 pm
DANNY CARON (10 weeks) $365

Jazz Guitar I (BEG/INT)

A hands-on class on the basics of jazz and blues guitar technique and style. Includes instruction in soloing and comping over standard jazz repertoire and the blues. Required text: Guitar Arpeggio Studies on Jazz Standards (Mel Bay Publications), and interactive CD-ROM, Graduated Solos.

Prerequisites: two years playing experience, knowledge of major and pentatonic scales and basic seventh chords.

Wednesdays 6 – 7 pm
MIMI FOX (10 weeks) $235

Jazz Guitar II (int/adv)

Required CD-ROM for Section II: Jazz Anatomy by Mimi Fox (available in the Jazzschool Books & Records store). Required text: Guitar Arpeggio Studies on Jazz Standards (Mel Bay Publications).

Prerequisites: Jazz Guitar I or equivalent; knowledge of scale and chord theory and some familiarity with jazz repertoire.

Wednesdays 7:15 – 8:15 pm
MIMI FOX (10 weeks) $235

Super Chops

Learn to play great jazz lines in the style of Wes Montgomery, Pat Martino, Joe Pass, and other jazz guitar masters while developing hand technique, aural skills, and jazz vocabulary. Emphasis on correct phrasing and stylistic nuance. Students focus on fingerings, arpeggios, scales, compound phrases and moving up and down the neck in a logical and musical way. For intermediate/advanced guitarists.

Mondays 8:15 – 9:45 pm
MIMI FOX (10 weeks) $365

New Class! 
Guitar Trio
In this intermediate/advanced hands-on class, students develop improvisation skills in the guitar trio format. Students focus on group interaction and dynamics, soloing, comping for bass solos, trading fours with the drummer, building repertoire, and finally getting gigs! Concludes with a performance at the Jazzschool! Maximum enrollment: four guitarists, one bassist, one drummer. Please note: class available on a first-come, first-served basis. Prerequisites: ability to play and improvise over a jazz tune while keeping steady time.

Wednesdays 8:30 – 10 pm
MIMI FOX (10 weeks) $365

New Class! 
Flamenco Guitar

This course is designed to provide jazz guitar students (and others interested in flamenco) with a basic understanding of the most important rhythmic forms and techniques in traditional and contemporary flamenco music.

Cultural and historic foundations are discussed, and participants explore a variety of both left- and right-hand techniques that enhance guitar playing in any genre.

Students have an opportunity to practice playing individually and as an ensemble; and guest artists drawn from the Bay Area’s extensive community of professional flamenco performers give students a taste of the exciting dynamics involved in accompanying singing and dancing.

Some prior guitar experience is recommended, and guitarists are encouraged to bring an acoustic nylon-string guitar, a recording device and a capo.

Saturdays 1:45 – 3:15 pm
DAVID GUTIERREZ (10 weeks) $365

Brazilian Guitar

Designed for intermediate to advanced students, this class covers different styles of Brazilian music focusing on rhythm as well as typical chord structure theory. Pick players please note: finger-style technique is used to play this style of music.

Sundays 2 – 3:30 pm
RICARDO PEIXOTO (10 weeks) $365

RELATED workshops

Exploring Jazz Guitar

This workshop, taught by world-class guitarist John Stowell, focuses on chord construction, chord melodies, scale substitution and building solo lines.

Sunday February 14, 11 am – 2 pm
john stowell 
$45 Jazzschool Students/$60 others
» BUY TICKETS

Portland-based guitarist John Stowell has published numerous popular jazz guitar method books and videos, most recently “Jazz Guitar Mastery,” which is available at Jazzschool Books and Records

The Mandinka Kora, A Harp of Sub-Sahara. (Lecture/Demonstration)

The Kora is a 21-string harp of Sub-Saharan West Africa. The Kora is played by an endogamous group of bardic musicians who are the keepers of history in Mandinka society. The Mandinka empire was one of the great empires of the 13th century, and its bardic traditions are one of Africa’s most conspicuous music exponents. In this lecture/demo Kane Mathis explains the musical mechanisims and social context for the Kora and the Mandinka bards. This lecture features plenty of musical demonstrations and lots of discussion of how music is learned in Africa and other high-context environments. High-context learning environments are learning situations where the student is trained specifically for the professional situations they will encounter after having completed their training, in many case they are even trained in those environments.

Sunday February 14, 11:45 am – 1:45 pm
kane mathis 
$15 general admission
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Kane Mathis has been making trips to West Africa for the last 13 years to study with families of hereditary musicians and his recordings are played regularly on Gambian national radio. Kane is highly active internationally as a performer in both traditional and contemporary contexts.

Jazz Guitar Voicings Vol 1: The Drop 2 Book

Veteran jazz guitarist Randy Vincent demonstrates concepts from his book, newly published by Sher Music. 
Have you ever wondered how guitarists like Joe Pass, Wes Montgomery and George Benson find such full, luscious
voicings for their chord melody playing? Well, much of that sound is based on the “drop 2” principle of chord voicings.

This book covers: