Play Your Guitar, The Way of the Jazz

Nope, I'm not going to talk about Jazz the Autobot from the Transformers. The jazz I'm going into is less complicated than a Transformers robot. It is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions.

You have heard of acoustic guitars and electric guitars, but have you heard of jazz guitars? Many never knew the existence of such a guitar. Nonetheless, I'm going to lay out a step-by-step guide on how to jazz up your play style. This step-by-step article has two prerequisites: Determination and a Jazz guitar.

Step 1: Get a Jazz Guitar

The first step that you need to take in order to learn jazz guitar is to get a jazz guitar(obviously). Many make the mistake of not getting a guitar and prefer to rely on the guitars the music school provides, if you decide to find a private tutor. It is not encouraged to rely on other people's guitars, as you need to practice at home too. So how do you look for a good guitar? For a total beginner, one that produces sound is sufficient. Advanced players are advised, however, to buy guitars from reputable companies such as Gibson. It is expensive, but it has high quality.

Step 2: Take up Jazz Guitar Lessons

After you get a reliable guitar, you are ready for the next step: taking jazz guitar lessons. Don't waste your time finding your own way to produce melodies. Now, you have 2 choices to learn how to play a jazz guitar. You can either find a private tutor at the local music school, or look up for online guitar courses. Private tutoring is much more expensive and time consuming, while online guitar courses boast timeless access to all the teaching materials and is a lot cheaper. Ultimately, it boils down to your own preferences as to which path you would want to take.

Step 3: Discipline Yourself and Practice

Congratulations on making this far! You are now halfway to playing your favorite songs! The last step of the whole process is to practice. Practice makes perfect, and nothing gets better unless you dedicate yourself and become disciplined enough to practice whenever your time permits. You will certainly not become the next best player in the world overnight, but as time passes, you will be playing a guitar like a professional. Therefore, discipline yourself and practice!