Great! Thanks for letting me know. Keep working at your comping, it's worth it.

Glad you liked it!

Glad to hear it, thanks for the feedback

Many thanks!

Thank you 🙌

Wow, thanks very much! I'm glad it was a good lesson.

Glad it was helpful!

Awesome, thank you!

Yes, the example here is in D Dorian. The technique can be applied in all keys, but best to play in whatever key each tune is in. You are quite right: be aware of the 6th.

Welcome aboard!

Thanks for subscribing - welcome aboard.

The solid body is a Westone Concord I, from the 1980s, and the archtop is an Orville by Gibson 175, also from the late 80s or early 90s. BOth made in Japan. Thanks for asking and I'm glad you liked the lesson. Cheers.

Not just an Australian problem

interesting question. I can't speak for other Australian jazz educators. It all depends on which stage of teaching & learning someone is up to. For jazz beginners chord tones alone aren't very successful. Focusing on key centres frees up students' attention to focus on more important issues like sound, style, time, and rhythm. Also, it isn;t as if that way of playing is foreign to jazz, it is a common approach used by many great players. In my approach, students begin by making music with key centres, then when the time's right for them, begin adding a focus on chord tones and voice leading. They end up able to play fluently & creatively through chord changes. It's a process with multiple steps and the steps along the way don't always look like the finished product will. But there are other approaches for sure and if something else works better for you, then that's wonderful. Also, in a way, every note in a scale IS a chord tone: either from the 7th chord, or an extension. It's an important question, though, and thanks for asking.

@@TeachingJazz I respectfully disagree that for jazz beginners chord tones aren't succesful. In my personal experience, starting off trying to learn jazz improv by learning scales was a waste of time. I wish I didn't have the books that misdirected me. When I finally learned that I need to practice chord tones and was given some great exercises from a great jazz guitarist in my town, my playing transform almost immediately. From there it was approach notes, enclosures and then finally, I was able to see a way how to incorporate scales. This is not just my personal journey, I have seen this confirmed with other people as well. People who start off studying scales and never really worked on chord tones tend to sound as if they play exercises and not music. I think it makes sense to start off with a pentatonic scale and then immediately jump to chord tones. Trying to incorporate modes, or even melodic/harmonic minor modes and symmetrical scales before knowing your way through chord changes by improvising with chord tones, is not only a waste of time, but it is incredibly frustrating and isn't conducive to sounding musically. When I was stuck learning scales, all I felt was frustration and I was questioning myself whether I have sufficient talent to do this. Chord tones were the game changer I needed. Furthermore, learning to solo using just chord tones will give a student an immediate sense of making the changes, which will help in learning tunes more effectively and also it helps the student to learn how to navigate song forms and not get lost. I don't see why this approach wouldn't be suitable for beginning students in jazz.

Why are there so many comments about "scale versus chord"? He's using extensions to add voice-leading. This could easily be applied to a dominant chord.

Approach guitar with what works for you. Learning scales as well as chord tones can only be an advantage. What works for you may not work for everyone.

It depends on what your goals are. If you’re playing trad jazz or swing and soloing modally, it might not sound right. If you’re playing a 1960s modal tune and just focus on the chord tones (not the upper tones), it also might not sound right. There isn’t a “right” answer, but I’d say you should learn both.

I genuinely don't understand this comment. He's describing the relationship between scale tones and chord extensions, and using them to create voice-leading in a comping situation. This is fundamental for any professional guitar player.