Soling over changes, Rick Stickney, Ibanez Artstar

Guitar Practice

Getting started soloing over jazz changes

A question guitarists often ask is “How can I get started soloing over common jazz chord changes?”.

A good starting point is to practice outlining the chord progression.

This works because:

• It helps you get the sound of the chord changes in your ears.
• It helps your hands remember the location of the chords
• It's the first step to get your solos to sound like the chord progression (and the song)
• Many jazz techniques (especially in BeBop) are focused around the chord tones.

So, how do we do this?

1. When there are 2 chords in a measure (in 4/4/ time), play the Root – 3 – 5 – 7 of each chord in a 1-&-2-& rhythm.

For example, over a D-7 to G7 progression:

 D-7             G7            
 1  &  2   &   3   &   4   &
 d  f   a    c   g   b   d    f 

If we expand that to a ii V I VI progression in the key of C, that looks like this:

2. When there is 1 chord per measure, play the Root – 3 – 5 – 7 of each chord TWICE, in a 1-&-2-&-3-&-4-& rhythm.

For example:

 D-7                             G7                    
 1  &  2  &  3  &  4  &  1  &  2  &  3  &  4  &
 d  f   a  c   d  f   a   c   g b  d   f   g  b   d  f

That looks like this:

➡️ Next steps:

• Create a backing track or a loop (using a looper pedal) of you playing this chord progression, and practice using this technique over it.
• Work on applying this to other positions of these chords
• Start applying this to other chord progressions.

Gear Showcase

Ibanez Artstar

While often best known for their guitars geared towards shredders, Ibanez makes some killer semi-hollow guitars that jazz and funk greats such as John Scofield and Eric Krasno have been playing for decades.

Ibanez makes Artstar Models in 2 main sizes:

• 'AS' models, which have a 15 3/4" body width, similar to Gibson's popular ES-335.
• 'AM' models, which have a smaller body width, ranging from 13 7/8" to 14 1/2" - so more in line with the Gibson ES-339.

Ibanez offers AS and AM models at various price points, from the high-end made-in-Japan Prestige models (such as the AS2000h and AM2000h), to lower priced models made in Indonesia (such as the AS153, AM153, and AS93).

The Prestige models feature a bit slimmer necks, and have some other differences (such as the AM2000h being nearly fully hollow), include Ibanez's 'Prestige fret edge treatment', and are of course built with Japan's renowned craftsmanship.

The lower-price Artcore models offer incredible value for the price, featuring ebony fretboards, and include Ibanez's popular proprietary Super 58 pickups (which are also in the Prestige models).

The Artstar necks stand out for their incredible playability, and the Super 58 pickups have a unique sound that's tough to find in other pickups.

One other cool feature included in certain Artstar models is Ibanez's tri-sound switch, which switches the neck pickup to either regular humbucking mode, single coil mode or parallel mode.

The Ibanez Artstar is one of the best semi-hollow/hollowbody guitar lines, and perfect for jazz, funk, blues, and rock.

If there's any criticism of this line, it's that they're offered in very limited choices in color/finish. Ibanez doesn't seem to refresh this line very often, and they've been using their same sunburst finish on these guitars for decades. I'd love to see them get more creative with the colors on their semi-hollow guitars, in the same way that brands like D'Angelico, Eastman, and others have in recent years.

Key Features:

• Set-in neck
• Flamed Maple top/back/sides
• 22 Medium jumbo frets
• Bound Ebony fretboard
• Bone nut
• Pearl/ Abalone block inlays
• Super 58 Custom humbucker neck pickup
• Super 58 Custom humbucker bridge pickup
• Tri-sound switch for coil splitting (in select models)
• Max body width: 15.75"
• Scale length: 24.7"
• Fretboard radius: 12"

Guitarist/Educator Spotlight

Rick Stickney, Tasty Guitar

Specializing in Funk, R&B, and Soul, Rick Stickney has played over 5,000 gigs all over the world - from Las Vegas to Bangkok, and even the North Pole!

In addition to his own bands, he has played with artists including bassist Marcus Miller, Jane L. Powell, Randy VanWarmer, Toto vocalist Joseph Williams - as well as performing for U.S. presidents.

Rick grew up listening to a wide range of music, including Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, George Benson, and Marvin Gaye, which helped shaped his guitar style.

In 2016, Rick started focusing on teaching, and launched Tasty Guitar. Rick has been consistently putting out amazing guitar lessons that are unlike any others.

Targeting intermediate and advanced players, Rick offers guitar lessons, courses, and eBooks focused on R&B, Soul, Funk and Blues guitar through his website, and on sites like TrueFire.

Rick's lessons stand out due to his ability to break down complex aspects of groove, feel, and much more into easy-to-grasp lessons. His lessons help students grow significantly as guitarists and musicians, and have earned praise from greats such as Leo Nocentelli, Steve Cropper, and Bootsy Collins.

In addition to many free lessons, Rick offers a membership program that features video lessons, guided rhythm courses, live workshops, professional backing tracks, and much more.

Rick also offers private guitar lessons over Zoom or Skype, with a personalized approach that will take your guitar playing to another level.

Check out Rick & Tasty Guitar: Website | YouTube | TrueFire Courses | Facebook

🎸 Trending

• Taylor Guitars announced the new 314ce Studio Special Edition acoustic guitar. The Grand Auditorium guitar features a solid, torrefied Spruce & solid Sapele back and sides, V-class bracing, rounded body edges, and a gloss body. Possibly most notably, it has a slightly narrower 1-11/16” nut width (the regular 314ce, and most other Taylor solid-wood guitars have a 1.75" nut width). It retails for $1,999 USD.
• Fender introduced the Telepath^™ Wireless System, which is designed to deliver full-frequency wireless audio with sparkling clarity across any stage.
• Gibson announced the Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Doubleneck. Featuring mahogany six and 12-string necks with custom Jimmy Page profiles, Indian rosewood fretboards, Jimmy Page Custombucker pickups with Alnico 5 magnets, the guitar can be yours for a cool $10k.
• 🎥 YouTuber Ben Eunson posted a new vid about why guitarists don't improve, and what to do about it.

Book Recommendation

The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll

The Birth of Loud is a fascinating book that details the early history of Fender, Gibson, and the electric guitar. It's a real fun read, and essential reading for guitar fans.