A few years back, I decided that the next step in my musical
journey was to become proficient in the jazz style. I realized
this because some of my favorite players were either jazz
players (or were using jazz elements in their soloing), and I
had no understanding about the harmony used, their note choices,
or the genre as a whole. In this article, I'll try to lay out
some of the the steps that I went through in order to gain a
better understanding of playing in the jazz style. Part I will
deal with the initial basics, and getting a grip on rhythm
playing. There are many guitarists who either play in the
jazz/rock style (like Al Dimeola or Larry Carlton), or who use
jazz elements in other genres (like Robben Ford in his blues
playing). All of these players have studied and can play pure
jazz. If you're simply interested in adding some jazz elements
to your existing style, it's true that you can learn a couple of
licks and chords, and know where to apply them. However, this
will only get you so far. The known