Jumpstart Jazz Guitar

09/05/2026

OVER 50? AVOID THESE JAZZ GUITAR PRACTICE MISTAKES
https://youtu.be/wc11G7H0RmQ

When I first became a professor, I rarely had much time or energy left to practice guitar.

So on Saturday mornings, I’d sit in my home studio for a few hours and “practice.”

Mostly, I just played tunes over backing tracks.

It was fun, and it helped some. But a week later, a lot of it hadn’t stuck. I was basically treading water.

It took me years to develop a practice method that was both efficient and easy to stick with.

The difference is huge.

I played a gig today and added FIVE TUNES TO MY SET IN JUST TWO DAYS.

Not because I practiced for hours. I just knew what actually needed work.

That’s what my latest video is about:

If you’re practicing jazz guitar but not seeing the progress you ex...

08/19/2026

Jazz theory should eventually make the music easier to hear, not harder to play.

When I first started simplifying my improvisation with pentatonics, it freed me up to concentrate much more on sound and expression.

But I still wasn’t always locking into the chord changes as clearly as I wanted.

The answer wasn’t learning more scales.

It was learning to recognize the handful of places where the harmony really changes and knowing which sound makes that change come alive.

In my latest video, I show you how I do that with It Could Happen to You. What looks like a complicated set of changes turns out to be much simpler once you know what you’re looking for.

And with enough practice, you stop thinking about those notes altogether. You start hearing them.

That’s where theory becomes music.

https://youtu.be/jyO9Su4zKGE

01/17/2026

New private lesson: The Right Way to Jazz Guitar (Part 1)

If jazz has felt intimidating or overly theory-heavy, this is a better starting point. In Part 1, I’ll show you the first step that helps jazz finally click—and I’ll guide you through a simple listening exercise.

It’s free for members inside my Patreon community. Join here:
https://www.patreon.com/c/GeorgeHessMusic

Watch for Part 2 on Monday and Part 3 on Wednesday.

Jazz Guitar Made Simple

01/10/2026

🎸 New YouTube lesson is live:
“How to Turn the Minor Pentatonic Scale into Jazz (3 Simple Steps)”

Pentatonic is the one sound most guitarists can hear right away—but the standard boxes often make it sound boxed in and a little bland.

In this video, I show you 3 simple steps to turn minor pentatonic into a more convincing jazz sound—without drowning in theory.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/G8M9Mu0tIr0

And at the end I share the bigger truth: none of this really works unless you know what the music should sound like and you truly know your tunes. That’s why I’m putting together a live 5-day workshop starting Jan 26 to help you learn a tune by ear (melody + changes) so it actually sticks. More on that soon.

What’s the biggest thing you struggle with: making pentatonic sound like jazz or remembering tunes?

🛑 Be the first to know about my upcoming workshop on learning tunes. If the idea of learning tunes by ear—and getting out of the Fake Book—hits home, I made...

09/20/2025

Feeling stuck in your jazz guitar playing?
You’re not alone — a recent survey in my Patreon group showed that not making progress is the single biggest frustration.

The good news: you can fix it.
In my latest video, I break down why most practice routines don’t work and show you how to practice the right way, so you actually improve.

==============================================FREE TRIAL LESSON: Book a call todayhttps://lessons.jumpstartjazzguitar.com/freejazzguitarclassFREE PDFs suppor...

08/09/2025

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝘂𝗹𝘁 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗷𝗮𝘇𝘇?

It’s not age. It’s not talent. And it’s not that you’re not practicing enough.
The truth is—you’re probably going about it the wrong way. I sure did.

In this video, I break down five common mistakes I see all the time, and show you how to start making real progress—without spending hours a day or relearning everything from scratch.

🎥 Watch it here: https://youtu.be/gGEa5A9JNGs

07/16/2025

If you watch enough YouTube videos, you might get the impression that playing the right notes is all you need to be able to play jazz.

So why doesn’t it work?

There are things no one told me that I had to figure out on my own. Hey, it only took 50 years.

In this video, I share five of the most important lessons I learned that will change the way you think about learning jazz and make it fun a lot sooner.

06/26/2025

IMHO, the Blues is essential for any jazz guitarist.

One of my favorite things to do is play solo guitar and jam on it.

In this video, I show you how to get started all based on just four chord forms.

05/06/2025

In my latest video, you’ll learn to create a simple solo guitar version of Watch What Happens. using voicings you already know. If you’re an intermediate player, you can do this.

https://yt.openinapp.co/ipvb6

04/16/2025

Most beginning jazz guitarists think about scales and theory when they solo—and it shows. In this video, learn a simple exercise that will teach you to engage your ear, so you can play with feel, not fear.
https://yt.openinapp.co/aix86