Some qualification here…

Although I’m a Jazz beginner, I’m not a beginning guitarist or musician. I’ve been playing for 21 years mostly rock and metal type stuff. I’ve even had about 18 months of Classical lessons so I can read music on a beginning/intermediate basis. In case you were wondering “hey – he said he just started taking lessons and is a beginner, but he’s blogging about playing outside lines, seems reasonably technically accomplished and seems to know quite a bit of theory” then that’s probably why.

I’ve picked up a whole bunch of knowledge and even some Jazz insights from books and magazines over the past few years from my own research and interest in improvisation and harmony so this isn’t an absolute cold start. Instead, think of my sojourn into being a student as getting disciplined and learning the ropes properly prior to going off and breaking all the rules.