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This is timely, and I signed up! I saw this post within the same day as watching his YouTube vid below on triads, which really illuminated to me the concept of soloing by using arpeggios. I've been reading that for a long time, but when I first attempted to get into Gypsy Jazz years ago that concept didn't click. I'm getting back into it now, and like many (I imagine) I come from years of playing blues box patterns, and it's a challenge to break out of that visual pattern when I look at the fretboard. For some reason his concept in this video and the way he explained things just clicked with me as a way to expand and use the entire length of the fretboard like I see so many do when playing Gypsy Jazz lead. As if to say: "Here are your new boxes, and here are places you can open them and climb through each one."
Yes sir it is difficult to break out of the old blues boxes, and I am sure the course will work well for you. For me, I picked up a copy of Getting into Gypsy Jazz guitar by Stephane Wrembrel - has exactly the same concept, only he uses four note chord shapes, which I like a bit better.
So, all good stuff, but I would also say that I like to hear the melody or some reference to it during any solo. If it is just arps, IMHO it can get just too abstract to keep my attention during the solo.
After all, these tunes were built upon the melodies, and that is why we still like 'em.
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So, all good stuff, but I would also say that I like to hear the melody or some reference to it during any solo. If it is just arps, IMHO it can get just too abstract to keep my attention during the solo.
After all, these tunes were built upon the melodies, and that is why we still like 'em.