FretDojo

In this live session excerpt, Ryan and Greg discuss just which jazz songs and song forms to learn first for those who are early in their jazz guitar journey. Utilizing the '80/20 rule', these tunes will teach you the common chord progressions, turnarounds and song forms to enable you to play thousands of other songs!

Join hosts Ryan and Vin as they interview legendary guitarist and educator Rodney Jones of the Julliard School of Music on this episode of the Fret Dojo podcast

Joins Greg as he chats with one of Australia's leading classical guitarists, and an old friend, Daniel McKay.

Join hosts Ryan and Vin as they interview jazz guitarist and educator Dr. Davy Mooney of the University of North Texas on this episode of the Fret Dojo podcast.

Fret Dojo instructors Greg O’Rourke and Ryan Dillahay sat down with Rotem Sivan, just a few weeks before his new release in Jan 2024!

In this exclusive interview, Greg and Vin chat with Beth Marlis, long time professor and current Vice President of Musicians Institute

In this exclusive interview, Vin and Ryan chat with legendary jazz guitarist Jimmy Bruno

In this exclusive interview, Ryan pulls back the curtain on his evolution from blues to jazz. You'll hear how this recent college grad, and student of one of the most highly regarded jazz guitarists and educators in the country, made the leap into full-time musicianship, hustling gigs across town.

Choosing the right picking style is one of the mostly hotly debated topics in jazz guitar. Tune in today where we'll have an in-depth discussion on the different picking approaches for jazz guitar.

On today’s podcast, Greg and Vin interview one of jazz guitar’s leading player and educators, Barry Greene.

On today’s podcast, Greg and Vin interview one of jazz guitar’s leading player and educator, Sheryl Bailey.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Jy48Sn3ZTm8 In this fantastic session, Ant shares some tips and inspiration for jazz guitar players of all levels and lets us in on his unique way of playing with his guitar tuned in 4ths! Ant’s been described as “An innovator” and “A gamechanger” by The Guardian. Based in the UK, Ant lives in London where he leads the Ant Law Quintet.  In 2013 their debut album ’Enta...

On today’s Podcast, Carl Orr,  FretDojo’s current Artist In Residence, shares his insights into the magic of chord melody and the power that comes from tapping into the strength of guitar as a solo instrument. Check out the podcast here and listen to Carl’s story, as well as some very moving chord melodies he plays throughout the show: Join FretDojo’s online jazz guitar academy here Carl Orr Carl...

Here’s a simple but incredibly effective strategy that I’ve used over the years when I have been busy, but I still need to make time for my music. Check out the podcast below where I share it with you: Join FretDojo’s online jazz guitar academy here Transcript: Greg O’Rourke: Hi guys. Welcome to fretdojo.com. My name’s Greg O’Rourke and it’s great to have you listening along today. This website’s...

In today’s topic, I want to talk about something important. How hard is it, really, to learn jazz? Check out the podcast below where I answer this question: Join FretDojo’s online jazz guitar academy here Transcript: Hi guys. Greg O’Rourke here from the Fret Dojo Podcast. Visit my website, www.fretdojo.com to get your guitar playing to the next level. In today’s topic, I want to talk about somethi...

One of the biggest questions my readers write in about is: “Should I be using modes when improvising on jazz guitar?” The answer is: It depends. But, most likely there is a more effective approach for jazz guitar improvisation, using arpeggios and chord tones as a basis. Check out the podcast above which will reveal the reasons why. Join FretDojo’s online jazz guitar academy here

In this episode of the FretDojo.com Podcast I want to talk about three reasons why playing guitar is good for you – especially at the moment given the impact current world events have had on our lives. I’m recording this at the start of April, 2020 and there’s some pretty stressful stuff going on as well as facing living in never-seen-before circumstances. It’s important at times like these that w...

In this episode of the FretDojo.com Podcast, we dive into the topic of the true meaning behind the famous thing musicians say: “Listen to as much jazz as you possibly can.” Let’s talk about this and see how to approach it so that it can have a lasting effect on your skills on the guitar. Check out the podcast here: ​I’m sure you’ve heard this said by many great jazz players: “Listen to as much jaz...

In this episode of the FretDojo.com Podcast, lets dive deep into a topic that’s critical in your development as a jazz guitarist: The importance of jazz vocabulary – and how to go about learning it! Check out the podcast here: What made Joe Pass such an incredible jazz guitarist? Sure, he had great swing, a tasteful sense of how to shape a solo, and could play any hundreds of jazz standards at the...

In this episode of the FretDojo.com Podcast, I had the great pleasure of speaking with one of the world’s top guitarists Carl Orr, who shares the deep insights gained over his long career in music and important practice tips for any aspiring jazz guitarist. Check out the podcast here: Thanks guys, let me know what you thought about this interview by leaving a comment at the bottom of this page. Ch...

Today I want to share with you a fabulous conversation I had with Greg Stott, Associate Lecturer and Resident Jazz Guitarist at the Australian National University. In this podcast, Greg delves into: The biggest mistakes jazz guitarists make when it comes to practicing Greg’s thoughts on jazz online education and how it compares to more traditional university based teaching A sneak peek of Greg’s b...

This time on FretDojo, I’m excited to share with you an interview I recently had with world-wide touring latin jazz guitarist from Norway, Per Olav Kobberstad. Per Olav is one of those young, modern Latin jazz guitarists that are a breeze of fresh air and who are bringing all-welcome innovations to the genre. Just check out his credits: Per Olav is one of the few in the world playing 8-string acou...

This week on FretDojo, I’m happy to share with you an interview I recently held with internationally acclaimed jazz guitarist Howard Alden. Howard is one of the leaders of jazz guitar in the modern era. His accolades include: Student the Guitar Institute of Technology in 1977-78 with Herb Ellis, Joe Pass, and Howard Roberts Collaborations with Dick Hyman, Dan Barrett, Bucky Pizzarelli and many oth...

https://www.youtube.com/embed/iTms74tbBH8 It’s finally here: As the final post in the FretDojo.com series on jazz blues guitar I’ve featured this month, I’m honored to welcome critically acclaimed jazz guitarist Mark Whitfield, in this exclusive interview. Audio Version: Simply put, this was one of the best conversations about jazz guitar I’ve ever had, and I was thrilled that Mark had time in his...

I’ve got something special to share with you today. To kick off this month’s series on jazz guitar blues, you’re going to learn a complete transcription of highly acclaimed jazz guitarist Mark Whitfield’s solo from The Blues, from Way Back: a track from his classic debut album, The Marksman (1990). In today’s post, you’re going to learn: The reasons why studying transcriptions is so important for...