Just Friends is in G; clumps of its chord changes fit into various (mostly major) keys; you need to know the scales; you need to know the chords; if you had to pick one, I'd say learn the chords. The other notes will find their way in there. So let's just break the tune down to a collection of chord arpeggios as a place to start. I picked one place on the neck, 8th/9th position. Here are the arpeggios over all the changes in the tune:
One bit of "jazz folklore" has this or that musician playing some difficult tune in every key, every possible way. So a lot of us come up feeling guilty that we can't play, say, Just Friends all up and down the neck in every key. First of all, unless there's a singer involved, you will play it in this key - nobody else got around to doing it in all twelve keys either. Secondly, you can only solo over it in one place or key at a time. You play a hot solo in 8th/9th position, and nobody will know or care that you can't do it in the key of 6-sharps standing on your head.
That's a roundabout way of saying just do this. And when think you've got it pretty well in hand, try improvising over Just Friends, limiting yourself those same arpeggios. You might be surprised to discover that it doesn't sound half bad! So, something like this:
The iReal app is great for working on stuff ad infinitum; you can program the changes in and let it play as long as you want, at whatever tempo you like. Do change the tempo up from time to time, you don't want to get "tempo muscle-memory" (it does happen!) Gradually let some non-chord tones creep into your soloing, maybe a little chromaticism as well. If it's going well, you're playing chords in a scale-y way, and scales in a chord-y way, and not being quite aware of which is which. Or caring!
see ya.
One bit of "jazz folklore" has this or that musician playing some difficult tune in every key, every possible way. So a lot of us come up feeling guilty that we can't play, say, Just Friends all up and down the neck in every key. First of all, unless there's a singer involved, you will play it in this key - nobody else got around to doing it in all twelve keys either. Secondly, you can only solo over it in one place or key at a time. You play a hot solo in 8th/9th position, and nobody will know or care that you can't do it in the key of 6-sharps standing on your head.
That's a roundabout way of saying just do this. And when think you've got it pretty well in hand, try improvising over Just Friends, limiting yourself those same arpeggios. You might be surprised to discover that it doesn't sound half bad! So, something like this:
The iReal app is great for working on stuff ad infinitum; you can program the changes in and let it play as long as you want, at whatever tempo you like. Do change the tempo up from time to time, you don't want to get "tempo muscle-memory" (it does happen!) Gradually let some non-chord tones creep into your soloing, maybe a little chromaticism as well. If it's going well, you're playing chords in a scale-y way, and scales in a chord-y way, and not being quite aware of which is which. Or caring!
see ya.
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