Jazz Guitar With Dennis Hodges

Genre and Style Guitar Course from Dennis Hodges

Dennis Hodges teaches jazz for students with a rock background. In this series you will learn to play jazz chord progressions and licks without theory being forced upon you.

24 Lessons

Complete course with step-by-step lessons and practice examples.

Multi-Camera

Course filmed with 6 cameras for the perfect angles.

84% Appoval

114 of 124 of our members have given this their approval.

Tabs & Info

Download tabs, helpers, JamTracks and docs included with lessons.

Included

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Full Course Breakdown

This series features comping and soloing in a variety of keys. Dennis has arranged each lesson so that you can learn the example piece first and then learn about the theory in the following scene.

1

F Blues Solo

Dennis kicks off the lesson series with a lesson on an F major blues solo.

27:19 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

2

F Blues Comping

Dennis covers the rhythm accompaniment to the F blues solo presented in the previous lesson.

16:58 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

3

Bb Blues Solo

Learn how to play a 12 bar jazz blues solo in Bb. Dennis provides an in depth analysis of the solo from a theoretical standpoint.

20:30 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

View this Lesson
4

Bb Blues Comp

Dennis teaches the accompaniment part to the Bb blues solo taught in the previous lesson.

13:03 Runtime

2.0 Difficulty

5

Eb Blues Solo

Learn a 12 bar jazz blues solo in Eb.

21:55 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

6

Eb Blues Comping

Learn how to accompany a 12 bar jazz blues in the key of Eb. Dennis uses a walking bass line and three note chord voicings for this particular accompaniment.

18:58 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

7

Ab Blues Solo

Learn this Ab jazz blues solo taught by Dennis Hodges.

21:18 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

8

Ab Comping Lesson

Dennis explains the accompaniment part to the Ab blues solo taught in lesson 7.

14:14 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

9

Db Blues Solo

Dennis teaches a jazz blues solo in Db major.

20:45 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

10

Db Blues Comping Lesson

Dennis teaches the accompaniment part to the solo in lesson 9.

7:46 Runtime

0.5 Difficulty

11

Gb Blues Solo

Learn this Gb blues in 6/4 time based on the Miles Davis tune "All Blues."

12:42 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

12

Gb Blues Comping

Dennis teaches the accompaniment to the solo in lesson 11.

12:58 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

13

B Blues Solo

Dennis continues his straight ahead jazz series with a lesson on a jazz blues solo in B.

18:59 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

14

B Blues Comping

Here's a lesson on jazz blues accompaniment with a walking bassline.

12:54 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

15

E Blues Solo

Learn jazz guitar with this straight-forward look at a solo in E major.

13:52 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

16

E Blues Comp

Learn the accompaniment part to the solo in lesson 15.

3:28 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

17

A Blues Solo

Dennis Hodges continues his growing Jazz-Blues series with a lesson on a solo in A.

15:33 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

18

A Blues Comp

Learn the accompaniment to the solo in lesson 17.

11:14 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

19

D Blues Solo

Learn jazz with a straight-forward lesson on a solo in D.

21:39 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

20

D Blues Comp

Learn the accompaniment to the solo in lesson 19.

10:00 Runtime

2.5 Difficulty

21

G Blues Solo

Here is a very "outside" and modern sounding jazz-blues solo. The timing is very important here! This is one of the trickier solos that Dennis teaches in this series.

18:00 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

22

G Blues Comp

Learn the rhythm accompaniment for lesson 21.

3:00 Runtime

1.5 Difficulty

23

C Blues Solo

Here is the final solo to learn for this jazz series. This solo is inspired by the great bebop saxophonist Charlie Parker.

15:00 Runtime

4.0 Difficulty

24

C Blues Comp

Here is the final lesson for Dennis Hodges jazz series. Learn the comping for lesson 23.

12:00 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

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  • Columbus, Ohio
  • Playing since 1994
  • 109 lessons at JamPlay
For better or worse, Dennis Hodges cannot stop playing music, and (he hopes) will never stop playing music.

Growing up in Flint, Michigan, Dennis had a tremendous passion for drawing. He couldn't stop copying moves from bands he saw on MTV, though, and it didn't help that his parents filled the house with Santana, Stevie Ray, and Allman Bros. (on real records, no less!) so it wasn't long till he got his first guitar. It was junk. Within a few weeks his parents traded in a poor acoustic for a less junky 3/4-size electric.

Dennis started lessons right away at the age of 8. He still remembers hating it for awhile, and not taking it seriously until he was 12. He is thankful his parents forced him to practice early on and kept paying for lessons, even though rational thinking should have stopped them after a year.

Around this time drawing became less important, and guitar consumed all his attention. After 6 years of lessons he parted ways with his teacher and, after trying out two others with no results, decided to continue alone. His nerdistic tendencies paid off, as he put in hours working on picking and left hand exercises and learned as many Randy Rhoads and Kirk Hammett solos as he could.

Luckily, there were playing opportunities at school talent shows and church. Dennis was playing bass at his church when he was 13, helping to hone his performance skills in a group setting.

In high school, Dennis joined the marching band on sousaphone for all 4 years. It was as awesome as you could expect. He was also fortunate enough to be in several different metal bands, still play at church, and get the incredible opportunity to play guitar for many local community theaters. This kept his sight-reading in shape and gave him an appreciation for different styles of music (and paid pretty well, from a high schooler's perspective).

In 2001, Dennis came to Bexley, Ohio to study guitar at Capital University with Stan Smith. His studies emphasized jazz and classical guitar. Here his metal past merged with a deeper understanding of the instrument and music in general, and the basis for most of his teaching style was set in motion.

Dennis now plays guitar for Upper Arlington Lutheran Church every Sunday, for St. Christopher in Grandview, Ohio, with the youth group, and also plays for touring Broadway shows that stop in Columbus. Occasionally, he plays weddings and private parties, and he is starting a new cover band with some friends, called Dr. Awkward. He is blessed to have his understanding and supportive wife Kate, and is glad to be at JamPlay!
Reviews & Feedback 84/100 with 124 ratings
Stringz11

Great lesson!

neuromancer76

i like how he keeps it simple. Doesnt over complicate. and kinda funny to watch

vinaygideon

It probably IS easy to understand, I probably need to have some basics which I don't quite have( slow when reading notation or need to study slowly the tablature first. I think it IS basically what I needed, so overall good lesson.

justlittleoleme

looking for this sort of great sound to entertain myself . .thanks! ill work on the rhythm and the tabs and keep moving forward .

Phoxxmann

Perfect instruction

martynjdjones

This one is tough. I like Dennis's sense of humour.

carhart

This teacher is funny and nice to follow. Really like his jazz class. Would watch more of his classes.

Paul.jeffs

well laid out - easy-ish to follow, and sounds OK too!