Lesson 3 of 41GuitarBeginner

Meet Rob Luft

3:02

Meet Rob Luft, a London jazz guitarist who has toured six continents and played with Gregory Porter and Django Bates, and your tutor for this Grade 2 course.

Part of the courseRockschool Guitar Grade 241 lessons (2h 51m)

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What's in the course

41 lessons (2h 51m) · 1 free

- 01. Welcome to the online course
  1:33
- 02. Meet Charlie Griffiths
  1:23
- 03. Meet Rob Luft
  You are here
  3:02
- 04. Meet Stuart Ryan
  1:52
- 05. Meet Marcus Bonfanti
  2:12
- 01. Cranked
  1:23
- 02. Ska'd for life
  1:29
- 03. Bonecrusher
  Free lesson
  1:18
- 04. Hit It Harder
  1:23
- 05. The Faith Divide
  1:31
- 06. Buzzsaw
  1:26
- 01. Cranked
  7:53
- 02. Ska'd for life
  5:57
- 03. Bonecrusher
  16:43
- 04. Hit It Harder
  10:35
- 05. The Faith Divide
  13:40
- 06. Buzzsaw
  6:57
- 01. Intro to technical exercises
  2:44
- 02. Tech advice (early grades)
  3:10
- 03. Rob Luft on how to practice exercises
  3:28
- 04. Group A: Scales
  1:38
- 05. Group B: Chords
  2:29
- 01. How to hold guitar and pick
  3:47
- 02. Picking hand position
  2:22
- 03. Fretting hand position
  2:44
- 04. Alternate picking
  3:08
- 05. Legato (hammer-ons & pull-offs)
  5:29
- 06. Barre chords
  6:15
- 07. Vibrato
  7:37
- 01. Intro to Approaches to improvisation
  1:00
- 02. Getting started with improvisation
  9:22
- 03. Assignment: Finding chord tones
  4:05
- 04. Improvising using chord tones
  10:18
- 05. Adding rhythmic interest to your solos
  4:11
- 06. Assignment: Improvising over a chord change
  2:52
- 07. Challenge: Submit your improv
  0:24
- 08. Rhythmic improv & comping
  9:55
- 01. Sight reading tips
  1:51
- 01. Course outro
  0:32
- 02. About Rockschool exams
  0:30
- 03. Preparing for your Rockschool exam
  1:28

Lesson transcript

Welcome to the Jazz Course

Hi there! My name's Rob Luft. I'm a guitar player from London specializing in jazz music and its related genres, including:

World Music
High Life from Africa
Samba from Brazil
Eastern European Folk

I'm on a journey to explore different styles from across the globe, and I'm excited to be your jazz tutor for this course.

Background

I've been a professional jazz musician on the London scene for nearly 10 years, collaborating with renowned artists such as:

Django Bates
Gregory Porter
Kerys Matthews

I started my journey playing in the National Youth Jazz Orchestra of Great Britain and later studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Baker Street. After graduating with several awards, I won second prize in the Montreux Jazz Festival's Jazz Guitar Competition in 2016. Since then, I have performed across six continents, including tours in:

South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile)
Europe

I've delighted sellout audiences with my original music and am fortunate enough to be signed to Edition Records, Britain's flagship independent jazz label. I have one album out and am currently working on my second.

Course Objectives

My role in this course is to guide you through various jazz pieces that will aid your development as a professional guitarist. Here are some highlights of what we'll cover:

Different Styles Under the Jazz Umbrella:
- Jazz Fusion: Advanced picking techniques, alternate picking, engaging right-hand techniques, and exotic scales.
- Samba and Bossa Nova: Focusing on fingerstyle technique.

Ultimately, I want you to enjoy yourself and immerse in this material. I hope these lessons will inform your playing and provide a wealth of learning opportunities.