2 Hour Lesson

hink of (the Benson technique, a stint at Troy Grady’s “Cracking the Code” website and even bought The Magnet and paid for a Technique Critique, and of course a smattering of YouTube videos by people who had real chops.) All of these approaches have helped many, and were of some benefit to me, but none of them got me where I needed to go. Then I had two lessons with Robert Conti (via Zoom) and now I’m on the way forward on two fronts. First, my picking is much better. Conti does not teach a specific method for picking; he saw what I was doing, made a few suggestions, and after a couple of weeks, I’m miles down the road in that respect. Thank God and Robert Conti! Second, the light is coming on in understanding how to APPLY the things I’ve learned. In one way, it’s easier than I thought, though in another, it’s demanding because it requires a more intense and disciplined focus than I’m used to having while improvising. Learning is necessary, and that includes learning how to use what you have learned! Robert Conti is giving me more help with this than any other teacher I have consulted (and there have been a bunch of ’em!) He might do as much for you.Update: Phew! I’m working hard (playing the lines, over and over) and learning how to use them. It’s great to get feedback (-even if it’s that I gaffed something up) and a pro’s assessment of where I am and what I need to work on. Also, getting a link to download the video of the lesson is a tremendous value: I can go over and over the lesson, making sure I’m playing something right or understanding a concept fully.Update: Lesson #4 was the best so far. The work assigned in the first two lessons is paying dividends. I’m getting better and am inspired to get better still. When I get really good, I’ll buy a Conti guitar to celebrate my arrival at “Good.” (Not great but good.)
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ncerting. However those issues appear to have been at my end so no fault of Robert or his technical team. While I was playing, Robert very quickly spotted that I was not sticking strictly to the fingering protocol having slipped into the bad habit of not using my pinky. He advised me to rectify this and explained his reasoning. We then moved onto my question which had been how learning Robert’s solos would enhance my ability to improvise. Robert clearly and efficiently demonstrated how a simple 4 note riff could be used over different chords and why they worked. The lesson far exceeded the allotted time and throughout Robert was patient when I made mistakes and offered so much advice from his own 60 years of experience. He is a great guitarist and also a wonderful teacher whose enthusiasm is infectious and I found the lesson to be an inspiration to me. Robert squeezed more into an hour than I learned in the last 5 years. I am extremely grateful to Robert for his time and for making the lesson so rewarding and enjoyable. I now can’t wait to get stuck into Ticket to Improv Vol 2.
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to review my personal history, music experience, and to assess my technical skills. He came well prepared for my lesson (3 handout documents) with a focus on improvisation, as requested. He “tuned” this first lesson to my level of interest and playing ability.His approach to improvisation is direct, different, and perhaps unique. He presents a down-to-earth focus on fingering the fretboard rather than using a theoretical approach of pairing various scales/modes to each chord in a progression, one at a time.Robert demonstrated the wide application of major scale riffs to a surprisingly wide range of chords built from the major scale. This simplification avoid overthinking (my bad habit) which creates lock-up, anxiety, and lag when suddenly called upon to solo on the jazz bandstand. He played these riffs over backing tracks “live” that he called out to Mike who played the audio files on-demand. Both Robert and Mike were attentive to my music lesson. Robert concluded the lesson with additional tips and a clear assignment and challenge to be completed before a future lesson.To conclude, the “hands-on” Conti method avoids over-complicating the improvisation process and it will re-energize my daily practice routine.
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ractice in the woodshed. It was particularly enlightening to hear how he approaches improvisation over certain chord changes and this is something I look forward to picking his brains about in future sessions too on other standards. Roberts teaching approach is something that stands out - he has a way of making you feel comfortable and engaged whilst also being very to the point. I particularly appreciated that he didn’t waste precious time just having me play things over and over as from experience a lot of ‘teachers’ seem to do that instead using the time to impart as much advise and information they can on the student - often a means to get more money out of students and not give too much away in terms of valuable information. As Robert said - he’s not here to teach someone how to play, he’s there to show you what to play and why etc. this is exactly what I need. He had me play the lines to get them under my fingers and ensure I understood the concepts and knew that I am to take them away to practice in my own time. This allowed Robert to use all the time available to feed me more and more ideas and pearls of wisdom.I will most certainly be booking another lesson after I’ve got some more practice in as there are many more things I’d like to ask Robert and certainly a lot for me to learn!
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had his tech email me three pages, which we spent the remainder of the lesson on. During the analysis of those pages, he answered the question I had not asked, which was how do I apply the Etudes from The Precision Technique and the few lines I learned in the Jazz Lines to a song. By focusing me on Green Dolphin Street, he answered this question and gave me some wonderful homework. The most important impact of the lesson though, was that Robert has helped me integrate and focus all of the skills and knowledge I’ve developed over the years into a direction that will allow me to improvise lines easily. Handing someone a scale book or a list or arpeggios to learn is like handing someone a fishing pole and walking off without telling them to thrown the line in the water. Robert wants you to land a big fish…tonight at the gig.
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been amazing and his teaching style fits with the way I need to learn.Robert teaches a no modes/no scales method...and he hates that I use the word “method”. Make no mistake though the guy knows his music theory. Not only does it sound good to your ear but he can explain at a Ph.D. level why it sounds good.Do yourself a favor and take a lesson from the guy. I guarantee you will walk away with something new. Every week I have met with him save a few times when I was traveling and I walk away exhausted and energized.He has completely changed my playing...for the good. He’s a rare combination of being a stellar player who can teach.
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rst 4 licks together and then started applying them immediately into the chart he sent. He talked about what to think about when applying these licks over the chords and theoretically why they work over the chords. Also, how to use these phrases over more chords and why they work over those chords. He talked about my technique, the equipment I used (strings, picks, etc...) to get a great sound from my instrument, and lots about the music. Robert teaches in a studio with an assistant that plays chords and backing tracks as Robert demonstrates playing the stuff we're working on. This really helped save time and our workflow was quick and efficient in the lesson. About an hour after my lesson was over, he sent me the video of my entire lesson. This is invaluable! I, like most people, cannot remember everything that was said in a 2 hour lesson a week later. Now I have a great reference video to go back and watch Robert play and talk about what I'm working on. Robert has the online teaching game down! With great content, fast workflow, great knowledge and all the extras like the video file and handouts, this was one of the most professional online lessons I've ever taken.
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professionally before I graduated and got a corporate job in early 2012. My previous musical experience has been strictly within original and cover rock, blues, and folk music and I had no real experience with jazz prior to taking these lessons besides a dozen lessons or so I took with a local jazz player 11 years ago. Also, I bought most of Robert's books and DVD's in 2015 but that's about it in terms of my previous "jazz" experience.During the last 10 years, where I have been working full time in the corporate world, had kids, etc., my guitar practice has only been sporadic. Besides learning a new song here and there, I didn't really play or practice in structured fashion. Working +full time as a lawyer, having small kids, and other competing interests made it difficult for me to play consistently.At some points though, I did feel the "urge" to play and tried to get back on the horse. For instance, I worked through the Chord/Melody Assembly Line and some of the Ticket to Improv solos a few years ago (great products btw, which I highly recommend).Since I started listening to jazz in 2008, I have been wanting to learn this style. My first step was to learn from the usual free stuff on the Internet, which got me into new scales, arpeggios, and chords, etc. When I took jazz lessons in 2010 I got turned on to transcribing jazz solos, which paid huge dividends in terms of language and opening my ears. But I still never felt like I "got" it. Like most others starting on this path, I got the impression that you are supposed to know all music theory, scale fingerings, chord inversions, etc. before you can learn to play jazz. As a disciplined guy, I trusted this process and spent years (literally) running scales, arpeggios, chord exercises, transcribing licks, etc. but for some reason, I was never able to merge this attained knowledge and these playing tools into "one" and actually play jazz and improvise over jazz standards.When I got Roberts books and DVD's, I knew I was onto something. After working through the Chord/Melody Assembly Line, I was able to make simple chord/melody arrangements. Actually play my own arrangements of jazz standards. But life got in the way I didn't manage to stick with it consistently.Fast forward until 2020. The Covid19 pandemic had shut down most of society and I've been working from home for almost a year. While being a rough period in general, for my family it was also a time to take stock of our lives. I worked too much and felt bad not spending more time with my family. Also, I knew and felt that I had to make music a part of my life again. I decided to leave the law firm I worked at and got a new job with much better working hours allowing for more family time and time to play music. I started practicing consistently again and I made a plan to study Roberts books and continue with learning solos.However, after a few months of this, I discovered the possibility to take Skype lessons with Robert. I was intrigued about the idea of getting personal feedback and having the structure of a weekly session and booked one lesson. During my first lesson he threw some lines and some very high impact concepts at me, which opened completely new doors to me, and he had me improvise to On Green Dolphin Street. Playing jazz and improvising with a few devices immediately. I had just seen the tip of the iceberg and immediately made a promise to myself to stick with the lessons every week.So what have I learned during the last 3 months? I've basically learned to practice improvisation first and foremost (by playing it). As someone with sufficient technical chops on the guitar, we spend most of my lessons on getting my "brain up to speed with my fingers" as Robert would say. I assume this depends on the strengths and weaknesses of the student. My weakness is not being able to use the technique and knowledge I have because I've skipped this most important step of applying these tools to actual music.I learn a new new standard every week on my own, which forms the basis of the lesson. Robert then teaches me lines and explains how to use them and the necessary theory. I practice it, vary it, and try to make it my own. Also, I get honest feedback. It's a very organic process and I get the whole package in terms of jazz language and understanding it.Robert Conti is a monster player and educator and really knows his stuff. I highly recommend taking Skype lessons with Robert!(I've uploaded a short video of an improvisation over Bluesette, filmed by my father at a family reunion from a month ago, using some of the devices I've learned in my lessons.)
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me he takes one hour more because he understood I’m very interested with music and motivated to work hard on his material).He speaks to you as if you were his own son, you are immediately so confident with him, although you can be somehow nervous at the beginning haha! He really wants you to become the best player you can be!He gives all the material you need, can answer to any question that comes in your mind, and highly motivates you to work hard. He will give immediately new ideas that you can incorporate to your playing instantly.Believe me, I’m a professional player, and my playing is getting on a new level with Bob’s approach! I just can tell this material is fantastic and I will work all his DVDs (AND I LIKE THAT HE MAKES NEW ADVANCED DVD SERIES !!!)So, work on his material, prepare a few questions and HAVE A PRIVATE LESSON WITH BOB YOU WON’T REGRET IT! May these few words be helpful for passionate jazz guitarist, and let’s share with everyone what we learn with Bob, because transmission of this wonderful art is highly important! THANKS AGAIN MR. ROBERT CONTI !!!
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Bob’s amazing solo’s, I dived into his many learning materials, really fun stuff. However, it is when I decided to up my commitment to learning bebop and I started taking private online lessons with Bob that things started to click. After just three lessons now I have a new way to approach soloing, and how to tie together great lines throughout the tune.I am very confident that Bob’s effective and supportive teaching style has enough push and challenge to get me to those next levels. As Bob told me, “The journey is even more fun than the destination.” He’s right, and I am jazzed about that journey.
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interesting and spent a lot of time with me making sure I understood what he was showing me. He had loads of examples and stories to back up the points he was demonstrating and, without being full of himself or showing any conceit, demonstrated just how full of knowledge, skill and wisdom he is.He’s also a funny and sharp-witted man who, if I ever had the opportunity of meeting with him in person, I’d love to spend time talking about all sorts of random subjects with him – I’ll bet he has opinions on all sorts of things!The courses I’ve bought from Robert have all been excellent. Without a doubt they’re the most informative and practical learning tools for guitar I’ve ever purchased and have made an enormous difference to my playing, my enjoyment and understanding. I use them even when I don’t have a guitar – I have the videos loaded on to my iPad with the scanned text in another window and watch them whenever I’m travelling or have time to spare. I just watch and learn and get big benefits without even playing. And, of course, I’m a big fan of Robert’s way of engaging – I like a confident, committed style that’s buzzing with enthusiasm and a love for the subject matter.You may have gathered that I’m a big fan – absolutely true – but I’m not a fan boy. I coach people in sports and business on the mental side of high performance (www.rossmackenzie.net) and my appreciation of Robert’s skills and style are based on my professional as well as my personal experience of him. He’s a top man.
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