Worth the time and effort I put into learning the solo. Using Roberts fingering protocol helped me to navigate the fretboard and accomplish playing the many excellent phrases throughout the chart. This is my second completed solo and I'm working on the next solo for Rhythm Changes - Onward!
I just recorded One Note Samba, a much more uptempo version of the Ticket To Improv 2 solo. The first chorus is the conti solo and the second is my own improv using what I have learnt :) Hope Robert likes it, cheers!
(Excerpted from a jazz guitar discussion forum)
The genius of it, in my view, is that your fingers will say "Hey we've played this before" but your mind will be saying "But this is a different chord progression..." and you start seeing how licks and lines can be moved around. For a strong intermediate player or advanced player, these solos would not be very challenging; but for folks trying to learn improvisation using tunes, and for folks who also would like, as a secondary benefit, to actually end up with something they can play with friends or at pick-up jam sessions, it's quite helpful.
Dear Mr. Conti, I just wanted to tell you how "cool" and helpful your "ticket to improv" DVDs have been to me. I ordered awhile ago and kind of just stuck them in the corner and life got in the way and really didn't get a chance to dig into them. Now that I have, I can't believe I'm actually playing stuff that is "jazz guitar." Your words regarding just jumping in and playing really hit a nerve with me. I'm the classic "rock/blues" player that you referred to. I never thought I could play it because of my "lack of theory." Sure, I know some theory and scales but I wouldn't have been able to play this style without your help. I'm finally getting it! The fact that you are such a world class and quality player only adds to the impact of your words. Thanks so much for offering your teachings to all of us. Rock on! or should I Jazz on! Great stuff.
I would like to thank Mr. Conti for all of his products. I own four of his Source Code books, all of the Ticket T Improv, and two of the chord melody DVD's and I'll be purchasing more in the near future. My guitar has never sounded so good!
Hi! My name is Jim Brown. I am retired and I have been playing guitar since I was a child. I have had a very difficult time learning jazz improvisation. I started the Conti Ticket to Improv course about six months ago and have to say that I wish I found this course much earlier in my guitar career. I have tried many guitar books and courses in the past, with little success. Most courses emphasize theory, scales and licks. The Conti method uses whole songs and melodic lines. None of the other methods I have tried in the past have given me the access to the melodic lines needed to learn jazz guitar. In particular, this method covers melodic lines that run four measures, or more, you learn by playing actual jazz solos. The Conti approach is ideal for people trying to learn jazz who feel like their progress has stalled. Mr. Conti is one of the true New York Italian jazz guitar pros of the sixties. For those of you on a limited budget like myself the cost of the CDs in the ticket to improv series is ridiculously low, especially when using the new streaming option. Now is the time to get instruction from a jazz great before the opportunity is gone.
Facing upcoming retirement, I decided to learn to play guitar; after finding myself on a dead end street I found Mr. Cont's instructional videos. He has shown me the highways and avenues of music as well as the back roads. His approach to Guitar Jazz improvisation is unique and now I am playing Jazz concepts! His instructional videos are the best!
Mr Conti has improved my playing in countless ways. His books are true teachings in the Jazz art, especially for guitarist who never will be able to get lessons or sit in with the guitar professonals. I’m very happy with my repurchase of these important books.
This course is great. I have been on a journey to find all the resources I can on chord melody and I was super excited to discover Chord Melody Assembly Line. Robert teaches it in a way that is thorough and easy to understand and I have been able to quickly institute the concept into my playing even after just studying the first chord group. I definitely recommend and it's must for those looking to dig deeper into chord melody.
These strings hold up well and last a long time. I’ve never broken one either. As for instruction, Robert takes a different approach than most other folks. He’s always very clear with material he presents, and shows many different techniques and ways of approaching concepts. He takes it a step further than others, and doesn’t simply feed you a few lines to practice. He shows how he creates them, and what he bases them on, which is very helpful. He shows how other concepts fit and work together, in a way no one else has explained them. All I can say is that with his instruction, I’m doing things I never thought I’d be able to do. He is an absolute blessing!!!
Just started it, but as with all of the Conti instructional materials, it is fantastic! I’m not even a bop player. I love Jazz, but I also Love Freddie King, and BB King. Conti is helping me bring the two together. Good stuff as always!
Robert’s teaching style is a different, fun approach. To The Brink is an amazing album, something that anyone into jazz should own. It’s always a pleasure listening to any of his albums, and his lesson material is fantastic. My playing has done nothing but get exponentially better since the very first lesson. I never thought I’d be playing the way I do right now, and see signs of improvement daily.
Robert is truly a blessing!!!
I cannot tell you how happy I am with this material. I have been playing guitar since I was 15 but it was only last year that I developed an interest in Jazz guitar. I began searching for a teacher and ended up taking classes with a great teacher out of Philadelphia. That went really well. However, I found that I had to supplement a lot from websites and other sources. I picked up some things here and there but it wasn’t until I found Robert Conti’s material that I felt like I really found what I was looking for.
I do want to understand theory but I want it to come to me organically from playing and not from just studying and practicing scales, modes, arpeggios, etc. So, I ordered Ticket to Improv, Vol. 1 and The Comping Expo among other titles. In about 3 weeks, studying the material and focusing on Autumn Leaves, I learned the solo from Ticket to Improv and I learned the comping from The Comping Expo with all the wonderful chord substitutions. The way the chord options are presented in The Comping Expo is GENIUS. The result…. Well listen for yourself.
I recorded this track with a backing track (piano, bass, drums). All the guitar parts are me using Mr. Conti’s ideas and some of my own. Please share this with Mr. Conti and let him know that, thanks to him, for the first time since I started learning to play Jazz Guitar, I feel like I actually sound like a Jazz Player. THANK YOU ROBERT CONTI!
My best to Mr. C, it's refreshing to have a guitarist of his skills and stature take the time to advance the skills of other guitarists. The lessons are a bargain when compared to the thousands I spent on private instruction. Again, Thanks. And I will spread the word to my fellow guitarists here in the New Orleans area. I hope Mr. Conti makes an appearance here sometime in the not too distant future. I would love to hear him live and perhaps meet him personally. I am 58, been playing offand on for over forty years, currently retired and wanting to become the guitarist I always thought I could be. This looks to be a step inthe right direction.
I am finally getting a chance to work with Mr Conti’s excellent instruction. It’s great stuff!
I’m very impressed with the product I’m enjoying playing again after years of modes!
Dear Robert Conti Team.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to provide feedback.
It‘s only a few weeks that I‘ve started with the course, but I like it very much. For the first time with jazz courses, I have the impression of making music, playing jazz - despite my small talent - and that‘s a lot of fun. It‘s like what Robert said: you start with little bits, measure by measure just like learning a language using more and more words. Eventually you start playing and experimenting with these bits and develop further - and grow.
Thanks for offering me this opportunity and great experience after having put aside my guitar for over 3 decades.
Vera
