There’s No Straight Line in Learning Jazz Guitar

Hey folks, it’s Marc from JazzGuitarLessons.net, and today I want to talk about something that comes up all the time—the idea of a step-by-step curriculum for learning jazz guitar.

Spoiler alert: there isn’t one.

The Myth of the Perfect Curriculum

For years, I’ve taught online, answered YouTube comments, and worked one-on-one with students. And one of the biggest things I hear is:

"Marc, what’s the correct order to learn jazz guitar? What’s the syllabus? What’s A, B, and C so I can be sure I’m doing it the right way?"

And my answer is always the same: There is no one-size-fits-all curriculum.

Sure, structured learning can help. You can follow a book, take a course, or work through a method. But music isn’t like becoming an engineer where you follow a set syllabus to get a degree. Jazz is a language.

So if you want a real “curriculum,” here it is:
✅ Learn the songs you want to play.
✅ Figure out how to comp and improvise over them.
✅ Let the music itself be your guide.

That’s it. That’s the secret.

Stop Waiting for Perfect Conditions

Another big thing I see is people waiting for perfect conditions before they start practicing:

👉 “I need to be in the right mood.”
👉 “I need to fully understand this concept before I play it.”
👉 “I need to have a clear roadmap before I start.”

These are all excuses that stop you from actually playing.

Look, I’m making this video without my usual setup. It’s not perfect, but I’m still doing it. That’s discipline. And discipline in music means playing even when you don’t feel ready—because if you only play when conditions are perfect, you won’t get very far.

The Power of Sheer Volume

There’s a balance between playing the right things and just playing a lot.

Yes, understanding music theory and working on exercises is important. But nothing beats sheer playing time. The more you play, the more you’ll stumble upon the things that matter—just like learning a language through immersion rather than studying grammar rules for years before saying a single word.

The Jazz Guitar Road Is NOT Straight

Imagine we surveyed 1,000 jazz guitarists—not just the legends, but solid players who can improvise, comp, and gig regularly. If we asked them, “What’s the exact step-by-step way you learned jazz?” we’d get 1,000 different answers.

If there really was a single correct method, everyone would follow it. But there isn’t.

Learning Jazz is Like Learning to Drive

Think about learning to drive. You didn’t have to master every road sign, every weather condition, and every possible traffic scenario before you got behind the wheel. You just started driving, and along the way, you encountered stop signs, pedestrians, bad weather, and all the unpredictable things that make up real-world driving.

Jazz is the same way. Start playing, and you’ll encounter the things you need to learn as you go.

The Fallacy of “I Need to Learn X Before I Can Play Y”

So many students think, “I can’t play ‘Body and Soul’ until I master all my arpeggios, scales, inversions, and voicings.”

That’s simply not true.

You learn by doing. If you want to play “Body and Soul,” start playing it. Sure, you’ll hit roadblocks, but those roadblocks will tell you exactly what you need to work on.

Wisdom From My Teacher

About 20 years ago, I was struggling. I felt like nobody wanted to play with me, I wasn’t good enough, and I was lost in the sea of scales and theory. So I asked my teacher, James Williams (amazing Montreal guitarist), for advice.

His answer? “It’s persistence, Marc. The longer you stay in the game, the better the game gets.”

That changed everything for me.

Final Thoughts

If you take nothing else from this, remember:

🎸 There is no straight-line curriculum for jazz guitar.
🎸 Stop waiting for perfect conditions—just play.
🎸 You learn by playing songs, not by completing a checklist.
🎸 The longer you stick with it, the better it gets.

Now go pick up your guitar and get playing!

Let me know what you think in the comments. What’s been your biggest “aha” moment in learning jazz?