craigb
 
It IS a bit different than other genres.  Like the best way to learn Punk is to get hit in the face, roight? 

Naw. Learn how to play a power chord, buy some REALLY crappy gear and get as drunk as humanly possible without dying before playing a gig.
 
/expert

craigb
I thought all you had to do to play Jazz was just hit a bunch of unrelated notes and, if a note sounds particularly bad, then make sure you hit it with emphasis a second time to show that you really did mean to play it the first time!

That was my understanding as well. Now Bill has me all confused!
 
 
Or was I already confused? Now I'm really confused.

I recorded a bass line with with Dimension Pro using an upright bass long release if anyone wants the file. It's the ii7 to V7 To I cadence. You can use any swing drum rhythm with it. I made a file with AD2 jazz sticks. The good thing about making a midi file is it's so east to transpose to another key or change the tempo. Very easy to make these kinds of files to practice with in Sonar

What are some ways to play outside of chord changes?
 
 
I know this isn't the most practical answer, but try to just follow your ear. Listen to people who play "outside", so you can get an idea in your ear of what you want the effect to be, and then just kind of jump off the deep end and go for it - the whole point is that you aren't matching up to the harmonies underneath you, so don't stress too hard about what notes you're playing!
Personally, I think you get the most effective sound by playing things that are tonal in isolation, or at least sound sort of tonal, but that clash with the underlying harmony. You could do something simple, like descending major triads, going up by whole steps:
A F# D B G# E C# A# F# Eb C Ab F D Bb ....
Then you can elaborate on that, say by playing a #4 up to the 5th of each triad:
(G# A F# D) (A# B G# E) (B# C# A# F#) (D Eb C Ab)
Then to really make it sound hip, it's cool to get your repetitive pattern in a rhythm so that it doesn't line up neatly with the beats. So you if play that sequence of notes in triplets, you get an effect like this (the top line is the meter, vertical lines are beats and dots are the subdivision).

|  .  .  |  .  .  |  .  .  |  .  .

G# A  F# D  A# B  G# E  B# C# A# F#

See how the melodic grouping (#4 5 3 1) phases in and out with the rhythmic grouping (beats of three triplet notes)? Those kind of patterns are easy to construct and easy to practice, but they sound cool, and they give you a little more to hold onto than just random notes and rhythms.
 
 
One trick I've done is to play inside-outside-inside when doing a solo. Start in the changes and end in the changes, but have a little room in the middle to go crazy, particularly around dominant chords as someone has stated.
 
 
 
Here's some really common tricks:

1. Side slipping: this is basically taking whatever scale you're playing and moving it up or down a semitone, then resolving back to an inside note. So for example playing in Db major over a C major chord.
   
2. Implying different qualities of Dominant chords: For dominant chords you basically have 5 options for scales: Mixolydian, Diminished, Whole tone, Altered, and Lydian dominant. So if you're playing over a dominant chord you can use any or all of these scales, and because the nature of dominant chords is to provide dissonance that resolves to consonance, it'll sound great.
   
3. Pentatonics: Pentatonic scales are very strong and good for implying alternate harmonies in your solos. You can go various degrees of outside the changes with these; say you're playing over Cmaj7. If you start playing using the D pentatonic scale it won't sound very out, A pentatonic will sound more out, and like Db or F# pentatonic will sound super out.
   

The most important thing when playing out is resolution. One note can make the difference between "He's playing random **** and it sounds bad" and "He's a jazz genius"
 
 

1. Learn the notes that are inside.
   
2. Don't play those notes 
   

I'm bumping this interesting thread.

I'm in New Jersey at the moment reading " Captain Cook and the South Pacific ".When I get back I'll send it to you

You'll like the file. Great for practicing phrases and changing keys

bayoubill
You'll like the file. Great for practicing phrases and changing keys

Thanks!

I recommend Band-in-a-Box for practicing chord scheme's and chord changes.
 
You simply input the chords, pick a style and Band-in-a-Box is ready to accompnany your solo.

As I have said;" if you want to be successful in music and EARN yourself TENS of DOLLARS" educate yourself in the art of improvisation" However, if you apply this these skills to playing jazz on gigs I suggest getting a 2nd job to help cover expenses 

I have to go buy groceries and take a shower etc, then I have to start working on tunes for a country band gig where the lead guitar player can't make it. Then I will get back to this... wait .. Then I will git back to this here Sonar thang and thank ya fer yur support

Thanks again. The file works great.

I want to wake up this Fred! 
 
Zeroing in on a blues scale for a jazzy sound
 
Play around with your favorite E blues lick
 
Apply it to Dm7 to G7 (stay with E blues)
Then
Add CMaj7 or C6 to Dm7 and G7 and listen to the sound as you use the blues lick with each of the chords
 
end your phrase on the C Maj chord ( resolve it by sound)