In the Style of Wes Montgomery

Artist Series Guitar Course from Marcelo Berestovoy

Wes Montgomery was a powerhouse musician in every sense of the word. An amazingly gifted and innovative player, he's influenced countless guitarists over the last 50+ years. In this series, Marcelo takes a small peek into his genius. He looks at the techniques that defined parts of his playing.

6 Lessons

Complete course with step-by-step lessons and practice examples.

Multi-Camera

Course filmed with 6 cameras for the perfect angles.

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Full Course Breakdown

In this series, Marcelo takes a small peek into the genius of Wes Montgomery. He looks at the techniques that defined parts of his playing, like using the thumb and the octaves.

1

Series Introduction

The genius of Wes Montgomery can never be understated. In the series introduction, Marcelo previews what he is going to cover in this, an "In the Style of" series.

5:17 Runtime

0.0 Difficulty

View this Lesson
2

Using the Thumb

Right away, anyone will notice that Wes Montgomery played with his thumb almost exclusively. Marcelo uses this lesson to break down this technique and get you on your way!

8:39 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

3

Octaves

Wes Montgomery's use of octaves has inspired countless guitar players over the years. In this lesson, Marcelo looks at the common shapes he used, and how to implement them into your playing.

9:52 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

4

Blues Scale and Passing Notes

Harmonically, Wes Montgomery was based in the blues. In this lesson, Marcelo shows us how he always brought his playing back to the blues scale and passing notes.

11:01 Runtime

3.0 Difficulty

5

Other Wes Montgomery Techniques

Now Marcelo explores some other techniques that made Wes Montgomery's style so unique, particularly chord solos, chording between phrases, and injecting a latin feel into parts of his arrangements.

9:53 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

6

à La Wes Blues

Marcelo bring the entire style of Wes together here in this original song, "à La Wes Blues".

20:58 Runtime

3.5 Difficulty

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  • Dallas, TX
  • Playing since 1982
  • 198 lessons at JamPlay
This Latino artist, composer and guitarist, has inspired a new musical trend that he has called “Southern World Music”. This innovative mix of sounds is a blend of the tango from Argentina, flamenco from the south of Spain, and several musical styles from Southern California. Marcelo has done live presentations and recorded with artists like Ricky Martin, Selena, Leon Gieco, Daniela Romo, Sergio Arau and Bebu Silvetti to name a few. In television, he accompanied stars such as Jorge Moreno, Grammy Award winner in 2002 in the “Best New Artist” category. He also composed the song “Gitano Corazon”, recorded by Natalia Oreiro in her album “Tu Veneno”. This album was nominated in the Latino Grammy Award 2001 in the category of “Best Female Pop Album”. He is co-author of the song “One Heart” with Steven Segal, Larry King and Tommy Coster. His musical talent has been shown in movies including “Dirt”, “The Mexican”, “Un Pedazo de Tierra” and “Paulie”. He has participated in television shows, concerts and kick-off parties for movies like “Mission Impossible II” and “The Disapearance of Garcia Lorca”.



Marcelo was born and raised in Argentina. He says he felt a passion for the music since he was about 11 years old when he started to take guitar lessons. His father had a lot of influence in his love for music. Together they used to play the songs that Marcelo wrote. His father always took him to listen to jazz. At this time, listening to jazz gave Marcelo another perspective since he was a rock fanatic. His motivation was first the Beatles and then Charly and Spinetta “the skinny”. Marcelo recalls that by the age of 18, he was playing in different places throughout Buenos Aires, Argentina. He would play four to five nights a week with different groups or to accompany solo singers.

His decision to come to Los Angeles was motivated by his interest in jazz. In 1985, he came to study to GIT and he never returned to Argentina. Marcelo currently lives in Los Angeles, California with his lovely wife and son. He performs live at several local places. In addition to playing the guitar and composing, Marcelo teaches in the “Musicians Institute”, one of the most prestigious in the music world.
Reviews & Feedback 100/100 with 32 ratings
Martin2014

These examples are spot on to Wes. This gives me so much insight and exercises to work on. Thank you.

douglas966

Nice blues

callmesam

very inspiring...