Yep, next HW is going to be VERY easy. 4 of the 6 scales are just modes of the major scale. Done. That means just getting two scales under your fingers enough to jam for 30 sec. Piece of cake.

As for your solo, not bad at all for your first shot at jazz, mine was my first shot at analytical jazz as well. How did you go about the note selection process? I can tell you have VERY strong technique, much better than mine. With that being said, I was more drawn to the passages and phrases that had a little bit of space to them, I'd say experiment w/ those more.

I'm kind of angry about the peer review grade on this 1st assignment because it's pretty obvious that I got some jazz gurus correcting mine and was only awarded TWO points out of the eight possible because I didn't mention the specific phrases from the rubric. I feel I was punished for not having a strong musical vocabulary as opposed to being graded on the effort put in and the points that I did point out, especially after listening to the recording. Part of the 'experience' I guess...

This is AWESOME! Thank you! Just registered and am watching the videos now... very cool

You're at the right spot if you want to get into jazz fusion, gotta practice, practice, practice. Learn some jazz standards, learn how to solo over them, mix in your bluesy pentatonic stuff, use the chromatic scale, and practice to the point that you can easily flow between everything.

I'm a big fan of Scofield when I get a jazz fusion itch.

Guitars are one of a kind. There are $3000 Gibson Custom Shop lemons and there are $100 Epi's that have tone and sustain for days. I have learned that you simply cannot judge an entire line or brand of guitars on a few samples, or even a stores worth of guitars. As soon as you write it off you won't even pick up that gem that will truly speak to you. Who cares how the headstock looks if it feels right in your hands and you find that it's easier to play than any guitar you've ever played? I don't even plug it in when I'm trying out new guitars... I just want something that feels right in my hand and has good acoustic tone... everything else can be changed (pups, hardware, pickguard, etc...) or fixed (tuning issues), but if it feels right and has good acoustics... that's all that counts for me.

Hate to say it... but go to GC and see if there is a guitar that speaks to you. I had this same urge, was going to go w/ an Epi standard LP and ended up walking out w/ a Gibson Studio because the tone and playability were just out of this world. Cost about the same too ($700), so I'd say go in and try a few and see which ones speak to you.

Stairway is influenced by a couple different sources, but musically speaking it's a fairly common chord progression. I personally don't think of him as less of a musician because of a some copped songs and licks. Guy can flat out play and influenced thousands of other players.

From the little I know the biggest issues came from stealing lyrics and entire sections of songs, which I can't really put full blame on Jimmy. Before he was in Zep he made a living doing studio work, so he definitely had skills and musicianship.

Led Zepplin... The most popular blues cover band of all time ;)

Print off the daily practice worksheet and start practicing each module every day for as long as you can. Any exercises that you don't know, do a youtube search for it and I'm sure you'll find it. I'd start w/ the following:

1 - Left hand trills
2 - Scalpel picking w/ a metronome
3 - Pentatonic scale runs
4 - Learn all of the major chord shapes and jam on one chord up and down the neck (CAGED)
5 - Major/Minor Arpeggios
6 - Sing while you play the major scale
7 - Learn a song or solo by ear

If you've got an hour, start w/ 10 min of each every day. Just the above should keep you going for a couple months.

You count them the same as if they weren't linked together. An eighth note is an eighth note whether it is by itself or if it is connected to other eighth notes. Stick to Pebber's picking lessons w/ a metronome and if you're having timing issues elsewhere, use a metronome for as many exercises as possible.

Yep, start there and then move on to the 'daily practice' sheet, concentrating on 1-2 exercises per module. This seriously contains YEARS of study material and practice exercises.