99% of Guitarists Get Wes Montgomery's Technique Wrong
This video is part of the series:
"VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony Series 🔶 Wes to Django"
▶ Start from the first video in this playlist:
• VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony...
Next episode: • Stop Playing in "Boxes": The Wes & Django ...
🎸 Why do most guitarists play Wes Montgomery… wrong?
In this first VoiceLid Jazz Guitar lesson, Junewon Choi breaks down the *real logic* behind Wes Montgomery’s octave technique and fretboard interpretation — not just the thumb, but the way he thinks across the neck.
You’ll learn:
• Why Wes’s *thumb + mostly downstrokes* feel so swinging and melodic
• How his *3-finger left hand* and octave shapes create diagonal movement
• Why most transcriptions use the wrong fingering (except tunes like Satin Doll)
• How he turns *chord melody shapes* into solo lines
• The upper-structure idea: Gm7 → B♭maj7, E♭m7 → G♭maj7, and more
• How his octave lines are really **diagonal chord-melody structures**, not just licks
This lesson is not about scales or arpeggio patterns.
It’s about understanding how Wes actually played — so you can feel his time, phrasing, and melody in your own playing.
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📚 Get the free 2-hour lesson & PDF:
https://voicelidjazzguitar.com/buildi...
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#WesMontgomery #JazzGuitar #VoiceLid #JunewonChoi #OctaveTechnique #JazzGuitarLesson #DiagonalHarmony #ThumbTechnique #FourOnSix
🎬 *VoiceLid Jazz Guitar Series (Watch Next):*
1️⃣ Wes Montgomery Octave Position Secrets
2️⃣ Wes Montgomery’s Secret ‘Wes Line’ Explained
3️⃣ Wes Montgomery’s Second Secret – The Django Line Explained
4️⃣ The Other Side of the Wes Line: How Wes Montgomery Completed Diagonal Logic
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🕒 *Chapters*
00:00 Intro – Four on Six & Wes
00:27 Why Wes’s Thumb and Downstrokes Matter
01:30 Mostly Down Picking, Occasionally Up – What Pat Metheny Noticed
02:30 Three-Finger Left Hand & Fluency on the Neck
03:30 What This Lesson Is (and Is Not) About – No Scales, Just Fretboard Logic
04:30 Four on Six Harmony – Gm7 and the Chain of ii–V’s
05:30 Chord Melody to Single-Line – Turning Shapes into Lines
06:40 Gm7 vs B♭maj7 – Upper Structure View
07:30 How Wes’s Octave Shapes Changed The Game
08:30 Before Wes – Traditional Octaves (4th & 1st string)
09:30 Why Most Players Use the “Wrong” Fingering
10:30 Satin Doll Example – The One Line Everyone Plays Like Wes
12:00 E♭m7 → G♭maj7 – Another Upper Structure Connection
13:30 Thumb + Downstrokes + Major Triads – Rhythmic Feel of Wes’s Lines
15:00 Diagonal Octave Shape as the Core Concept
16:00 Why Copying the Notes Isn’t Enough
17:10 Invitation – Apply This Method to Your Transcriptions
17:40 Free 2-Hour Lesson & How to Study with VoiceLid
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🎬 *Next in the Diagonal Harmony Series:*
👉 [Wes Montgomery’s Secret ‘Wes Line’ Explained • Stop Playing in "Boxes": The Wes & Django ... ]
🔁 Watch the full playlist: [VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony Series 🔶 Wes to Django • VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony... ]
#WesMontgomery #JazzGuitar #VoiceLid #JunewonChoi #FunctionalDiagonalApproach #JazzEducation #VoiceLeading #ChordBasedLearning #GuitarLesson #JazzHarmony #GuitarImprovisation