Double-Timing Guitar Techniques

Randy Johnston teaches his approach to double timing — shifting from eighth-note lines to sixteenth notes while the chords keep moving at the same speed. Players like Pat Martino, Mike Stern, Pat Metheny, Joe Pass, and George Benson are known not just for slow, artistic melodies but for intense double-time lines that weave through the harmony; this class shows you how to build that skill yourself rather than relying on a few pet licks.

What's covered

• What double time actually is, demonstrated over a B♭ blues with a looper — single-time and double-time choruses side by side
• Why you need twice as much material on every chord, and how to count it through the changes
• How to practice: slowing sixteenth-note lines way down while keeping the feel of playing fast
• Using substitute changes (like a tritone substitution before E♭7) to generate more notes and more color
• Skating — Randy's term for a bluesy way of playing fast that isn't strict double time
• Switching back and forth between regular and double-time feel

If you can play nice motivic melodies but struggle to create intensity at speed, this class gives you a clear practice method for an essential jazz guitar skill. Full video is 29 minutes.