A complete, structured pathway for modern jazz guitar.
How the VLJG Learning System Works
Essential prepares you — free, structured jazz guitar lessons for beginners that build real understanding from day one.
The Scorecard finds your starting point — whether you want to focus on chords rather than scales, chord melody, or improvisation.
Jazz Icon teach you the concepts — online jazz guitar lessons inspired by Wes Montgomery’s techniques and other legends.
The Bridge keeps everything connected — daily routines that unlock the fretboard and turn theory into real playing.
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Junewon Choi
Jazz Guitarist, Composer, Arranger, and Educator
I studied classical piano and knew my theory cold — and I still couldn't play jazz.
Richie Hart, at Berklee, showed me why: I was reading the fretboard as a grid, and the players I loved were reading it diagonally.
I spent the years after that, at MSU and USC, working out how to teach it. That's the FDA Method, and it's what everything on this site is built from.
Free Resources - Start Learning Today
Free to join. Start building your sound today.
Explore our free introductory lessons and see the difference.
Free sign-up. And clear, practical concepts that help you understand jazz guitar in a way that finally makes sense — structured jazz guitar courses for beginners that give you a real foundation, not random licks.
Routine Building (Track A)
Track A — the chord-first half of the FDA Method
practiced the way Mick Goodrick taught to practice.
Routine Building (Bridge Series) — structured daily routines for chord melody practice and fretboard fluency. Build a daily routine that turns theory into real playing.
Jazz Icon series (TRack B)
JAZZ ICON | Insight
HEAR HOW A LEGEND APPROACHES JAZZ GUITAR IMPROVISATION AND SOLOING ON A STANDARD — ONE CHORUS, START TO FINISH. FROM $19
NEW — Wes’ Blues Insight: Wes’s own blues tunes, one chorus at a time. From $19
JAZZ ICON | BREAKDOWN
GO DEEP INTO WES MONTGOMERY’S TECHNIQUES AND BERNSTEIN’S APPROACH TO BUILDING A COMPLETE PERFORMANCE — UNLOCK THE FRETBOARD ONE CHORUS AT A TIME. FROM $37
June’s Song Book (CROSSOVER)
Jazz Icon shows you how the masters speak the language.
June's Song Book shows you how June applies it — measure by measure, chord by chord, in actual performance.
This is where study meets sound.
Private Study
Fundamental - Course
NEW COURSE · BLUES PRINT
Not sure which of these is yours?
Thirty minutes, with me, no charge. We find your sticking point and I tell you where to start — including "not here."
Clarify your sticking point
Confirm your starting point
Decide whether this is the right path
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Start with Essential: Building Blocks — it’s free. Two hours of structured video covering Shell Voicings, Drop 2, Django Line, and Wes Line, plus a 28-page PDF. It gives you the foundation and shows you how the VLJG system works before you spend a dollar.
After that, take the Jazz Guitar Scorecard. It’s a short self-diagnosis tool that identifies your player type and gives you one clear next step — either Track A (chord-first, routine and harmony) or Track B (line-first, soloing and improvisation).
-
Track A is for players who want to understand harmony, build a daily practice routine, and develop chord melody. It’s chord-first and structure-led. Entry point: Bridge: Theory ($59).
Track B is for players who want to play real jazz lines, study how Wes Montgomery and other legends improvise, and develop their own solos on real standards. It’s line-first and sound-led. Entry point: Jazz Icon | Insight ($19).
Both tracks lead toward the same destination. The two paths are designed to pull toward each other — Track A players eventually want lines, Track B players eventually want structure.
-
That’s Track A. Start with Bridge: Theory ($59) — a chord-first system built around Shell Voicings, Drop 2, and Triads. Instead of thinking in scale boxes, you learn to hear harmony through function and voice leading: how chords move, why they connect, and how to navigate them on the fretboard.
Follow with Bridge: Sound ($100/month) to build a daily practice routine around what you’ve learned. Bridge: Sound gives you Junewon’s own performance videos so you can watch, hear, and build the sound directly into your hands.
-
Yes. The VLJG system draws directly from how Wes Montgomery interprets the fretboard — through function, diagonal movement, and voice leading rather than scale patterns.
Jazz Icon | Insight ($19) shows a complete chorus of Wes playing a real standard. Melody, harmony, and phrasing analyzed note by note. It’s the fastest way to hear and understand real Wes language before building your own.
Jazz Icon | Breakdown goes deeper: full performance analysis covering chord melody, soloing, and lines across a complete tune — Wes Montgomery and Peter Bernstein.
NEW — Wes’ Blues Insight ($19) extends the series to Wes’s own blues: Cariba, The Thumb, and Fried Pies, plus West Coast Blues in the bundle. His blues, one chorus at a time.
-
Jazz Icon | Insight is a Track B entry product — $19 per study. Each one takes a single chorus of a real jazz standard played by a legend (Wes Montgomery) and breaks it down completely: melody, harmony, phrasing, and line logic.
It’s designed for players who want to hear how jazz actually sounds before trying to build it themselves. One chorus. One legend. You see exactly how they think.
Current titles: Wes Montgomery — Fly Me to the Moon and All The Things You Are. NEW — Wes’ Blues Insight: Cariba, The Thumb, and Fried Pies, plus West Coast Blues (bundle only).
-
Take the Jazz Guitar Scorecard. It’s a 5-question self-diagnosis tool that identifies your player type — Track A (chord-first, routine-focused) or Track B (line-first, improv-focused) — and gives you one clear next step. Not a quiz. Not a recommendation engine. A mirror.
→ voicelidjazzguitar.com/scorecard
If you’d rather just start immediately: Essential: Building Blocks is free. Two hours of structured video, 28-page PDF. It shows you the full VLJG system before you decide anything.