80/20 Jazz Guitar by Sam Smiley
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Table of Contents How To Use this Book Limits and Creativity Why 20?? How to Learn from this Book Organization Approach Questions Preliminary Stuff Know all of the Notes on the Fretboard Know the 5 Common Major Scale Fingerings Know the 5 Common Minor Pentatonic Scale Fingerings Scale Practice Suggestions One and Two Octave Arpeggios 1 Octave Arpeggios Major 7 Dominant 7 Minor 7 Half Diminished 2 octave arpeggios Major 7 Dominant 7 Minor 7 Half Diminished Arpeggio Practice Suggestions Voicings Box Shapes Spellings Vocabulary Chord Families Major Dominant Minor Half Diminished Diminished The Chords Major Dominant Minor Half Diminished Diminished Exercises Ear – Hand Connection Flexibility Prepare the Ear for Improvisation Play from Memory The Exercises Melodic Patterns Diatonic Thirds Triads 7th Chords Four Note Pattern 1321 Chromatic plus Third Non-Diatonic Coltrane Pattern Major Triads in Minor Thirds Major 7th Chords by Whole Step ii-V Patterns Basic ii V ii V Voice Leading Basic ii V 3 to 9 Basic ii V with Eighth Notes Basic ii V with alterations Short ii V – 1 Short ii V – 2 Short ii V – Descending Short ii V with Alterations Short ii V with b9
Rhythms Big Band Rhythms?? The Roots of Modern Jazz Usefulness Practicing Rhythm as Vocabulary Deeper Groove Reading vs Hearing My Story Making These Rhythms Happen The Rhythms Rhythm 1 – “Do dit dah” Rhythm 2 – The Charleston Rhythm 3 Rhythm 4 – Moten Swing “Do Dit Dah” Rhythm 5 – “One O’Clock Jump” Rhythm 6 – Lester Leaps In (solo) Rhythm 7 – Blues in Hoss Flat Rhythm 8 – Bill’s Mill Rhythm 9 – Moten Swing Rhythm 10 – Jeep Blues Rhythm 11 – Everyday I Have the Blues Rhythm 12 – Everyday I Have the Blues 2 Rhythm 13 – Yardbird Suite Rhythm 14 – Yardbird Suite (solo) Rhythm 15 – Scrapple From the Apple Rhythm 16 – Ornithology Rhythm 17 – Moose the Mooche Rhythm 18 – A Night in Tunisia Rhythm 19 – Dexterity Rhythm 20 – Dexterity Licks Language Study the Masters Find Your Own Interests What if I Sound Too Much Like… Organization “Using Your Ear” Learning the Licks Onto the Licks! Blues/Static Chords Lick 1 – Wes Montgomery “D Natural Blues” 1 Lick 2 – Wes Montgomery “D Natural Blues” 2 Lick 3 – Kenny Burrell “Chitlins Con Carne” 1 Lick 4 – Kenny Burrell “Chitlins Con Carne” 2 Lick 5 John Scofield “A Go Go” 1 Lick 6 Grant Green “If I Should Lose You” Lick 7 Pat Martino “Just Friends” Short ii V Lick 8 Wes Montgomery “SKJ” Lick 9 Pat Martino “Just Friends” Lick 10 Joe Pass “Joy Spring” 1 Lick 11 Joe Pass “Joy Spring” 2 Long ii V Lick 12 Wes Montgomery “S.K.J.” Lick 13 Grant Green “If I Should Lose You” Lick 14 Jim Hall “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” Lick 15 Stock Lick Lick 16 Stock Lick Minor ii V Lick 17 Jim Hall “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” Lick 18 Grant Green “What is This Thing Called Love” Lick 19 Grant Green “Green Dolphin Street” Lick 20 Grant Green “If I Should Lose You” Theory Diatonic Harmony Triads 7 th Chords Extensions Progressions ii-V Progression Minor ii-V Cycle V/V – Secondary Dominants Guide Tones Half Step Resolutions Alterations
Levels of Alteration Major Chords Dominant Chords Diminished Scale Melodic Minor Substitution Tritone Substitution Transposing Blues Form Song Form Basics Glossary of Terms Where to Go Next 20 Limiting Tips Practice very slow tempos Selective Metronome Beat Metronome Every Other Bar Memorize tunes Sing! Sing a solo Transcribe entire solos Memorize a transcription Transcribe just the best parts Create a chord melody Mean every note Practice Up the Neck Listen to one album at a time Play Counterpoint improvisations Learn pop songs Alter the time feel of a tune Work on different meters Record yourself Play free improvisations Write solos Appendix 20 Ways to limit yourself in order to increase creativity Twenty Tunes to Memorize Twenty classic jazz guitar albums to check out 20 Jazz Guitarists to check out 20 Great (Jazz) Guitar Books 20 Solos to Transcribe 20 Books about jazz and music (not only guitar)
How To Use this Book What in the world is 80/20?? And how does it relate to the guitar? The 80/20 principle, also called the Pareto Principle, says that 80% of results come from about 20% of your efforts. In business, this usually means that about 80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers. In basketball 80% of a team’s points will come from 20% of its players. About 80% of the cars on the road are driving on 20% of the roadways. It is a principle that is found in many areas of life, including music. This means that about 80% of your progress comes from 20% of your practice. About 80% of your material is drawn from 20% of your idea. Think about that one. If the vast majority of your ideas come from 20% of the ideas you’ve practiced, you can cut your practice time down in those areas and focus on other things that are ignored– like rhythm and timing, repertoire, etc.
Limits and Creativity There is much power in limiting yourself. Many of the world’s greatest artists have worked within specific boundaries and are extremely creative within those bounds (Picasso’s Blue Period comes to mind). Have you ever had the experience of having a day free of all obligations and end up getting nothing done? And conversely had an experience of a very busy day where everything gets done like clockwork? Boundaries are actually very helpful to the human mind. We work much better within boundaries than without them. I want to ask you in your jazz learning journey to stick to very few things at a time. If you learn the things in this book all the way, while cutting the fat of your other practice, you will find yourself making huge strides in learning jazz guitar that you would not make otherwise.
Why 20?? This book takes the “20” part of 80/20 pretty literally. Jazz is a very complex style of music that has an almost infinite number of subgenres, styles, and artists to learn about. In fact, learning 20 of anything (licks, chord voicings, etc) does not even account for 20%! I chose to use the number 20 to set up a boundary that is representative of the overall theme of the book. While we may not be going over 20% of jazz, we are limiting the number of things to the ‘lowest effective dose’ and learning it completely. This will end up opening doors down the road that being overwhelmed will shut. Plus it’s catchy!
How to Learn from this Book This book is not meant to be linear. Don’t start on page one and work through it all to the last page. A jazz language is something that develops over time and is multilayered. You will start to learn one topic that will shed some light on another. Then you might go on to a new topic that unexpectedly reveals something about a previous topic or idea. This is a natural way of learning music. Many of the keywords will be linked to the theory chapter (in Kindle and eBook formats of course). You may click on a word or phrase that you are unsure of to learn more about that topic. The theory section is especially useful in this way. It should be treated as a reference instead of read from start to finish. If you are working with chord voicings and don’t know what a major 7th chord is, go to that section to learn it. Learn the theory you need and move back to the what you were working on. You won’t miss what you need. Trust the process!
Organization The book is organized in the order that I have found most people want to learn about jazz but informed by the ways I have found to be the most effective in learning the jazz language. The first section is on the preliminary things you should know before entering this type of study. Jazz is accessible to all guitarists, BUT you should know a few things to make things easier. If you are lacking in some of these areas I suggest either starting with these. The second section is over chord voicings. This seems to be one topic that many jazz guitar beginners focus on. The main reason is that it gives one almost instant jazz-cred. Rhythm is particularly important, but often overlooked. As I was learning to play jazz and reading, watching, and listening to jazz improvisers’ interviews, I noticed that nearly all of them mentioned somewhere that rhythm was the key to playing jazz. Experience has proved this to be true. Spend more time and attention on rhythm than you might think is necessary. The approach is to learn pieces of ‘rhythm vocabulary’ or rhythmic phrases that come up in jazz over and over. Theory seems to burden most jazz guitar beginners. It is purposely placed last here to help ease the overemphasis on theory. Remember it is a reference. Read these short chapters/articles on theory as needed instead of going through the entire section at once. The exercises section will give you exercises to help train both your ears and fingers. These are pretty dry, but they will help to ingrain some of the major concepts of jazz into your playing and ears. Learning licks and exercises is a form of ear training. You will end up practicing the ideas over and over and get a sound in your ear. That way when you are performing or jamming with people those sounds that you hear are instantly accessible. The licks section is full of classic licks taken from transcriptions. There are twenty licks here (in keeping with the 20s concept of the book) but you can find more of these all over my website and by transcribing them yourself (the MOST effective way to learn jazz!). The final section should help give you ideas on how to actually use the things you’ve learned throughout the book. It also provides many ideas on where to go next, once you’ve mastered most of the ideas and topics here.
Approach The best way to approach this book would be to pick out 1 or 2 things from each section. Focus on 1 or 2 chord voicings, 1 lick, 1 exercise, and 1 rhythm. One final note before we get started: focus all of this work on tunes. It is tempting to practice this stuff in a vacuum, and sometimes necessary when you are just learning something. But practice these things with a tune (or tunes) as soon as possible! This makes things come alive and takes it out of the practice room. You can find a list of 20 tunes to memorize in the last chapter.
Questions If you are having a tough time with any of this material, don’t hesitate to ask me a question. You can reach me at facebook.com/samsmileymusic or Twitter @samsmileymusic. Both are great places to ask a question. And chances are someone else has the same question! Find the bonuses for 80/20 Jazz Guitar at http://www.samsmileymusic.com/8020-jazz-guitar-amazon-sign-up/
Preliminary Stuff Jazz guitar is accessible to any guitarist, but there are several things that will make learning jazz guitar much, much easier. These foundational topics will help you with the rest of the material here. Very few guitarists will come to this book with all of these things down, so don’t worry if you have a few holes here. The best thing would be to take one or two of these things and work on it while you are practicing other parts of the book. Most of these are things that can be mastered with 5-10 minutes of practice time on a regular basis. This should not be your focus during practice.
Know all of the Notes on the Fretboard If you haven’t worked on learning all of the notes on the fretboard it is time to sit down and do it. When you are improvising on the guitar (or in any style, not just jazz), it is very important to know the notes you are playing. It is important to know where you are at all times so you can use the material you learn. Not knowing the notes is like not knowing the names of the streets you’re on. If you are walking somewhere familiar you can usually make it without the names of the streets, but to go somewhere new it will be essential to know the street names. Everyone has ‘dead spots’ of the neck when starting on this. It is normal to have a difficult time learning some sections of the neck that you don’t use very often. When a spot is unfamiliar we tend to avoid those areas – for me it was the 9th-12th frets on the D and G strings. Stop avoiding your dead spots! The best way to learn them is to go right to them.
Know the 5 Common Major Scale Fingerings Jazz is based on the major scale. Many of the sounds come from other scales, but you can always trace it back to the major scale. Having a singular ‘alphabet’ that you always come back to can help simplify things. Instead of a seemingly infinite number of possibilities there are just small changes to one basic thing. There are five different main fingerings. You can create about as many major scale fingerings as you could think of, this is just a starting point. These fingerings are sometimes taught as ‘modes,’ which is unfortunate because each scale has all of the modes built in. For the most part, modes are a very confusing way to explain some of the principles of improvisation, right now just forget about modes. You will need some organization of the fingerings. Call them by their starting finger and starting string. The first fingering is called ‘2E’ because it starts on your middle finger (2) on the 6th string (E).
Know the 5 Common Minor Pentatonic Scale Fingerings The pentatonic scale is the next most useful scale (after major). The reason it is included here though is that most guitarists are very familiar with this scale. We’ll use the same naming system as the major scales – finger and starting string. The fingering that most guitarists learn within their first few lessons is called the “1E” fingering.
Scale Practice Suggestions Improvisers need to be able to work within the scale fingerings at any point within the scale. You don’t want to be tied to going from lowest note to highest note and back. It is important to practice scales in different ways to gain the flexibility to move within that scale as freely as possible. One of the best ways to develop this is by melodic patterns. Melodic patterns are short phrases that can be repeated throughout a particular scale. Start with one or two beat phrases. Once you get more comfortable with the concept you can expand it, but start small. Here are two phrases that are useful and easy to start with. The first pattern is called ‘Thirds.’ The idea is to play a third interval (skipping a letter) throughout the scale. The example is in the key of A. The first third would be skipping from A to C# (skipping the B). Then going from B to D and on through the scale. If the theory of the exercise is strange, just try playing through the example several times. As you play it will start to make sense to your ear and fingers. Trust your ears first the theory will follow. The example uses the 2E fingering.
The second pattern is called the ‘Four Note Pattern.’ The name describes the pattern – just play the scale in groups of four notes. Start by playing the first four notes of the scale, then play the second group of four notes, then the third, and on throughout the scale. If you were to write this using numbers you would end up with “1234, 2345, 3456, etc.”
One and Two Octave Arpeggios The arpeggio is very important music fundamental to an improviser. An arpeggio is a chord played one note at a time. They are helpful to learn both the notes in a particular chord and to get the sound into your ear. A major factor in playing authentic sounding jazz solos is resolving your lines to chord tones. The arpeggios show you where all of the chord tones are. The guitar has its own built in challenges with arpeggios – like the number of fingering possibilities and that they you need to know. Divide arpeggios into two groups – One Octave Arpeggios and Two Octave Arpeggios. Then group them by starting string. The major 7th arpeggio is presented first as it is the ‘blank slate’ arpeggio. All of the other arpeggios can be built from the major 7th by changing one, two, or three notes by a half step. Think of this section as sort of an arpeggio dictionary – a reference to come back to. Don’t play all of these from start to finish and move on, the material will not be absorbed that way. Practice suggestions follow the arpeggios.
1 Octave Arpeggios Major 7
Dominant 7
Minor 7
Half Diminished
2 octave arpeggios Major 7
Dominant 7
Minor 7
Half Diminished
Arpeggio Practice Suggestions The best way to practice arpeggios is to use a tune. Simply take the chord progression for a tune you are working on and play the arpeggios through that song.
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Voicings Most guitarists started out learning chords in their first few lessons. They embody the guitar in one quick and sometimes easy package. Jazz chords do the same for jazz guitar. They can give your sound instant jazz credibility. Many guitarists start with jazz chords. Simple, but it works. There are several ways to approach jazz chords on the guitar. Most are valid and can help you get from point A to point B. This book will introduce one of the simplest ways to get these chords into your playing. There are more detailed ways to play chords, but this book is about the “lowest effective dose.”
Box Shapes Most guitarists started with simple box chord diagram shapes. That is where we will start as well. The immediate benefit of working this way is that you can get a bunch of chords under your fingers very quickly. They also move all around the neck, so the 20 chords in the chapter quickly becomes 240 different chord voicings. Most of the roots for these shapes will be on the low E and A strings. It is critical to know the notes on these two strings. If you haven’t learned them at this point, start by finding all the natural notes (no sharps or flats). Memorize those first. All accidentals (with sharps and flats) can be based off of the natural notes. Find your printable PDF of chord voicings at http://www.samsmileymusic.com/8020-jazz-guitar-amazon-sign-up/
Spellings The spelling of the chord refers to the notes and degrees of a chord. Altering, adding, and taking away notes is a crucial step in moving beyond shapes. You must know the notes and theory behind the chords in order to make these adjustments. Make sure you have a good idea of the notes and degrees that you are working with.
Vocabulary Here are some of the words used when talking about chords. Here are some working definitions. 7th chord – this refers to any 4 note chord. Technically a 7th chord is a chord using R357. Alteration – An alteration is changing one note or extension of a chord (see below). The degree of the chord stays the same, but it is modified by one half step. Chord Family – Chords are divided into different groups based on their function and spelling. These groups are called families. Degree – This refers to the number of the note in the scale. The C major scale is: C D E F G A B. The E is the 3rd of the scale, the A is the 6th of the scale. Extension – This refers to the 9th, 11th, and 13th of a chord. These can be ‘translated’ to lower notes in the scale - the 9th is the same as the 2nd, the 11th same as the 4th, and the 13th is the same as the 6th. An extension usually occurs higher than the 7th of the chord. On the guitar they can occur in the middle of the chord shape. Function – Each chord in a key has a different function. Some chords want to go to the tonic, others provide tension, others are chords that commonly lead to another chord. Guide Tones – These are the 3rd and 7th of each chord. These two notes are essential in defining the chord name and function.
Chord Families The chords are divided into five different families to better organize the chord shapes. Most chords in the same family can be substituted for each other. The exception being the dominant family because altered chords usually cannot be substituted for nonaltered chords. Major The major chords all have a major triad with either a major 7th or a 6th in the chord. These chords are typically tonic chords or resting chords and don’t want to move.
Dominant Dominant chords have a major triad plus a lowered 7th or flatted 7th (b7). These are typically tension chords that want to move, or resolve, to a tonic chord. Dominant chords are often altered to add more tension to the chord. All of the alterations can sound the same at first, but as your ear develops you will be able to distinguish the different alterations. Some dominant chords are static and do not have the pull to resolve depending on context. These are unaltered. This happens most often in blues style songs.
Minor Minor chords have a minor triad (R b3 5) and a lowered 7th. They typically move to a dominant chord in traditional (standards) style jazz. In more modern contexts, they can be used as a stationary chord that does not feel the pull to move. While they are used to move to dominant chords, they do not have the same pull to resolve that a dominant chord has.
Half Diminished These chords have a high degree of tension in them. They are almost never a stationary chord (one exception is the song “Inner Urge”) and need to resolve to another chord. They are seen preceding a dominant chord before resolving to a minor chord (called a minor ii-V progression).
Diminished Diminished chords are some of the most unstable chords. They have two tritone intervals within the chord which both have a strong feeling to resolve. They are used as substitutes for dominant chords – see the theory section for more information.
The Chords Let’s get to the music. Here are the 20 chords, organized by families. Most have the root on the E or A strings so they can be easily moved around. Some of them have roots on the D string. Major
Dominant
Notice that this voicing is the same as a minor 7b5 voicing. They contain the same notes. The root perspective changes the notes from being a half diminished chord to a dominant 9.
Minor
Half Diminished
Diminished
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Exercises Exercises are some of the least exciting things for most students. They are often given to the player with a comment that “this will help your playing” and almost no explanation of how or why. An exercise is a pattern or short example that can be practiced to develop a certain skill. These skills can be anything from a certain sound to flexibility within a scale. You can create an exercise using these concepts for any sound or skill you would like to develop.
Ear – Hand Connection An improviser needs to have a very good ear to hand connection. This means that your ear and hands are intimately connected so you can create any sound on your guitar that you can hear. There are two major components. First, you have to have great music in your ear. This comes by listening to the greats. The second component is making sure that your hands can produce the sounds on the guitar. A great way to improve the ear–hand connection is to use exercises. It may sound strange to practice playing something to train your ear, but as you go through some of these exercises you will start to experience this. As you play certain things your ear will catch onto them. The sounds naturally sink into your ear.
Flexibility Another reason to work on exercises is to develop flexibility within a certain scale, or chord. Inexperienced improvisers may want to cultivate more flexibility within the major scale. More experienced players may want to develop the flexibility to move from chord to chord, or from key to key. Some of the exercises here are designed to develop flexibility. Use melodic patterns to develop flexibility within a key. They are not something that is applicable to improvising situations – they don’t sound great in the middle of a solo – but they will develop the skill of being able to move freely within that key. Think of them as jogging for a basketball player, or weight lifting for a football player. They don’t often need to jog for an hour non-stop, but the endurance built up prepares them for the rigors of a game.
Prepare the Ear for Improvisation As mentioned earlier, the ear-hand connection should be very strong for improvisation to be effective. The highest level improvisers do not play patterns and stock licks. They are playing from a different place where the solo is coming from their ear. High level improvisers have spent countless hours learning patterns, licks, and developing their own language, but now it flows out of their playing.
Play from Memory These exercises are all written out so that they are clear. It is very important that they are eventually memorized. This gives the ear, hands, and mind a chance to work together from a creative perspective (coming up with it as you go) instead of reading. The exercises are only presented in one key, but should be transposed to all of the keys to develop this flexibility. Experienced improvisers will know that it is imperative that you have flexibility in all keys. Find the audio examples of these exercises at http://www.samsmileymusic.com/8020-jazz-guitar-amazon-sign-up/
The Exercises Melodic Patterns We will begin with melodic patterns. Remember they are aimed at developing flexibility within a certain key, scale, or chord.
Diatonic Thirds This pattern is playing the scale using the diatonic (within the scale) third intervals. This one can be confusing if it is your first time through this so make sure to play it a few times before trying to play from memory. One way to think of this pattern is by number – “1-3, 2-4, 3-5, 4-6, etc.”
Triads Triads are the basic chords in the key. This exercise goes through an entire C major scale using triads. The rhythm presented below is eighth, eighth, quarter but could be played using all eighths, triplets, or quarter notes. Altering the rhythm in these exercises will also give you some practice that can be very helpful in developing your rhythmic sense.
7th Chords The next step is to add another note to the triads. Working with the 7th chords in a key will help you to get a feel for the entire key.
Four Note Pattern The four note pattern is playing the scale in groups of 4 notes at a time.
1321 Here is another simple melodic pattern. In this one, jump up a third and then follow the scale down.
Chromatic plus Third The last diatonic melodic pattern we will look at uses a third, but precedes it by moving down one half step.
Non-Diatonic Coltrane Pattern John Coltrane’s famous recording of “Giant Steps” utilizes a pattern of “1235” throughout the solo. This pattern is moved to each chord of the song. This is a great way to begin ‘playing the changes’ or outlining each chord. The first example here is the 1235 pattern moving by major 2nds.
You can move the pattern in any interval when you are working with chromatic patterns and exercises. The next example shows the same pattern moving in minor 3rds.
Major Triads in Minor Thirds Another way to develop flexibility is to take a structure (in this case a major triad, but could be a major 7th chord, minor chord, 1235, anything) and move it in minor thirds – or any interval. On the guitar this can be done by moving the exact fingering up three frets every time. That is an effective way to get that particular sound, but changing the fingering develops the ear and hand connection much better.
Major 7th Chords by Whole Step A similar approach is to use the major 7th chord and move by whole step.
ii-V Patterns These exercises are based on the common ii V or ii V I chord progression that makes up a high percentage of jazz chord progressions. These are designed to gain facility and control over the chord progression, and then later to add alterations. The first set of ii V patterns are shown as long ii V’s (1 bar for each chord) and the line is made up of quarter notes. These can be adapted to shorter ii V situations by changing the rhythms to eighth notes. Basic ii V The first exercise is the arpeggios of the chords in the progression.
ii V Voice Leading Next, we will ‘voice lead’ the line by moving down by half step when we get to the V chord (G7). Voice leading is making the smallest movements possible when going from chord to chord.
Basic ii V 3 to 9 Now let’s leave the root out of the chords. Here we are creating arpeggios from the 3rd of each chord going up to the 9th of the chord.
Basic ii V with Eighth Notes This example continues the basic arpeggio idea but adds a scale figure to each chord. In order to fit in those notes we have to play this example as an eighth note figure. The scale line moves down to resolve to the root of the following chord.
Basic ii V with alterations This one includes 2 alterations on the V chord (G7). This line works well because of the resolution at the end of the example.
Short ii V – 1 The short ii V progression comes up frequently in jazz. The first example moves up an arpeggio and voice leads back through the scale, resolving on the 3rd of the C chord.
Short ii V – 2 This example is very similar to the first short ii V, but starts on the 3rd of the ii chord. The concept is the same: move up the arpeggio, down through the scale.
Short ii V – Descending This example looks simple – just a scale moving down. But notice there are half step resolutions at each chord change.
Short ii V with Alterations Now add some alterations on the 9th of the G chord. They are ver noticeable. Also notice how strong this line resolution is with the altered notes on the V chord.
Short ii V with b9 This example brings us back to the arpeggio idea, this time adding a b9 that resolves to the I chord.
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Rhythms Many jazz musicians often consider the rhythm the most important element in jazz, saying rhythmic ability is what separates the great musicians from the good ones. Jazz has a time feel to it called ‘swing.’ Defining and developing swing is beyond the scope of this book. The swing feel is best developed by playing with experienced musicians and playing along with recordings of the greats. This chapter deals with the actual rhythms played by jazz musicians. Make sure to check out classic recordings by the greats in order to get the time feel down – these should not only live on the page. These are common rhythms taken from famous jazz tunes from the big band or bebop eras.
Big Band Rhythms?? Guitarists that ever play a major role in big bands. The parts are usually very generic or are overwhelming to an inexperienced jazz musician. Besides, once you are out of high school or college there are few opportunities to play in a big band. With all of that said, most of the rhythms presented here are from the classic big bands. What gives? The Roots of Modern Jazz It is especially important for guitarists to spend time with these rhythms since we do not spend much time playing in big bands. Big band is the root and backbone of modern jazz. Small combos like Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers or the first Miles Davis Quintet borrowed liberally from the big bands both in arrangements and feel. Most of the players that we are studying either spent some significant time in big bands, spent significant time playing with major big band members, or spent a serious amount of time studying the music of the post big band era (1950s-1970s). Usefulness These rhythms are also really useful. They can be transferred to jazz and blues situations. They can be used as comping patterns with chords, intros or endings, riffs, shout choruses, and in your lines.
Practicing Rhythm as Vocabulary Approach rhythmic vocabulary just as you would any other type of vocabulary. Find one or two rhythms to focus on first. Then overplay them. Force them into every situation you can – in the practice room of course. You will find the places where things work and where they don’t work. Deeper Groove Developing a deep groove is an esoteric and frustrating thing to practice. There is no real end point and the methods for working on this are inexact and confusing. A great to work on groove though is to practice one rhythm over and over. This helps to engrain that particular rhythm into your playing. Once you have worked on several rhythms in this way they will begin to flow without you having to think about them or force them. Practicing this way will help you to find deficiencies in your rhythmic playing. As you play a rhythm at different tempos you will begin to see where you might push the tempo a bit or have a tendency to play too far behind the beat. A next step in integrating them into your playing is to practice them at many different tempos. It is critical to use a metronome in this step. As great of a time feel as you might have, there is always room for improvement. Work with a metronome on a regular basis to find these. I tend to break tempos into three basic categories – slow (less than 100 bpm), medium (100-180), and fast (180+). This provides a framework that you can fine tune to your own needs. I practice something and then move the metronome by ten at a time. It is also good to move the tempo drastically at times too. Instead of moving by 10s all of the time, try going from 120 to 75, then to 190, then 100. The idea is to get experience playing the rhythm at many different tempos and being able to seamlessly move among them. Also try to put this rhythm into many different situations. Most of these rhythms will work great as arrangement figures, such as intros or backgrounds. Work these rhythms into chord figures. Play that one rhythm through an entire tune. It can also be helpful to find or create a complimentary rhythm and alternate between the two. These can also become part of your single line vocabulary and will show up as you practice them with chords. Try playing the rhythm in a solo. Write out a solo or line using the rhythm you are working on and play that line in different keys and tempos. Writing lines can be a huge help in developing a vocabulary. The rhythm will be integrated into your playing in a natural way. Remember, the idea for practicing this way is to get these elements of the jazz language to become a part of your playing and for come out organically when the time is right. Play many of these exercises so much that you get sick of them! They will come out in a meaningful way because you are learning the language of jazz instead of memorizing a bunch of licks to be used in choice spots.
Reading vs Hearing Before moving into an opinion on reading vs. hearing I want to make sure that it is clear that reading music is an important skill for all musicians to have. I have never encountered a musician who could read that wished they did not know how to read. The most organic way to learn rhythm is by hearing and playing. The greatest musicians learned this way. Almost none of them stopped there – they eventually learned to write and read music. But most of the greatest musicians started by imitating the sounds they were drawn to. Rhythm is best experienced by hearing first, counting and reading later. For some, this will be very freeing. For others it can be really frustrating. The best thing you can do is to start with the easiest way for you and move towards playing as much by ear as possible. My Story I had a very difficult time learning to play by ear while I was developing as a guitarist. It was much easier for me to read some notes from a page and transfer them to the instrument. It was also much easier for me to read rhythms and analyze them as I went along. This approach created an unneeded barrier between the ear and hand. The thing was I knew that I should have been doing this work by ear and would end up convincing myself that I was. But when it came down to it, I was playing more from my mind than from my ear – not an organic or natural way to play. Unlearning that habit was a huge in my development as a musician. This one thing changed my playing and opened doors that were previously shut for me as a musician – 80/20 at work! If you are in the same boat, I would recommend that you spend some time honestly looking at whether you are letting your mind create a barrier between ear and hands and take steps to get rid of it. Try putting all of your music away for a while. If you are learning from a notebook, write out the one lick you are working on in one key. Then do the rest by ear. Memorize one song and play that one until you have gotten a hold of it. Put away the crutches that get in the way of the ear to hand connection.
Making These Rhythms Happen In order to integrate these rhythms into your playing, force them into your practice. As mentioned (throughout this book), you will find many places where the licks, rhythms, and ideas work and do not work. It’s important for all musicians to find places where ideas don’t work. You need to test the ideas that you are working on to make sure you have a good handle on the one(s) you are working on.
The Rhythms Two performing notes: 1. There are all played with a swing feel 2. Listen to recordings of the rhythms to learn the feel Rhythm 1 – “Do dit dah”
This is one of the most common jazz rhythms recorded. Sing this rhythm with the syllables “Do Dit Dah.” You’ll see that this rhythm is incorporated in some of the other rhythms as well. This rhythm is foundational – make sure it is comfortable to play at many tempos. Rhythm 2 – The Charleston
This is probably the next most common rhythm found in jazz. In fact, as a comping instrument you can play only this rhythm and slight variations to sound pretty authentic. You can play this rhythm very fast as well, giving you some great vocabulary for fast tunes. Rhythm 3
Make sure to accent beat two with this rhythm. Rhythm 4 – Moten Swing “Do Dit Dah”
Here is a rhythm that puts quarter notes in front of the “do dit dah.” Rhythm 5 – “One O’Clock Jump”
Rhythm 6 – Lester Leaps In (solo)
Rhythm 7 – Blues in Hoss Flat
Rhythm 8 – Bill’s Mill
Pay attention to the articulations on this rhythm. The note on beat 2 is short while beat 4 is accented. The articulations make this rhythm sound authentic. Rhythm 9 – Moten Swing
Rhythm 10 – Jeep Blues
Rhythm 11 – Everyday I Have the Blues
Rhythm 12 – Everyday I Have the Blues 2
Rhythm 13 – Yardbird Suite
Rhythm 14 – Yardbird Suite (solo)
Rhythm 15 – Scrapple From the Apple
Rhythm 16 – Ornithology
Rhythm 17 – Moose the Mooche
Rhythm 18 – A Night in Tunisia
Rhythm 19 – Dexterity
Rhythm 20 – Dexterity
Licks Learning licks tends to be one of most contentious parts of playing jazz. Many younger players resist licks because they don’t want to sound like another player. Other players feel like they are not developing their own voice or personality. These concerns make sense on some levels, but neither are true.
Language Learning to play any type of music is very similar to learning a language. Many players begin to learn to play solos by getting a scale fingering and then told to make up something up with those notes. Have you ever been in that situation? It’s really frustrating! It is not that helpful for the player and it sounds boring to the listener. There is no direction in that type of playing because there is no voice leading. Voice leading in this context (improvising jazz) is when the notes of the solo – the line – gives the listener the impression of the chord progression. This is also called ‘playing the changes.’ What do you do then? The goal is developing vocabulary rather than of scales. Playing a musical style is similar to speaking a language. Conversations are made up from words and groups of words, not from letters and punctuation. Sure, it’s important to understand spelling, letters, and grammar, but it is not the key to communication. Vocabulary is. To apply this idea to music we have to think of things like scales and arpeggios as the letters and grammar. The vocabulary is made up of short phrases that are commonly played. You will find a new level of authenticity and depth to your playing from focusing on vocabulary. Think of a child learning to speak. They might start by imitating words they hear all around them but get many wrong. After trying this for a while they may start to get a few (mama, dada, yes, no…). They learn more and more words as they grow, adding to their vocabulary everyday. Once they start trying to form sentences they still might get some words wrong but they are still communicating. They might even use some words in the wrong context altogether. Over the years they get to a point where they’re communicating effectively. The crazy thing is that during those first few years they might only know the alphabet as a song. The process in music is very similar.
Study the Masters Where does language come from? Go to the masters of the style. In this case we are looking at jazz guitarists. Here is a list of some of the masters of jazz guitar. This is by no means complete and can be refigured for your own style and tastes. Most of these players are from the post bop period. This sub genre of jazz has been chosen because it gives us the most usable vocabulary – the licks these players used can fit many different contexts and styles. Two blues artists are included as their styles are very applicable to jazz and jazz related music.
It is also very important to study the music and licks of horn and piano players. Guitarists who study horn players have a huge advantage because they are opening their minds to ideas that don’t necessarily fit well on the guitar. Many times playing a horn line on the guitar will give you a new way to look at the neck. Some players to look into for some serious study are:
Of course many other improvisers can be added to both lists so don’t be boxed into what is presented here. Check these artists out and then move beyond them. Find Your Own Interests As you explore some of these artists you will find some that you connect with and others that you don’t. This is a natural experience. Dive deeper into the artists that speak to you the most. You will be more likely to learn from them. This will motivate you to learn their phrases and help to develop your own style. Some players catch your ear more than others because they are playing something that resonates with your musical personality. Going deeper with players who resonate with you will help develop your unique musical identity. What if I Sound Too Much Like… Who? Sonny Rollins? Wes Montgomery? Freddie Hubbard? Honestly, I don’t think that you would be upset with yourself if you sounded so much like Wes Montgomery that listeners were mixing you up with him. Again, going back to the resonance idea, that player does something that you identify with. It is not important to define what that is, but just to recognize it. If you end up studying someone like that for you, it would be natural that you will sound like that person for awhile. The other honest response here is that you will not sound too much like …insert name here. Each player has their own unique identity. This includes you AND the player you might be emulating. You bring experiences and sounds that the other player could not have possibly had. Take Wes Montgomery. Wes never heard Jimi Hendrix play and it’s a decent bet that you have. Right there is an enormous dividing line that took place in the late 1960s – 50 years ago. You will have a very different background from any of these players. While some of your playing might emulate these masters, you will never sound so much like them that you lose your own personality.
Organization We need a framework for these licks to be effective in using them. Learning a bunch of licks with no place to use them can be an enormous waste of time. The best way to get them into your playing is to organize them by context. This chapter is organized into four main contexts for licks: long ii – V progressions (1 bar per chord), short ii – V (2 beats per chord), one chord licks, and blues licks. Having a few ‘go to’ licks in each of these contexts will give you a number of things to play and will help you develop your own jazz language. These 4 make up a high percentage of contexts found in recordings and solos so focus on these areas first. The context here called “Blues Licks” has several licks that work great in many different situations. These can be used over dominant chords, but are also useful with major and minor chords. It’s best to use your ear in all situations to make good decisions of what works in each place. “Using Your Ear” The phrase “use your ear” comes up a lot when talking about jazz. It is great advice, but has one caveat. Your ear must have listened to a good amount of jazz from the master improvisers! Many guitarists skip this step, or begin making decisions before they have taken this step. It’s critical to listen to many of the recordings by the greats and current jazz artists.
Learning the Licks You’re about to get a bunch of licks thrown at you, what do you do with them?? Some players might already have a way to work on licks. If you don’t, here is a good method. Adjust this as necessary. The critical steps are learning it in all keys, playing at different tempos, and moving it to different strings. 1. Put down the guitar and sing the lick. Wait…what!? You read it right. Put the guitar down and sing. This step is frequently skipped and it is crucial! Starting with singing will teach you the sound of the lick in the most organic way possible – away from any instrument. It doesn’t have to sound pretty, or even good. The goal is to be able to sing the notes more or less on pitch. As you do this more and more you will find that your ear will begin to direct your playing more than your fingers and hands. 2. Now play the lick in one position and in one key until it’s memorized. Vary the tempo, again from medium to slow, to fast, to medium slow, etc. Play it at many different. 3. Play the same lick in all keys keeping the same fingering, in time. That might be difficult at first but gets easier as you work on it. If you can’t play something in time, there’s no way you’ll be able to play it in a performing situation! Use the backing tracks included with the book to help keep you honest here. 4. Repeat step 3 but use faster tempos. I have made it a goal to play any lick close to 200bpm before moving on. I’ve always felt that that is a good tempo threshold where you can realistically perform it in most situations. If you don’t stretch yourself in this phase you won’t play the lick in ‘real world’ situations. 5. Analyze the lick. Notice that this is pretty far down the list. Hopefully your ear has already latched onto the sound of the lick and has learned the sound of it. You should look at each note of the lick and compare it to the chord it is played over. 6. Now try to move it to a different string set. Start on the same finger. If you started on the G string with your first finger, start on the D string using first finger. Most of the licks will translate pretty closely from string to string. Once you have learned it on a new set of strings, repeat steps 3 and 4. Go to another set and repeat them again. Most licks will have 3 to 4 comfortable fingerings – some will have more and some will have less, it just depends on the lick and starting point. 7. (Optional) Return to your first fingering. Now try to play the same lick, starting on the same string and fret. This time start from each finger and repeat steps 3 and 4. This may sound difficult – and in many ways it is! – but if you have gone through the steps from the beginning, you will surprise yourself with how naturally you are able to do this step. Trust your ear. Since you have worked on singing the lick for awhile you will be able to do this step without even trying to think about the notes and theory behind the lick. Fall back on the theory whenever you get stuck. Some of the fingerings will feel weird but are useful. This is a great way to expand your knowledge of the fretboard. Work your way into weird corners of the neck that you will have to figure out.
Onto the Licks! Nearly all of the licks studied in this chapter are taken from the “Suggested Solos” to transcribe included in the Appendix. Since they form a major part of the canon of jazz guitar they are a great place to learn licks. Much of the material played on these solos has become standard jazz guitar language that all of the greats know, play, and/or study. The audio files for licks can be found at http://www.samsmileymusic.com/8020-jazz-guitar-amazon-sign-up/
Blues/Static Chords The first licks are all either over static chords or part of a blues solo – some may call them ‘bluesy.’ Blues is such a major part of jazz and it is very important to get some blues into your playing if you want to sound like an authentic jazz player. Lick 1 – Wes Montgomery “D Natural Blues” 1
This Wes Montgomery lick comes straight out of the D blues scale. The rhythm looks very difficult, but it is simple once you hear the lick in context, so learn the rhythm of this one by listening. Lick 2 – Wes Montgomery “D Natural Blues” 2
Lick 3 – Kenny Burrell “Chitlins Con Carne” 1
Again, this lick is from the blues scale, this time in C. Lick 4 – Kenny Burrell “Chitlins Con Carne” 2
Lick 5 John Scofield “A Go Go” 1
This lick is from a modal tune by John Scofield that only has one chord, B minor 7. Notice that he hits a G#, which is the 6th of Bmi. In this context, it gives the impression of an E7 sound. This is a useful device to help bring variety to one chord jams or sections of tunes that only have one chord. Lick 6 Grant Green “If I Should Lose You”
Lick 7 Pat Martino “Just Friends”
This is from the ‘must-know’ solo on “Just Friends” from Martino’s first solo album. This one is more of a static chord lick than blues. It works great on any dominant 7#11 chord, and would also work great over a IV chord in a blues form.
Short ii V The short ii V comes up very often in jazz. Learning short ii V’s gives you a big advantage because they can extrapolate over the long ii V. They can also be used as a substitution when improvising over a straight dominant chord or minor chord. Lick 8 Wes Montgomery “SKJ”
Our first short ii V lick is simple. The only alteration is the D# on the A7 chord. That note can be considered a #11 note or even thought of a neighbor tone – classical music term for a non-chord tone that returns to the previous note. Lick 9 Pat Martino “Just Friends”
Lick 10 Joe Pass “Joy Spring” 1
Joe Pass has a lot of bebop and blues in his playing. The second measure has a blues feel to it. That part of the lick can be taken by itself and played over both major and dominant chords. Lick 11 Joe Pass “Joy Spring” 2
This lick has been included because of the first two beats. Notice the Dbmaj7 arpeggio used to give the sound of a Bbmi9 chord. This is taken from a section of the tune where the resolution is irregular (doesn’t resolve to Ab).
Long ii V Long ii V’s are made up of a bar of each ii and V chords. These are also very common in jazz and should be a cornerstone of your jazz vocabulary. The nice thing about the longer ii V’s is that you have time to try different alterations and ideas on the V chords. Lick 12 Wes Montgomery “S.K.J.”
This lick is taken from a short ii V played in sixteenth notes. By playing it (or writing it) in half time, we have a long ii V. It is a melodic lick with a nice alteration using the #11 on the V chord. Lick 13 Grant Green “If I Should Lose You”
Grant Green takes a classic Charlie Parker idea in this lick. The 2nd bar features a line moving chromatically down from root to b7, with the 5th played in between. Parker used this idea often, and Green listened to and studied Charlie Parker’s music. This lick is a study in half step resolutions. He resolves from 7 of the ii chord (Db) to 3 of the V chord (C). Then he does the same – 7 of the V chord (Gb) to 3 of the I chord (F).
Lick 14 Jim Hall “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” Jim Hall is described as understated. There’s nothing understated about his lines though – they’re brilliantly conceived and played with conviction and meaning. He is one of the greatest jazz guitarists. This lick is very similar to the Grant Green lick above. It uses the same Charlie Parker idea, but this time on the V chord. The idea remains the same, just delayed. The long ii V gives you time that you can move different ideas to different parts of the bar. Lick 15 Stock Lick
Lick 16 Stock Lick
These two licks are both ‘stock licks’ – licks that have become part of the jazz lexicon over the years. The first is simpler, with only one alteration on the V chord.
The second stock lick uses more alteration on the V chord, including #5, #9 and b9. It resolves to the 5th of the I chord.
Minor ii V The minor ii V is a major hurdle for improvisers. The ii chord is a difficult chord to get used to since it is half diminished – which is not heard very often outside of jazz. These licks will give you a start to improvising over this challenging progression. Lick 17 Jim Hall “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”
This lick resolves to a major chord in context, but will work just as well when resolving to a minor chord. Jim Hall keeps things simple here, using blues language once he hits the b5 of the minor chord. Lick 18 Grant Green “What is This Thing Called Love”
This lick is pretty dense, and contains a lot of useful stuff. He reuses the idea we saw in Licks 13 and 14, this time over the minor i chord. Lick 19 Grant Green “Green Dolphin Street”
Here we have a short minor ii V. The harmony is clear. It can be adapted to a major ii V by raising the Eb to an E in the last bar. Lick 20 Grant Green “If I Should Lose You”
Here is another clear lick from Grant Green. His playing has some of the clearest bebop-influenced language around. He lays out the C half diminished chord by starting on the b5. Then plays a very useful lick on the V chord that uses the 5, b13, and b7, resolving to the b3 of the minor i chord. The audio files for licks can be found at http://www.samsmileymusic.com/8020-jazz-guitar-amazon-sign-up/
Theory The Theory section is setup so that you can move throughout it, learning things as you need them. This section is not meant to be read straight through, start to finish. For simplicity in the theory section, the key of C has been used for all examples. The concepts will remain the same regardless of key, but since C has no sharps or flats it is easier to see relationships.
Diatonic Harmony Each note of the major scale can be the root of a chord. These chords are named by the number in the scale of the root. If a chord is built off of the third note of the scale, it is called the “Three” chord. There are 7 notes in a major scale, so there are also 7 chords in that occur in the scale. There is a pattern that these chords follow to determine whether they are major or minor. It is: I Major ii Minor iii Minor IV Major V Major vi Minor viio Diminished Once a 4th note is added to the triad we get “7th chords” (see explanation in this chapter). These chords also follow a similar pattern: I Major 7 ii Minor 7 iii Minor 7 IV Major 7 V Dominant 7 vi Minor 7 vii Half Diminished These chords are called the ‘diatonic’ chords because they are within the key. Each chord will have its own character or sound. Learning each of these sounds or characteristics is an important part of ear training. It’s possible to get your ear to a point where you can hear all of these harmonies without your instrument! Some songs will have chords that are modified diatonic chords. One example that a pop guitarist would be familiar with would be the minor iv chord. You hear this all the time in the music of the Beatles. It is a standard harmony heard in many popular styles. When describing this harmony in a jazz context we call it a ‘Minor 4’ or iv. Sometimes the root of the chord is adjusted, such as a bIII chord. In the key of C, the iii chord is an Emi7. The bIII would be an Ebmaj7. The naming system for naming modified chords is not consistent. Most of the time by experience will tell you what to call the chord.
Triads Triads are three note chords. They make up the foundation of harmony and 7th chords. There are 4 main types of triads, major, minor, diminished, and augmented. A fifth type, called suspended, is also common though it is more often a chord that resolves. Each of the triads will be described based on the C major scale. A major triad is made up of the 1, 3, and 5 of a major scale. In C this would be CEG.
A minor triad has a lowered 3rd. It is spelled 1b35, in the key of C it is CEbG
A diminished triad has a lowered 3rd and 5th, so it is spelled 1b3b5. The C diminished triad is CEbGb.
An augmented triad has a raised 5th and is spelled 13#5. The C augmented triad is CEG#.
In a suspended chord (often referred to as a "suss" chord), the 3 is replaced by either a 4 or 2. If a chord just says “sus”, assume that it means sus4 - and use the 4. A sus2 is specified when needed. Sus4 is spelled 145. Csus4 or Csus is CFG.
Sus2 is spelled 125. Csus2 is CDG.
Related terms Diatonic Harmony 7th chord
7th Chords Seventh chords are 4 note chords - or triads with an extra note added on. If you noticed a triad is 135 - or created by skipping every other note. If we continue that pattern, the next note we would come to is the 7. So the basic spelling is 1357. There are six families of 7th chords - major 7, dominant 7, minor 7, half diminished (or minor 7b5), fully diminished 7, and minor major 7. The spellings again are in the key of C. Also make sure to look at the nomenclature examples below. Different writers use different symbols for chords. There is no standard practice for notating 7th chords, so it’s important to have a basic idea of all of them. Here is a chart showing the most
common symbols used in jazz chords. The major 7th chord is spelled 1357. The C major 7 would be C E G B.
The dominant 7th chord is spelled 135b7. C7 is C E G Bb.
The minor 7th is a minor triad with a lowered 7th. The spelling is 1b35b7, C minor 7 is C Eb G Bb.
The half diminished 7 or minor 7b5 is a minor 7th chord with a lowered 5th. The spelling is 1b3b5b7. In C this is C Eb Gb Bb. One of the symbols for this chord is a circle with a slash, which is the most common symbol for the chord. It is also called a minor 7b5.
The fully diminished chord has a diminished triad with a diminished 7th (a half step lower than a minor 7 interval). The spelling is 1b3b5bb7. The 7th is sometimes called a double-flatted 7. This note is enharmonically the same as the 6th, but should be spelled as the double-flatted note to be precise. The Co7 chord is C Be Gb Bbb (or A).
The minor major 7th chord sounds like a contradiction. It is a minor triad with a major 7th. It is spelled 1b357. The CminMaj7 is C Eb G B.
Related terms: Triads Diatonic Harmony
Extensions It is possible to extend 7th chords by another pitch. Follow the pattern we used to get to the 7th - skipping every other note. If a fifth note were added to the chord, we would end up with R3579. The 9th might look strange, since there are only 7 notes in a major scale. The 9th is the same pitch as the 2nd in the scale (in C, the 9th is D). It’s still called a 9th because it is voiced at least an octave above the root of the chord. We can continue to extend the chord. If we added a sixth pitch we would get an 11th. A seventh pitch would be the 13th. These have similar lower equivalents - the 4th and 6th of the scale. Here’s a reference to make things clearer:
Not all of these extensions sound good on all chords. The 11th does not sound very good on a major 7th or dominant 7th for example. They can work, but they have to be treated with care. The 13th on a minor 7th chord obscures the sound, creating sort of a minor/dominant sound. It can be useful on its own merit but does not work well as a minor chord. It’s impossible to play more than 6 notes at once. Even 6 note chords are not very desirable as they often have too much information for the ear and can sound very clunky. As guitarists, we have to leave certain notes out in order to make our chords sound good. To get a clear picture of the harmony the 3rd and 7th must be included. These are also called the guide tones. The root is an optional tone unless you are the only accompaniment. The 5th can be left out of chords as it doesn’t do very much to define the sound of the harmony. Extensions are added after the rest of the harmony is taken care of. Of course there are modern approaches to chord construction that don’t follow these rules. These work great in some circumstances, but are sometimes difficult to use in standard based jazz. Extensions can be altered as well. Check out the section on alterations for more info regarding altering notes in chords. With respect to extensions, any extension that is altered is more important than extensions that are not altered. For example, a C7#11 will have a 9th and a #11. The #11 is considered more important than the 9th when creating a chord voicing. Related terms 7th chord guide tones alterations
Progressions Chord progressions in jazz are very similar to both classical and pop music. The most common chord movement is by movement by perfect fourth. In order to find the common progression of chords, let’s start by moving backwards. The I chord is usually the ‘goal.’ The V chord moves up by perfect 4th to resolve to the I chord. V- I The ii precedes the V, it is a perfect 4th from the V. ii-V-I Jazz harmony doesn’t use many viio chords. The IV chord is seen in jazz, but it doesn’t usually follow the formula. The basic harmonic movement in jazz is: iii-vi-ii-V-I This doesn’t cover all of the harmony in jazz. But knowing this pattern in all of the keys gives you a jump on learning any chord progression in jazz.
ii-V Progression The ii V progression is one of the most common in all of jazz. One serious jazz educator estimated that 80 percent of jazz is made up of the ii V progression (read two five). If you are playing jazz based on or comprised of standards, you must know this progression well and must be able to navigate through it. It is the I IV V of jazz! Much of the standard repertoire is from the Tin Pan Alley era which was the time from about 1925 until the 1950s in New York. Broadway musicals had songs that were huge pop music hits which were later turned into jazz standards. These songs are still played today. A huge percentage of the rest of jazz is at least based on these songs as well, making it an important era of music study. The ii chord is typically a minor 7th chord. This resolves to the V chord, which is a dominant 7th chord. The V chord has a strong tendency to resolve to the I chord. One of the interesting features of the ii V progression is that it has 2 distinct half step resolutions contained in the progression. If you look at the guide tones you will notice you have a half step resolution each when that moving from chord to chord. The 7 in the ii chord moves down by half step to the 3 of the V chord, the C goes to B. The 7 of the V chord moves down by half step to the 3 of the I chord, F goes to E. The other guide tone stays the same from chord to chord. The 3 in the ii chord becomes the 7 in the V (F). The 3 in the V chord becomes the 7 of the I chord (B).
These clear differences give the progression a lot of forward momentum, which is one of the reasons it was used so often in the Tin Pan Alley and later in jazz. The action happens on the dominant chord where you can add alterations or ‘spicy notes.’ The V chord is unstable and wants to resolve to the I chord. Adding the alterations just heightens the feeling of instability.
Here is a section from a standard tune with ii V’s highlighted.
Here is another selection, this time from a jazz composer. This is a standard tune that is played very often and has a number of ii V progressions. Many don’t resolve in this example.
Related terms: Half Step Resolution Guide Tones Diatonic Harmony 7th Chords
Minor ii-V The normal ii V I progression makes up a huge percentage of jazz. The minor ii V also happens often. The roots of the chords are the same as the major ii V progression. Harmonies come from the harmonic minor scale. It is the same as a major scale with a lowered 3rd and lowered 6th. More details on this scale are outside of the scope of this book. Each chord in the minor ii V is different from what they are in the major ii V. The ii chord is half diminished - or minor 7 with a flat 5. If we look at the key of Cminor we get: C D Eb F G Ab B The ii chord would be: D F Ab C - or Dmi7b5. The V chord is either a 7b9 or an altered dominant. The i chord is minor or minor with a major 7th. The V chord in minor ii Vs a great place to add tension and alterations. Related terms ii V progression Alterations
Cycle The cycle is one of the most important ideas in all of functional harmony (harmony that is based on resolution as opposed to free music). The cycle is also called ‘circle of fifths’ and ‘circle of fourths.’ If you start at C and move up by a perfect fourth you end up with F. Move up by a perfect fourth again and you get Bb. If you keep doing this you will end up with all 12 tones in western music. You will also get the same result if you move up by perfect 5th. These notes are written in a circle:
The great thing about this cycle is that you can see the V of each chord. Each chord’s V sits clockwise to that root. Some songs in the standard jazz repertoire have sections made up of just the cycle. If you know it well you can navigate through those sections of the tune, and can hear them when they are happening in tunes that you don’t already know. “I’ve Got Rhythm” has a B section that is made up of the cycle. The cycle also provides a clean framework to use when learning licks or phrases. Moving around the cycle ensures that you don’t miss any starting points for licks. It also moves you enough away from the original key that you aren’t using any guitaristic ‘tricks’ to quickly move licks! Related terms V/V
V/V – Secondary Dominants Each chord can be preceded by a dominant, called “the V of…” whichever chord you are moving to. These chords are called secondary dominants. One common secondary dominants is the V of V, written V/V. The first V is the “V of…” and the second V is the chord we are moving to, “V.” So you can have a “V/iii” or V of iii, V/vi, or V of any chord other than vii. The chord produced in a secondary dominant is major. In the key of C, the V is G7. V/V means you are looking for the V of G7 - G A B C D. So this gives us a D major or a D7 chord. The chord built off of D in the key of C is Dmi (the ii chord). So V/V is a major II chord. Most jazz musicians are familiar with the secondary dominant language and it is used among experienced jazz musicians. Secondary dominants are common at the end of a bridge section. The V/V, or major II, resolves to a minor ii chord, which then resolves to a V and I. Try to find some situations in standards where you see this happening so you can train your ear to hear it. Once you’ve unlocked this move you will find it all over the place. Related terms ii V progression Diatonic Harmony Progressions
Guide Tones Each chord has two notes define the sound of that particular chord. The 3rd of the chord determines whether it is major or minor. The other guide tone is the 7th as it determines whether the chord is major or dominant. The guide tones are highlighted in red below.
These two notes (3rd and 7th) give the listener a complete view of the harmony when combined with the root.
What does this do for us as guitarists? First of all it gives you more freedom as a chord playing instrument. Whenever there is a bassist, the guitar doesn’t even need to provide a root. You can play just the guide tones, or just the guide tones with an extension or color note. Playing guide tones can take some ear training - it is difficult to hear an entire harmony just based on 2 notes. But once your ear is at that point, it can open things up. Jazz guitarists can approach harmony on the guitar similar to how a piano player approaches harmony, creating chords as you go instead of using shapes. Constructing chords in real time takes mastery over the fingerboard and the harmony. You can add color notes, or extensions, to the guide tones to create a different approach to jazz chords. Here is the same progression with guide tones and an extension on each chord.
The Freddie Green style of big band comping (constant quarter notes) calls for guide tones, sometimes with a bass note, sometimes without. In fact, most swing big band playing can be done only using guide tones. Jim Hall uses this style in small group playing. Related Terms Diatonic Harmony
Half Step Resolutions Music is driven by tension and release. Some chords provide tension while others resolve. In order to have release something needs to resolve. In the bigger picture this is the chords as a whole, but when you look at why the chords sound like they resolve you find that individual notes are doing the resolving. Resolution starts with a simple V7 to I resolution. It’s notated below. Notice that the 3rd of the V chord (B) resolves up to the root while the 7th of the V chord (F) resolves down to the 3rd. Lines have been drawn into the notation as well to help highlight the resolution.
Improvised lines also resolve in jazz. Most players use the half step resolution in their lines - many without articulating or defining it. Notes resolve by half steps moving lines and harmony forward. The trick is to find the half step resolutions that happen within the improvised line. There are a few common places where lines tend to resolve. The V chord can have many different alterations. Most of these are great notes to focus on when creating a line that resolves. The most common one is the flat 9 of the dominant chord, which resolves to the 5th of the I chord. In the key of C the V is G7, so we would have an Ab resolving to the 5th of the I chord - G. This move is very common in the playing of the bebop musicians like Charlie Parker and Bud Powell.
Unaltered dominant chords also have a very strong resolution. The 7th of the V chord has a strong feeling to resolve to the 3rd of the I chord. In C the V is G7, the 7th of that chord is F. The 3rd of C is E, the F wants to resolve down to E. The 3rd and 5th are the best notes to resolve to. You can use this idea to resolve to minor and dominant chords. It’s interesting to note that the B does not have the same tendency to resolve up to the root. Roots are not very strong resolution notes in jazz. Most of the time there is a major 7th somewhere in the chord. The root and the major 7th are either 11 half steps or 1 half step apart - both intervals are considered dissonant. This would be a tension resolving to another tension, which does not give the listener a feeling of resolution. Related terms ii V progression Alterations
Alterations Half of tension and release is the resolution. The other half is the tension. Tension exists when dissonant intervals give the listener a feeling that they the interval wants to resolve. One way to increase the amount of tension in chords is to use alterations, or that are changed by a half step. Most alterations happen on dominant chords. The dominant 7 chord already has a high degree of tension built into the chord (because of the tritone and its relationship to the tonic), so it’s no surprise that they take altered chord tones very well. Each altered chord tone has a specific sound. They typically have a number of other alterations assumed in the name. There’s more on that in the Levels of Alteration section. We use the major scale to get our “plain” extensions. The C13 chord is spelled C E G Bb D F A. Any alterations would be on this set of notes. If a chord was C7b9, the D would be lowered from D to Db. A C7#11 would have an F# instead of an F. One of the most important things about them is that they all have a pull towards resolution. You can ignore that pull in order to create more tension, but keep a critical ear out as most listeners will eventually feel uncomfortable with unresolved notes that are outside of the chord. They won’t articulate what they are hearing (no one will say “Oh that flat 9 wasn’t resolved! I want my money back!”), but they can tell something is off. Alterations happen in the extensions - the 9, 11, and 13. They can also be found on the 5th of the chord, though that brings up a question of whether the #5 is a b13 or a b5 is a #11. Your ear and the context of the chord and note are the final judge in these cases. Related Terms half step resolutions Levels of Alteration Tritone Substitution
Levels of Alteration Altered notes follow a pattern. There are certain alterations that happen together and give a specific sound. Others don’t work well together, although just about anything can work together if things are resolved well. Each alteration also has a scale that is associated with that sound. The scale can be the notes in the chord rearranged in scale order. Other times, such as with diminished sounds, a specific scale provides the sound. We’ll look at the most common alterations and scales that are associated with them. This could be the subject of an entire book, so if you’re interested in alterations look into some other resources that dive deeper into the topic. Most of the scales here are mentioned with a simpler alternative of editing the major scale. This is the simplest way to think of things, but it can be a difficult place to start. It is best to work on one sound at a time. Don’t think of these as scales by themselves, or chords by themselves. Think of them as total sounds that happen either across time - scales, or all at once - chords. Overloading the ear with information will lead to confusion and paralysis by analysis when you’re trying to improvise. This is not helpful in an art form that is dependent on being in the moment! Major Chords Maj7#11 - The major 7#11 is one of two alterations on major chords. The scale used here is the dian scale, or the major scale with a raised 4th (same as 11th). Maj7#5 - This is an augmented sound. This chord also implies the #11. The scale used with this sound is derived from the melodic minor scale - the case of C you would use A melodic minor starting on C orr just raise the 5th and 4th notes of a major scale. Dominant Chords Dom7#11 - This chord does not imp any other alterations. In fact, the 9th (the most altered note) is played unaltered to give the 9#11 a unique sound. The scale is derived from the melodic scale, this time the melodic minor from the 5th of the chord gives you the right sound. C7#11 would give you G melodic minor or lowering the 7th and raising the 11th of the major scale. Dom7b9 - The b9 typically implies the #9 and natural 13. Again the melodic minor scale is used to create a scale - play the melodic minor scale starting on the 7th. C7b9 would give you Bb melodic minor. Or you can play the major scale with lowered 7th and lowered and raised 9th. The diminished scale is also often used for the 7b9 chord. It’s often written 13b9 in order to clarify the natural 13th. Dom7#9 or 7alt - The “alt” chord implies all alterations are present - the b9, #9, #11, and b13. This is one of the only cases that I would suggest using a melodic minor scale instead of editing a major scale. The melodic minor scale a half step above the root of the chord is called the altered scale or the super locrian scale. On C7alt you would use C# melodic minor. Related Terms Alterations Melodic Minor
Diminished Scale There may not be a more misunderstood idea in jazz education than the diminished scale. Most of the confusion comes from the fact that there are two scales with the same name, but not the same notes! I’ll clarify things. The diminished scale is a scale that consists of a repeating pattern of half step, whole step. It is 8 notes long. Since it has a consistent pattern of intervals, you can start in several different parts of the scale. We call this the “whole half” diminished scale because of its intervals. This will get clearer as we go, so stick with it for a second. Let’s take a look at a diminished scale starting on C.
If you start the scale on Eb, you will end up with the same notes. You can start the scale on Gb and come up with the same notes. The same thing happens on A. So, the C diminished scale is the same as Eb diminished, Gb diminished, and A diminished. Since each one is the same as 3 others, we only have three different scales! There is a C, C#/Db, and D diminished scale. All of the others are the same notes as one of the original three.
Eb Diminished
Gb Diminished
A Diminished
This scale fits the diminished 7th chord. The whole-half diminished scale is a great choice for improvisation on diminished 7th chords. The other type of diminished scale flips the pattern. Instead of starting on a whole step, it starts with a half step. Since the pattern is half step, whole step, this scale is called the “half whole” diminished scale. The difference comes in its application and context. The half whole diminished scale is used with dominant 7th chords as an altered scale choice. The half whole diminished scale is used over a dom7b9 chord. You would want to use the C half whole scale improvising over a C7b9. Check out the notation to see how these two work. The C7b9 chord tones have been highlighted.
Another way to look at this scale is to think of the chord tones 3, 5, b7, and b9. The root is not included here, but you will see why as we put this together. In the case of C7b9 we would get: E G Bb Db Next, precede each note by a half step. We end up with: D# E F# G A Bb C Db
Now, rearrange the notes so they start on C, just to keep things simple: C Db D# E F# G A Bb The C half whole diminished scale! Related Terms Alterations
Melodic Minor The melodic minor scale is one of the most useful scales to know for altered harmonies. Classical musicians use a different set of notes ascending and descending the melodic minor scale. The melodic minor scale in jazz is used in its ascending form only. The scale came out of melodic tendencies that musicians noticed long before jazz. Scales come after the music. Scales are used to describe or relate to music, not the other way around. The scale is spelled 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7. The only difference between the major scale and the melodic minor scale is the 3rd. All of the other notes remain the same compared to the major scale.
Melodic minor can be rearranged and used over many different types of chords. One of the most common is the “altered scale,” which is created by starting the melodic minor scale one half step above the root of a 7#9 chord.
Other common harmonies that use the melodic minor scale are the 7#11 chord, and the 7b13 or 7#5 chords. Related terms Alterations
Substitution Jazz musicians sometimes replace the chords that are written in the song with other chords to create a more interesting harmonic background. This process is called substitution. Usually the new chord relates to the original. One of the most common types is the tritone substitution, which has its own section. Some of these can be very simple while others can be complex. There are many different ways to add chord subs into a song so we will stick to just a few of the basic ideas here in order to keep with the overall theme of the book. One simple chord substitution is to add an extension to a chord. This type of chord sub happens so often that a seasoned musician won’t notice or think of it is a substitution. Add a straight extension (as opposed to an altered one) in most situations. Sometimes during a dominant chord an altered chord will be appropriate, but keep a critical ear out for these situations. In this scenario you can substitute a major 9th for a major 7th, a minor 11 for a minor 7, or a dominant 13 for a dominant 7. In fact, most plain dominant chords will sound very vanilla and plain once you have listened to a lot of jazz and you will want to add some extensions to your dominant 7 chords at the very least.
Other chord subs that tend to be common are substitutions from the diminished scale and the “Dameron” chord subs. The Dameron ending is shown below. This ending is a common substitute for the end of a tune. Its name comes from his composition “Ladybird.”
There are many other ways to substitute chords that have not been listed, so if you are interested in chord subs check out the book “Chord Substitutions.” You can also use chord substitutions when improvising by crafting lines that follow the chords you have substituted in for the originals. Chord subs are useful when comping with another player, but make sure you have a good rapport with the musicians you are playing with. It can be off-putting to expect a chord and then hear a different one. There are two schools of thought. One is that you follow the improviser. This gives the listener the sound of a cohesive band or group, but the flavor of the tensions created by substitutions are lost. The other is to not follow the improviser. The subs become highlighted when you choose to do this because the improviser is playing interesting note choices against the plain chords. Both approaches work, it is just a matter of communication between musicians. Related terms Extensions Alterations Tritone Substitution
Tritone Substitution The tritone substitution is a most common chord sub. Its name comes from the interval between the 3rd and 7th of the dominant chord - the tritone. The tritone is half of an octave or 6 half steps. It is also called a diminished 5th and augmented 4th, depending on the context. The term “tritone” covers all of these spellings. The tritone is the same interval when inverted (turned upside down). The notes B and F are a tritone apart. So B up to F is a tritone, and F up to B is a tritone. Each dominant chord has a tritone between the guide tones, the 3rd and 7th. The G7 chord has a tritone from B (3rd) to F (7th). Since the tritone is the same either way, we can flip the interval. There is a chord that has F as its 7th and B (or Cb) as its 7th. In this case it is Db7 - Db F Ab Cb. These two chords share the same guide tones. Remember, the ear does not hear one note as a “3rd” and one note as a “7th.” It hears both notes together as a composite sound. It doesn’t matter that in one case the B is the 3rd and in the other it is 7th. Since G7 and Db7 share guide tones, they can be substituted for each other. Notice that these two chords are also a tritone apart - G to Db.
When you put this into a ii V I progression you get a smooth chromatic movement. Dmi7 G7 Cmaj7 becomes Dmi7 Db7 Cmaj7.
This substitution can also be used in improvisation, by implying a Db7 during a G7 chord. Just be sure to resolve it! Related terms chord substitutions ii V progression
Transposing Transposing is moving an idea from one key to another. You can transpose short melodic ideas, chord progressions, or entire songs. Transposition is an important tool for improvisers to develop their vocabulary. As you learn licks, you will want to be able to play them in many different keys. You will also want to be able to play tunes in different keys to accompany singers or just to change things up. Transposing is a simple idea, but can be difficult in practice. The simplest way to transpose is to think of things diatonically - or within a key. First, figure out how each note or chord relates to your original key. The two examples both start in the key of C and move to Eb. When transposing a melody, analyze the original in the original key. Then transfer those scale degrees to your new key. When transposing chords, start again by analyzing the original progression and moving it to the new key. Keep the same chord qualities from the original.
The other way to transpose is chromatically. Chromatic transposition is moving each note by interval. If your original line is in C and you want to transpose it to Eb, move each note (or chord) up by a minor 3rd. Chromatic transposition works best in situations where a key is not defined. Related terms Diatonic Harmony
Blues Form Blues is one of the roots of jazz. Most guitarists have played a fair amount of blues by the time they are interested in jazz, so this section will just clear things up so you can understand how it relates to jazz. Blues is typically played in song forms of 12 bars. That set of 12 bars is repeated several times during the song. Harmonically, the blues follows the same pattern no matter the tune. There are variations, but it’s important to know the basics first before moving on to the variations. The first four bars of the blues consists of the I chord. Most of the time in jazz, players will put a IV chord on the 2nd bar of the tune. Bars 5 and 6 are the IV chord, followed by the I chord. Bars 9 and 10 are traditionally the V and IV chords. Jazz musicians favor a ii and V chord there instead. Bar 11 sees the return back to the I chord. A ii V or I VI ii V turnaround brings things back to the beginning of the form.
Blues form is the most common form heard in jazz. I have included a more typical jazz blues form below.
Related terms Progressions Song Form Basics
Song Form Basics The song form is the general structure or shape of the song. The blues form is detailed already here. The other common form is the 32 bar form. Jazz musicians (and musicians in other styles) name sections by using letters - A, B, C, etc. If a section of the tune repeats it is simple to say “A section twice” or the common “AABA” form. This tells the other musicians that the tune is not an endless number of different sections but a common form. Sometimes there will be slight variations in the chords or melody even when a section is repeated. Musicians will still call it the same section - if the A section is different at the end, you still might hear “Back to the A section.” More precise musicians might call the section with slight differences “A1” or “A2” but those sub names are particular to the musicians you are playing with. Most of the time, the sections are 8 bars long. They can be more or less, so be sure to pay attention to the song that you’re playing. These forms are derived from the Great American Songbook, or the songs from musicals in the early 20th century. Most tunes will have an A section as the first section of the tune. A contrasting section is called a B section. AABA is the most common form heard in jazz, especially classic jazz, other than the blues form. Many variants on the Gershwin standard “I’ve Got Rhythm” have been written using this form. Another standard form is the ABAC form. There are also tunes that do not repeat sections, some might describe their forms as ABCD. They are also called “Through Composed.” Many jazz composers have used the standard song forms when composing their own songs. The forms have become part of the basic vocabulary of jazz and are now used by jazz composers. Related terms Progressions Blues Form
Glossary of Terms Diatonic - anything that happens completely within a scale static - chord or note that doesn’t change raising (a note) - moving a note up a half step (or another interval). This does not automatically make it a sharp. Raising a Gb a half step makes it a G natural. A G# raised a half step is a G double sharp (written Gx) and is enharmonically the same as an A. lowering (a note) - moving a note down a half step (or another interval. This does not automatically make it a flat. Lowering a G# makes it a G natural. A Gb lowered a half step is a Gbb (G double flat) and is enharmonically the same as F. enharmonic - pitches that can be described with two or more names. “Gb and F# are enharmonically the same.” The pitch has 2 names but is the same note. voicing - the order or arrangement of pitches that make up a chord. comping - playing chords with another musician, comes from accompanying harmonic rhythm - the timing which the chords go by - typically every bar or 2 beats in jazz interval - the distance between 2 notes modes - playing a scale from a note OTHER than its root
Where to Go Next You’ve gotten through all sets of 20 in the book, great! Hopefully you’ve made huge improvements in your jazz guitar playing in a bunch of areas. If not, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me via email or on one of the social media websites (Twitter or Facebook). I will do my best to help out. This chapter will give you a bunch of ideas (20) on where to go next. I am not going to go into too much detail on these ideas – that would make this book 40/80, but I do want to make sure you have a good idea of some additional things you can do in your jazzlearning journey. Some of the 20s are lists of 20s, so you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck here!
20 Limiting Tips Practice very slow tempos I mean very slow, around quarter note equals 50 or less. There’s no better way to test your time and rhythm than to slow things down. Anyone can speed up and just go with the flow. In order to go very slowly you must know the rhythm. Selective Metronome Beat Put the metronome only on beat 1. If you’re in 4/4, just divide the tempo marking by four. Try to hear the new tempo as beat one. For example, if you’re playing at 160, divide the marking by 4 (160/4=40) and put the metronome at 40. Each click is beat one of a measure. The metronome apps (Tempo by Frozen Ape is an absolute steal) can do this without the math! Advanced trick – try hearing the metronome as any beat other than one. Super advanced trick – try hearing the metronome as an off beat. Metronome Every Other Bar Again, slow it down so you only hear a beat every other bar. You are forced to internalize the rest of the rhythm. Memorize tunes Memorize one tune at a time. It is far better to know one tune well than to kind of know 20 tunes. Go to local jam sessions to figure out which songs you should be learning. Sing! Singing is a great way to internalize things. Sing licks, melodies, tunes, everything. Sing the roots of each chord as you play a progression. Then sing the 3rd of each chord. Sing a line as you play a chord. Sing a root as you play a line. Get creative with it. Sing a solo Pick a solo by one of the masters and work at singing it as close as you can. Match every inflection. Do all of this before trying to put it on your instrument. You will be amazed at how quick you learn the actual solo. Transcribe entire solos Learn solos from the greats from the record. Sometimes it’s good to grab a transcription book, but know that you will learn far more by transcribing the solo yourself. You also learn feel and pacing from an entire solo. Work towards playing the solo note for note with the recording. Memorize a transcription Memorizing the solo will get the solo and style into your playing. It is a great way to internalize a particular player’s vocabulary into your playing too. Transcribe just the best parts Another way to approach transcribing is to learn the parts that grab your ear. It’s a very effective way to boost your vocabulary. Create a chord melody Chord melodies are arrangements of melodies played with chords. Creating these can be intimidating for the first timer, but just dive in. It’s as simple as putting the melody of the song on the top of the chord. Advanced idea: try putting the melody of the song in the bass or middle of the chord. Mean every note Lennie Tristano was one of the greatest jazz educators of all time. One of his practice methods included playing scales very slowly. He had them do this so that they would mean and feel each note. Try playing scales slowly and see if you can keep your intensity up through the entire thing. It’s much more difficult than you think! Practice Up the Neck Try practicing up and down a single string or set of two strings. You will find the guitar neck opening up as you do this. Listen to one album at a time I went through a period of time where I kept one CD in my car at a time – this was back when you used CDs! I wasn’t a fan of the early Beatles records but knew they were influential and good, so I made myself listen to their first album for a month, and then their second album. It was a transformative experience! Try limiting your listening to expand your horizons. Play Counterpoint improvisations Counterpoint is an advanced art form, but is simple – just two different lines working together. Practice by recording an improvised line, either free or over a tune. Then play that line back and improvise a second line. It’s great to do this exercise with free improvisations because you have to rely on your ear. Learn pop songs
Sometimes jazz musicians get a superiority complex when it comes to jazz and pop music. This is unfortunate because pop music is simpler to hear and jazz musicians miss out on a great opportunity to work on their ear. Popular music is approached differently too. Jazz was approached in this way at one point in its history – it was pop music for a time. The approach of making something that sounds good because it sounds good would do well in jazz. It would create a fresh sound. Alter the time feel of a tune Play a swing tune straight. Swing a tune that is straight. Put a backbeat to a ballad. Play “Cherokee” very slow. Work on different meters Most jazz is in 4/4. There has been a trend over the past 20 years of playing tunes in different meters. You will learn a ton about rhythm and your own rhythmic tendencies and discipline. It’s not easy! Record yourself Record yourself practicing. Record gigs, record rehearsals. With the availability of smart phones and other technology there is no reason to not hear yourself on a regular basis. It always sounds different than you think it will. Play free improvisations Don’t even use a meter, start playing whatever comes to mind. Record it! You will almost always unearth a cool idea that you can develop. Write solos Writing your solos is a great way to develop your own style and vocabulary. You can put in whatever things you want to work on. Spend as much time as you would like to craft something that sounds meaningful to you.
Appendix Here are some more lists of 20 things to do to improve your guitar playing and musicianship. 20 Ways to limit yourself in order to increase creativity Play on one string Play on non-adjacent strings Use only chord tones Stick to one or two intervals Play in double stops Play one song for an entire week Learn a new tune from recordings Try to play something you have heard before from ear without listening to it Pick a fingering shape and try to incorporate it into every chord Stay in one position Play all (or several) tunes in the same key Transpose each tune you learn up by a half step Take the bottom three strings off your guitar Play in a duo with a saxophonist or other horn (non-chord instrument) Put the guitar down, think of a phrase to play, pick up the guitar and play that phrase once, perfectly, put the guitar down and repeat Use only triads Take one note out the scale – for example take the 6th out of the major scale Use the metronome on 2 and 4 Practice ONLY to recordings – no metronome Limit yourself to one rhythm Twenty Tunes to Memorize All the Things You Are Autumn Leaves Billie’s Bounce Blue Bossa Body and Soul Bye Bye Blackbird Days of Wine and Roses Fly Me to the Moon Freddie Freeloader Have You Met Miss Jones I’ll Remember April Just Friends Oleo Solar So What/Impressions Stella By Starlight Summertime Tenor Madness There Will Never Be Another You What Is This Thing Called Love Twenty classic jazz guitar albums to check out Kenny Burrell Midnight Blue Charlie Christian The Genius of the Electric Guitar Bil Frisell Nashville Grant Green Idle Moments Grant Green The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark Jim Hall Live! Jim Hall Intermodulation Jim Hall (with Ron Carter) Alone Together Pat Martino El Hombre
Pat Martino Live at Yoshis Pat Metheny Bright Size Life Pat Metheny Question and Answer Wes Montgomery Incredible Jazz Guitar Wes Montgomery Full House Wes Montgomery Smokin at the Half Note Joe Pass For Django Joe Pass Virtuoso Joe Pass Joy Spring Kurt Rosenwinkel The Next Step John Scofield A Go Go
20 Jazz Guitarists to check out John Abercrombie Billy Bauer Gene Bertoncini Bobby Broom Kenny Burrell Bill Frisell Freddie Green Grant Green Ted Greene Jim Hall Fareed Haque Pat Martino Pat Metheny Wes Montgomery Joe Pass Jimmy Raney Kurt Rosenwinkel John Scofield Johnny Smith George Van Eps 20 Great (Jazz) Guitar Books The Advancing Guitarist – Mick Goodrick Creative Chordal Harmony – Mick Goodrick The Guitarist’s Guide to Composing and Improvising – Jon Damian Chord Factory - Jon Damian Approaching the Guitar – Gene Bertoncini Gene Bertoncini Plays Jazz Standards – Gene Bertoncini Wes Montgomery Folio – Steve Khan Pat Martino The Early Years – Steve Khan Harmonic Mechanisms Vol 1-3 – George Van Eps Joe Pass Guitar Style – Joe Pass Joe Pass Chord Solos – Joe Pass Modern Method for Guitar – William Leavitt Linear Expressions – Pat Martino Bach 2 Part Inventions – Barry Galbraith Three Note Voicings and Beyond – Randy Vincent The Brazilian Guitar Book – Nelson Faria How to Play Chordal Bebop Lines – Jim Bastian Jazz Conception – Jim Snidero Pumping Nylon – Scott Tenant Volumes 3 (ii V), 20 (Jimmy Raney), 29 (Jimmy Raney duets) - Jamey Aebersold 20 Solos to Transcribe D Natural Blues – Wes Montgomery from Incredible Jazz Guitar West Coast Blues – Wes Montgomery from Incredible Jazz Guitar Satin Doll – Wes Montgomery from Dynamic New Sound SKJ – Wes Montgomery from Bags Meets Wes Green Jeans – Grant Green from Matador Jean De Fleur – Grant Green from Idle Moments If I Should Lose You – Grant Green from The Complete Quartets with Sonny Clark Alone Together – Jim Hall from Alone Together I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Jim Hall from Intermodulation Chitlins Con Carne – Kenny Burrell from Midnight Blue Joy Spring – Joe Pass from Joy Spring Seven Come Eleven – Charlie Christian from The Genius of the Electric Guitar Rose Room - Charlie Christian from The Genius of the Electric Guitar Just Friends – Pat Martino from El Hombre
A Go Go – John Scofield from A Go Go Bright Size Life – Pat Metheny from Bright Size Life Autumn Leaves – Miles Davis from Cannonball Adderly’s Somethin’ Else So What – Miles Davis from Kind of Blue Freddie Freeloader – Miles Davis from Kind of Blue Yardbird Suite – Charlie Parker from Charlie Parker on Dial
20 Books about jazz and music (not only guitar) Inside Improvisation (all volumes) – Jerry Bergonzi Lee Konitz : Conversations on the Improviser’s Art – Andy Hamilton Lennie Tristano: His Life in Music – Eunmi Shim The Art of Practicing – Madeline Bruser Miles: The Autobiography – Miles Davis Notes and Tones – Art Taylor The Jazz Theory Book – Mark Levine Thinking in Jazz – Paul Berliner Effortless Mastery – Kenny Werner The Inner Game of Music – Barry Green The Jazz Ear: Conversations Over Music – Ben Ratliff Study of Counterpoint – J J Fux The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles – Steven Pressfield Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art – Stephen Nachmanovitch Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism – Robert Gottlieb Miles, Ornette, Cecil: Jazz Beyond Jazz – Howard Mandel Four Lives in the Bebop Business – AB Spellman The New Real Book (all volumes) – Chuck Sher Modern Reading Text in 4/4 – Louis Bellson The Rhythm Bible – Dan Fox
Thank you for reading 80/20 Jazz Guitar. Make sure you go to http://www.samsmileymusic.com/8020-jazz-guitar-amazon-sign-up/ to receive all of the bonuses for the book. You’ll find audio examples, backing tracks, and printable PDFs. Sam Smiley’s other books Blues Language – Learn the language of the blues in context. Over 100 licks by the masters of the blues – BB King, Albert King, TBone Walker, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, and more. Chicken Pickin’ Vocabulary – Country music is based on the guitar. Learn many of the most important country guitar licks here, in context and organized by chord or progression. Chicken Pickin’ 101 – This small Kindle only book gives you 25 licks essential for playing country music.
