Chords for solo jazz guitar

[VKat]

Hello guys,
This is my first and I hope not the last post on this board. I'm learning some elements of jazz guitar and would like to come up with some mixed chordal-single note style, something I'd call a free form of chord-melody. I'm sure there are many examples and variations on this style among greats but I wouldn't like to stick with something rigidly.

Could you point me in the right direction about what chords should I first work on to build a strong base for my not yet clearly defined style? I could name Bucky Pizzarelli's chord-single note playing as my influence to give you an idea what I'm thinking about but again I'm not going to transcribe him and follow his style exactly. I'll try againg: I'm thinking of some mixed chords-partial chords-single note-lines-riffs stuff. Should I simply call it 'jazz noodling'?

So far I've been memorizing the drop2 voicings (Maj7, min7, V7, m7b5) on the 1-2-3-4 strings, the same stuff moved to 2-3-4-5 but I don't like the stretches over 5 frets so I'd better avoid most of them and also I like drop3 on 2-3-4-6 voicings and again not everything of the latter moved to 1-2-3-5 where the fingerings are more demanding.

So my question must be as I see now multi-part.
- Do I really have to become fluent with the 7th chords first or should I start adding some 6th, 9th, 11th and altered chords to the bunch?

I'm especially concerned about those 5 frets chords, I don't have large hands and I once overstretched my left hand so I had to leave my guitar for 2 weeks. Now I'd better avoid them and work on as many fingerings within 4 frets reach as possible. Therefore one thought that keeps coming on my mind is to leave those 5 fret chords alone and substitute them with some alterations or upper extensions where possible right now. Is this a good idea?
I mean do I reallly have to push myself to try to reach for those chords? I briefly examined Barry Galbraith's chord melody arrangements and found he mostly used very convenient fingerings without large stretches.

- I'm not quite sure about inversions. For example I know well all the 1-2-3-4 drop2 voicings including all inversions but I haven't found much info anywhere, in various books or on the Internet about proper use of inverted chords.
I understand when we have root in the lower string we have strong feeling of the scale degree of the chord but when we use inversion that root feeling is lost and the chord function should rely on its intervalic structure to fit in the context. I understand this can be a complex subject but I need some idea to start with.
Sorry if my post is not very clear, I'll try to elaborate if you reply.

- Edit: I recalled one more thing that I was thinking about. What about partial chords? For instance I know it's possible to leave the 5th from the chord so it's quality isn't changed when it's Major or minor, not sure about extended or altered chords. It would be possible to reduce many chords to 3-note versions. When does it work and when doesn't? I see this must be also a complex subject also but I'd appreciate some guidance.
I know that 'Your ears will tell you the best' advice but I'd like to know some common rules, maybe even in some layman terms for a quick start. I went through a pile of books and couldn't find a clear answer to this question yet.

[Bill C]

You might want to check out the two Barry Galbraith "Guitar Solos" books. They each contain about a dozen arrangements of standards. Lots of great ideas to feed into your own chord melody playing.

[nomelite]

Follow this advice: check out this lovely course.You will learn a lot from it: how to build the chords you need for solo guitar, voice leading, inversions, etc.Howard Morgen is quite respected and this course will open your mind.
Jazz Guitar Lessons - Fingerboard Breakthrough - Howard Morgen

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

As far as chords requiring longer stretches, have you tried using classical style: resting the guitar on your left leg (maybe elevating that foot), angling the neck upwards and keeping your thumb in the middle of the back of the neck, etc...?

[derek]

My advice for starting out on chord melody is actually pretty simple. You can digest all those shapes if you like, but I don't think it is an effecient way to go. Working on a bunch of shapes all at once makes it tough to hang on to them I think.

Root position 7th chords (think CAGED system), Freddy Green shell voicings (R, 3rd, 7th) and 2nd inversion 7th chords will get you a long way. As far as the extensions go (6ths, 9ths, 11ths, etc), you will find that often that extended note is the melody note, so if you use a shell voicing plus the melody, you get a 13th, 9th or whatever.

Imo, there is not much more rewarding activity than arranging your own CM, even if it is pretty vanilla. As you add chords to your arsenal, you can begin to drop them into what you already have. At that point, I begin collecting arrangements of tunes I already do, to see how the pros treat the same tune.

For instance, I have probably incorporated parts of 3-4 arrangements of Autumn Leaves into the basic arrangement I came up with about 5 years ago. Using other's ideas and blending them all allows me to play it differently each time thru. Fun stuff, good luck with it.

[nomelite]

cool post Derek! I read many threads about the same topic but this posts summarizes it all IMHO.

[derek]

Originally Posted by nomelite

cool post Derek! I read many threads about the same topic but this posts summarizes it all IMHO.

Thanks. CM is a topic near and dear to my heart.

[rabbit]

Don't hurt yourself trying to reach those '5 fret' chords.

Find another chord; you can often leave out a note or notes.

You make the rules. Don't risk injury. Good luck

[bako]

To address stretchy chords:

Some chords are quite playable in the higher positions especially with a good cutaway. Try it out up high and don't play it any lower than is comfortable.

For chord forms unplayable with simultaneous sound you can play the same notes broken into fragments.

4 note chord:
1+3
2+2
3+1
or even arpeggiated.
It gives you the voicing without the pain.

For purposes of observing voice leading and increased fingerboard knowledge it is useful to see all the inversions even within these playing limitations.

[VKat]

Thank you all for your replies.

Derek, it's an interesting idea about shell voicings. I never thought of these chords as anything useful other than for swing comping behing the band. That's what actually Freddy Green did with them anyway.
I intentionally avoided learning anything about them even though I've got a specific book by Charlton Johnson on the topic. 'These are jazz guitar "power chords" ' - that's what I was always thinking about them.

[FatJeff]

Hi VKat,

I've spent the better part of the last 8 months memorizing all of the drop-2 voicings, in all 4 inversions, on all three 4-string sets (6-5-4-3, 5-4-3-2, 4-3-2-1). I think that ultimately this is a worthwhile thing to do, but it is quite daunting for a beginner. Derek's advice is right on, you can get a ton of mileage out of just the root and second inversions, and you could probably limit the grips even further by just doing the top two string sets (5-4-3-2, 4-3-2-1).

The root and 2nd inversions kind of operate as a linked pair when you start moving through the Cycle of Fifths (CoF). You can go C-F-Bb-Eb-Ab-Db...etc without having to move around a bunch on the fretboard if you know these grips. Same thing for the 1st and 3rd inversions.

As far as the reach is concerned, I hear ya - my LEAST favorite drop-2 is Maj7 in first inversion, esp. on 6-5-4-3. However, I can say that after a few months of forcing (literally - FORCING) myself to do these almost daily, that they do become a little easier. Not that I would immediately go to these in a performance situation - they're pretty dicey still. BUt at least I know them from a theoretical perspective, and I can pick 2- and 3-note groups out of them to get shell voicings if I need to.

One thing you can do to mitigate the physical difficulty of some of these drop-2 voicings is to convert the root into the ninth (move that root note up two frets). In many cases this yields a much friendlier grip. Once you start to do that you are going to notice some interesting things - you're now using the same shapes that you already know for other chords (e.g. a Maj7 shape played on the 3rd of a minor chord yields a min9 chord), just in different ways.

I would also point out that one of the most useful things about the drop-2s is that they lend themselves well to alterations. Once you know the drop-2s inside and out (and you know where the 1, the 3, the 5 and the 7 are for each), it's really easy to just alter a single note up or down a fret to get stuff like Maj7#11, dom7b13, dom7b9, min11, etc.

[derek]

Originally Posted by VKat

Thank you all for your replies.

Derek, it's an interesting idea about shell voicings. I never thought of these chords as anything useful other than for swing comping behing the band. That's what actually Freddy Green did with them anyway.
I intentionally avoided learning anything about them even though I've got a specific book by Charlton Johnson on the topic. 'These are jazz guitar "power chords" ' - that's what I was always thinking about them.

Yeah, highly useful shapes. I use them for everything from chord melody, to walking basslines with occassional chord punches, to improvisational material by dropping the root and just using the 3rd and 7ths with neighbor tones.

[SwingSwangSwung]

Here's a lesson I put up on YouTube that is a good intro to jazz chord voicings.

YouTube - How to play 112 Jazz Guitar Chords

Cheers,
David

[Drumbler]

There are excellent worksheets by Matt Warnock with Drop 2 chords.

No big stretches required! Follow the link:

http://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/comping-chords-chord-progressions/1377-drop-2-cycle-exercises-richvincent.html

[franamico]

You might also want to check John Thomas' "Moving Through The Changes", published by Berklee Press.

Its is packed with II V I progressions and also with rhythm patterns to practice.
I find it incredibly easy to study and also to use with my students.