The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Hi All,

    I'm hoping to get a few words of advice with regards to playing over changes and improvising. I've been playing for a couple years now (jazz anyway), mostly learning off recordings and 'playing by ear', so I'd consider myself a beginner. Well, I'm in it for the long haul. Anyway, I'm aware of all the scales, "what scale to play over what etc..." For me, it's overwhelming, and I can't help but think there's a simpler way of approaching things while playing in the moment. I'm honestly considering tossing all my books, as it's just way too slow of an approach for me..well, it doesn't have quick enough impact. Would I be wrong in just trying to memorize the fretboard and play by ear? Drilling it into my head?

    I've been trying to figure out how some of the masters were thinking through the changes, and just don't get how they could have been thinking all these different scales while playing..

    I'm curious to hear of everyone's varying approaches. Your help is much appreciated!

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Start by focussing on chord tones more than scales, it’s a better way to get the sound of the chord changes into your head. Invent little melodic phrases built around those chord tones. Everything we play should be a melody anyway, as far as I’m concerned. Even Charlie Parker’s solos are like loads of little melody fragments if you listen to them a lot.

    To be honest I never worried about scales too much and I learned largely by ear from recordings, like you. (I had already learned scales when I was taught classical guitar, so I wasn’t ignorant of them).

    You might want to try practising arpeggios on each chord of a tune, I personally found that more useful than worrying about “which scale on which chord” etc.

  4. #3

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    Just stick with it. It'll come. It takes a while.

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by grahambop
    Start by focusing on chord tones ...

    You might want to try practicing arpeggios on each chord of a tune ...
    Chiming in with Graham, here.

    For tunes with changes, you don't want to be trying to think of what chord scales work over that upcoming D7 -- you just want to think "D7."

    There's a video of Joe Pass responding to a question about his thinking (only he's using G7 as his example, now that I think about it). He plays a number of different phrases -- some straight ahead G7(13) stuff, some with various altered extensions, etc., etc. After every phrase, he says "G7."

    My interpretation: "Hey, I know there are different colors I can apply to different chords in various contexts; but I'm not thinking about what scale they come from or what the theory is -- I'm just coloring over G7."

  6. #5

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    The "learn all the scales" approach is kind of roundabout...and not really what is at stake, in a lot of tunes, IMO. I kind of had the same reaction to you, initially. A couple of things that helped me:

    First, even within straight diatonic progressions, your solos will sound tighter (in a straight 2-5-1, say) if your solo pays attention to different "chords of the moment"...to me ii chords are a "little bit away" from the main tonality, the V dom. is a "bit more away", and then resolution...just by emphasizing these differences, this helps, even in a key center. 'When the chord changes, you should change' says J. Pass.

    (Try playing all 12 tones against each diatonic chord....the 4 is crummy against its maj. chord; a flat 7 is not great against a ii chord--even though it's a chord tone, IMO, etc., etc. Dom's are pretty versatile....you can really harmonize almost any chromatic tone against a dom. chord....Cole Porter uses natural 7 against a dom. chord sometimes...you can learn a lot this way.)

    Secondly, in a lot of tunes, you have a chord change (or melody note) which signals a change in tonality....e.g. "The Lady is a Tramp" starts out C major with an almost instant change to C minor. Just one note (b natural to b flat) makes all the difference...so your frame of reference here might be major to minor..."Green Dolphin St." is C major, with the 1st phrase ending on C minor (or something else which picks up the B flat that the phrase ends on), then a modulation to D flat dom, before resolving back to c maj.

    Thirdly, not really thinking big scale patterns....try playing in one position, without re-locating for "root changes", a different but similar phrase which references these changes. Don't be afraid to play something really brisk-paced....it can help your ear to match up to the changes. (You may also need to change the phrasing to make it sound good.) Jerry Coker advises this as a student exercise.) e.g. play a phrase with B flat, c d e f g over C dom., then change the b flats to b natural to play over a c maj. chord, then change e to e flat over c minor, etc., etc.

    Third, see if you can analyze the progression to find the "juicy" half-step chord tone movements which signal a change in harmonic emphasis...a normal V-I resolution, or use of a secondary dominant which signals arrival of a leading tone. E.G. "ALL of Me" starts out with a c maj. phrase, then it has the G sharp note which is the 3rd of the E dom. chord...where is E dom. going?, not really to A maj., but to A dom. then D min., etc. You have to look at the whole phrase and see its harmonic logic. So on the 1st part of the phrase I might play something with b a g, then on the 2nd part I might play b a, g sharp and just that little fragment is enough to signal the tonality change....and then the g sharp resolves up to a for A dom. chord., which is using voice leading to make the phrase flow.



    Finally, study chord melody stuff if you don't have much training/experience in harmony. Chord melody kind of forces you to understand the relationships between melody and harmonic underpinnings, and you start to see there are lots of little tricks (tri-tone subs; secondary dominants; using diminished chords as dom. subs, etc.) that are common harmonic devices.


    If you play enough by ear, you can kind of "reverse engineer" these relationships in your mind. Django Reinhardt never read a note of music (or anything else, for that matter), but he played enough to instantly know them by sound....but a little study of the theory, and relating it to what you are hearing, can aid the process to a lot. There are common relationships which repeat over and over...so a little theory is helpful, but you actually have to pick tunes apart, IMO, in order to use this most effectively.
    Last edited by goldenwave77; 11-18-2017 at 04:06 PM.

  7. #6
    Thank you for the detailed replies so far, very helpful.. keep them coming too!

    I'd say my strong point on the instrument so far would be chords and inversions. I seem to get the chord melody thing the most, or maybe just drawn to it. Next would be arpeggios.. Would I be safe in saying I could use this as a springboard to improvising and playing changes versus learning variation upon variation of scales? (at least in terms of how I'm thinking while playing, I guess that's what I'm on about).

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by p1p

    I'd say my strong point on the instrument so far would be chords and inversions.
    Still a beginner here myself but that there is a perfect starting point IMO - play those chords and inversions as arpeggios and from there you can fill in with "scale" tones - it's the way it worked and works for me....

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by M-ster
    Chiming in with Graham, here.

    For tunes with changes, you don't want to be trying to think of what chord scales work over that upcoming D7 -- you just want to think "D7."

    There's a video of Joe Pass responding to a question about his thinking (only he's using G7 as his example, now that I think about it). He plays a number of different phrases -- some straight ahead G7(13) stuff, some with various altered extensions, etc., etc. After every phrase, he says "G7."

    My interpretation: "Hey, I know there are different colors I can apply to different chords in various contexts; but I'm not thinking about what scale they come from or what the theory is -- I'm just coloring over G7."
    I found one of Joe’s comments on one of his videos really useful - he said there are really only 3 types of chords, Major, Minor and Dominant, and that’s how he approaches them.

    A brilliant reduction to the essentials.

  10. #9

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    There are great players who don't know any theory at all.

    Pick a tune. Strum the chords slowly and scat sing.

    Transfer those lines to the guitar.

    That's all it takes.

    It might be helpful to focus on singing lines in which you can hear the chord changes, although it's optional.

    If you get to a point where you're tired of your own scatted ideas, then get some recordings and try to pick up some ideas from them.

    This will work fine, except for a situation where somebody puts a chart on your music stand with harmony you don't understand and can't hear in your mind -- and then, with no time to prepare anything, you're supposed to solo on it. In that situation, it's helpful to know chord tones at a minimum and some CST can come in handy.

  11. #10

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    Avoid playing arpeggios off the root of chords - learn (from recordings) to superimpose alternatives.

  12. #11

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    I would also say study good e.g.'s of songs. You will learn a lot by picking them apart.

    Jimmy Van Heusen...his stuff is often so well put together, it feels like sacrilege to improvise on it...or at least it is very challenging, IMO. "Darn That Dream" is tricky to give justice to.

    Richard Rodgers...very simple, but powerful melodies...what are his secrets?

    Cole Porter....a lot of major/minor switching....melody lines which don't seem too active, but which contain a lot of harmonic "juice", e.g. "Love For Sale"

    Jerome Kern....soaring melody lines, and really powerful harmonies

    Burt Bacharach....not so obvious, but with a lot of energy....makes use of gospel type rhythms, I would call it... "Message to Michael"

    I also like to listen to good ballad players (Gene Ammons) or people on "slower" instruments, e.g. J.J. Johnson on trombone (or Michael Dease* who I saw recently at Detroit Festival), or Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax...


    Supposedly, Miles D. never listened to his own recordings, and listened to a lot of classical music....and while his pure trumpet chops are not nearly as good as lots of other trumpeters (Freddie Hubbard or Dizzy), his compositional sense as an improviser is where he excels.


    *Dease has excellent chops, and his phrasing is just outstanding...really unusual to hear him do what he does on trombone. Might be the best around today.

  13. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by p1p
    Hi All,

    I'm hoping to get a few words of advice with regards to playing over changes and improvising. I've been playing for a couple years now (jazz anyway), mostly learning off recordings and 'playing by ear', so I'd consider myself a beginner. Well, I'm in it for the long haul. Anyway, I'm aware of all the scales, "what scale to play over what etc..." For me, it's overwhelming, and I can't help but think there's a simpler way of approaching things while playing in the moment. I'm honestly considering tossing all my books, as it's just way too slow of an approach for me..well, it doesn't have quick enough impact. Would I be wrong in just trying to memorize the fretboard and play by ear? Drilling it into my head?

    I've been trying to figure out how some of the masters were thinking through the changes, and just don't get how they could have been thinking all these different scales while playing..

    I'm curious to hear of everyone's varying approaches. Your help is much appreciated!
    Yep the info is overwhelming. I think the web, and the jazz education explosion is simultaneously the best and worst thing for jazz education ever lol.

    I would recommend playing triads 1-3-5 through the entire chord progression. It won't sound like jazz, but it will give you the harmonic backbone.

    Get them down all over the fretboard. I like to practice them in 1/4 and 1/2 notes.

    I think throwing away books is a bit extreme (unless you are in the throws of a KonMari clearout) but I suggest not looking for any new information until you have this basic stuff at your fingertips.

    Once you have done triads, you can start applying whatever else people have posted in this forum that grabs your fancy.

    And those lines you have transcribed - analyse them with respect to the chord tones. That'll teach you more about application of material than any amount of books or internet verbiage.

    Also - get a teacher if you can. A good teacher does not need to be a world renowned jazz guitarist in another time zone (That does no harm though), but a good player and teacher who can play with you and give you targetted advice on what to practice.

    Good luck!

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by p1p
    Thank you for the detailed replies so far, very helpful.. keep them coming too!

    I'd say my strong point on the instrument so far would be chords and inversions. I seem to get the chord melody thing the most, or maybe just drawn to it. Next would be arpeggios.. Would I be safe in saying I could use this as a springboard to improvising and playing changes versus learning variation upon variation of scales? (at least in terms of how I'm thinking while playing, I guess that's what I'm on about).
    Absolutely. If you can dial in those arpeggios all over the neck, you're about 75% of the way there.

  15. #14
    Thanks guys, this is all REALLY helpful..

    I sat down with the guitar this morning, and just tried approaching things I already play and things I'm working on but from a different perspective, i.e. how I see and move around the fretboard. It was almost like taking a step back from the fretboard and seeing the bigger picture.. does this make any sense? Basically, just as I might think of different inversions and substitutes while playing chordally, I started to see THESE notes alongside the standard chords/arpeggios.. all of a sudden the fretboard lit up with notes, with the changes, with what I think is just a change in PERSPECTIVE. I then tried making a conscious effort to forget about scales - or how I've learned them - and I think that's helped even more..

    I'm grateful for this forum and it's members, and the fact that we can help each other even just bouncing ideas around.


  16. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by christianm77
    Yep the info is overwhelming. I think the web, and the jazz education explosion is simultaneously the best and worst thing for jazz education ever lol.

    I would recommend playing triads 1-3-5 through the entire chord progression. It won't sound like jazz, but it will give you the harmonic backbone.

    Get them down all over the fretboard. I like to practice them in 1/4 and 1/2 notes.

    I think throwing away books is a bit extreme (unless you are in the throws of a KonMari clearout) but I suggest not looking for any new information until you have this basic stuff at your fingertips.

    Once you have done triads, you can start applying whatever else people have posted in this forum that grabs your fancy.

    And those lines you have transcribed - analyse them with respect to the chord tones. That'll teach you more about application of material than any amount of books or internet verbiage.

    Also - get a teacher if you can. A good teacher does not need to be a world renowned jazz guitarist in another time zone (That does no harm though), but a good player and teacher who can play with you and give you targetted advice on what to practice.

    Good luck!
    Great advice

    I did spend some time dedicated to triads a while back, but will now revisit in regards to playing through the changes.

    I've never had proper, structured lessons from a teacher.. If I was a bit closer to London (I'm in Wales), I'd consider asking you Christian, if you offer.

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by p1p
    Thanks guys, this is all REALLY helpful..

    I sat down with the guitar this morning, and just tried approaching things I already play and things I'm working on but from a different perspective, i.e. how I see and move around the fretboard. It was almost like taking a step back from the fretboard and seeing the bigger picture.. does this make any sense? Basically, just as I might think of different inversions and substitutes while playing chordally, I started to see THESE notes alongside the standard chords/arpeggios.. all of a sudden the fretboard lit up with notes, with the changes, with what I think is just a change in PERSPECTIVE. I then tried making a conscious effort to forget about scales - or how I've learned them - and I think that's helped even more..

    I'm grateful for this forum and it's members, and the fact that we can help each other even just bouncing ideas around.

    How to practise arpeggios

    You don't play the arpeggio of the chord of the tune. You play alternate arpeggios of the chord of the tune

    For example:
    If it's an A-7, you don't play A-7; you play Cmaj7 or E-7
    If it's an Amaj7, you don't play an Amaj7; you play C#-7 F#-7 or E triad
    If it's an A7, you don't play A7; you play C#-7b5 E-7 or Gmaj7b5
    Last edited by destinytot; 11-19-2017 at 10:29 AM.

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by p1p
    Great advice

    I did spend some time dedicated to triads a while back, but will now revisit in regards to playing through the changes.

    I've never had proper, structured lessons from a teacher.. If I was a bit closer to London (I'm in Wales), I'd consider asking you Christian, if you offer.
    Thanks! I have to say it did me a lot of good, which is why I recommend it - I actually started practicing it because of a Lage Lund workshop where he demonstrated this approach (I'd always thought in 4 note chords until then).

    You might be interested in Jordan's lesson here:


    As far as my teaching goes, yes I do offer, and I can do Skype (not the same as being in a room with someone, though.)

  19. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by destinytot
    How to practise arpeggios

    You don't play the arpeggio of the chord of the tune. You play alternate arpeggios of the chord of the tune

    For example:
    If it's an A-7, you don't play A-7; you play Cmaj7 or E-7
    If it's an Amaj7, you don't play an Amaj7; you play C#-7 F#-7 or E triad
    If it's an A7, you don't play A7; you play C#-7b5 E-7 or Gmaj7b5
    This is to target the extensions/tensions of the chord of the tune though right?

    I suppose I'm looking for a way to simplify this, so I don't have to think e.g. play x arpeggio, y scale over z chord. I'm not sure my brain works this way, as I haven't been progressing as quickly as I'd like to be. If I'm playing over a chord in a tune, can't I think of just playing off all the tones of the chord, it's inversions and substitutions? If I were to put that to memory? Sorry if this makes little sense, but I'm hoping to approach things in the best possible way for me, going forward.

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by p1p
    This is to target the extensions/tensions of the chord of the tune though right?
    Yes - as sounds.
    Quote Originally Posted by p1p
    I suppose I'm looking for a way to simplify this, so I don't have to think e.g. play x arpeggio, y scale over z chord.
    Learn them as sounds.
    Quote Originally Posted by p1p
    If I'm playing over a chord in a tune, can't I think of just playing off all the tones of the chord, it's inversions and substitutions? If I were to put that to memory?
    Yes - if you learn them as sounds.

    Because intuitive musical response is best served by knowledge resources based on practical application and synthesis of actual sounds - and not served at all by verbal or visual (or other distractions, all of them 'bouncing cheques').

  21. #20

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    'Tension/resolution'... I call it 'Home and away'

  22. #21

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    Essential viewing:

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by p1p
    This is to target the extensions/tensions of the chord of the tune though right?

    I suppose I'm looking for a way to simplify this, so I don't have to think e.g. play x arpeggio, y scale over z chord. I'm not sure my brain works this way, as I haven't been progressing as quickly as I'd like to be. If I'm playing over a chord in a tune, can't I think of just playing off all the tones of the chord, it's inversions and substitutions? If I were to put that to memory? Sorry if this makes little sense, but I'm hoping to approach things in the best possible way for me, going forward.
    Warren Nunes taught that there were two types of chords, I and II. Roughly, tonic and dominant.

    He broke down the usual harmonized major scale like this. I'll use key of C.

    Cmaj, Em7, Am7, all type I, meaning tonic chords which could be used interchangeably.

    Dm7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7, all type II, meaning, dominant chords which could be used interchangeably. Note that Am7 could be used either way.

    I can't recall what he said about Bm7b5, but it is probably another dominant since it has the same notes as G9, except for the G.

    He'd have a student play iii VI ii V's and he'd freely substitute according to this formula. He'd do it at high speed and then say what every substitution was afterward. I recorded and checked him -- he was right every time.

    This wasn't the only thing he taught. He said there were 5 sounds in jazz. Major, minor, melodic minor, diminished and whole tone, if I remember correctly. If he had formulas for substituting on the other scales, I don't recall them.

  24. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
    Warren Nunes taught that there were two types of chords, I and II. Roughly, tonic and dominant.

    He broke down the usual harmonized major scale like this. I'll use key of C.

    Cmaj, Em7, Am7, all type I, meaning tonic chords which could be used interchangeably.

    Dm7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7, all type II, meaning, dominant chords which could be used interchangeably. Note that Am7 could be used either way.

    I can't recall what he said about Bm7b5, but it is probably another dominant since it has the same notes as G9, except for the G.

    He'd have a student play iii VI ii V's and he'd freely substitute according to this formula. He'd do it at high speed and then say what every substitution was afterward. I recorded and checked him -- he was right every time.

    This wasn't the only thing he taught. He said there were 5 sounds in jazz. Major, minor, melodic minor, diminished and whole tone, if I remember correctly. If he had formulas for substituting on the other scales, I don't recall them.
    I will check out Warren Nunes, thanks for this. I do already see I, iii, and vi as interchangeable, but never thought of the rest of the chords simply considered dominant. This is the sort of thing I'm looking for, just simplifying things for myself.

  25. #24

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    I can no longer recall the details, but I sort of remember that he classified Gmaj7 as a I type (tonic type). That makes sense because the F# gives a lydian sound, but I don't know how he related this to the harmonized Cmaj scale.

    When I think about it now, that would make Bm7 a I type as well.

    Apparently, other jazz players have collapsed iim and V7 into one thing as well. Others undoubtably will have more info on this than I do, but I recall reading that Pat Martino "minorized" everything. As I understood it, if he saw a Cmaj, he'd play Em or Am, or something like that. If he saw G7, he'd play Dm.

    Similarly, I recall reading somewhere that Joe Pass didn't worry about iim. To him, it was the V7.

    Of course, they added coloration. Meaning, Joe might have been thinking G7, but he knew the sound of every other note against it and could call them up at will.

    This type of approach has always made sense. For example, for G7, you think G13 for your chord tones, more or less, and Ab, Bb, Db, Eb as your extensions. You handle the F# with care. Or, stated another way, you play on G7 and add colors by ear.

    An alternative approach, oft discussed on line, seems to be thinking G mixolydian for the straight G7. Then, 4th mode D melodic minor for the #11. 5th mode C harmonic minor for b9b13. WT for b5#5, 7th mode Abmel minor for Galt, etc etc etc -- with theorists recommending various modes of major, harmonic minor, melodic minor, diminished, harmonic major, pentatonic and hexatonic -- and more.

    An intermediate approach, used by some masterful players, is to avoid Greek names and think of scales by chord name. So, you play a G7#11 scale. This is an imprecise approach, because a chord can be generated by different scales and therefore have different usages. For example, is an Em a iiim in C or a iim in D? It matters, but it is possible to make those adjustments by ear and avoid having to dive into the Greek terminology.

    For some reason, this topic seems to generate some heat, so let me apologize in advance.

  26. #25

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    The division in diatonic chord is chords with degree IV in and ones without. Call them what you will.

    4-3 resolution is the only important diatonic resolution in jazz lines.

    You can play any diatonic chord you like on a dominant, but play a chord with a IV in on a tonic chord, and it will demand resolution.