Autumn Leaves Jazz Guitar Chords

In this lesson, you will learn how to play the chords of Autumn Leaves. There are several ways to comp through a jazz standard on the guitar. This chord study on Autumn Leaves shows how to go beyond basic comping by adding movement and variation to the rhythm and chord progression.

In this study, I use a mix of drop-2 and drop-3 chord voicings.

Instead of playing static chord shapes, you’ll learn how to connect the harmony using techniques such as chromatic bass movement, tritone and other chord substitutions, and rhythmic variation.

If you’re new to this tune or jazz guitar chords in general, start with the easy Autumn Leaves chords lesson first.

 

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Autumn Leaves Sheet Music & Guitar Tabs

Form: AABC (32 bars)
Key: E minor

 

 

Metronome (on 2 and 4)

Listen & Play-Along

 

 

Bars 2, 4, 6, 12-13, 15-21, 23-24, 26

In these bars, I use open-string ghost notes between chord changes.

Ghost notes are lightly played or percussive notes that add rhythmic feel without affecting the harmony.

Ghost notes add texture to the comping and make the rhythm feel more fluent and relaxed.

Because of the open strings, you’ve got more time to move your fretting hand to the next chord shape.

 

Bars 8, 14

Here, I play a G#dim7 arpeggio over E7, creating an E7♭9 sound.

 

G#dim7 arpeggio	G#	B	D	F
Played over E7	3	5	b7	b9

 

Diminished substitution: a diminished 7 chord built on the 3rd of a dominant chord outlines the 3rd, 5th, ♭7, and ♭9.

This strengthens the dominant sound and increases the tension before resolving to Am7.

 

Bars 2, 4, 6, 9, 11-13, 21, 26

In these bars, I use chromatic approach notes in the bass.

Chromatic approach notes are notes a half step above or below a target note.

Instead of jumping between roots, the bass moves step-by-step, creating smoother connections between the chords.

 

Bars 10, 13, 20, 22, 27-28

Here, I use tritone substitution to bring variation to the dominant chords.

Tritone substitution: replacing a dominant chord with another dominant chord a tritone away.

For example: D7 moves to Ab7 before resolving to Gmaj7.

 

In the second half of bar 13, I turn F#m7b5 into F#7 and use its tritone sub C13.

 

In bars 27–28, the use of tritone substitution creates a descending chromatic line:

The original chord progression without tritone subs:

Em7 → A7 → Dm7 → G7 → Cmaj7

The same chord progression with tritone subs (A7 becomes Eb7, G7 becomes Db7):

Em7 → Eb7 → Dm7 → Db7 → Cmaj7

 

Bar 11

In bar 11, I turn Gmaj7 into G7, which resolves to Cmaj7. This is called a secondary dominant chord.

A secondary dominant is a dominant 7th chord that acts as a temporary V chord, resolving to a chord other than the tonic.

Using secondary dominant chords creates variation and a stronger pull toward Cmaj7.

 

Bar 16

Here, I slide Fm7♭5 into F#m7♭5.

This is the same idea as chromatic approach notes, but with the entire chord shape instead of just the bass note.

 

Bars 16, 18, 30

At the end of these bars, I use anticipation, where I play the chord of the next bar an eighth note earlier.

Instead of playing the F#m7b5 on beat 1 of bar 17, I play it on the “and” of 4 in bar 16.

Anticipation: playing a note or chord an 1/8 note earlier, creating forward motion.

 

Bars 23-24

Instead of just playing Gmaj7, I use other diatonic chords of G major (combined with a chromatic passing chord) to create movement and variation.

Gmaj7 → Am7 → A#m7 → Bm7 → Bbm7 → Am7 → Gmaj7

 

Bar 25

In bar 25, I replace F#m7♭5 with F#m11.

This gives the harmony a more open sound and shows how small changes in jazz chords can create a different color.

 

Bars 8, 30

Here I use a common voice leading typical of jazz guitar:

E7#9 → E7b9 → Am7

 

Autumn Leaves Guitar Chord Chart

This Autumn Leaves chord sheet gives you an overview of the voicings used in this study.