The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I've spent the last 50 years trying to find the balance of richness and simplicity in solo playing. So I'm constantly working towards bigger chords and closer harmonies that don't overdo it. I'm also experimenting with combining and/or cascading modes and scales in my runs and fills so they're not all potboilers and clichés. This came out of practice this morning, and I think I like it. Constructive input is welcome, as I know I put too much into a lot of my solo playing. Thanks for listening.


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  3. #2

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    Nice playing! I hear you working on making it flow instead of the typical "block chord" approach to chord melody, and you have achieved that nicely.

    For constructive input, I would suggest you listen to Chris Whiteman, who posts here for further inspiration (i.e. not suggesting any shortcomings in your approach, but instead suggested listening to others working in similar direction).

    As a representative example since I don't see "When I all In Love" among his videos:



    Tony

  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by tbeltrans
    Nice playing! I hear you working on making it flow instead of the typical "block chord" approach to chord melody, and you have achieved that nicely.

    For constructive input, I would suggest you listen to Chris Whiteman, who posts here for further inspiration (i.e. not suggesting any shortcomings in your approach, but instead suggested listening to others working in similar direction).

    Tony
    Thanks, Tony! Listening to others and hearing their ideas makes our own playing richer. I appreciate your input very much. The Chris Whiteman clip you added is wonderful. I love rhythmic fingerstyle jazz in tempo - I just have to work hard to avoid being too Chet Atkins-y When I Fall In Love-cowboy-playing-guitar-smoking-gif

    Here's one of mine in this style:



    Best regards -

    David

  5. #4

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    Hi, N,
    Thanks for sharing your music. So, in "When I Fall in Love," I like the cleanness, precision, clarity and creativity of your runs. The overall piece is well done and shows your personality well. The one issue I have with the sound is when a guitarist uses too much reverb, he begins to lose the natural acoustic nature of the instrument(although electrified) and it muddies the lower register and chord voicings. However, this is not etched in stone but becomes a signpost of a musician's playing. For me, backing off the reverb resulting in more overall guitaristic clarity would be my only suggestion. But, if that's your thing . . . it's your sound.
    "Let's Get Away From it All" is very well done and I enjoyed your pacing which is important to the song. Very nice playing, N. Can you share what guitar/amplifier/strings you are playing which would add additional information for those who listen?
    Marinero

    P.S. Your playing shows you have given much thought to the music.
    M

  6. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marinero
    Hi, N,
    Thanks for sharing your music. So, in "When I Fall in Love," I like the cleanness, precision, clarity and creativity of your runs. The overall piece is well done and shows your personality well. The one issue I have with the sound is when a guitarist uses too much reverb, he begins to lose the natural acoustic nature of the instrument(although electrified) and it muddies the lower register and chord voicings. However, this is not etched in stone but becomes a signpost of a musician's playing. For me, backing off the reverb resulting in more overall guitaristic clarity would be my only suggestion. But, if that's your thing . . . it's your sound.
    "Let's Get Away From it All" is very well done and I enjoyed your pacing which is important to the song. Very nice playing, N. Can you share what guitar/amplifier/strings you are playing which would add additional information for those who listen?
    Marinero

    P.S. Your playing shows you have given much thought to the music.
    M
    Wow - thanks!!

    As for reverb, I too prefer just a barely audible touch when gigging. But I've been playing with plugins of various kinds, and I'm trying several delays and reverbs that are new to me. Some are indeed overkill, and others are just plain weird. I don't remember which I used on which track, since I generally record much of my practice to see how it sounds (a great way to ruin your day early, if done in the morning ). So I try out and play with the plugins on raw tracks to compare them on the same material - and I still have the clean tracks. To be honest, I often forget that reverb was on in the amp. So there's probably reverb in the raw track as well as some added afterward to the track. When I went to upload these to Soundcloud, I had to guess which of the 3 or 4 tracks of each tune was the raw one, and I may have guessed wrong. I'm more meticulous when recording tracks meant for public access - and I label those tracks by take number or as "master" or "final", so I know which is which.

    I played When I Fall in Love on my 16" Eastman carved archtop (w/ set KA hand wound custom HB) with JS113s over an 0.075 Chrome 7th. As I recall, Let's Get Away From It All was played on my Eastman 810CE-7 with the same strings. I think both were recorded with the Blu 6 mic'ed with the internal mics in my TASCAM DR40x used as a DAI. I record most of my simple audio tracks on Audacity - I only use Tracktion or Ardour when I need MIDI instruments.

  7. #6

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    when a guitarist uses too much reverb, he begins to lose the natural acoustic nature of the instrument(although electrified) and it muddies the lower register and chord voicings
    That's your point of vue,Marinero.
    Even if I put a ridiculous reverb on my Eventide Harmonizer H8000fw,my bass notes and my chords voicings remain crystal clear

  8. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by emilP
    That's your point of vue,Marinero.
    Even if I put a ridiculous reverb on my Eventide Harmonizer H8000fw,my bass notes and my chords voicings remain crystal clear
    Hi, Emil,
    Well . . . you are an exceptional musician as is clearly revealed in the impressive quotes at the bottom of your posts and who am I to disagree with that sort of pedigree? I could easily imagine your reverb set at ten and the "crystal clarity" of your melodies and improvisational lines projecting like the bells of the Sistine Chapel. So, when it comes to the use Reverb . . . you will be a notable exception. I stand corrected.
    Marinero

  9. #8

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    I could easily imagine your reverb set at ten and the "crystal clarity" of your melodies and improvisational lines projecting like the bells of the Sistine Chapel.
    You're right, my guitar is playing like the bells of the sixtine chapel, and I am the pope of the reverb guitar.
    If you flatter me cleverly, I'll send you my three Holy Books I had to learn in the ( jazz) seminar,pages after pages with the late Paolo Radoni, the terrific be-bop player and jazz purist
    When I Fall In Love-leavitt-jpgWhen I Fall In Love-leavitt-jpg
    Last edited by emilP; 11-27-2022 at 03:54 AM.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by emilP
    You're right, my guitar is playing like the bells of the sixtine chapel, and I am the pope of the reverb guitar.
    If you flatter me cleverly, I'll send you my three Holy Books I had to learn in the ( jazz) seminar,pages after pages with the late Paolo Radoni, the terrific be-bop player and jazz purist
    When I Fall In Love-leavitt-jpgWhen I Fall In Love-leavitt-jpg
    Emil,
    10 stars!!! You are hereby awarded Marinero's Quote of the Day! I am pleased you have a sense of humor so . . . under the Powers of the Marinero Institute of Fine Art and the auspices of the Holy Roman See it is now canonical law that in your papal coronation may you forever be called . . . Pope Emil the Reverb . . . a Pope of Music who defies the laws of physics and acoustics while, in steadfast, maintaining his duties as a Man of the Church and People. . .

    Il Padre
    Il Figlio
    Lo Spirito Santo
    Amen

    Marinero the Penitent

  11. #10

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    benedico tibi fili mi

    pope Emil the Reverb
    Last edited by emilP; 11-27-2022 at 03:59 PM.

  12. #11

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    So, to my friend N,
    Sorry for the thread drift but it's the way conversations tend to move at times. So, I'd like to go back to topic and after listening to your two wonderful videos, I have a statement and some additional questions that I hope you'll be generous to answer.
    There's a time in a musician's life when he does not struggle with technique and the mechanics of an instrument. He/she has developed a style and has played untold hours as a paid professional playing live music. He has played a variety of instruments over the years with every combination of strings, bridges, and body styles that piqued his fancy. Then, one day,perhaps, there is a clarity of vision that looks for a combination that will reproduce his mature sound. So, my question to you, N, is why did you choose the specific instruments/strings to represent your sound as opposed to other fine instruments available that, perhaps, you've played in the past? And, does your choice satisfy what your ears demand? Finally, do my remarks represent a fair/accurate statement, or do you have other thoughts on the subject?
    Marinero

  13. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marinero
    So, to my friend N,
    Sorry for the thread drift but it's the way conversations tend to move at times. So, I'd like to go back to topic and after listening to your two wonderful videos, I have a statement and some additional questions that I hope you'll be generous to answer. There's a time in a musician's life when he does not struggle with technique and the mechanics of an instrument.
    I'm hoping that's true, but I'm far from that point. I'm very comfortable with my instruments and I love everything about the guitar - the look, sound, feel, culture etc. I'm entirely self-taught (except for a few lessons from Bob DiNardo in about 1970 to help me develop my classical technique) and I've been playing for 67 years now. That's more than enough time to develop bad habits that must be shed in order to achieve true fluency and proficiency - and shedding them has been my goal for the last decade+. I'm struggling to play without ever looking at the fretboard, and I've been practicing scales, modes and randomly constructed figures and runs for the last few years. These are all things I never did before, largely because I didn't appeciate how important they are to developing a true mastery of the instrument. I'm still far from that point - but at least I now believe I can do it, which I guess I never did until I reached my 60s.

    It's true that I don't have to struggle with technique or the instrument to play most gigs. But since I got a handheld digital recorder and keep it on the stand with me, I'm astounded at how poorly I execute a lot of things that I'm now trying to fix. And I'm even more astounded at how many times I resort to the same figures and moves in a solo. Sometimes it's obvious to me when hearing the recording that I should have tried something new but probably wasn't confident enough that I could pull it off technically. I'm weaker on descending runs than ascending, and I need to work hard on things like skipping strings, sweep picking, wide arpeggios etc. So there's plenty of opportunity for improvement.

    Quote Originally Posted by Marinero
    He/she has developed a style and has played untold hours as a paid professional playing live music. He has played a variety of instruments over the years with every combination of strings, bridges, and body styles that piqued his fancy. Then, one day,perhaps, there is a clarity of vision that looks for a combination that will reproduce his mature sound. So, my question to you, N, is why did you choose the specific instruments/strings to represent your sound as opposed to other fine instruments available that, perhaps, you've played in the past? And, does your choice satisfy what your ears demand? Finally, do my remarks represent a fair/accurate statement, or do you have other thoughts on the subject?
    Marinero
    I (like, I assume, most of us) connect with an instrument when the look, feel, and sound are all thrilling to us. I was able to get a used 175DN late in the spring of my freshman year in high school with the money I'd made playing local parties and dances at community centers, churches, synagogues etc. The $10 or $15 we each made was real money back then (1960) and the gigs added up over a year+. The first time I saw it, I knew it was for me - and when I played it, I was truly in love. Over a decade later, I got a new L5-CN that didn't give me the same thrill - and I went through several archtops after that without finding another true love for many years. I'd foolishly sold the 175 to a friend, who wouldn't sell it back to me. And it wasn't until I discovered the Eastman 810CE7 a few years ago that I got that same old feeling once again from an instrument I could afford. I got the thrill the first time I played one of Dale Unger's early American Archtop 7s, and I got much of it the time I played one of Jim Soloway's early 7 strings (both at the Philly Guitar Show). But I'd just bought the Carvin, and I had 2 kids in college.

    I went through a 165, a Stuart X500, a Synchromatic, an L50 and several others without finding true love again. And when I switched to 7 strings, there weren't any archtop 7s except from boutique luthiers or Gretsch. I tried a NOS Gretsch Van Eps at Manny's and thought it was a terrible guitar, and I couldn't afford a luthier-built custom. So I used my first 7 (an ESP hardtail) for a few years, then got a custom 7 from Carvin in 1994 and loved it for what it was. When I read about the upcoming Ibanez AF207 in Guitar Player, I ordered one from my longtime regular dealer (8th Street Music). When it came in, it was once again love at first sight despite a pickup that never sounded quite smooth or full enough for me. I finally put a Benedetto B7 in it last year, which really mellowed it and made it soooo fine that my love grew! But I've used it on all my jazz dates since the late '90s when I got it. It's going to Guitars 'n Jazz this week for the new frets it so richly deserves. And I fell in love yet again with my new 16" Eastman Jazz Elite with set hand wound KA. I picked it up in the shop (also GnJ), played a few lines and chords, and immediately got that tingle! It felt, looked and sounded perfect for me.

    Strings? I used standard heavy Gibson flats until my dealer got me to try a set of slightly lighter Guild EA610s. I loved them immediately and subsequently used them on all my guitars (solids, hollows, etc) until they stopped selling them. I then went to Chromes, and I finally decided to try TIs a few years ago just to see what the fuss was about. Chromes did the job, but they never gave me that tingle. JS113s do - they sound and feel like I want my strings to sound and feel on my guitars. So, again, it's a matter of connecting with them - and if they're right, you just know it. I've tried everything from Slinkies to exotic metals to some of the new smaller makers like Stringjoy - but there's been no tingle like the one I got from TIs.

    Bottom line? There's only one way to know for sure - ya got to get your hands on it! Playing many intruments through many amps over many years is a valuable education and the only way to learn what's right for you and what's not. I was lucky - my first good guitar was the one that hooked me on a sound and feel for life...at the age of 14. If there were a 7 string 175, I'd be playing one today. My first 175 was the source of my sceen name! Thanks for your very kind words - I hope I can live up to them.

    David

  14. #13

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    " I love everything about the guitar - the look, sound, feel, culture . . . " Nevershouldhavesoldit

    Hi, N,
    Well, you are a humble person and have provided an excellent answer to my question. So, like some of us here, you started music at a young age and were a paid performer from the start. I think these are two elemental aspects of development that shine a light to one's musical pathway. And, you have been playing paid, live music throughout your many years! I recently had a minor epiphany that the lion share of posters on JGF ,based on comments and bio information, are probably 55 y.o. or under. I can see it in their tastes in music and the experiences they share with the Forum. I also believe that there is probably only a small group of members who have actually played professionally for money for any length of time. So, many of the comments that are posted by some members must be taken with a grain of salt since they are what I call "Bedroom Players" and their real-life musical experience is really nonexistent. And, although I have studied my fair share of music theory inside and outside of an academic setting, I've never heard "working" musicians have the convoluted conversations I've heard on JGF on a gig . . . ever . . . but, in fairness, I've never played with musicians in that age group so there might be a hidden caveat.
    So, in a long-winded response, I appreciate you sharing your story with us to provide others with a real-life experience of a working musician. And, your honesty about your playing is refreshing since I've rarely encountered a good musician who didn't find all sorts of problems with their playing and was always seeking the next level . . . a musician who loves their playing is a musician who has stopped growing . . . thanks for sharing your excellent thoughts, ideas and information.
    Marinero

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by Marinero
    although I have studied my fair share of music theory inside and outside of an academic setting, I've never heard "working" musicians have the convoluted conversations I've heard on JGF on a gig . . . ever . . . but, in fairness, I've never played with musicians in that age group so there might be a hidden caveat.
    True dat, although we often discuss alternative chords, harmonies etc on the stand so we know we’re all going to play in the same framework. This is most often in the form of “how about trying a b5b9 going into the bridge” or for a minor blues “major or minor 4?”

    And I’ve played with many younger players who asked for the theory behind lines or changes they really liked. But it’s never led to a discussion of how it should be expressed - whatever was said was accepted and understood without “correction” to another’s preference. What matters is how it sounds and that all understand what’s meant, not what you call it.

  16. #15

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    “I'm also experimenting with combining and/or cascading modes and scales in my runs and fills so they're not all potboilers and clichés.”
    I’d say that’s one of my goals as well - although I don’t play well enough to get too messed up in that stuff anyway. I’ve always loved a chord melody that had some nice runs, but not so much that they eclipse the melody and go off on too much of a tangent. Beautiful playing.