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I'm relatively new to jazz. What is the most efficient way to build a large, useful chord vocab?
I can either open my copy of Chord Chemistry or Joe Pass' Chords book and memorize away, then only afterwards work out how to actually use them appropriately by piecing them together in progressions and seeing which chords work together (Joe Pass' book gives you the alterations/tensions/subs he played which should prove very useful in this approach).
Alternatively I can open my Fake book and start pumping out more chord melody arrangements and build my chord vocab by working out my own chords and learning how to use the chords appropriately by default, then move them around in different positions around the neck. The latter approach is responsible for my present vocab.
Lastly, I could just transcribe chord melody arrangements by ear and forget the books altogether (even if I pursue one of the other two methods I still transcribe anyway).
Thanks,
Dave
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07-05-2012 05:47 AM
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Rather than learning a lot of chord melodies to get your voicings, which could sound specific to a song, I think you should try learning drop 2 voicings in all inversions. Then, once you know the drop 2 chords in all inversions on all string sets, you should set up a metronome, and open the real book to a chart with a lot of chord changes, preferably with one chord per measure, and start trying to comp it. The best way to improve in this regard is to set yourself some limitations. So, the first thing that I would recommend is to comp the whole song in one position on the neck, maybe a five fret span, using the same string set. Then I would do that same exercise so that the first chord goes through each inversion. Then I would do it for the other string sets. Keep in mind that a huge chord vocabulary is no good if you can't execute them! This gets your hands to change chords and inversions quickly. Maybe start with a song like All The Things You Are, or Blue Bossa, something very very standard. After that, you've got your drop 3s to look at!
Good luck
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Check out the youtube video lessons on drop 2 chords by Tom Strahle. It's really good.
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Well, Kurt Rosenwinkel learned most of his voicings when arranging CM for himself. Don't think you can go wrong there...
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learn the theory of chord construction...
root...third....fifth....seventh....eleventh...thi rteenth....
play the chord with the third on the bottom.....fifth on the bottom...etc....
take your time and you will get much out of the study....
time on the instrument...pierre
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I discovered and came up with my own system years ago, it was a simple idea: be able to play a chord in any position on the neck, with any string having the root on it. Now if you know your chord formulas, and how to find notes on the strings, this is not too hard to do. If you don't, it is hard, but you will learn it as you do it. The other idea is to use the CAGED chord forms as a basis for all your chord forms. (which I realized later is what I had done, unintentionally)
The worst way i.m.o. is to use those cheesy 5000 chord books. You can't remember 5000 or even 500 separate chords. You need to figure out the basic forms that will cover the entire neck, and then all of your extensions or alterations are added to those shapes in some way. I use about 5-6 forms for each type (maj7, min7, dom7, m7b5). The 6 forms cover the entire neck. So if I want to play a Cmaj7, I use about 6 forms that cover the entire neck from fret 1 to fret 12. Then from there I figured out where are the 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, etc... for those 6 shapes. So with all the various extensions, maybe I end up with 4-5 variations on each form, so that means my 6 basic forms become 24-30 forms. Having all the forms relate back to 6 forms makes it much easier to memorize them all! Nobody taught me this system, and I didn't get it from a book, but it has worked great for me for like the last 20 years. Took me like 6-12 mos to figure it out and master it, and has allowed me to play any chord changes at sight, anywhere on the neck ever since. It may not cover every possible chord form possible, but it covers enough to get playing changes with ease all over the neck. Then as you learn tunes and fiddle around with them, you may figure out even more interesting forms or learn to use substitution principles better etc...Last edited by jazzadellic; 07-05-2012 at 06:47 PM.
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I have to say I'm still leaning towards just learning tunes - found this on this forum:
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Don't think you can go wrong just learning tunes and some transcribing.
The most useful gem of advise I have ever read in my entire life was:
"In all fairness, no one I've ever seen has learned jazz from a book
I think of everything as supplemental to listening and learning tunes...
If you sat down with a basic understanding of major scale harmony,
fleshed out the chords for say, five standards,
learned the chords for those tunes in at least three areas on the neck,
learned arpeggios for those chords,
listened to 5 versions each of those tunes and transcribed one player's
melody and one player's solo, you'd know more about jazz than any beginner jazz book teaches..." - Jeff Matz (mr. beaumont)
To add to the more general topic of learning to imporvise by tunes and by ear as opposed to scales/modes/theory books/etc
"The whole idea of soloing from a scale is wrong. It's like putting a cart before a horse.
A scale maybe technically appropriate for a given key but most great players don't use scales to
improvise, and jazz musicians never have. Improvisation comes from melody not from scales"
- John Scofield
Yes... I got all these tips from this forum
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I enjoyed Tom Strahle's drop 2 lesson, although I know all those voicings on all the string sets (I have Bret Willmott's harmony book which discusses drop 2 chords in tremendous detail).
Shifting notes around to make different chords is a cool chord memorization aid for sure but there's a lot more to it because you need to memorize every inversion on all the string sets and then it gets way more tricky when you add tensions to the chords because you have a lot more options in the voicing you choose and which notes you forcibly have to ommit.
Ultimately the application of those chords is the catch because you still have to apply all those chords in different progressions and situations elegantly to consider voice leading. Sometimes a drop 2 chord is not the best available option. Point is it still ends up being a hell of a lot of chord shapes you need to get down to instant memory and then the different applications is a whole different ball game to go and work out and commit to memory afterwards.
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I think I should clarify, not just building a vocabulary of chords but rather building a vocabulary of chords accompanied by the vocabulary of when and where to apply each voicing in the various different possibilities.
Last edited by DaveF; 07-06-2012 at 07:05 AM.
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Ultimately I've learned the best way to learn chords is through tunes. It is highly important to go through exercises like the cycle of fourths, different inversions and all, but the uses of all this is to play tunes. When a certain inversion, sequence whatever, becomes stale it is time to learn more.
Learn three sets (40 tunes) of material with what you know now. Then start adding to your knowledge. This is all about playing /performing.
Without applying this to tunes it is all abstract ideas.
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Frank and Bucky are right. Tommy Emmanuel even says the same thing: let songs be your teacher!
Don't rely too much on theory. Learn it, apply it when necessary, but think about the melody rather than the scale. Don't let it hold you back. I'm not saying it's not important or useful...Winston Churchill said he never trusted a man who drank too much...or too little. I feel the same way about music theory.
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If you make yourself charts that show a set of 4 strings and a root placement, and then fill in the various notes that are available, you can learn a lot of chords by understanding a few rules.
This set shows strings 6, 5, 4, 3 with the root on the 6.
The 7 chord is highlighted. Memorize it. By moving one or two of the notes up or down on one or two frets, you can create all of the four note chords you will need. Of course, some will be partial extended chords, but who wants to play five or six note chords?
Do this for all of the string sets and root positions you want to use.
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Yeah,
You know exactly what to do in order to build your own chord vocabulary.
Keep doing it!
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Don't over look drop 3 voicings.
Also, learn basic chord construction so you know what notes are in a C maj7.
Lastly, guide tones (3rds and 7ths) are very important. Learn how to find and finger them on strings 3 & 4. Then add in a bass/tonic note on string 5 or 6. That will cover a ton of your chords rather quickly.
-Danny
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Originally Posted by jtizzle
Funny, that's what I did to...years later, I discovered most of them were "drop 2" and "drop 3" voicings...the drop 2's and 3's inversions are nothing magical...but they're playable....having them under your belt is a great start--assuming you have root position chords down.
Whatever method you take, apply them to songs...don't learn in a bubble.
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