Chord Patterns

[pauln]

Here we go...

C Major (C E G)
C Minor (C Eb G)
C Augmented (C E G#)
C Diminished (C Eb Gb)
C Dominant 7th (C E G Bb)
C Major 7th (C E G B)
C Minor 7th (C Eb G Bb)
C Minor Maj 7th (C Eb G B)
C Aug 7 (C E G# Bb)
C Aug Maj 7 (C E G# B)
C Half Dim 7 (C Eb G Bb)
C Full Dim 7 (C Eb Gb Bbb)
C Dim Maj 7 (C Eb Gb B)
C 9 (C E G Bb D)
C b9 (C E G Bb Db)
C #9 (C E G Bb D#)
C Maj 9 (C E G B D)
C Maj b9 (C E G B Db)
C Maj #9 (C E G B D#)
C Min 9 (C Eb G Bb D)
C Min b9 (C Eb G Bb Db)
C Min Maj 9 (C Eb G B D)
C Min Maj b9 (C Eb G B Db)
C Min Maj #9 (C Eb G B D#)
C Aug 9 (C E G# Bb D)
C Aug b9 (C E G# Bb Db)
C Aug #9 (C E G# Bb D#)
C Aug Maj 9 (C E G# B D)
C Aug Maj b9 (C E G# B Db)
C Aug Maj #9 (C E G# B D#)
C Half Dim 9 (C Eb Gb Bb D)
C Half Dim b9 (C Eb Gb Bb Db)
C Dim 9 (C Eb Gb Bbb D)
C Dim b9 (C Eb Gb Bbb Db)
C Dim Maj 9 (C Eb Gb B D)
C Dim Maj b9 (C Eb Gb B Db)
C 11 (C E G Bb D F)
C b9 11 (C E G Bb Db F)
C #9 11 (C E G Bb D# F)
C #11 (C E G Bb D F#)
C b9 #11 (C E G Bb Db F#)
C #9 #11 (C E G Bb D# F#)
C Maj 11 (C E G B D F)
C Maj b9 11 (C E G B Db F)
C Maj #9 11 (C E G B D# F)
C Maj #11 (C E G B D F#)
C Maj b9 #11 (C E G B Db F#)
C Maj #9 #11 (C E G B D# F#)
C Min 11 (C Eb G Bb D F)
C Min b9 11 (C Eb G Bb Db F)
C Min #9 11 (C Eb G Bb D# F)
C Min #11 (C Eb G Bb D F#)
C Min b9 #11 (C Eb G Bb Db F#)
C Min #9 #11 (C Eb G Bb D# F#)
C Min Maj 11 (C Eb G B D F)
C Min Maj b9 11 (C Eb G B Db F)
C Min Maj #9 11 (C Eb G B D# F)
C Min Maj #11 (C Eb G B D F#)
C Min Maj b9 #11 (C Eb G B Db F#)
C Min Maj #9 #11 (C Eb G B D# F#)
C Aug 11 (C E G# Bb D F)
C Aug b9 11 (C E G# Bb Db F)
C Aug #9 11 (C E G# Bb D# F)
C Aug #11 (C E G# Bb D F#)
C Aug b9 #11 (C E G# Bb Db F#)
C Aug #9 #11 (C E G# Bb D# F#)
C Aug Maj 11 (C E G# B D F)
C Aug Maj b9 11 (C E G# B Db F)
C Aug Maj #9 11 (C E G# B D# F)
C Aug Maj #11 (C E G# B D F#)
C Aug Maj b9 #11 (C E G# B Db F#)
C Aug Maj #9 #11 (C E G# B D# F#)
C Half Dim 11 (C Eb Gb Bb D F)
C Half Dim b9 11 (C Eb Gb Bb Db F)
C Dim 11 (C Eb Gb Bbb D F)
C Dim b9 11 (C Eb Gb Bbb Db F)
C Dim Maj 11 (C Eb Gb B D F)
C Dim Maj b9 11 (C Eb Gb B D F#)
C 13 (C E G Bb D F A)
C b9 11 13 (C E G Bb Db F A)
C #9 11 13 (C E G Bb D# F A)
C #11 13 (C E G Bb D F# A)
C b9 #11 13 (C E G Bb Db F# A)
C #9 #11 13 (C E G Bb D# F# A)
C Maj13 (C E G B D F A)
C Maj b9 11 13 (C E G B Db F A)
C Maj #9 11 13 (C E G B D# F A)
C Maj #11 13 (C E G B D F# A)
C Maj b9 #11 13 (C E G B Db F# A)
C Maj #9 #11 13 (C E G B D# F# A)
C Min11 13 (C Eb G Bb D F A)
C Min b9 11 13 (C Eb G Bb Db F A)
C Min #9 11 13 (C Eb G Bb D# F A)
C Min #11 13 (C Eb G Bb D F# A)
C Min b9 #11 13 (C Eb G Bb Db F# A)
C Min #9 #11 13 (C Eb G Bb D# F# A)
C Min Maj 13 (C Eb G B D F A)
C Min Maj b9 11 (C Eb G B Db F A)
C Min Maj #9 11 13 (C Eb G B D# F A)
C Min Maj #11 13 (C Eb G B D F# A)
C Min Maj b9 #11 13 (C Eb G B Db F# A)
C Min Maj #9 #11 13 (C Eb G B D# F# A)

[Bop Head]

For a dominant chord I like to substitute a min6 chord followed by its tritone counterpart, e.g. for G7 play D–6 to Ab–6 (= F–7/b5). Choose inversions in the same position so only two notes change.

The funny thing is: C can be substituted by A–7 or by E–7. So you can do two resolutions.

Ab–6 to A–7: all but one notes up a half step, one note goes up a whole step.

(Ab–6 =) F–7/b5 to E–7: all but one note down a half step, one note stays the same.

Practice in all voicing variants (especially drop 2) and inversions. Not all work, but some are really great.

[pingu]

thanks all
(and I was worried this thread wouldn't fly !)

the form of writing
xxxxxx
xxxxxx etc etc

is working great most of the time

fantastic responses from all concerned
thanks folks .....
keep em coming ....

[princeplanet]

I'll give it a try. I called my first one "Jazz blues long resolution turnaround". It's a series of harmonies that can cover either a short (if you stop on the sixth one) or a long (if you keep going) jazz blues turnaround. The motive at the "design composition level" attempts to make the chords sound like they're doing two things:

-resolving some of the previous chord's tension
-adopting new tension in a different direction

So, a chain of chords where each tends to resolve the one behind it, but does so while adopting tension in another "direction" for the next chord to resolve. Those harmonic directions pull from the "extra chords" that blues lingo calls "the changes" - which is a lump label for chords used that may not be part of the simple progression form, e.g., the extra slide down chords from a half step above (bII to I, bV to IV), chromatic vamps, diminished (like bVdim when the IV goes back to the I), augmented chords as intros (Vaug) and subsequent subs for "V of I", etc.

Play through it and listen to the trail of voices for resolving and tension. At first listen, it kind of sounds like maybe each chord is resolving one voice on one string and adding a tension on another string (all these chords are using the inner four strings and are close enough on the finger board that their pitches are overlapping the spans of the fingerings, so it is suggestive to treat each string as a voice here).The closer you examine these things the more objects and relationships you can find or derive for deeper analysis, another way of looking at it.

Let's see what we can find out...

The progression is comprised of harmonic entities (chords)
What is changing chord to chord are some of their elements (pitches)
So we want to
-determine the changes in those roles as voices from chord to chord
-assess those voice role changes as tensions, resolutions, or just neutral (T, R, N)
-represent the TRN histories of those voice role changes through the progression

Progression of the chords
This provides the roots which are missing in all these chords except the last one, where it is the top voice
bII I bVII VI V I
played like
x 15 16 15 18 x
x 14 14 14 15 x
x 12 13 12 15 x
x 11 11 11 12 x
x 9 10 9 12 x
x 8 9 9 8 x

Take the first two chords
Assign the roots to the chords
x 15 16 15 18 x (the root is Ab)
x 14 14 14 15 x (the root is G)

View pitches harmonically by determining their roles in their chords
Compare what role each string voice pitch is playing in its chord
x 3 b7 9 13 x
x 3 6 9 5 x

Changes in roles - what are they doing in terms of tension/resolution?
We are now looking at the above rows vertically and reforming them back to rows - what happens on each string (voice)
3 -> 3 Neutral
b7 -> 6 Resolving
9 -> 9 Neutral
13 -> 5 Resolving

Next pair
x 14 14 14 15 x (the root is G)
x 12 13 12 15 x (the root is F)
Roles
x 3 6 9 5 x (already know this from above)
x 3 b7 9 13 x (also already know this, same chord type as the first chord, but always check the root to be sure)
Changes
3 -> 3 Neutral
6 -> b7 Tension
9 -> 9 Neutral
5 -> 13 Tension

Next pair
x 12 13 12 15 x (the root is F)
x 11 11 11 12 x (the root is E)
Roles
x 3 b7 9 13 x
x 3 6 9 5 x
Changes
3 -> 3 Neutral
b7 -> 6 Resolving
9 -> 9 Neutral
13 -> 5 Resolving

Next pair
x 11 11 11 12 x
x 9 10 9 12 x
Roles
x 3 6 9 5 x
x 3 b7 9 13 x
Changes
3 -> 3 Neutral
6 -> b7 Tension
9 -> 9 Neutral
5 -> 13 Tension

Next pair
x 9 10 9 12 x
x 8 9 9 8 x
Roles
x 3 b7 9 13 x
x b7 3 6 1 x
Changes
3 -> b7 Tension
b7 -> 3 Resolution
9 -> 6 Neutral
13 -> 1 Resolution

So now, a combined summary of all the the roles looks like this:
x 3 b7 9 13 x
x 3 6 9 5 x
x 3 b7 9 13 x
x 3 6 9 5 x
x 3 b7 9 13 x
x b7 3 6 1 x
We notice explicitly the last chord (the tonic) is the only one that contains its root (on top)
We see that he 3 b7 9 13 and the 3 6 9 5 roles are alternating (trading places)

We have already abstracted from the roles to the changes in the roles and made assessments of these role changes as a sense of resolution, tension, or neutrality (all done above in the "Changes" sections for each pair of chords). Now we may produce a combined summary of the changes across the four strings (across the four voices) for the progression chords. So now we're looking at rows showing the string voice histories of resolution/tension through the five progression changes coded as TRN.

A string N N N N T
D string R T R T R
G string N N N N N
B string R T R T R

We have compressed six four-string chords totaling 24 pitches in order to notice some curious things:
-G string voice is neutral throughout, not contributing tension or resolution
-A string voice is neutral until its tension at the last change
-D and B string voices look to be always contributing tension/resolution, always alternating, always matching


I'm pretty sure the the canonical music theory has well defined names for all the objects and relationships in the harmonic algebra I went through above. Some might argue that my sense of tension/resolution does not match theirs in some contexts; perhaps a tension/resolution scale with more than just three values would "resolve" that.

You know, I have a list of chords I will put up in a minute... I wonder if anyone has ever attempted to rank them by tension/resolution?

Well, I asked for it! Thanks Paul, a lot to unpack there. I remember studying Counterpoint back in my Uni days, and I guess there's some parallels there, but I think we can follow our ears at some point to know what works when moving between targets right?

[pauln]

...I think we can follow our ears at some point to know what works when moving between targets right?

Yes, for me it's all ear and time.

[Reg]

For a dominant chord I like to substitute a min6 chord followed by its tritone counterpart, e.g. for G7 play D–6 to Ab–6 (= F–7/b5). Choose inversions in the same position so only two notes change.

The funny thing is: C can be substituted by A–7 or by E–7. So you can do two resolutions.

Ab–6 to A–7: all but one notes up a half step, one note goes up a whole step.

(Ab–6 =) F–7/b5 to E–7: all but one note down a half step, one note stays the same.

Practice in all voicing variants (especially drop 2) and inversions. Not all work, but some are really great.

Yea Bop ... your headed in great direction. Now you just need to label what type of subs they are and then start to expand your use of subs. By that I mean.... The more common the chords used in chord patterns... the easier it is to use them in different contexts, How you change single chords to chord patterns.

Like your Cmaj, A- and E- are called Diatonic functional subs.
ex... say the changes are ...

/ D-9... / G7.../ Cma7.../ A7 ... / with use of Diatonic subs, tritone and related II-'s or V's... get

X 5 3 5 5 X D-9
X X 3 5 5 3 Fma9

3 X 3 4 5 X G13
3 X 3 4 4 X G7b13

X 7 8 7 8 X E-7b5
X X 8 7 8 5 C13

X X 5 6 6 8 A7b13 #9
X 6 5 5 5 5 Eb9 (#11)

Pauln.... your to0 hip.... Part of using chord patterns id to dump the traditional counterpoint and voice leading and use jazz lead lines or groove lead lines etc.... traditional contrapuntal practice doesn't really work when playing jazz.
The other detail is to be able to play the patterns at jazz tempos. And use traditional Strong weak jazz practice.

[Bop Head]

Yea Bop ... your headed in great direction. Now you just need to label what type of subs they are and then start to expand your use of subs. By that I mean.... The more common the chords used in chord patterns... the easier it is to use them in different contexts, How you change single chords to chord patterns.

Like your Cmaj, A- and E- are called Diatonic functional subs.
ex... say the changes are ...

/ D-9... / G7.../ Cma7.../ A7 ... / with use of Diatonic subs, tritone and related II-'s or V's... get

X 5 3 5 5 X D-9
X X 3 5 5 3 Fma9

3 X 3 4 5 X G13
3 X 3 4 4 X G7b13

X 7 8 7 8 X E-7b5
X X 8 7 8 5 C13

X X 5 6 6 8 A7b13 #9
X 6 5 5 5 5 Eb9 (#11)

Pauln.... your to0 hip.... Part of using chord patterns id to dump the traditional counterpoint and voice leading and use jazz lead lines or groove lead lines etc.... traditional contrapuntal practice doesn't really work when playing jazz.
The other detail is to be able to play the patterns at jazz tempos. And use traditional Strong weak jazz practice.

My occupation with jazz harmony started around 1990 so I know what subs are and why they function and use them extensively .

Regarding labeling: There are many different nomenclatures.

Barry Harris would say an A–7 is just an inversion of a C6 and an E–7 is a G6 on the fifth of C.

Werner Pöhlert, a German guitarist and author, from whose thick very practically oriented books (“Grundlagenharmonik” and “Skalentheorie”, I don’t know if English translations exist of those) I learned a lot quite from the beginning on – frustrated with chord scale theory, which the second book smashes — would call those chords “mediants”.

There might be many other names — what is important IMHO is that you know where those chords are (min7 a min 3rd below root of maj chord or min7 chord a maj third above root), that they work and how they sound in context.

What I posted is simply a V–I with some nice voice-leading.

The min6 / min7/b5 chords function because those are rootless dominant7/9 chords, one of the V and the other one of the bII, its tritone sub.

So you could say e.g. in Eb for

| Bb7 / / / | Eb / / / |

6x675x Bb7/b5 (V chord with b5) — count 1 2

x5656x F–6 (= D–7/b5 = rootless Bb7/9) — count 3

now the b5 resolves to the natural five

x5647x B–6 (= Ab–7/b5) — count 4

The tritone of 3rd and 7th of Bb7 remains, 9th and 5th go in contrary motion to b9 and #5 (resp. b13) giving the five chord an altered sound.

Now resolve to either the closest C–7 (= Eb6) inversion

x6858x — on 1 of next measure)

or to the closest G–7 (= rootless Ebmaj7/9) inversion

x5536x

and you get those almost fully chromatic resolutions in both directions I described above. (The V7/b5 is an addition to what I wrote in the post above.)

And now study those phenomenons in all possible inversions (especially drop2) always sticking to the closest inversion of the next chord and memorize the ones that work good.

My experience is that after systematically working on such things suddenly they come out in my playing intuitively and working on such voice-leadings leads to intuitive use of chromaticism in my single-note playing as well.

[rpjazzguitar]

I'm going to attempt to make a list of the devices. I'm going to try to describe them as simply as I can, recognizing that I'm sacrificing detail.

1. You can use different inversions of the same chord.

2. You can equate Imaj iiim Vmaj7#11 vim. That is, use these interachangeably. Warren Nunes taught this.

3. You can equate iim IVmaj7 V7 vim. Interachangeably. Warren again.

EDIT, call it 3b. You can use Mark Levine's dictum that all melodic minor chords are the same chord. In fact, maybe any group of notes from melodic minor can be used in place of any other group of notes, although some will sound better than others.

4. You can slide in from a half step up, or from a half step down.

5. You can use tritone subs -- and apply all points 1-4 to them.

6. You can go I V7 I against a Imaj. And, all the foregoing points would still apply.

7. You can stick a diminished chord between two other chords (I'm not sure how to describe the situation, but it has something to do with harmonizing a melodic line). This, among some others, is used in horn arranging, which is directly relevant to guitar comping.

8. You can find licks which will work, without falling into any of the aforementioned categories, like Reg's Ab6 Bb6 lick in an F blues.

9. Whichever device you employ, as Reg points out, it has to be played with jazz time and feel. I recommend his videos for that. You can't get it from reading instructions.

Thoughts? Additions?

[pingu]

in F

xx7988
xx7878
xx8768
xx8655

[rpjazzguitar]

I'll take a shot at analysis

xx7988 Am7

xx7878 D7b9 - rootless unless the bassist is playing a D.

xx8768 functions as an alternative to Gm7. Notes are Bb D F C. With the bassist playing G, that's Gm7(add11) (I called it add 11 because there's no ninth). xx5768 sounds nice there too.

xx8655 This functions like a C7, but the notes are Bb Db E A. Put a C in the bass and you've got R b7 b9 10 and 13. Omits only the 5th and 11th.

[pauln]

in F

xx7988
xx7878
xx8768
xx8655

I hear as a pedal point... C6 Cdim7 C11 C13b9 ...series of dominants increasing functional pressure to Fmaj

[pcjazz]

I hear as a pedal point... C6 Cdim7 C11 C13b9 ...series of dominants increasing functional pressure to Fmaj

Agreed, very Lenny Breau.

[fep]

I like a couple of things about this, the pedal on top, the chromatic bass. Reminds me of Steely Dan.

10.x.11.11.10.x
9.x.9.9.10.x
8.x.8.9.10.x
7.x.7.8.10.x
x.7.9.7.10.x
to A dominant

[pauln]

Reminds me of Steely Dan.t

Similar SD inspiration... part of song for old fusion trio project, as long path key modulation Dm to G trying to blend in smooth and funky... A "deceptive modulation"? First impression it appears to mod to Bb, but that's a head fake; repeats the down vamp twice as fast, "stutters", then blows through down to G.

as half notes
10 x 10 10 10 x
9 x 9 9 10 x
8 x 7 7 8 x
7 x 7 8 8 x

groove for two bars... (funky bass)
6 x 6 7 8 x

as quarter notes
10 x 10 10 10 x
9 x 9 9 10 x
8 x 7 7 8 x
7 x 7 8 8 x

as dotted quarter
6 x 6 7 8 x

as eighth
5 x 5 6 6 x

as two quarters
4 x 4 5 6 x

hang and groove on... (nasty cool bass)
x 2 3 2 3 x

[Reg]

Hey Bop Head... didn't mean to offend, sorry. I'm just not into the BH or Dim. approach. But sure... how can one not like Schoenberg's Variants etc... But they both tend to get muddy and almost non-blusey on guitar and when playing jazz style.

I like your approach... the Diatonic 3rd and 6th sub relationships approach ....I also use... but I expand the approach by using Modal and Chord Scale concepts.

CS is not about Harmony or what you might think of as Theory.... it's just becoming aware of the possible relationships between Chords and Possible Scales in musical Contexts. It's not about... what to use, it's about possibilities of what to use based on different Musical References.

It doesn't work for most because they're looking for answers... as compared to simply more options of what to use to create from analysis.

In general...

I think part of the difference between the way I use and hear chord patterns is the tempo. I use them more like many use single notes.... When you solo melodically you typically don't play or think in single notes... you have targets and develop the relationships between the targets using melodic development, harmony, licks and rhythm etc... (your ears)

That's the way I use chord patterns.... They are created using a simple melody, usually a lead line, a groove melody or lick
And then voicing that melody.... with chord movement with chords that reference or still imply the style and feel of whatever tune your playing.

Take a tune and play it in a style. Now change the style and feel.... you should also be adjusting the harmony and rhythm of the chords to fit the style. Which would lead to using different chord patterns.

I use them like Licks, harmonic licks. The same lick would be different when played in Maj or Min. I expand that approach using Chord Scale concepts, Modal and Blues harmony. It's not a one style approach thing. And it's definitely more than Maj/Min functional harmony... Maybe for those who use embellishment approach, it's embellishment with Harmonic organization options.

It's not for everyone.... But I really never hear many complain, I usually hear... wow we were really locked in or man I could really FEEL the music. And I'm really just an average player... at best, it hurts to say, LOL.

[Bop Head]

Hey Bop Head... didn't mean to offend, sorry. I'm just not into the BH or Dim. approach. […]

Reg, no offense taken. I just wanted to clarify that I am not an absolute beginner regarding harmony and theory. Unfortunately until three years ago I have always been to lazy too practice enough to really play jazz. That is why I do not post videos of me improvising (yet).

But i played a lot of rock, blues, funk and reggae in the past and I am quite good at that. Here is a song I wrote about 20 years ago — not too sophisticated but yet a little jazzy (I had quit the band after 10 years when that song was released, but we had recorded the song before and they used my rhythm guitar tracks – we had been two guitarists and had been swapping roles from song to song):

But I have always loved jazz as well since I had discovered it around 1990 — especially bebop, hardbop and souljazz.

When I discovered the Barry Harris method(s) three years ago I suddenly could finally really decipher the sounds I loved through the sixth diminished scales.

(I have always especially loved pianists like Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, Junior Mance, Bobby Timmons, Mal Waldron, Tadd Dameron and of course Monk — I did not know Barry before I discovered his teachings. One of my most favorite jazz albums ever is Mary Lou Williams’ “My Mama Pinned A Rose On Me” which is a bluesy journey from down-home to modernist quartal stuff.)

[princeplanet]

Reg, no offense taken. I just wanted to clarify that I am not an absolute beginner regarding harmony and theory. Unfortunately until three years ago I have always been to lazy too practice enough to really play jazz. That is why I do not post videos of me improvising (yet).

But i played a lot of rock, blues, funk and reggae in the past and I am quite good at that......

I hope Reg doesn't mind, but because you're new around here, you may like to know exactly how Reg walks the talk :

Jazz guitar Reg 523 - YouTube

"Average player" my ass ... Hey Reg, so who would you consider to be "Above average" !

[rpjazzguitar]

Reg,

I'm starting to follow your posts better, but I'm still struggling to understand what the part about "modal concepts" means. Similarly, although I know what blue notes are, I can't quite follow your logic on how you use them.

If you have a moment could you give a specific example?

BTW, for the uninitiated, Reg is about as far from an average comper as it is possible to be. And, speaking about the parts of his method that I do understand, he's telling it exactly the way he does it.

Thanks,

Rick

[Bop Head]

I hope Reg doesn't mind, but because you're new around here, you may like to know exactly how Reg walks the talk :

Jazz guitar Reg 523 - YouTube

"Average player" my ass ... Hey Reg, so who would you consider to be "Above average" !

Thanks for pointing me to that channel (another one to bookmark and learn from, I can quite see what he’s doing, but he’s comping really quick, not to speak of the soloing). I would consider him above average as well and I like what he’s doing, very funky and bluesy but relaxed at the same time.

[rpjazzguitar]

Thanks for pointing me to that channel (another one to bookmark and learn from, I can quite see what he’s doing, but he’s comping really quick, not to speak of the soloing). I would consider him above average as well and I like what he’s doing, very funky and bluesy but relaxed at the same time.

His comping isn't so quick if you click on the gear icon and slow the video down. But, in real life, he is that quick and his explanation of what he's doing makes sense.

If I understand it, he's trying to make his comping melodic, so he's paying attention to, among other things, the highest notes in the chords. He then adds the lower notes according to various principles, some of which emerge from arranging horns. A few posts back I tried to make a list of the principles, to the extent that I could. And then, he does this with enough chops to nail the jazz feel and make all of the comping incredibly propulsive. This allows him to drive a band from the guitar chair. He also gets a sound from his gear that is perfect for the style.

[Bop Head]

[…] If I understand it, he's trying to make his comping melodic, so he's paying attention to, among other things, the highest notes in the chords. […]

What else would one do? The highest notes are the most obvious ones.

[rpjazzguitar]

What else would one do? The highest notes are the most obvious ones.

Once you're focused on making melody with your comp, focusing on the top note is the main option, although you will occasionally hear moving voices in the lower portions of a harmony. Think, say, Stairway To Heaven.

But, the main point is that it is possible to think of comping the way an arranger thinks of horn parts. In which case, you may choose to think about the highest note first, then each lower note to give you the harmony you want. Diatonics, diminished interpolations, tritones, I-V7, neighbors etc, all before you think about grips.

I can say that I played for decades, and have even arranged for horns, without ever thinking about the guitar in the same way.

[Bop Head]

Once you're focused on making melody with your comp, focusing on the top note is the main option, although you will occasionally hear moving voices in the lower portions of a harmony. Think, say, Stairway To Heaven.

But, the main point is that it is possible to think of comping the way an arranger thinks of horn parts. In which case, you may choose to think about the highest note first, then each lower note to give you the harmony you want. Diatonics, diminished interpolations, tritones, I-V7, neighbors etc, all before you think about grips.

I can say that I played for decades, and have even arranged for horns, without ever thinking about the guitar in the same way.

A musical layman with untrained ears regarding chord progressions will always hear the top melody.

Stairway To Heaven is different from hornlike playing in so far as the chords are arpeggiated [you could maybe imitate the “let ring” of the guitar with what is called “cascading chords” IIRC for horns — the chords are not played at once, but one voice is coming in after another], so the descending seventh in the bass comes out as clearly as the top melody which goes in contrary motion at first.

Regarding hornlike playing: I have always tried to get as much background information on music as possible, so I read early on that the pioneers of the electric guitar tried to imitate saxophone phrases in their single-note playing. And regarding chords I realized intuitively that the stuff e.g. Wes Montgomery would play in his chord solos was basically the same thing that I would hear in e.g. Neal Hefti Basie arrangements I would listen to. So I have been always aware of that.

I have always listened to other instruments than guitar as well, passively, intuitively, but also actively and partly analytically — especially piano and horns, but also drums and double bass — and have absorbed a lot from that, too. My parents would listen to only classical which is not a bad prerequisite for voice-leading stuff.

[Bop Head]

For e.g. in Bb

| C–7 / / / | F7 / / / | Bb ~

say (rhythm is of course only an approximation to groove):


8x886x — C–7/11 – [1 & 2 & 3 &]

x7869x — Db–6 (= Bb–7/b5 = rootless Gb7/9) — [4 &]

x8789x — F7/#9 — [1 &]

x8766x — F+ – [2 &]

7x766x — B7/9/b5 no 3rd – [3]

xxx8xx — 3rd of B — [&]

xxx6xx – 2nd (9th) of B — [4]

6x57xx — Bb6 — [& 1 etc. (1/8 anticipation)]


I like that bluesy enclosure of the target I’s 3rd when coming from a bII7/b5 so much that I have to start to avoid my own cliché .

[Jimmy blue note]

10 x 8 x 10 10 x
9 x 7 7 7 x
8 x 7 9 6 x
7 x 8 8 8 x
6 x 7 7 8 x
5 x 5 6 8 x
x 5 7 x 7 x

Modal compression and resolution as an alternative to your II V I, in this case instead of Em A7 D, it begins with planting the sound of D but as a bass note, which can be heard as the third of a Bb maj or a D aug. Although this descending progression is technically non functional, it follows a different and chromatic progression, each chord, a major chord voice led so the movement is more important than the diatonic function.
This idea can be used to step down a bass line diatonically or even by voicing the top (soprano) voice melodically with the chord structure following beneath.
This kind of chordal progression opens up a type of non functional triad/bass progression wherein each chord not only provides a forward motion but can be used to control the amount of tension at any point in the progression.