-
What’s with these 9#11 turn arounds to V? They’re all over the Xmas real book
G-7
Db(9#11)
C9
-
12-17-2025 11:22 PM
-
Fits the melody in this case - G on a Db7.
Originally Posted by AllanAllen
What’s with these 9#11 turn arounds to V? They’re all over the Xmas real book
G-7
Db(9#11)
C9
(Db9#11 is a nice old school Ellington/Strayhorn-ish sort of voicing - B+ on a Db bass eg x 4 x 4 4 3)
In this case the chord moves down a half step but melody note is sustained. So the chord symbol is implying that. So not strictly necessary, given we have the melody right there, but quite reasonable notation imo.
Depends on the style of lead sheet but you’ll often see extensions reflecting the melody. Older style lead sheets would have just given you the basic chord quality.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
It's the nostalgic augmented sound; it uses the V+ triad with a b2 bass. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
If you analyse this chord from the perspective of the bass note, it's a thirdless chord with a b7, 9, and #11.
The chord originated in the 'A Train'.
Wes used it in on the live version of Four on Six (see 0:30, the last chord before he starts his single notes):
It is a known thing in Japanese compositions too. Part of their songwriting formulae. Discussed quite a bit in other places:
Target can be literally any chord, C major, C minor, C7. Doesn't matter.
This chord is always played one half step above the target, so here it'd be: 9-x-9-8-8-x, then 8-x-7-7-8-x for example.
The Wes example above is 4-x-4-3-3-x, then a G minor say 3-x-2-3-3-x.Last edited by brent.h; 12-18-2025 at 05:38 AM.
-
Thanks Christian & Brent!
-
'Chromazone' by Mike Stern.
I can nearly play the first part of the melody at tempo. I'm using alternate picking for this - I mean, perhaps I could discover a way of fingering it that makes it economy-picking-friendly, but I can't really be bothered doing that. TBH, any economy picker has to be pretty good at alternate picking anyway - putting aside the sweeping itself, the only real difference is that there are outside string changes in alternate picking. It's not really because I adopted economy picking that I've seen my plectrum-picking chops improve like they have, but rather the motion itself - picking from the thumb and first finger.
-
There is 50% off at Jazz Lesson Videos plus an additional 20% off if you know a coupon code so I went ahead and purchased Cecil Alexander's 30-day Bebop Chops course. Having just browsed through the course content looks like it'll keep me busy for more like 30 weeks.
See you all on the other side.
-
Lately I am focusing on learning tunes rather than isolated exercises. Working on heads by ear, tightening up comping on standards, and trying to apply ideas directly in jam session contexts. For me, most of the real learning seems to come from the repertoire itself and playing with other musicians.
-
Yeah, the first plateau is when you realize all these scale patterns and chord inversions don’t mean you can play music. Originally Posted by Moonbeam
What song are you working on? I’m revisiting Tricotism.
-
Practicing guitar ensemble pieces on the 10 string. Not having to tune downwards for certain pieces is pretty convenient
-
"TUNE UP" and 251 progressions
...
-
Chord patterns over tunes.
Instead of Am7 D7 G6, I’d do this
xxx555
xxx537
xxx433
whatever that middle move is to replace the V. I take a triad, leave the low note, move the middle one down and the top one up, then resolve.
I got a few tunes, Melody and changes by ear.
True, You don’t love me
I’m beginning to see the light
That second one, the realbook is based on Coleman Hawkins version I think. No way all that crap is happening in the Duke Ellington Joya Sherrill version.
-
After working on “Like Someone in Love” last Fall, I took a break from practicing tunes at home. For the better part of December and January, I hit the regional jam session circuit with no intent of calling any tunes I practiced.
Instead, I used the opportunity to “practice” tunes, either from memory or reading charts cold on whatever is called by others.
In some jams, I was the only chordal instrument, while for others we had a pianist on stage and / or a second guitarist. It encourages me to listen closely, know when to lay out, keep eyes open for non-verbal cues, etc.
It can be quite challenging but at times also exhilarating. At one jam in mid-January, 8 students from a regional college joined, and that imparted another level of spontaneity to the evening.
These jam venues are part of a regional scene with a balance of regulars and newcomers. Some nights it’s just musicians, other nights some listeners. There’s a welcoming vibe overall and the expectation is at least in part to learn together. Not a gig, not a rehearsal, it’s more like a joint practice playing full songs, not fragments and with no do-overs.
Now in February, I’m traveling abroad with the Mrs. visiting her large family and making a short pilgrimage on the side. I have my travel guitar in hand so in moments of quietude, it’s back to Like Someone in Love, with a better fluency the overall goal.
I’m trying to alternate between melody chording and ad-lib more effortlessly, keeping the form but not always swapping according to bar lines, moving in and out of melody, comping and ad-lib.
I also brought On the Sunny Side of the Street into the routine. Since they’re in the same key, it’s challenging, at least for me, to avoid using the same lines and shapes, instead using rhythms and melodies to maintain their distinctiveness.
At times, when my mind goes blank or I forget which tune it is and slip into noodling aimlessly, I’m in awe of those who have gained such amazing fluency.
-
I wanto to go deeper into the“pentatonic trip” (I love McCoy Tyner) and I feel rather unsatisfied about my rare (and sort of "stumbling") incorporation of them in my playing, so far.
So from today's (melodic) practice session: first, the five modes of the (major) pentatonic scale “in parallel” (each mode starting on the same note). Then I'm working on learning the second (1 2 4 5 b7) mode (which I particularly like, it fits over sus4 and min11 chords nicely, it's a "mainstream" scale in music from Mali (some say it's probabily the most ancient scale in music?) all the way up and down the neck, two notes per string, as they fall naturally under my fingers, in 4/4 time signature (for the time being).
It' ll take some time to learn all 5 modes this way, first working on playing them “inside”...then I'll figure out the "inside-outside” game...
-
Practice routines evolve constantly depending on goals. Some weeks it’s technique drills, other weeks it’s just playing songs for fun. I noticed that shift while waiting on a replacement tool after contacting Cricut customer service , realizing creative hobbies all follow similar cycles of learning and experimenting. Progress isn’t always linear. Showing up regularly matters most. Curious what others are focusing on right now.
Last edited by benhatchins; 02-19-2026 at 05:39 PM.
-
Originally Posted by frabarmus
Fun to be had here:
How to Use the Pentatonic Scale like McCoy Tyner in Your Solos • Jazzadvice
-
Wow, thanks for this! Originally Posted by Aiq
-
I've spent the last few weeks on Billie's Bounce. I start by practicing some cool grips I pinched from one of Reg's videos. Then I play through the changes using shell voicings. Then I practice two F blues scales over the fretboard, one being the minor blues, the other the major blues, with an added minor 3, which I got from Jens Larsen. Then I practice all the arpeggios from an F blues. I started in a single position, and have been gradually expanding so that now I'm playing them in all positions up to the 12th fret.
Recently I've been working on four short licks I pinched from Bird for the D7->Gm change, again up and down the fretboard. I augment these with on-the-spot composed lead-ins and outros. (I originally started with many more licks, but I'm thinking focussing on fewer will help them stick.)
Then, and this had been a really stupid blind spot until a couple of weeks ago, I actually practice a few choruses playing the head and- improvising over the tune using Quartet. I'm keeping it slow at the moment, at 120bpm. I'm already seeing the benefit in terms of being surer of where I am in the form, and some elements of those lick ideas coming through.
Today I'm going to take a break from all that and try out Jordan Klemon's Insta Bop freebie. I'm thinking it might be a cool way of coming up with some lines, and maybe help free me from the tyranny of chasing the changes.
The INSTA-Bop Guide
-
Back home after the trip, I'm practicing the three tunes I worked on while abroad, "Like Someone in Love," "On the Sunny Side of the Street," and "Alone Together." I had my no frills travel guitar with me at the time, and I was thinking of bringing that to a jam when I return. But it's so no frills there's no volume control and the pickup is quite bright. So I decided to practice this week on a more suitable guitar before bring those songs to the jam session next week. Although it takes a while to re-orient on different guitars, not just the sound but also the scale, neck width, feel, etc., I do enjoy using different guitars. It's a little bit of a challenge, at least for me, because on the travel guitar the scale was quite different and I got the feel of that down after the better part of a month. But now I'm on another guitar, a Gretsch, practicing to get the feel of a different neck under my fingers.
-
Benson licks. I forgot how much I liked him in the 70's.
-
Benson is nearly like three different persons/players, three separate substantial careers altogether and each one a relevant and complete contribution to the craft. Originally Posted by Stevebol
-
Just started (slowly) learning A Night In Tunisia
-
From today's practice session, had a go at The Night Has a Thousand Eyes... just jamming, I'm still in the early stages of learning/studying this song, a bit sloppy here and there and not particularly enthusiastic about how I've improvised (I've enjoyed the comping more)... anyway, it's what I've been practicing today, needs more work and polishing... still, hope you enjoy. Feedback appreciated.
-
Like I mentioned in this 3 warmups thread. I've been working up to the attached Mick Goodrick practice routine.
Last night, I wrote out fingerings for whole tone, diminished and augmented scales. Then, in free time, ran the chromatic stuff, whole tone, diminished, and augmented. All in G and all in the same place. These are all new scales for me so I have to built up the foundation to even start the Goodrick routine.
This leaves harmonic minor, harmonic major for the new scales and a handful of arpeggios I halfway know.
After that I read a lick from 1001 Jazz Licks and then took it around the 12 keys. Working on reading and vocabulary at the same time with bite sized chunks instead of a whole head.
This felt like a challenging and musical practice session. Looking forward to doing it again tonight.
-
Wrote out the other fingerings, read and ran the next lick through 12 keys.
It’s pretty cool between gigs to practice what I want instead of cramming repertoire.
-
Very interesting. The way you’re doing the 1001 jazz licks sounds like a neat way to sprinkle in some new vocab. Are you analyzing what’s going on in the licks or just playing through them? Doesn’t look like the book provides any theoretical insight on the licks and that side of things would have to be done intentionally by the reader…which isn’t a bad thing necessarily. Just wondering what your approach looks like. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply With Quote
Recommandations for Hollowbodies for $600 and under?
Today, 05:20 AM in Guitar, Amps & Gizmos