The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #51

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    I agree to find the tunes that move you as you will enjoy the pursuit more which may lead to better results. Kind of like having a job you love I suppose.

    There are great free lessons associated with this site as well with many being aimed at those with moderate skill levels (and thank you to the powers that be for that) .Two come to mind that where mentioned previously in this thread; Satin Doll and Autumn Leaves.

    I like that you get the basic structure, if you happen to know a little theory or have some better technique you can build on that basic structure and make it more of you own thing.

    Good luck.

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  3. #52

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    Autumn leaves is definitely a good one. It is still one of my favorites to this day. Any blues form, Sandu would be a good one. And a third I would recommend is In a Sentimental Mood. This is a great ballad to learn early.

  4. #53

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    There are so many secrets in "Blue Moon" I wouldn't neglect it.

  5. #54

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    Quote Originally Posted by WILSON 1
    There are so many secrets in "Blue Moon" I wouldn't neglect it.
    I was about to say the incessant I-VI-ii-Vs of Blue Moon bore me to death (even with the usual subs), but then I decided to look for interesting recordings. Most seem kind of boring to me, but Freddy Hubbard puts some life into it in a couple of live recordings with Art Blakely.

    I really like that descending bass line that just keeps on going when you expect it to return to the 1. So maybe I’ll take it as a challenge to come up with an interesting version for myself.

  6. #55

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    Autumn Leaves is good because of the major and minor ii Vs. It's got a descending line near the end that's a good sound to know.

    A tune like All of Me gives cycle of 5ths and has a IV ivm (or IV or #IVo7) root down to VI7. Those devices are used in a lot of tunes and are good to know.

    Blue Bossa is good because it's easy. I like that it has a iim7b5 V7b13 and also a movement up a b3. All good sounds that the first two don't have in the same way.

  7. #56

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    A lot of good advice here, but I am going to second starting with Autumn Leaves. It is a stunning but pretty simple melody to learn over great chord changes. I am all about being able to play music quickly and not just run scales all the time. You should be able to play the melody in one day and feel like you are making music.

    This is, of course, assuming you like the tune.

  8. #57

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    Autumn Leaves
    Blue Bossa
    There Will Never Be Another You

    PLUS:
    Equinox, All Blues, or Freddie The Freeloader
    Impressions

  9. #58

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    Besides of the very good one recommendations above, I would add "What's new". which has a really simple melody, still has its uniqueness, hard to not love it instantly. The chords are no more complicated than Autumn Leaves, but it has a twist what easy to follow when soloing. (I have to admit, it is a ballad, which is also not the best choice to start, still...)

    ***

    I definitely would not recommend Stella, I really love it, and I also know it is a must know, but soloing on it is hardly a beginner thing, so I am surprised it is mentioned even in the first 10. The "must know ten" or "most useful ten" for the intermediate, and the "first three" for the beginner maybe a different thing.
    I think when picking the first three (or ten) then "have a repertoire so you know the tune when called in a gig" thing is less important... :-).

  10. #59

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    Not too long ago I asked myself this question.

    I chose a few that (a) I liked and knew already in my head (b) I found interesting but not too complicated (c) are "common" in the sense that many people know them (which is probably why some tunes are labeled standards) (d) are in the Real Book :-)

    My choices were: Cry me a River, Misty and Take Five.

    You might also consider Vem kan segla forutan vind (swedish trad.) or This Masquerade (Leon Russel)

  11. #60

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    Those that you really like.

    I personally never really liked much The Autumn Leaves, All The Things You Are, Stella, or Summertime...
    those are fine tunes of course but I just did not like some things about them (by the way in my opinion they have things in common)... so I felt like I am forced to learn them becasue it is important and so on and so on... but I also know that when I am forced to do something eventually it will not come to any good...

  12. #61

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    Learn some blues tunes.... 12 bar tunes
    Billies, Blue"N"Boogie... etc... then some minor blues ... Blue Friday, Mr PC, Birks Work...
    Then Bop tunes.... which are different Form.... A A B A, and are like expanded Blues tunes.

    The point I'm heading towards... is to learn Tune "Forms". Just memorizing some jazz like tunes is cool.... but without some context or... what the organization of those Tunes is... is like the blind squirrel approach.

    And while your learning tunes.... also work on how chords work with other chords. Simple Two chord relationships etc...

  13. #62

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    Make sure you also include a tune that you know and really like as a listener. Even if may turn out to be a harder song to learn than the other two, you'll have more drive to learn it and it will make the process feel less like learning an etude and more like playing guitar.

  14. #63

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    I'm doing this now. For me, the first three are;
    Fly Me to the Moon
    Misty
    Autumn Leaves

    I also work with a Bb blues.

  15. #64

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    So the learning of tunes... the first 3 etc... is really more from the skill of performance.... Performance Skills. Performance skills are only as good as your technical skills.... you can learn all the standards you want etc... but if you don't have any technical skills.... your just not going to perform those tunes in a jazz style.

    technical skills are much more useful.... the reason i was pushing you in direction of Jazz Blues tunes and Bop or Swing tunes... those type of tunes... require jazz skill to perform.

    To play jazz... you need to be able to swing and have a Blues feel.... there's more, but your not going to get anywhere without basics.
    Fly me to the Moon, Autumn Leaves and Misty are great standards.... but down the road.... to play jazz standards or any tune in a jazz style .... you'll need jazz technical skills. Jazz is not a memorize and perform approach to performance. I know most are from the old school approach of learning tunes and let the music teach you etc... but you don't need to go through that life long approach of learning how to play Jazz.... truth is most don't get there, but the path is cool and very rewarding etc...

    You said your a beginner.... which usually implies you want to get better...? just learning tunes... is SLOW... very SLOW

  16. #65

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    Quote Originally Posted by Reg
    So the learning of tunes... the first 3 etc... is really more from the skill of performance.... Performance Skills. Performance skills are only as good as your technical skills.... you can learn all the standards you want etc... but if you don't have any technical skills.... your just not going to perform those tunes in a jazz style.

    technical skills are much more useful.... the reason i was pushing you in direction of Jazz Blues tunes and Bop or Swing tunes... those type of tunes... require jazz skill to perform.

    To play jazz... you need to be able to swing and have a Blues feel.... there's more, but your not going to get anywhere without basics.
    Fly me to the Moon, Autumn Leaves and Misty are great standards.... but down the road.... to play jazz standards or any tune in a jazz style .... you'll need jazz technical skills. Jazz is not a memorize and perform approach to performance. I know most are from the old school approach of learning tunes and let the music teach you etc... but you don't need to go through that life long approach of learning how to play Jazz.... truth is most don't get there, but the path is cool and very rewarding etc...

    You said your a beginner.... which usually implies you want to get better...? just learning tunes... is SLOW... very SLOW
    As a beginner I really appreciate this input. For me, I was only interested in learning a few tunes to feel like I am making some musical progress to keep the incentive to keep going with the more tedious but necessary exercises. Now that I have actual music under my fingers, I am practicing more than ever.

  17. #66

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    I would say that most of these recommendations are "advanced beginner" not "beginner." Though it is hard to avoid minor ii-V's entirely, I've tried to do that in my recommendations, which focus on tunes that use mostly major-key ii-Vs, don't change keys too frequently, and won't frustrate someone who's just starting out.

    @Greg, whatever you do, concentrate on making sure you play with good tone, good time, and in tune.

    Start with blues in any key you are comfortable with. Learn basic I IV V blues, then learn some some common jazz back-cycling blues changes. You can find these on the interwebs easily. Learn to play with a swing feel, with a latin feel, and with a shuffle feel. Learn the difference between a Chicago blues and a jazz blues. Learn to play a "rhumba blues." Learn to play minor blues. Learn to extend all of the chords in a blues to the seventh, ninth, 11th and 13th. Learn a few altered dominants and try swapping those in.

    As a longer-term goal, work on applying all of these skills to other keys and other musical styles.

    Some easy standards that won't have you thinking you should give up and sell your guitar are:

    Maiden Voyage
    Satin Doll
    Girl From Ipanema
    Little Sunflower
    Take the A Train

    Green Dolphin Street and Blue Bossa do throw in the occasional minor ii-V (e.g. Dm7b5 to G7b9) but they are otherwise pretty easy tunes. For now you can just solo over major ii-Vs (e.g D-7 to G7) in those places, using your ear to pick notes that sound good. Later, you can learn to play something that fits a bit better over these beautiful-but-more-challenging chords.

    Autumn Leaves is a bit trickier than any of these but it's worth tackling once you get some of these easier standards under your fingers and in your ears.

    The melody and Ebma chord changes of Misty as it appears in Real Book I lie easily under the fingers of a beginner, making it an excellent choice for a first solo chord melody.

    I hope this helps. Whatever you do, take it slow, keep it fun, enjoy the journey. Playing jazz guitar well takes a sustained effort over a long period of time, so don't try to be fantastic overnight. Just concentrate on playing musically and pleasing your own ear.

    Good luck and welcome to JGF!

    SJ

  18. #67

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    What do you guys think of throwing in something modal like So What or something else from Kinda Blue? I like the advice for Maiden Voyage- it was one of the first tunes I learned when I played Tenor Sax back in the early 90s. A great tune that was not too difficult.

  19. #68

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    Quote Originally Posted by raylinds
    What do you guys think of throwing in something modal like So What or something else from Kinda Blue? I like the advice for Maiden Voyage- it was one of the first tunes I learned when I played Tenor Sax back in the early 90s. A great tune that was not too difficult.
    Not a fan. I think one has to get a good grip on functional tunes first. Modal tunes are easy in the sense that the chords don't switch much, but that's also a recipe for a beginning player's soloing to sound less like jazz and more like the local hippie cover band on a bad night. Just 2 cents from a guy who learned "So What" first and found out he didn't learn shit.

  20. #69

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    Quote Originally Posted by mr. beaumont
    Not a fan. I think one has to get a good grip on functional tunes first. Modal tunes are easy in the sense that the chords don't switch much, but that's also a recipe for a beginning player's soloing to sound less like jazz and more like the local hippie cover band on a bad night. Just 2 cents from a guy who learned "So What" first and found out he didn't learn shit.
    Ha! I too learned “So What” first thirty years ago. I was so uninspired by it that I didn’t explore playing jazz again for many MANY years.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  21. #70

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    Blues in C, F and Bb (Bag's Groove, Now's The Time, SKJ, Blues In The Closet, Sundown, Bluesology)
    Rhythm Changes in Bb, C and F (Rhythma-A-Ning, Lester leaps In, Oleo, Flintstones)
    _______ ? Latin tune: St Thomas, Blue Bossa, A Night In Tunisia

  22. #71

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    Blues
    Rhythm Changes (I Got Rhythm)
    Autumn Leaves

  23. #72

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    you take the list of the 1000 known by the "Greats" and you remove 997 of your choice

  24. #73

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    Quote Originally Posted by Patlotch
    you take the list of the 1000 known by the "Greats" and you remove 997 of your choice
    ah, but which are the best 997 to remove?

  25. #74

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    I'd pick three you really LOVE! If you like the song and the melody sticks in your head you will enjoy working on it. I started to play songs I can sing in the shower rather than one I feel I should know but don't like very much.