The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    New to the forum and new to jazz guitar. I’ve been playing guitar off and on since I was 10 and I’m now 68. I have mostly played in rock bands, but decided that in retirement I would learn to play jazz. Not Joe Pass style jazz, more like Larry Carlton style jazz. I was recently asked to play guitar in a dance band. It’s an 18-piece big band, sort of 1940’s swing. It should be just easy rhythm guitar stuff, but I find myself struggling.

    The band works off of sheet music. The guitar sheets are chords written above the hash-mark notations on the staff (not sure of the proper name for that). I find the sheet music calling for a huge number of chord changes, like 4 chord changes in a single measure. I’m not talking about a step progression from one chord to the next. This is totally different chords, changing at a very quick pace (for me anyway). Unfortunately, the band leader doesn’t let us know ahead of time what songs we’ll be working on. With a library of about 160 songs, he just call out a number, you pull up the sheet music and play. I don’t get any chance to work on the songs ahead of time to get familiar with the chord progressions. When I do go back over a song the next day, these quick chord changes don’t even make sense to the melody of the song.

    So, my questions are:


    1. Do these quick chord changes need to be played, or could they be simplified to a one or two chords in those measures? If so, how?
    2. Am I approaching this in totally the wrong way?
    3. Should I just keep working away at it, or am I not cut out for this style of guitar? Right now at rehearsal, I sit next to my amp, at low volume, and I’m not sure anyone hears much of what I’m playing.
    4. I’ve asked the band leader for a list of songs we’ll be working on ahead of time, but he hasn’t done it.


    Any advice here is very welcome. I feel like some time in the wood shed would help me a lot, but without knowing which songs to work on, there’s not much direction. Overall, I enjoy playing with the band, but don’t feel I’m contributing anything at this point. I’m just not sure how to move forward with all of this.

    PS - I've been working on some online jazz guitar courses and that's helping. But not enough.

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  3. #2

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    So, first of all welcome aboard.

    Secondly-- you're discovering that the job of a big band guitar player is NOT an easy one!!! In fact, being a good rhythm guitar player, in the jazz/swing sense, is one of the most difficult jobs...and often you're given music that isn't even the "guitar part," it's like "here's the piano sheet, do something with it"

    So regarding "can i simplify the chart?" Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Would you be willing to post a sample of what this leader is giving you?

    What types of voicings are you using right now? Full chords? 6th string plus 4th and 3rd? 4th and 3rd only?

  4. #3

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    Here's an example of the sheet music for Night Train. The song is a simple 1-4-5 blues pattern, I thought. But the chords don't follow that pattern, then at measure 29, well I have no idea what's suppose to go on there. I end up faking a few chords or just sitting back and listening to the horn players. Some of the other songs look worse than this.
    Right now the band doesn't have a keyboard player. The whole rhythm section is the drummer, the bass player and myself.

    Oops - looks like the music sheet didn't post.

    Last edited by pdawg; 01-23-2023 at 03:09 PM. Reason: Not everything posted

  5. #4

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    Let's see if this works.

    3 Night Train.pdf

  6. #5

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    Ok, yeah this is CLASSIC big band guitar chart stuff.

    Here's what I'd do...

    first, remove the extensions...that's for the piano player anyway (who yes, doesn't exist yet but it's not your job to play piano on guitar)...or a composite written based on what the horns are doing.

    So make those 2 bars | Bb7 Eb7 Ab7 Db7 | D7 G7 C7 F7 |

    Then, consider playing two note chords, 4th string and 3rd string. no roots...just 7th and 3rd. So those chords could look like this...

    Bb7 xx67xx
    Eb7 xx56xx
    Ab7 xx45xx
    Db7 xx43xx

    D7 xx10 11 xx
    G7 xx9 10 xx
    C7 xx89xx
    F7 xx78xx

    or...

    D7 xx45xx
    G7xx34xx
    C7xx23xx
    F7xx12xx

    See where I'm going with this?

    Or heck...just play the 4th string of those chords.

  7. #6

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    Well, it kind of is...a jazz blues, at least, not a true 3-chorder...but relatively simple on paper-- 3 times thru, each time with a different melody with some very specific hits and things...

    If you played this in a four piece combo it'd be a lot closer to a simple 3 chord (maybe like a 5 chord blues with a ii-V or so thrown in, or a #V7 to V7 turnaround, or whatever) blues, likely. Big Bands tend to tighten up arrangements.

  8. #7

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    I deleted my comment to avoid adding confusion. I’m real good at mucking things up trying to help.

  9. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by AllanAllen
    I deleted my comment to avoid adding confusion. I’m real good at mucking things up trying to help.
    Lol, and I responded to it

    But your point of it "not just being a 3 chord blues" wasn't incorrect. "Night Train" is a tune with a lot of structure, and some key differences every time through that blues progression.

  10. #9

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    First of all, you should watch all of his videos:

    https://youtu.be/G3Yrd1ipjBM

  11. #10

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    Hi
    Just thought Id chime in with a little advice. First of all yes it is a hard job playing in a big band and the chart you posted looks fairly advanced especially in the bar 29 section so don't beat your self up about it. It is also important as the job of arranger to give parts that are readable and playable for each instrument. I studied arranging for two years and it was my job to make sure each part was in the right key, right range and playable without any rehearsal. Maybe in New York its different but in my mind if anyone gives you a really complicated part and expects you to play it with a four bar count in having never see the piece before, they are being a bit harsh.
    A good starting point is to recognise the 5 main chord qualities and what can be done with them for example
    Major 7th (can be substituted for major 6th, or sharp 11)
    dominant ( can be substituted for b9, sharp 9, flat 5 or sharp 5)
    minor (can be substituted for minor 7, minor 6, minor maj 7)
    diminished
    minor 7 b5
    if the chart says minor 7 then you can play the minor 7 but you can also play a minor 6 or minor maj 7 you just have to be careful.
    The best advice is to know the melody of the tune then you can choose which chords to play and also ask the band leader if its ok to use substitutions but the melody is the most important. especially with dominants and minors. If the melody note is a minor 7 and the chord underneath is a minor then you don't want to use the major 7th of a minor chord.
    there is a lot more to this but thats the general idea. Also it may not stemlike it but the band leader will have a finite number of tunes. It may seem like hundreds but its more likely to be under 40 so with time you will get to learn them and be familiar.
    as guitarists we all have our go to voices for chords and are able to switch between them. I started out by learning five voices for each chord up the neck in all 12 keys, then I learnt to pass between them using diminished, or 4th voicing or adding extra dominants or chromatic chords.
    then there is voice leading. Another good tip is to try and move as little as possible when changing from one chord to the next.
    The final tip is practice. The day after rehearsal go through the tunes you did 2-3 hours a day. Find the melody and learn it. By singing it then playing it on the guitar. Then find the chords you like the sound of but you must know the melody otherwise your groping in the dark.
    obviously there are times when you won't know the melody but if you do enough practice you will get used to the tips and tricks that song writers and arrangers use and it will become familiar.

  12. #11

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    I think a massive simplification for the bars 29-36 would be:
    |Bb7|Bb7|Bb7|Bb7|
    |Eb7|Eb7|Bb7|Bb7|

    The simplest approach would be to play these with a four to the bar rhythm and see if it works with the melody.
    As you get more comfortable you can add F7's in the last beats of bars 30, 32, 34.
    Once you get comfortable with that, you can expand F7's to full turnarounds as written: III VI II V (D7 G7 C7 F7).
    Then you can expand the first Eb7 bar etc.

    Basically you can expand the simpler harmony to the extent that you can play with a good feel. But you always have the simpler version to fall back on.

  13. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by Heybopper
    Then find the chords you like the sound of
    Assuming the charts are as tightly written as your part, you’re not free to pick chords you like except when comping behind solos. Even then, you can’t get too creative unless you know the soloist’s playing and style, so you can complement them. The arranger already chose the chords for all written section parts. So you can’t pick and choose among the many substitutes for any given chord in a chart like that without knowing what’s being played by the rest of the band.

    You may like the sound of a 7b9 as a transition chord - but it’ll clash with a straight 9th if that’s what the horns are playing. The bass isn’t free to walk through any accidentals he or she likes if you’re adding extensions of your own. This is why you’re getting advice to simplify to the 3rd and 7th - you and the bass are one giant guitar playing one chord between you on each beat. One old adage for rhythm playing is to avoid playing perfect fifths and extensions beyond a 7th. It’ll keep you out of trouble and help you get the hang of the chair.

    Once you learn to extract and play only the essential note(s) in each chord, you’ll be 90% of the way to Freddie Green. He rarely played more than 3 notes per stroke and sometimes even used only 1 or 2. I think the term for that style of comping is “pitched percussion”, and it makes sense. You, the bass and the drummer are a unified harmonic rhythm section, and the guitar is adding the character note to each chord, eg major vs minor. Done right, it gives the band a beautiful base from which to launch the tune.

    Keep it simple and “swing your @ss off”.

  14. #13

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    Tell the bandleader you need the friggin songs in advance to work them out.
    Can simplify the harmonies by starting with the guide tones like Mr B explained.
    I would try to get the rhythms exact and not simplify those because they're part of the arrangement.
    Practice scanning a tune before you go to play it. Focus on precise parts that you can memorize in a short amount of time and gloss over generic parts. Such as see that the written part is 5ths. Try to memorize the 1 chord per beat part etc.

  15. #14

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    Hi, from someone with a similar bio. I started in community big band and now I'm in college big band. Here are a few of things that helped me:
    1) Get really good at counting and keeping up. Half the battle for me was getting lost, unlike rock you can't just wait for the next verse.
    2) Simplify the chords. 2-3-4 notes are fine. Root, 7th. Bass and piano will fill in the rest.
    3) On the 4 chords/ measure. Try to play it at home slowly and see if you can figure out what the arranger was looking for. Sometimes only 1 note is moving and you can hear the pattern. Then simplify it.
    4) Get a teacher, if you can find one and bone up on reading music. The horn players learned as kids but in rock guitar we really didn't. It is hard but it will help.
    There is some payback on the last one. Sheet music players struggle with improvisation. If you can get an improv solo you will sound great.
    It can really be a great experience and it will help you learn more.
    All the best!

  16. #15

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    I think Mr B has nailed it.

    I'd say this.

    The excitement is at bar 29. Looks like a lot of tricky chords played fast.

    But, consider the following:

    1. The extensions are there to tell you what the horns are playing. If you can play exactly what's written it will sound good. If you can't execute it, then you have to look at what's happening here.

    Let's take Bb13 to Eb9#11. Some people can play that at 104bpm, but say you can't.

    You omit all the extensions. You figure the bassist will play the roots. You don't need to play the 5th (which is heard as an overtone of the root whether you like it or not).

    So you play thirds and sevenths. For Bb13 you play an Ab and a D (4th and 3rd strings). Then, you slide those two notes down a fret. That's G and Db, which are the 3rd and 7th of Eb9#11.

    So, those two tricky bars turn out to be sliding two notes one fret at a time.

    2. What you don't want to do is play the wrong extension. So, for Eb9#11, probably best not to play the 5th at the top of the chord, or at all. You don't want to play, say, xx5666 because that puts a Bb where the horns are playing A.

    3. You don't have to play every chord in every tune. Better to omit something than hit a clam.

    4. If you can't read the hits, count the beats and come back in at the right time. Don't ask me how I know this.

    5. I think that most big band guitarists who have to play this sight unseen will go with 3rds and 7ths. The ambitious ones might take a picture of the chart with their phone and work out fuller voicings before the next rehearsal. Chances are, by the time the tune is called again, they won't remember them anyway. The thing to learn here is how to extract the essential, playable, notes from the chord symbols and quickly see the half step movement. I think most big band guitarists would be able to do that the first time through.

    6. The chart isn't easy at bar 29, but it's playable. They aren't always. Some arrangers write playable stuff and some don't. Maybe they just write in the piano or horn voicing at that point in the tune and leave it to the guitarist's judgement.
    Last edited by rpjazzguitar; 01-23-2023 at 09:00 PM.

  17. #16

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    Just wanted to reiterate that when four chords to a measure don't seem to make sense and are hard to play, just play the 3 and 7 on the middle 2 strings and you will likely see the logic of the chart. In fact, you should play it that way most of the time if you are playing four to the bar. I would avoid the root or the 5, and would be very picky about playing an extension.

  18. #17

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    ! Wow ! ..nice gig play this for all it's worth man, you can learn a TON here.
    The first thing Id try is 2 note voicings, as Jeff said above -(very good post, try those voicings). 3rd and 7th of each chord, "guide tones" , you might have to move a bit for the horn section......
    ......I've never played with a big band, this is just what I'd try.........
    Don't worry about the bass note in the slash chords, bass player's got that.
    Bars 29-30 and 33-34 you might play every other chord:
    At 29, it might be...
    Bb13
    xx678x
    Ab13
    xx456x
    D aug can be
    xx433x
    or G aug
    xx544x
    You may have to work some of that out with the band, horn section, but hopefully you guys can talk and say - this is good, or bad and work it out !
    I'm, kinda envious
    Let us know how it works out..

    -best,
    Mike

  19. #18

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    Hey pdawg... yea not easy coming from rock and trying to play in a jazz style, even old school simple BB Blues charts.

    It seems your way over your head... not trying to be the elephant in the room. But your technical skills are just not designed to play in a BB.

    Maybe your a great soloist...

    I direct and have directed BB's, have tons of charts and a few Books. That lead sheet... should be simple.

    There are some suggestions above.... but you need to already have this shit together, really. Takes about 6 months of organized practice. 68 isn't that old, your retired, you have the time.

    Post an example of your comping and I'll help put together a simple list of chords and voicings you'll need to start playing in a big band. Then you need some rhythmic studies and actual comping techniques... How to use the chords when playing in a big band. There's a lot more than the Chrillos vid.

    Here's a sample of what many arrangers add to their charts for amateurs.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Reg
    Hey pdawg... yea not easy coming from rock and trying to play in a jazz style, even old school simple BB Blues charts.

    It seems your way over your head... not trying to be the elephant in the room. But your technical skills are just not designed to play in a BB.

    Maybe your a great soloist...

    I direct and have directed BB's, have tons of charts and a few Books. That lead sheet... should be simple.

    There are some suggestions above.... but you need to already have this shit together, really. Takes about 6 months of organized practice. 68 isn't that old, your retired, you have the time.

    Post an example of your comping and I'll help put together a simple list of chords and voicings you'll need to start playing in a big band. Then you need some rhythmic studies and actual comping techniques... How to use the chords when playing in a big band. There's a lot more than the Chrillos vid.

    Here's a sample of what many arrangers add to their charts for amateurs.
    That sample looks much more like the chords you'd suggest for play in a modern big band jazz gig, not a swing nostalgia-style group. If swing band rhythm is harder than it looks, modern big band stuff IS as hard as it looks and harder! Tons of different feels, rhythmic patterns, Latin stuff, etc...

  21. #20

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    pdawg, good on you for taking on the challenge! What an adventure. Mr. B has identified some great stuff to simplify what you're playing. This is how I would work through those charts. As you accumulate these moves, you will quickly see them in the other charts and it will become easier.

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by pdawg
    Let's see if this works.

    3 Night Train.pdf
    I do bigband work from time to time.

    Looking at the sheet, that's pretty basic big band stuff. If you're struggling with this, that means your level is not sufficient yet. No criticism, just an observation, we have all been there! (Trust me, I have sweated on this stuff a lot when I started....) It just means you have more wood-shedding to do. The 4-chords per measure stuff in this sheet is all II-V-shizzle circling the root (as I call it, haha) or leading to the root, or some chromatic shifting up and down to create some variation. If you look at it that way it makes more sense and takes away some overwhelming mysticism....

    Solid advice already given here by Jeff and Reg, the best advice is indeed to simplify the stuff. Ditch the extensions. the 3rd and the 7th is all you need, You can add the root for better orientation and navigation (sure helps in the beginning) and use small box-shapes (for example in bar 29 and 30 you can use a 2-note shape that just chromatically shifts up and down if you leave the root out). Reg's chord chart is cool, but I simplify even more than that.

    It helps to analyse charts starting out, you will soon be able to recognise and identify what's going and that makes playing it a lot easier.

    Also bare in mind that the function of the guitar is more rhythmic than melodic/harmonic and it is more important to create a rhythmic 4-to-the-bar-groove that doesn't sound bad against the rest. So the more you leave out, the better it will sound as long as you keep that percussive cadence-thing going.

    Of course sometimes chords are written down in a complex way with lots of extensions because the extensions create a chromatic lead voice going up or down. It's cool to be able to identify that quickly and it play it, but most likely the horns and the piano already do, so you can still get away with playing just 3rds and 7ths.... ;-)

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar

    3. You don't have to play every chord in every tune. Better to omit something than hit a clam.

    4. If you can't read the hits, count the beats and come back in at the right time. Don't ask me how I know this.
    This is why I get asked back!

  24. #23

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    I play bigband solely for about 10 years or so. A few recommendations from my side.
    First of all. Playing guitar is a bigband is above all being a part of the rythm section. That means that providing the rythm for the band is the most important aspect of your job. Hence , playing the rythm is way more important than what you actually play. You, the drummer, the bass and to a bit lesser extend the piano player are giving the rythm and the groove feel for the others in the band.
    Second: keep it small at first. Use 3 note shell cords only. Dont try to play what is written, but what is needed as a minimum.
    Third; if you loose your way at the sheet music, better to play nothing than play something wrong. Mute your strings, keep the beat going and try to find a spot in the sheet where you can pick up again.
    Most important : stay calm, we all have been there, even Freddie Green. Enjoy ! You will get there !

  25. #24

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    Wow, I wasn't expecting so many replies and so much well thought out advice. The simplification and "less is better" makes perfect sense, considering my role in the band. Thanks everyone for all of that. And to Reg and Little Jay, I'm fully aware that I could be way over my head on this. Certainly my skill set is not where it needs to be, but I'm hoping to improve on that front. I explained to the band leader at the start that this is a completely new path for me, and he's aware of my limitations. New challenges are good. Hopefully a couple hours a day in the woodshed will get me closer to where I need to be.

  26. #25

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    OK... again, as Jay said, both... guitar chart and guitar chord chart are very common. Old school dance band charts were simpler and the guitar players played simpler because back in the 30's and 40's because most just didn't know any better. I hardly think the arranger notated the non 3rd and 7th chunk chunk changes for show... you should see and hear the lead lines and tritone subs and voice etc...

    When you just play 3rds and 7ths etc, or rhythmic chunk chunk etc... you would be creating mud with the harmonic movement. Unless your aware of how the 5th's change and then watching out for the #9's and #11's when voicing changes.

    It's not complicated but a good directer or the arranger would hear... I would. There are reasons for guitar jokes...LOL
    It's best not to become one.

    Yes it's still just the 1st 8 bars of a 12 bar Blues... so yea the reference is Bb7 for 4 bars, Eb7 for 2 bars and back to Bb7 for bars 7 and 8..... so yea you could just sit out. But that's not what's notated, someone made an arrangement etc...

    I've ran BB's gigs and jazz jams for decades... I have and still play this stuff all the time I don't use piano in some BB bands and get calls to sub for piano. RP recently asked me to sub for one of his BB gigs. I'm not trying to beat my chest.... I've just been doing this stuff for years professionally... I mean if you were to play golf or any other sport or group event... you don't show up in a tux with a pencil to take notes.... sorry lousy analogy, but my point is why dumb down the music or lower the bar, you should be raising the level of performance.

    But if the directer lets you learn on the job... at least put some organized tine into being able to play what's required...the parts.
    I remember playing a John Clayton BB gig years ago... I changed some voicing of the arrangements.... and he was on me in seconds... I remember that look...LOL. the solo sections are where you can expand and develop the changes... More interaction in a jazz style.