The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    Hello all,

    Recently, I decided to have a go at Robert Conti's "Chord melody assembly line". I have no problem with Conti's material: it seems like I will enjoy it and I might get a few things under my fingers.

    However, I'm have technique troubles. In particular:
    1. I'm having difficulties transitioning smoothly between chords when playing his examples
    2. I'm having a lot of trouble with unwanted noise, i.e. muting problems.


    I generally don't have these problems outside of a chord-melody context. I'm able to mute OK for single-note lines or if I'm comping (insofar as I know how to comp). I think the difference is that, when playing chord melody, ideally the chord (& especially the melody note on top) should ring out until just before the next chord. This is especially so in Conti's stuff, where every melody note is harmonised. So, transitions between chords have to be smooth and pretty-much instantaneous. You don't have the space afforded by a charleston rhythm, or whatever.

    For the record, it's not that I have a problem grabbing the voicings or anything (when I do, I know that this will resolve over time). It has more to do with smoothly shifting from one voicing to the next & doing so without making loads of noise (I think I have particularly sticky fingers).

    I know the answer to my question is "practice". But, does anybody have any practice techniques they can recommend.

    This is a hard topic to Google. Searching for "practicing jazz rhythm guitar" (or similar) leads to lots and lots of videos about either a) some standard grips everybody should know or b) how to simplify rhythm playing by using shell chords. I love shell chords, they might be the best thing I ever learned off a youtube video, but this is no help in my context. Searching for things like "practicing rhythm guitar" or "practicing transitioning between chords" mostly leads to a lot of beginner's material on switching between an Em and Am "cowboy chord" (or whatever). Again, good stuff but not what I'm looking for.

    The beginner's material mentioned at the end of the last paragraph will tell you to pay attention to which fingers don't move, etc. Many of us can remember this sort of advice really helping when we were first learning to play. I guess I'm looking for the equivalent practical advice for how to practice more "advanced" chord-melody stuff.

    I know that if I keep playing these examples over and over again, then eventually I will slowly improve. I guess I'm looking for any strategies that might help beyond this brute-force approach.

    As a side note, it seems to me that most instructional material on jazz assumes that you have this sort of thing down. Jazz pedagogical material often ignores problems of technique in spite of the fact that the technique demanded by jazz is often more difficult than the technique needed for other genres and often different to technique needed in the classical guitar context. Also, when jazz instructional material does address technique it's almost always single-line stuff, never chordal stuff. Finally, the internet's way of addressing chordal stuff is almost invariably to introduce simplifications (like simple shell voicings or whatever), which is often appropriate but...

    I have yet again failed to be brief, so I'll leave it there. Any advice appreciated.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    One way to start is to take simple tunes, and ballads in particular. Play simple-to-grab voicings under the melody line - even if it sounds really basic and boring. Develop the ability to do that.

    It gets complicated after that.

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Jazzjourney4Eva
    One way to start is to take simple tunes, and ballads in particular. Play simple-to-grab voicings under the melody line - even if it sounds really basic and boring. Develop the ability to do that.

    It gets complicated after that.
    Thank you for the reply.

    I suppose I'm not really asking "how to practice chord melody". Your advice would be a good answer to that question. Rather, I'm working on Robert Conti's material & he's specifying the voicings I'm playing. My question has to do with advice for practicing chordal material.

    I'm asking for (practical) advice on how to practice smoothly playing 4- or 5-note voicings. The practical in parentheses is to indicate that I'm aware that much time & much repetition will make a difference. However, I would like to be as focused in my practice as I can be,

  5. #4
    To reply to my reply, ...

    I have often had good fun playing simple chord-melody arrangements of standards by moving through the harmony with simple 3-note shell voicings and making sure the melody is the top note (or adding it as a 4th note to the voicing). In other words, "simple to grab voicings".

    My current problem is how to practics the not-simple-to-grab voicings in a pragmatic way.

  6. #5

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    There's been a few instances lately where I've "discovered" a new way to play a chord sequence, or in one case, applying a couple of fingerings from Tim Lerch's new chord book. These initially seemed pretty easy to grab. But until I slowed it down to the point of moving finger by finger to develop the muscle memory and repeated the motion during practice sessions over a few days, I couldn't reliably make the moves with clean results. Breaking it down to the basic motions really helped. At that point it's not about playing a section and trying to make it sound musical. It's more of a muscle training and concentration exercise. YMMV. Good luck with your study.

  7. #6

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    Joe Pass suggested rubbing your left hand fingers on the side of your nose. The fingers pick up a little skin oil and that helps with the string noise.

    Other than actually improving technique, flat wound strings are quieter.

    For technique, the only thing that comes to mind is finding a finger that doesn't have to move or making sure that you've got the best fingering you can find.

    Classical players apparently think very carefully and in amazing depth about muting.

  8. #7

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    Play the first chord perfectly once then slowly finger the second chord and play that perfectly. Then the first chord again etc.

    5 minutes in the morning, 5 minutes at lunch time, 5 minutes in the evening.

    When you think that you are ready to move on record yourself moving between those two chords.

    If happy take another set of chords that you are having difficulty with and repeat the above process.

    Simple but effective.

  9. #8

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    I keep a book of chord patterns open in front of me when I practice. I pick chords and play them at random. It helps me develop fluency.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by bobheff


    1. I'm having difficulties transitioning smoothly between chords when playing his examples
    2. I'm having a lot of trouble with unwanted noise, i.e. muting problems.

    I have the same problem every time I'm learning a new piece. Don't rush anything, don't push too hard, follow the path of least resistence, i.e. start real slowly, I mean REAL slow... like 40 metronome (or even less if possible), then push a little harder, increase speed gradually (VERY gradually). For me it takes many days of long, focused (as in meditation) practice sessions before a solo (chordmelody) piece runs smooth at right metronome speed.

  11. #10

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    What is your picking style... plectrum, fingerpicking, some combination of the two? Fingerpicking gives you more control over the individual strings, but Johnny Smith only used the pick and he wasn't too shabby in the chord melody department.

    He goes really indepth in this hour long video that mostly about his picking technique:

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by bobheff
    Thank you for the reply.

    I suppose I'm not really asking "how to practice chord melody". Your advice would be a good answer to that question. Rather, I'm working on Robert Conti's material & he's specifying the voicings I'm playing. My question has to do with advice for practicing chordal material.

    I'm asking for (practical) advice on how to practice smoothly playing 4- or 5-note voicings. The practical in parentheses is to indicate that I'm aware that much time & much repetition will make a difference. However, I would like to be as focused in my practice as I can be,
    OK, well three answers:

    1. Practicing "Lead Lines" on drop 2s: Play drop 2s from the 5th and 4th strings in eighth notes. Play the chord on the beat, and play the next scale tone higher than the highest voice on the "and" of each beat. For example, on a Fmaj7 from the 4th string, play the chord then play the note Bb on the first string. Some chords are more awkward than others. Some can be held for the full beat, others will require that you lift your hand for the following scale tone. Also look for opportunities to play the next lower scale tone.

    2. Ron Eschete's book:
    https://www.amazon.com/Chord-Melody-.../dp/0634029657

    3. Just the chords - John Thomas - "Voice Leading for Guitar", has a lot of sequences for you with bigger voicings Play them in all keys.
    Amazon.com

  13. #12

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    Conti himself addresses these kinds of issues on his DVDs. He talks about practicing slowly and carfully as well as initially not playing a chord for every melody note. He will suggest maybe playing the melody note and chord on the down beat and then melody notes the remainder of each measure or a chord under the melody note on beats one and three - just experimenting with fewer chords.

    Here is a simple set of rules I got from a book a long time ago that addresses most any chord melody situation:

    1. If the melody note occurs on a beat, play it with a chord.
    2. If a melody note occurs off a beat, play it solo.
    3. If a beat occurs without a melody note, play a bass note. With Conti''s approach of a chord per melody note, you could just play the root of that chord in this instance.

    Thinning out the chords, at least for a while, will help greatly to get used to playing these chords from Conti's collection of chords.

    You can also decide to thin the chords a bit by not playing every note in the chord. You could play just two of the notes and the melody or just one of the notes and the melody or just the bass (root notes) and the melody.

    Remember that Conti considers EVERY chord to be root inversion (i.e. the lowest note is always the root). He does have exceptions, but for the most part, his arrangements follow this approach.

    If you get any of his books containing collections of chord melody arrangements, he discusses this issue to some extent in the beginning of each book.

    Tony

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by tbeltrans
    Conti himself addresses these kinds of issues on his DVDs. He talks about practicing slowly and carfully as well as initially not playing a chord for every melody note. He will suggest maybe playing the melody note and chord on the down beat and then melody notes the remainder of each measure or a chord under the melody note on beats one and three - just experimenting with fewer chords.

    Here is a simple set of rules I got from a book a long time ago that addresses most any chord melody situation:

    1. If the melody note occurs on a beat, play it with a chord.
    2. If a melody note occurs off a beat, play it solo.
    3. If a beat occurs without a melody note, play a bass note. With Conti''s approach of a chord per melody note, you could just play the root of that chord in this instance.

    Thinning out the chords, at least for a while, will help greatly to get used to playing these chords from Conti's collection of chords.

    You can also decide to thin the chords a bit by not playing every note in the chord. You could play just two of the notes and the melody or just one of the notes and the melody or just the bass (root notes) and the melody.

    Remember that Conti considers EVERY chord to be root inversion (i.e. the lowest note is always the root). He does have exceptions, but for the most part, his arrangements follow this approach.

    If you get any of his books containing collections of chord melody arrangements, he discusses this issue to some extent in the beginning of each book.

    Tony

    Hmmm.
    1. For chord melody you will use inversions - liberally
    2. You should not play a chord on every beat, and especially not for every melody note. That should be done for occasional effect - and inversions come in handy when you do.

  15. #14

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    many of us have faced this problem..and there are various solutions

    for me it was playing all the inversions of ii7 V7 I7 on all string sets in all keys in all positions

    this is a long term study but well worth the effort..some things help:

    use the tips of your fingers as much as possible and try not to "slide" into the next chord

    with chords on different string sets (G7--strings 6 5 3 2 / G D B F and 6 4 3 2 / G F B D and their inversions
    find the C Major chords on the same string sets and their inversions that are in the voice movement range ..smooth voice leading

    I know this is difficult to explain without grids or notation .. visit the "tedgreene.com" site..

    Ted has many basic triad exercises that are very good for "clean" chord movement practice

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jazzjourney4Eva
    Hmmm.
    1. For chord melody you will use inversions - liberally
    2. You should not play a chord on every beat, and especially not for every melody note. That should be done for occasional effect - and inversions come in handy when you do.
    The OP specifically asked about the Conti materials he is working with. When he gets to "The Formula" things really open up, but that is not where he is right now.

    Tony

  17. #16

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    Fair enough. If one wishes to practice something 100% of the time which they will use 5% of the time, it’s their party, lol.

    If you don’t mind, what is meant by “every chord is a root inversion”? Means every voicing is in root position? And if so, when we play an F7 from the sixth string as C, A, Eb (rootless 3-note voicing) that’s really a Cmin6?

  18. #17

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    Not every melody note needs to be harmonised...

    Avoid clutter. You don't get paid by the note...

    Also, the string stopping-hand wrist should often be raised or bent like a goose-neck so that the fingertips are almost perpendicular to the strings. Find a comfortable angle. This prevents interference between the sides of one's fingers and vibrating strings. Difficult grips become much easier to play, with more control, hence less noise. A lazy hand will drop the wrist and the tell-tale is a callous formed along the lower part of the fingertip, across the fleshy fingerprint portion.

    Also, keeping the hand aligned perfectly parallel with the neck creates difficulties in forming many chord grips. A Drop 2/4 M7 runs diagonal on the FB. Angle your hand to match. AM7[57x699]. Angle the other way for AM13[5x6422]. Again, raise the wrist enough for good fingertip contact and reduced finger interference. Practice on these two grips until clarity reigns. Also the old AM7[xx7654].

    For chord melody, your biggest problem may be the way you hold your guitar. Try the higher neck angle of Classical Guitar players. A neck that's horizontal to the floor is a son-of-a-sea-cook to play.

  19. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
    ...Joe Pass suggested rubbing your left hand fingers on the side of your nose. The fingers pick up a little skin oil and that helps with the string noise...
    Damn! The outside...

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jazzjourney4Eva
    ...And if so, when we play an F7 from the sixth string as C, A, Eb (rootless 3-note voicing) that’s really a Cmin6?
    He could have meant using Cm6[8x78xx] as a substitute for F7[x8786x], since Cm6=F79nr=Am7-5.
    So he's actually playing F7 as F7/5 by using a Cm6.

    ::

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by StringNavigator
    He could have meant using Cm6[8x78xx] as a substitute for F7[x8786x], since Cm6=F79nr=Am7-5.
    So he's actually playing F7 as F7/5 by using a Cm6.

    ::
    Yeah well, blues in F. Madness.

  22. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by wolflen
    I know this is difficult to explain without grids or notation .. visit the "tedgreene.com" site..

    Ted has many basic triad exercises that are very good for "clean" chord movement practice
    Thanks for this! Looks like quite a resource.

  23. #22

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    For those who are unfamiliar with Conti, playing a chord under each melody note is a learning exercise not a prescription for live performances. The point is he wants you so familiar with seeing what chords you can use under melody notes, and so fluid in changing chord “grips” that when you do actually play you can accompany any note you want, whether on the beat or off. When actually performing a piece you will be able to use your ear to decide when to add a chord below without having to think about it.

    Suggesting that the OP not practice chords under each melody note is like saying you shouldn’t practice arpeggios because solos are not just a series of arpeggios. Of course they are not.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by rlrhett
    For those who are unfamiliar with Conti, playing a chord under each melody note is a learning exercise not a prescription for live performances. The point is he wants you so familiar with seeing what chords you can use under melody notes, and so fluid in changing chord “grips” that when you do actually play you can accompany any note you want, whether on the beat or off. When actually performing a piece you will be able to use your ear to decide when to add a chord below without having to think about it.

    Suggesting that the OP not practice chords under each melody note is like saying you shouldn’t practice arpeggios because solos are not just a series of arpeggios. Of course they are not.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
    Thanks for the clarification. And Conti's way is one way to look at it, but only one way. Another way is this -

    When playing the head ("melody") you're better off deciding what chords to use in advance. The typical head on a jazz tune takes up a very short amount of tune time, percentage wise. If you haven't decided what statement you want to make on the head before performing, you may not like what comes out. In other words, it wouldn't kill you to do a little bit of arranging in advance. OTOH, Conti's approach could help make you a faster arranger. That works.

    After that, chord soloing can be more like what Wes did. The only "melody" is the one on top of the chords you're improvising during your solo. So, practiing chord phrases is a direct and straightforward way to build that skill. It's not quite the same thing as harmonizing a relatively short melody, written for a crooner.

  25. #24

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    Having a good size vocabulary of chord passages for various situations is probably an excellent idea.

    Being able to get just about any note on top of any chord is also a good idea. Chuck Wayne had a system for that and there are probably many others. It's some work, but it's straightforward. Start with G7 xx3433. You can get the Ab on top with xx3434 or xx3454. You can get the A or Bb on top by moving your pinkie.

    To get the B on top, move to the next G7 inversion. xx5767. Move the pinkie to get the C. For the Db you can stretch or move up to the next G7 voicing.

    Anyway, it continues like that and you can get any note. You learn them in 12 keys and, per Chuck, three string sets. (Each group of 4 adjacent strings). There are skipped-string voicings that you can use, but I don't have an organized system to offer for that. Maybe others do.

    Chuck could and did solo with these voicings. Wes had his way of doing it too.

  26. #25
    Thanks to everybody for your replies so far.

    Thank you especially for the few who have helped clarify what I'm asking: I'm looking for practice techniques to deal with the technical limitations that trying to play Conti's examples has revealed in me. rlrhett put it well in saying "Suggesting that the OP not practice chords under each melody note is like saying you shouldn’t practice arpeggios because solos are not just a series of arpeggios." I appreciate that all advice is well meant, however.

    It looks like the main advice is to start very slow (perhaps having rubbed my nose first) and build speed gradually while paying attention to articulation, smooth movement, etc. I think the suggestion of initially "thinning out" Conti's examples and then adding more chords in as I get comfortable is also a good one too.

    I guess I was a little surprised to find that, while I don't find many of the chord grips that Conti uses to be particularly difficult, I'm not very good at cleanly moving between chords without a pause of some sort. I guess it's back to good-old slow & careful practicing for me!

    I'll look into the various books/resources mentioned too. Some may be helpful.