The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I know the Altered scale is based on the minor melodic scale a semitone above the Dom7th and every note is potentially useable over a 7th alt.
    How can I get this engrained in my brain and fingers in every key? I know - spend many hours on it but can anyone suggest a good approach please?
    I'd like to be able to form a smooth run over,for example, Bbm7 Eb7alt Abmaj7 at the drop of a hat.
    Cheers

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    When I'm drilling concepts in isolation, after a while I find myself just retracing the same path over and over without making further progress. That's when I get the most frustrated and uninspired in my practice hours. I think the trick when you're internalizing a concept is always finding new and fresh ways to practice them.
    Last edited by Tal_175; 10-05-2020 at 07:40 AM.

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Tal_175
    When I'm drilling concepts in isolation, after I while I find myself just retracing the same path over and over without making further progress. That's when I get the most frustrated and uninspired in my practice hours. I think the trick when you're internalizing a concept is always finding new and fresh ways to practice them.
    There's just so much information to absorb!

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by garybaldy
    There's just so much information to absorb!
    When I feel that way, I know the solution is to simplify the task and have the discipline to stay with it until I master the simplified version and not think about all the other possibilities. It's the hardest thing in the world to do. But when I just trust the process, it always works out in the end.

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Tal_175
    When I feel that way, I know the solution is to simplify the task and have the discipline to stay with it until I master the simplified version and not think about all the other possibilities. It's the hardest thing in the world. But when I just trust the process, it always works out.
    I'm not sure whether to start with one 2 5 1 (say) phrase in all keys or several different phrases in one key.

  7. #6

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    I sure others will chime in. But if I haven't mastered something in one key or a few keys, I find it very dry and unproductive to work on playing it in 12 keys.
    I instead take tune and apply the concept whereever I can in the tune. This way you end up working on it in a few keys in a musical way. But also killing two birds because you're also learning the tune better in the mean time.

    I would take two altered ideas. Say augmented arpeggio from the third and b9, #9 down to the 6th (the 3rd of the target) and come up with phrases based on these two. Then I would apply them to a tune that I know reasonably well. I would consider that a very productive practice session.

  8. #7

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    One possible approach:

    Work with smaller note collections derived from the scale.
    Build it up gradually. Play voicings, arpeggios and jump around
    to internalize the sound and all the interval shapes.

    Start with 1 3 b7 + one altered note

    1 b9 3 b7
    1 #9 3 b7
    1 3 #11 b7
    1 3 b13 b7

    Then use either 1 3 or 1 b7 or 3 b7 and add two altered notes.

    Then use 1 or 3 or b7 and add three altered notes.

    Play all four altered notes.

    Then move on to 5 note collections assembled in a similar methodical fashion.

    You could also do 6 notes but it likely won't be necessary at this point.

    Do also practice playing the melodic minor scale full range.
    Technically it's possible in any 5 frets to play 2 1/3 octaves
    of the chromatic scale which means we can cover all 12 keys
    of any 7 note scale within this region. I found this also to be a
    helpful study aspect in the pursuit of learning scales, arpeggios, etc.

  9. #8

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    I am working on the same and I finally got some results by applying arpeggios of the various altered chords - V+, Vb13, V7#9, ending on the V of the tonic chord, i.e. the root of the altered chord. Of course, any other note will work just as well. Forget the ii. Record the chord change from V alt to Tonic with a looper and go on playing over the changes until your wife complains. The latter always works for me

    I found that memorizing the actual arpeggios in two positions - one on the top four strings, one on the middle four - made it easy to go to another key, since I already know where the chords sit.

    Hope that helps!

  10. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Tal_175
    I sure others will chime in. But if I haven't mastered something in one key or a few keys, I find it very dry and unproductive to work on playing it in 12 keys.
    I instead take tune and apply the concept whereever I can in the tune. This way you end up working on it in a few keys in a musical way. But also killing two birds because you're also learning the tune better in the mean time.

    I would take two altered ideas. Say augmented arpeggio from the third and b9, #9 down to the 6th (the 3rd of the target) and come up with phrases based on these two. Then I would apply them to a tune that I know reasonably well. I would consider that a very productive practice session.
    Thanks Tal.

  11. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by bako
    One possible approach:

    Work with smaller note collections derived from the scale.
    Build it up gradually. Play voicings, arpeggios and jump around
    to internalize the sound and all the interval shapes.

    Start with 1 3 b7 + one altered note

    1 b9 3 b7
    1 #9 3 b7
    1 3 #11 b7
    1 3 b13 b7

    Then use either 1 3 or 1 b7 or 3 b7 and add two altered notes.

    Then use 1 or 3 or b7 and add three altered notes.

    Play all four altered notes.

    Then move on to 5 note collections assembled in a similar methodical fashion.

    You could also do 6 notes but it likely won't be necessary at this point.

    Do also practice playing the melodic minor scale full range.
    Technically it's possible in any 5 frets to play 2 1/3 octaves
    of the chromatic scale which means we can cover all 12 keys
    of any 7 note scale within this region. I found this also to be a
    helpful study aspect in the pursuit of learning scales, arpeggios, etc.
    Thanks bako.

  12. #11

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    These are good references:

    Building a Jazz Vocabulary, Mike Steinel
    Comprehensive Technique for Jazz Musicians, Bert Ligon

    Moveable Shapes, Concepts for Reharmonizing ii-V-I’s, Sheryl Bailey
    Jazz Improvisation for Guitar, A Melodic Approach, Garrison Fewell
    Jazz Improvisation for Guitar, A Harmonic Approach, Garrison Fewell

    Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar, Joseph Alexander
    Minor II V Mastery for Jazz Guitar, Joseph Alexander
    Modern Jazz Guitar Concepts, Jens Larsen

    Technique of The Saxophone, Chord Studies, Joseph Viola

  13. #12

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    Play tunes. Find out where the altered sounds fit and where they don't. Then play them. In context you'll find the right sounds. Out of any particular context it's just an exercise.

    It's like a sailor or boat person with a book of knots. He can spend lots of time trying this knot or that knot and have a lovely time for hours and hours.

    But when someone shouts 'Tie that boat to the quay' or 'Secure that line to the other line' or 'Lash that sail down tight' the poor man's a bit lost.

    You learn by doing, in practice, in situ.

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by garybaldy
    I know the Altered scale is based on the minor melodic scale a semitone above the Dom7th and every note is potentially useable over a 7th alt.
    How can I get this engrained in my brain and fingers in every key? I know - spend many hours on it but can anyone suggest a good approach please?
    I'd like to be able to form a smooth run over,for example, Bbm7 Eb7alt Abmaj7 at the drop of a hat.
    Cheers
    OK, so I'm going to assume you want to work on connecting stepwise scale runs. You can use chord scales to parent arpeggios and so on, but that's a more theoretical thing. I am going to assume you want to play actually scales. The most important word 'connection.'

    First of all, get to know your melodic minor very well. TBH, I think of all melodic minor modes as their parent minor scales because, quite simply, there's more stuff I can play in a minor key than in the altered dominant key

    So, learn this scale all over the neck and connect positions. Start in a random key every day. Once this is done, move into the modes. Aim to be able to run a scale from the lowest note on your instrument to the highest, taking a different route each time. You may need to spend some time on isolated positions before attempting this, but the quicker you do it the better.

    Got it? Cool.

    Now, Do this. 4/4 8th notes = 8 notes per bar. Practice this:

    Dm7 | G7alt | Cmaj7
    So
    D Dorian | G Altered (Ab Mel Min) | C Ionian

    Note that D Dorain is the same fingering as C Ionian. This is a fingering exercise. If you want the chords to come out, you need to practice this with Barry Harris added note rules.

    Start on the lowest note of you guitar that fits a scale (for instance the low E) and climb up the neck changing notes every bar or every 8 notes until you reach the topmost viable note which might be the high C or D and the descend.

    Now, do
    Dm7 / G7alt | Cmaj7 | Four notes of Dm7 and G7.

    Swap the order of the bars (Cmaj7 | Dm7 G7 | is good for Rhythm Changes), do in all 12 keys. Do minor II-V-I's too.

    DO NOT change direction until this highest note is reached, and bear in mind it will probably happen somewhere in the middle of a bar.

    A less hardcore version of this is to do it position. Start in the lowest note in the position and go to the highest. Again, this will go out of phase with the chord changes. If it doesn't make sure it does to get the most value.

    Next - intervals. 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 7ths.

    That should do you for some time. (Later you can practice whatever you want. Trane cycles, other things, whatever.)

    I advise 3 X 5 minute bursts of doing this a day. Don't overdo it. Don't aim necessarily to complete the exercise right away. This takes time.

  15. #14

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    Don't mistake this exercise for being about actually learning to play jazz.

  16. #15

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    I have always struggled with scale-centered approaches. I have a hard time remembering scales, remembering where to use them, and I basically over-think everything. I have recently instead started learning licks from lick books or memorized solos that use whatever sound (I like "sound" better than "scale") I'm trying to learn. I learn those bits of vocabulary and try to export them to whatever else I'm playing until they fall under my fingers reasonably well. I know I should learn the scales, run 'em up, down, modes... but I just hate that stuff and I've never been able to absorb the sound ideas and actually finding them on the fingerboard that way. Likely this is why I'll never be that good at jazz! But I have found I prefer to learn little "vocabulary" items and phrases from actual solos that I can absorb and re-use.

  17. #16

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    It's not either/or. In a nutshell it's multiple parts. Practice the sound (in this case altered scale)

    1. Scale facility: Run the scale up and down, then in melodic thirds, then in a few patterns/cells like 1231, 2342, 3453, etc.

    2. Chord outline facility: Practice altered sounds in context of Jazz Language formulae: Short and long II-V-I, Turnarounds, Blues, Rhythm changes, extended harmony, etc.

    3. Motifs and phrases.


    Build up your vocabulary in a cumulative way. For example, learn one II-V-I pattern with altered sounds and play it around the circle of 5ths. Then learn two more and do the same, then 2 more, etc., etc.,

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by lawson-stone
    I have always struggled with scale-centered approaches. I have a hard time remembering scales, remembering where to use them, and I basically over-think everything. I have recently instead started learning licks from lick books or memorized solos that use whatever sound (I like "sound" better than "scale") I'm trying to learn. I learn those bits of vocabulary and try to export them to whatever else I'm playing until they fall under my fingers reasonably well. I know I should learn the scales, run 'em up, down, modes... but I just hate that stuff and I've never been able to absorb the sound ideas and actually finding them on the fingerboard that way. Likely this is why I'll never be that good at jazz! But I have found I prefer to learn little "vocabulary" items and phrases from actual solos that I can absorb and re-use.
    Scale practice is about practicing the instrument. It doesn’t have that much direct bearing on learning jazz, although patterns can be fun.

    I just want to be able to get from one end of the guitar to the other, and I quite like the intervallic scale thing.

    You don’t have to do any of this to be able to play. It’s much more important to learn musical phrases and work on your ears and time. But as a lot of music is based on scales and arpeggios in various combinations, getting those into muscle memory can be useful.

    But always given the choice between exercises and music, given lack of time or inclination - Music every time.

  19. #18

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    I mean it depends who you listen to. If you get into Charlie Christian maybe not so much, but I was listening to Trane today with Monk and so much of that stuff is just scale notes in various combinations. Probably more natural on sax; while breaking up some chord grip into a melody is obv really natural to the guitar.

    Theres not just one way to do it, and I would encourage budding players to follow their own star; so long as they use their ears and check out what’s in their favourite music so it’s not just technical.

    Furthermore the music itself is the best guide I’ve found for telling me what to work on and prioritise
    Last edited by christianm77; 10-05-2020 at 02:14 PM.

  20. #19

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    Yes, when it comes to practicing patterns and chord outlines it's best to be choosy. The above mentioned authors' works have made a point in defining musical patterns, and in many cases ones lifted directly from jazz artists' solos.

    That said, there are some patterns which are elementary and not very... hip. One may want to skip over them unless they need to work on them for a while before tackling the juicier ones. That's OK, as long as one knows the difference and drops the simple boring stuff when able.

    BTW - being choosy cuts both ways. That is, some of what happens in "the music" is basically "note salad" occurring between good ideas and is not worth learning.

    It goes without saying that everyone should be a listener, and it also goes without saying that copying solos - or portions thereof - has benefits. Just make sure that you're ready. Master solos tend to be very challenging.

    In the year 2020 beginning improvisors should not have to, and do not have to research the entire recorded history of jazz solos in order to approach the skillset of building a basic jazz vocabulary. They also do not need to zero in on one particular player and "ape" him either. We have many more than just Charlie and Django now.
    Last edited by GTRMan; 10-05-2020 at 05:33 PM.

  21. #20

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    Well again jazz syllabuses tend to get organised in a certain way.

    Obvious choices for the beginner recommended by educators are the less notey players, or those with nice clear articulation; Dexter Gordon, Hank Mobley, Charlie C, Chet Baker, Jim Hall etc are all common choices. These players are all hip as anything and all masters, but obviously simpler than Bird or Trane.

    But you don’t have to learn whole solos; a lick here or there might be more use to you.

    I would say this - do what excites you and ignore the rest. Focus on one player if you want or many if you want. Get good at deep listening and learning music by ear. These are terribly important skills for a jazz musician.

    Don’t end up being someone who knows all the theory but can’t actually play any music....

  22. #21

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    The the other thing is that I’ve found the listening/playing thing to be a two way street. If I play a pattern a lot I’m obviously a lot more likely to recognise when I hear it....

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by garybaldy
    I know the Altered scale is based on the minor melodic scale a semitone above the Dom7th and every note is potentially useable over a 7th alt.
    How can I get this engrained in my brain and fingers in every key? I know - spend many hours on it but can anyone suggest a good approach please?
    I'd like to be able to form a smooth run over,for example, Bbm7 Eb7alt Abmaj7 at the drop of a hat.
    Cheers
    MIne is probably a minority view for a good reason.

    Let's talk about it in the key of C to make it a little easier.

    Dm7 Galt Cmaj7.

    The Dm7 and Cmaj7 are all white keys -- they don't have to be, but we're keeping it simple.

    Galt is 7th mode Abmelmin, but we're going to try to think about it in a different way.

    G Ab Bb B C# D# F G. You might notice that the first four notes are sort of diminished scale stuff and the last four are whole tone, but I've never found that helpful either.

    The main point to me, is that the Galt scale has no D and no A. That is, no fifth and no ninth. Instead, it has both alterations of the fifth, meaning the notes a half step higher and a half step lower. Same for the 9th.

    Those notes are Db Eb Ab Bb. If you pull them out of the alt scale, what's left is G B F. So, it's another way to make clear that you're playing G7 with alterations of the 5th and 9th.

    I don't think you want to focus on Abmelmin. It's not wrong, but it's not all that helpful either in learning the sounds.

    For that matter, you might notice that Eb, Ab, Bb Db is Eb7sus, and if you play that over G7, you get the alt sound, but I won't recommend that either.

    There are other common chord juxtapositions. You can get to the sound by playing Abmadd9, for example. Or Db13, more or less. But I'm not recommending that, although that may be useful later.

    Here's what I do suggest.

    Play a plain vanilla all white key ii-V-I singable, nicely melodic, line in C. Then put in an Ab against the G7. That gives you one note from the alt scale. Then, after you've got that sound firmly in your ears, under your fingers, and in your scat singing, then add the Bb. Same drill. Always use melodic lines that are musical.

    Next, add the #11. Whack away at it until you can feel it, hear it, sing it and play it.

    Finally, add the #5. Same thing.

    At that point, scat sing melodic lines using those notes and play them. Don't feel obligated to play every altered note in one line.
    You can mix and match altered 5th and 9th with unaltered. It's the quality of the musical line that counts, not how many boxes you check on your altered scale score sheet. Sorry if that sounded snarky. My only excuse is that I needed that advice myself.

    Later on, you might figure out that just about every combination of those alterations is associated with a particular scale, usually with a name that is very different from the others -- to the point where the names are quite confusing until you get used to them.

    So, both altered fifths and 9ths is alt. Or 7th mode melmin. If you were to use , say, G Ab Bb B Db D E F, that is, both altered 9ths and the b5, that's pretty much a diminished scale, HF. If you were to use just an Eb, that would be 5th mode C melodic minor. Play an Eb and an Ab but no A, that's fifth mode harmonic minor. Just an Ab: 5th mode harmonic major. Maybe this makes my point ... you are altering 5s and 9s. You play a 6th or not. You can raise the 3rd for a sus. What else is left?

    So, you can start by trying to learn all these scales and how they're used. You can find chords from those scales which extract the best notes. But, the goal is going to be knowing the sounds of the various alterations in a lot of combinations, so why not do that first?
    Last edited by rpjazzguitar; 10-10-2020 at 01:47 PM.

  24. #23

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    A variety of different players (Barry Harris, Pat Martino, Mick Goodrick, the list goes on and on...) advocate thinking of iim7 and V7 as two sides of the same coin.

    It doesn't take much theory to recognize that D dorian and G mixolydian are the same scale. Barry Harris calls Dm7 the "important minor" of G7, and advocates for thinking of a iim7/V7 progression as one giant V7, with the iim7 acting as a sort of suspension.

    Pat Martino takes the inverse approach, converting everything to its minor equivalent. G7 becomes Dm7, the idea being that minor ideas are very familiar to guitarists. But the same basic approach.

    What I would advocate is to take this same approach to melodic minor and altered 7th chords.

    Let's take our same Dm7/G7 progression. To play an altered scale over the G7, you could think of the 7th mode of melodic minor (some people call it the altered scale, some people call it super locrian) starting on G. Some people suggest thinking of Ab melodic minor, as that's typically easier.

    But I'd take it one step further. First, think of the tri-tone sub -- for G7, it'd be Db7

    Dm7 / Db7 / Cmaj7

    What scale goes with Db7? In this particular case, it'd be the fourth mode of melodic minor: lydian b7. Another easy way to think of it is just a regular dominant 7th scale (or mixolydian) with a raised fourth. There's a number of players who are thinking about it this way. Barry Harris seems to think of them as tri-tone lines instead of altered lines. And George Benson takes a similar approach in his notorious Hot Licks instructional video.

    I think there's a number of advantages of thinking of it this way:

    - If you've practiced a bunch of dom7 vocabulary, it's very easy to make the transition. The half step rules all carry over. That Ab melodic minor that we derived from going a halfstep up from G7? It's now the "important minor" for Db7. And lots of players also use m7b5 from the third (the so-called T-Bone Walker chord) and maj7 from the b7 as dominant chord substitutions. They're still there, except now the m7b5 has a natural 9, and the maj7 has either a flat or sharp 5. All those chords are very typical altered dominant subs, and this makes them easy to remember.

    - The melodic voice leading is very easy to see if you're comfortable mixing and matching. Dm7 -> Db7 is a very easy transition to see, and most of the notes will resolve by a half-step. G7 -> Ab melodic minor is also very easy to see. I would actually practice running Dm7 into Db7 into Cmaj7 using just scales and resolving by step. It'll be a little mechanical, but you'll begin to hear how each note resolves, and from there it's easier to use it in real tunes.

  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by dasein

    - If you've practiced a bunch of dom7 vocabulary, it's very easy to make the transition. The half step rules all carry over. That Ab melodic minor that we derived from going a halfstep up from G7? It's now the "important minor" for Db7. And lots of players also use m7b5 from the third (the so-called T-Bone Walker chord) and maj7 from the b7 as dominant chord substitutions. They're still there, except now the m7b5 has a natural 9, and the maj7 has either a flat or sharp 5. All those chords are very typical altered dominant subs, and this makes them easy to remember.

    - The melodic voice leading is very easy to see if you're comfortable mixing and matching. Dm7 -> Db7 is a very easy transition to see, and most of the notes will resolve by a half-step. G7 -> Ab melodic minor is also very easy to see. I would actually practice running Dm7 into Db7 into Cmaj7 using just scales and resolving by step. It'll be a little mechanical, but you'll begin to hear how each note resolves, and from there it's easier to use it in real tunes.

    I use this kind of thinking with alot of "fusion" lines...meaning diatonic harmony is on hold so to speak..Many view the melodic minor scale / chords as "non-functional harmony" and when you
    dive deep into it all the modes are interchangeable..which opens up many improv ideas and fresh ways to play against functional harmony..Daseins example of the Db lydian dominant in the Ab melodic scale against Dmi7/G7alt....and moving that scale around in minor thirds against the same Dmi7/G7alt ..from there playing over altered dominants becomes enjoyable rather than a 3D horror movie

    using symmetrical scales and and their embedded chord arpeggios and melodic patterns built from them takes you into a very different harmonic/melodic way to see a very basic ii7 V7
    and it does take some time for the ear to adjust to some of the twists and turns..but once they become comfortable to the ear and are under your fingers .. another melodic world opens up..

  26. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by garybaldy
    I know the Altered scale is based on the minor melodic scale a semitone above the Dom7th and every note is potentially useable over a 7th alt.
    How can I get this engrained in my brain and fingers in every key? I know - spend many hours on it but can anyone suggest a good approach please?
    I'd like to be able to form a smooth run over,for example, Bbm7 Eb7alt Abmaj7 at the drop of a hat.
    Cheers
    There's no magic approach as such, there's just doing it. Depends where you start the Bbm7, doesn't it? Eb7alt is E melodic minor so just play that... a bit of Bbm, slip in some E mel, and go to AbM7 which is a bit like Cm.

    I've just done this. I'm not saying it's good jazz but it does the trick. It starts at different places - 1st fret Bbm twice, then 6th, then 8/11th.



    Then maybe go up the cycle of 4ths to Db, F#, B, E, etc. Or down in 4ths from Ab to Eb, Bb, F, and so on. As an exercise.

    But I'd really apply it to tunes. Honestly, that's the best way.