The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    Quote Originally Posted by mysticguitar
    So how did you go about learning and identifying the chord tones of each chord and also seeing the chord tones of each chord almost simultaneously and recognizing what to move where?
    Here's how I do it. It's a lot of work, not a shortcut.

    I learned to read, all over the neck. From that, I knew every note on the fingerboard without thinking.

    Much later, I realized that I knew the notes in a Cmaj7 (and some other chords) and I could instantly find all those notes. That is, every C E G and B on the fingerboard. I knew the notes in a Cmaj scale just as quickly. Of course, I knew other scales and chord tones too, but there were plenty that I had to think about.

    So, I started drilling myself on the ones I didn't know. I did it partly with backing tracks. I use IrealPro now. Pick a simple enough tune and a slow tempo. Say it's All of Me. It starts with Cmaj7. So, play those notes in a simple improvisation. Next chord is E7 -- same thing.

    You can set IrealPro to change keys every chorus. Set it for 13 repeats and change by a 4th each chorus. Make sure you know all the chord tones, all over the neck. Slow it down, loop parts, or whatever you have to do to get it working.

    Now, for the voice leading. Consider All of Me. You'll see that it starts with C E G B and then moves to E G# B D. Two of the notes are the same and two change. The smoothest movement is G to G#. The tonal center is Cmaj (that's another post if you don't know what it is). So, you can play Cmaj (C Ionian) except it's going to sound better if you raise the G to G#. To my ear, that's the most important movement.

    Then it goes to A7. A C# E G. You might notice that the A is a half step above the G# you just played -- and that G# was a half step above the G that came before it. That is, you played G in the first chord, G# in the second chord and now A in the third chord. That's a guide tone line. You could analyze it differently -- maybe it goes back down to G against the A7. You also have the C# to account for. It's common to think about the G# and D dropping a half step to G and C#.

    That already might have been too thick to be a good explanation. The idea is, you look for the smooth (usually meaning half steps or whole steps) movement. Sometimes it will be a minor third. Sometimes you'll like other intervals.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by mysticguitar
    I'm not a jazz guitar player but I'm trying to learn melodic voice leading and it is very difficult. Say your going from A chord to D chord and you want to voice lead melodically....do you memorize A C# E and D F# A and in your mind you see A is common to both chords and that the C# can be moved up half step to a D and become the root of D and the E moves up whole step to be the 5th of D....or do you memorize a formula, the root is the 5th of 4 chord, the 3rd moves half step to become root of 4 chord, etc.? Please help.
    no reason to memorize a formula youve already got the idea. play three octave triads up and down(horizontally) the neck while saying the notes out loud if you're having trouble knowing notes on the fretboard. another exercise is play a c on every string (no open strings and no frets past 12) while saying C out loud, then F, then Bb, then Eb etc. you'll know youre fretboard after a little while if you spend 10 mins a day on this and what you're trying to do will be a lot easier.

  4. #28

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    You could start with the C Major scale that has no sharps or flats. CDEFGABC. Start going thru the circle of 5ths which will bring you to G Major scale that has one sharp (F#). A fifth up from G gets you to the D Major scale (two sharps F#, C#). By the time you get to B all notes are sharp except B and E.

    Do the same thing in the opposite direction: F Major has one Flat, Bb Major has two flats etc.

    Skip down to scales and key signatures at this website and go to intervals, chords etc. when you're ready. You have to learn where all of this is on the fretboard and hear how each of the intervals sound. Yes, it takes work but once you learn it (and hear it) it will be with you for the rest of your life. You'll find notes and scales diagrams on the fretboard with a google search.

    musictheory.net - Lessons

  5. #29

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    When I reread this I’m not certain if this was about chords or the improvised line???

  6. #30
    Firstly, I see voice leading and a solo guitar line as different things. Voice leading usually implies several melodic lines or voices moving at the same time, whereas melodic soloing is usually single notes from one instrument.
    I will assume that you want to be able to play over chord changes, but make these changes flow smoothly. I would personally rethink each chord as a triad, and use the scale degree rather than the names of notes e.g. 1-3-5 rather than A-C#-E for A major and 1-3-5 for D major. Having the scale degree is more useful to me as each note number has a certain function in a solo, plus the use of numbers allows you to play in any key AND it maps to notes on the fretboard (I visualize the scale shapes first then mentally add the scale degree - but you can also mentally add the musical notes, or even the sound of each note, but this takes a few years to develop).
    Good voice leading can be learnt by teaching yourself counterpoint and even though most guitarists would feel this to be a waste of time, it really does give each melodic line a decent sound.

    OK now for connecting the chords. Don't overload your brain thinking of this C# needs to move upwards to a D or else the voice lead police will arrest me. Instead, have a simple chord progression playing (record it, use looper pedal, use software, YouTube, etc) and play the 1st (root) 3rd and 5th note of each chord...just play one of these notes per chord, and really listen to that note against the chord.
    After doing this a few times, you'll notice that the root note is stable, it's solid, grounded, and doesn't really want to change
    The 5th is stable, but could change, it's a bit more interesting than the root.
    Now the 3rd...if you play this in a low register (E or A string on lowest frets) it'll sound muddy, or plain wrong. But play it around the 12th fret and it's a lot better. You'll also notice that it sounds right but is also ready to move if needed.
    So that's the most basic or easiest way to play a solo but it sucks as it's lame.
    You want to emphasise the changing notes when going from an A major to a D? Yes, voice leading study of counterpoint will help but it's easier to look at the fretboard and see the A major triad notes 1-3-5 (A C# E) and D major 1-3-5 (D F# A)...and your best friend here is the semitone, it is THE most melodic trick a soloist can use. The semitone in melody including counterpoint and voice leading has such a strong attraction to the next note.
    In the chord change above, the semitone change C# to D is the strongest (the C# is the leading tone of D major and its job is to rise to the D note). So taking the most basic solo, you could play A to C# over the A then whack the D note on the change (or bend it up, hammer it, slide, etc, but accent that change, use volume).
    To spice things up, you could borrow from melodic cells and add a few passing tones, or upper/lower neighbour tones
    E.g.
    A (1, chord tone), B (2, passing tone), C# (3, chord tone) into...
    D! (1, chord tone), F# (3, chord tone), A (common tone, sustain it as it works over both chords).
    Once you see the triad notes, the semitone change, and other spicy notes, you'll get the idea and hopefully can then build note combinations which can flow seamlessly from one chord to the next.
    I'd advise looking up chord tone soloing as this approach will really turbocharge your ears. Basically you have the triad notes as a skeleton framework but can add richer tones such as 2 (or 9th), 6 (or 13th) and 7th (this is the Jazz note in harmony and turns the basic triad into a richer sounding seventh chord). These 3 colourful notes are sometimes called the upper extensions. You can also use the #4 to give a spacey sound but I'd steer clear of the 4th / 11th over major - but use it over minor chords or dominant chords.
    Finally, practice playing notes over backing tracks. Do NOT practice scales ever ever ever. There is no melody on the planet that sounds like an ascending or descending scale. I don't know which evil teacher said practice scales as this is just nasty. Instead, practice Triads first, and then add passing tones plus change the rhythm of notes. Just don't practice scales up and down, as you'll really hit a soloing brick wall many years later. Enjoy!