Best first Jazz Standard to learn?

[Krah13]

What is the best Jazz Standard for a beginning jazz guitarist to learn?

Thanks,
Matt

I started with "All of me". But, I agree with some others that "Autumn Leaves" is a good starting point. Beautiful melody, nice changes.

[Denimfajita]

If you want a good place to start, get yourself a copy of the Real Book in C for piano and guitar. Start playing anything and everything. Autumn Leaves, Blue Bossa, Take the A Train, Satin Doll, Green Dolphin Street. You will begin to see patterns and repition in chord phrasing, used over and over agin in jazz. Playing, practicing and jamming with other jazz minded musicians will help you learn faster and it is the best way that I know of in training your ear.

[D.G.]

If I could recommend just 2 tunes they would have to be:

Autumn Leaves
I Got Rhythm

Those 2 tunes contain the most popular progressions in jazz. You'll see 'em everywhere.

[kofblz]

Here's 2 that haven't been mentioned and both very accessible to the beginner:

Avalon

The Preacher

[Steve Montgomery]

Hey Hadden,

Thought you might like to add this version to the list of All the Things You Are I did in 3/4 (Andy Anderson on piano, me on bass), although it's usually played in 4/4.

All the Things you Are.mp3

[Jazzpicker]

The Real Book 6th edition is not only worth buying, it's the one of the best ways to learn jazz standards. Always be on the lookout for new books with great tunes. After 50 years of playing I am constantly upgrading jazz standards that I learned many years ago and I am always working new songs, nuages currently. The standards were great songs then and they are still popular now.

[yaclaus]

The best worth learning is probably subjective and there are really many standards of medium difficulty you can start with. The worst to start with would probably be "moment´s notice" in 7.

[nikolozj]

I think it should be whatever your heart's is singing in your mind. I picked up Autumn Leaves and not because I read somewhere that almost all the beginners start with that, no. And I didn't even know if it was easy or not. I just picked it up because I used to hear it a lot when I was kid and the melody was there. It was close to me. And it turned out to be easy

[Steve Montgomery]

Amen to that, nikolozj.

[eddy b.]

All Blues, Freddy Freeloader, Footprints,So What,Chameleon, Mercy mercy,

[Jazz6string]

The Real Book is a great place to start. And play the songs you like. There's enough in there to keep you busy for a long time.

[Jazz6string]

The first jazz tunes I was given to learn were Blue Bossa & Autumn Leaves.

Me to and there fun to learn.

[=DK=]

All the Things You Are wins hands-down in my books, because:

-melody revolves around 3 and 7
-chord progression hammers in the fact that jazz harmony moves primarily in fourths
-introduction to a 32 bar form, very common in jazz
-form is almost AABA (second A is transposed down a 4th and ends slightly differently)
-changes key, unlike Autumn Leaves or Beautiful Love
-has an intro you're expected to know
-contains the five basic chord qualities of major, minor, dominant, half-diminished, and diminished, and various dominant sub-qualities
-easy, but adequately sophisticated melody
-still gets called in jams

[newsense]

I can't believe nobody has already suggested this, but here goes:

"One note samba"

[coolvinny]

I respectfully disagree that Samba De Uno Noto should be a 'first jazz' tune. First, it doesn't swing (well, not usually) and second the standard chord changes are, I think, substitutions for the better-for-a-beginner ii-V-I's we more commonly see. Also, I think I am the only person who has ever called this tune in the jams I've attended...ATTYA and a few other tunes get called way more often. I like the tune but it's not one of those songs that has really helped me in my jazz development, you know?

I'd suggest something like Autumn Leaves, and definitely a jazz blues too. Gotta learn the blues. It drives me crazy when someone has been studying jazz for years and still can't play a blues without a leadsheet.

ATTYA is cool but the form is perhaps a bit tricky for a raw beginner, what with the modulations outside to the G7 and the D7 a bit later. I know that personally I found it quite daunting at first. Fly Me To The Moon also has a lot of 7 to 3 resolutions but is easier than ATTYA, and knowing the words (which most of us do) helps keep one's place in the form.

[newsense]

Sorry Vinny, it wasn't a serious suggestion, just a poor attempt at humour, which I probably should have kept to myself.

[coolvinny]

Haha, no need to apologize -especially to me. And actually One Note Samba did teach me something useful - sometimes a tune will have a section that is very easy to harmonize. In this case, the bridge is perfect for that - learn to play it a 3rd up from the actual melody, and the horn players will think you're a champion.