The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
  1. #1

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    So lots of folks sub the first note (D) with a G obviously because they want to play it in the low register and there is no D there (on a 6 string).

    I just cant make up my mind if I like that or not. Hence this thread here asking for opinions.

    What do you do? How do you play it?

    Thanks in advance for some input...

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  3. #2

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    I would leave it to the bass player
    On a marginally more serious note, I would play it an octave up, and play D. There's a lesson on this site, with suggested fingerings
    Miles Davis For Guitar | So What Tabs, Autumn Leaves Solo & 10 Licks
    If the rest of the band insisted on it being in the lower octave I would tune the E string down to D, and still play D.

  4. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Average Joe
    I would play it an octave up, and play D.
    That's how I used to do it and most people do it that way.

    But...

    Grant Green on "Sunday Morning": plays it in F- and starts on a G, so changing the melody
    Jim Casey - Miles goes Wes: Bass player plays the first D note an octave higher
    Ximo Tebar - So What!: Plays a G
    Larry Carlton - Friday Nite: Omits it, just doesn't play the first note. So he can stay in the low register.
    Ronny Jordan - The Antidote: Plays G

    All other recordings I have do the standard thing D.

    Funny, isn't it?
    Last edited by DonEsteban; 04-03-2019 at 07:19 AM.

  5. #4

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    Yeah, I learned it off Antido originally but these days G sound wrong to me. But it's interesting as an example in practical problem solving.

  6. #5

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    Larry Carlton and Ronny Jordan play in the original key D-Dorian (C major). They both play it in a fast tempo.

    Ronny plays the first note consistently and pronounced, Larry plays it more like a ghost note.

    When played in this tempo, you could alternatively play a half muted open E as the first note, like a rhytmic thump. E is in the scale.

    When changing to Eb-dorian you could go on with the half muted open E as the first note. It then becomes a passing note to the Eb-Dorian mode. Try it. Play in a fast tempo and compare with G as the first note. Then ask a band member if they could hear a differerence and what version they prefer.

    Many scores suggests G as the starting note, but I'm not sure if Paul Chambers (Kind of Blue) plays a G...it sounds more like a rhytmic thump to my ears.

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by JCat
    Larry plays it more like a ghost note.
    I play it usually in that tempo and I do exactly the same, sometimes just playing another A note before the "official" one.

    Quote Originally Posted by JCat
    Many scores suggests G as the starting note, but I'm not sure if Paul Chambers (Kind of Blue) plays a G...it sounds more like a rhythmic thump to my ears.
    To my ears he definitively plays the D. It's hard to hear though because of the way the recording sounds.

    Today I listened to all variant versions I have another time and I think, I agree with Average Joe: The G sounds just not right to me, so I'll continue doing what I do all the time.


    PS.: On an off-topic side note, whenever possible I try to suggest "Impressions" when "So What" is called.
    Last edited by DonEsteban; 04-04-2019 at 05:04 AM.

  8. #7

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    The "right" note is D, subbing G sounds a bit "off", ghosting, thumping, or damping the low E actually sounds OK, like "could've been D".

  9. #8

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    I just play d on the sixth string and the rest of the melody on the two middle strings. Or sometimes skip the first note altogether.