The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
  1. #1

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    I’m a solo performer and usually do blues but have added some more complicated tunes (Exactly Like You, I’ll always Be in love with you). These tunes are relatively simple but not just blues. What other tunes are similar? I’m looking to avoid stuff like Embraceable You for example as it has lots of diminished chords and such.

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluesharp
    I’m a solo performer and usually do blues but have added some more complicated tunes (Exactly Like You, I’ll always Be in love with you). These tunes are relatively simple but not just blues. What other tunes are similar? I’m looking to avoid stuff like Embraceable You for example as it has lots of diminished chords and such.
    Hey Blues - there are a gazillion options out there. I think one thing that might be helpful is overcoming the fear of the "complicated" stuff. When I started building solo arrangements I realized that a lot of the more exotic chord charts are really just reflecting melodic motion above relatively simple chordal structures, or even worse just chord charts packed with weird turnarounds and substitutions that aren't essential to the performance.

    Ralph Patt has a great website that shows the "vanilla changes" for tunes. That helped open my ears.

    I've got a bunch of pretty simple arrangements of tunes on my last solo recording that reflects how I think about this stuff. Jazz is mostly ii-V's, and then you're substituting around that, or being careful not to clash with the melody.


  4. #3

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    My One And Only Love
    I Cover The Waterfront
    The Way You Look Tonight
    Moonlight in Vermont

    I think there are lots of tunes that are built on diatonic chord changes.. but often the bridge in those tunes move through a few keys, not that it makes it very difficult really