The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #926

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    Happy New Year all of you!
    Yes it's 2022 and gosh I can't believe I began this thread in 2011 and it's been active for over a decade. A lot has happened in my (our) understanding of this monstrous work of ideas for the advancing guitarists.
    I worked with this material with the great, and still enigmatical, help and collaboration with Mick during this time but it was during the year of lockdown when I had a regular FaceTime meeting with others working on this (without ANY other distractions) that so many things came to fore, so thank you Mike Bono and Kenji Herbert.
    First, the republication project is going steadily. I've decided that I will issue pre-publication project editions of the book at cost of copying and postage. These will be essentially hard copies of the original books with some working notes printed on black and white, not the coloured paper of the originals. This is the way Mick wants them re-done.
    The purpose of these working notes editions will be to work out issues that will make these materials friendlier to the student, more explicit notes on how some people use this, and the kinds of things you MUST be fluent with before you even open the pages of the cycles.

    Just for starters for example, these works are NOT something you can ever just take off the page and start playing on Stella by Starlight. There is little you can open a page to and use from the get-go. But rather, they are like concentrated orange juice in a can, or soup bullion that needs a lot of essential ingredients on the part of the reader.
    So why are they so revered if you can't even use them? Who are they of use to?
    In short, they are of most use to the player who has familiarized themselves with the integration of ear, mind and hands that is necessary to be a COMPOSER on the instrument. For this end, I strongly recommend The Advancing Guitarist as the best introduction to this world and these volumes.
    If you can get around the instrument, and are suspecting that there are hidden worlds and untapped potential in the harmonic/melodic use of the 12 notes you're availed on your instrument...the almanacs are a map room of harmonic possibilities. They are a set of templates by which you must create your own etudes for Ear Training, Fretboard Navigation, Voice identification, Fingerings, Spacial and Movement principles and directional awareness. These are the ideas that are addressed with use of these volumes.

    They are one way of exploring the guitar as a MUSICAL INSTRUMENT free of preconceived notions of chord shapes and canon harmonic notions; notions about specific keys and how/where they are played, for one.

    So if this seems like a lot of work on your part, yes it is. It's an assumed that the student has found some saturation with the conventional approach to improvisational guitar and is looking for freedom through facility in the potential of 12 note harmony. It's an assumed that your ear is good enough to at least guide you through any tonal piece without a chord chart. It's assumed that you have a chord family knowledge that allows you to, at the very least, play any piece using and utilizing a chord family with ALL inversions (for ex drop 2 in all inversions all over the fingerboard).

    Yes this reduces the demographic of usefulness but it also says "if you ever wondered how to get beyond the sounds, cliches, habits, comfort zones and attitudes I've come to know," there is one source that will show you how to map your way into uncharted territory.

    THis thread will start to address some of these points now.
    Please feel free to share all your thoughts! We look forward to it!

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #927

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    Quote Originally Posted by mikostep
    Here are some possibilities.

    Quote Originally Posted by bako
    mikostep,

    What program did you create the diagrams in? I like the clarity and simplicity. Thanks.
    Quote Originally Posted by mikostep
    Honestly i don't remember the name of the app. It was Ipad app I used some time a go. Can't find it now, but I'll try to find it later.
    I think it was named Chord or something similar and it was free.
    Did you ever figure out what program or app this was? There are a ton of iPad apps for chords but I'm not seeing one where you can create chord grids yourself.

  4. #928

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    Quote Originally Posted by bonkdeposit
    Hey, ya'll. Big fan of Mick's music and approach to teaching. Been reading through the thread over the course of many days to catch up, and wanted to thank all of you for sharing your wisdom and experiences.

    I found an old GuitarOne article Mick wrote on chord cycles in my folder of clipped-out guitar mag articles, and figured since that magazine sadly went out of business in 2007, that it'd be okay for me to scan and share it. It's brief, but packed with useful and beautiful-sounding examples. I think it provides a nice introduction to the concept. Please forgive the file size and my writing on the page! (And if it is, in fact, not okay for me to share it, let me know and I'll remove it).

    I'm still struggling to understand the cycles, honestly, but I've gained quite a bit of insight from reading through the thread.

    Here's two questions I have if anyone would care to chime in:

    1. Any ideas on an efficient way to translate cycles into other keys besides C?

    2. Has anyone used (or heard other people using) ideas from the cycles on bass? I play as much bass as I do guitar, and love playing chords on both instruments. My mind reels with possibilities, but it's difficult to think of how I'd use cycles on bass when I'm not fully sure how to make them work on guitar...
    Thanks for posting that article.

    To specifically address you questions.

    1. Translating each exercise into other keys is a matter of knowing your scales and scale harmonization in every key. Your familiarity with triad and 7th chord inversions is a must. When it comes to working with these cycle, the ability to see everything on your fretboard as notes rather than finger patterns is pretty helpful. After that, it's just a matter of putting in the work. Try writing a cycle out on paper before you try it on your instrument.

    2. Applying this stuff to bass with chords will be tricky, due to the reach you would need to play some of the inversions. You could definitely apply it all as arpeggios, though. That said, you could certainly work with closed position triads on string set E A D and A D G.

    .

  5. #929

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    Quote Originally Posted by FwLineberry
    Try writing a cycle out on paper before you try it on your instrument..
    Yes, writing out one or two cycles is a great way to find out what they can do, and also to begin internalising them. Then, from C major, maybe change (or simply think) all the F notes to F# - we're then in the key of G major. If this works for you, try it again changing all the F and C notes to F# and C#, to play in D major, or switch all of the B and E notes to Bb and Eb to play in Bb major... etc.

    Quote Originally Posted by FwLineberry
    Applying this stuff to bass with chords will be tricky....due to the reach you would need to play some of the inversions... you could definitely apply it all as arpeggios...
    Excellent suggestion. Perhaps it's best to start by exploring arpeggios, as Lineberry suggests, rather than playing the chords? Be very careful with stretches when you are playing the chords, since it's easy to find that, as the system makes sense, you play more fluently and then you have a note that is just too far away ... and then there's a real risk of serious hand damage. Arpeggios are safer, because it's dangerously easy to follow a chordal sequence down the neck and then try to stretch too far on the wider lower fret spacings.
    This is a fascinating journey to make, nevertheless. I'd read music comfortably for a long time when I first saw the Almanacs and I found the 'names of the notes' style difficult, even shocking, at first, simply because they didn't give the specific octave for any of the the vertical chords (or any time signatures or note durations). These were all decisions left to the player to make, most particularly the decisions about when exactly to shift octaves. Writing out these shifts in notation (and in tab) helped with this. After a while it wasn't necessary, as the pages gradually made more sense.
    Despite the 'some assembly required' disclaimer, there are a lot of things that are fully explained, clearly and concisely, in the short written introductions to each of the Almanac's volumes (and there's lots more information in Vol. 3). It's a completely different game to sight-reading. Gradually the UNS - the 'Universal Notation System' - becomes familiar. This happens with regular work in much the same way as our traditional western notations, guitar tab, or even lute tablature becomes familiar. These other systems all differ from the 'classical' western music notation, but they're all incredibly useful in their own different ways.

    One of the many beautiful things about the Almanacs' way of presenting its information is that the cycles are not written in a way that is instrument specific. When played as arpeggios they'll work on almost any instrument that can sound major and minor scales covering a couple of octaves. Enjoy the journey!

  6. #930

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    Thanks very much for the advice, folks.

    I think my learning process needs to be something like: find a cycle I like enough that I want to learn it in and out, then write it out in a couple different keys and learn it in those. By that point I should be able to play the cycle 'off book' to borrow a term previously learned in the thread. Then I could work on playing it in all keys and also transfer it over to bass to play arpeggiated. Arpeggiated cycles could make for fascinating bass lines, I think.

    Would anyone who has them in pdf mind sharing the first two volumes of the Almanacs with me? (The third seems like something I won't be ready for for quite some time). I really want to study and live with these concepts for a while, and it just feels like there's too much I'm missing.

  7. #931

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    Quote Originally Posted by bonkdeposit
    Would anyone who has them in pdf mind sharing the first two volumes of the Almanacs with me? (The third seems like something I won't be ready for for quite some time). I really want to study and live with these concepts for a while, and it just feels like there's too much I'm missing.

    Contact Jimmy blue note . He was offering pdf files for a nominal donation to help support the reprint project.


    .

  8. #932

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    I FINALLY looked at the books properl today. ‘Don’t name that chord’. I think we’ll get along just fine. Chord symbols are … limited when it comes to this stuff.

    i did some of the basic cycles in vol1 in figured bass cos that’s the way my brain works now, apparently (I find it easier than any of the three funny diagram thingies and the chord symbols are clearly just ‘training wheels’.) I don’t expect this to mean anything to anyone.

    Some things are the other things backwards. No idea if he mentioned it or not. I am not a linear reader.

    Anybody use the Goodchord Voice Leading Books?-804579fb-a589-4744-99eb-de41bb9b092a-jpgAnybody use the Goodchord Voice Leading Books?-988bb137-f007-4aad-a259-ba6d26f8fbda-jpgAnybody use the Goodchord Voice Leading Books?-804579fb-a589-4744-99eb-de41bb9b092a-jpgAnybody use the Goodchord Voice Leading Books?-988bb137-f007-4aad-a259-ba6d26f8fbda-jpg

    not sure how I make them the right way round tho

  9. #933

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    Speaking of which I have a question - I can play this stuff with thought

    the question I would have for Mr Goodchord is this - how much is it about the verb and how much about the noun, so to speak? Should I practice process or muscle memory? I think I know but I’d like to check.

    Sorry if it’s in the book and it’s a silly question

  10. #934

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    Quote Originally Posted by Christian Miller
    Speaking of which I have a question - I can play this stuff with thought

    the question I would have for Mr Goodchord is this - how much is it about the verb and how much about the noun, so to speak? Should I practice process or muscle memory? I think I know but I’d like to check.

    Sorry if it’s in the book and it’s a silly question
    My opinion: process all the way. I've never like, practiced one single cycle/key/type for very long. I love randomizers/random number generators for this stuff because it's not practical to try to play all this stuff cover to cover, but rolling the dice for a key, chord type, cycle, starting inversion, etc, and having at it, I've found useful. It's light and game-like.

  11. #935

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    Quote Originally Posted by JakeAcci
    My opinion: process all the way. I've never like, practiced one single cycle/key/type for very long. I love randomizers/random number generators for this stuff because it's not practical to try to play all this stuff cover to cover, but rolling the dice for a key, chord type, cycle, starting inversion, etc, and having at it, I've found useful. It's light and game-like.
    That’s what I thought and that’s the exactly way I’d thought to practice it interestingly; I have some nerdy Dungeons and Dragons type dice …. Seems somehow appropriate lol.

  12. #936

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    Just in my early studies of volume 1, I feel like I'm finally getting a kernel of understanding of harmonic and melodic minor harmony. I've definitely been guilty in my own self-taught study of leaning heavily on the major scale because of its familiarity. So especially when it comes to playing through cycles with spread voicings, it's like glimpsing new worlds of harmony. I've heard these sounds in classical and jazz recordings, but now little bits and pieces are coming out of my own hands, thanks to Mr. Goodrick's guidance. It's an amazing thing. All simple and tertiary stuff, I understand, but still.

    It's one thing to read in a book what chords are in a scale and play through them up the neck. I did it plenty, and it didn't do much. But just a little bit of work with the cycles, and I get it.

  13. #937

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    Who do you contact to buy the Mick's books?

    Thanks

  14. #938

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    hello everybody!
    Just passing by as I had an email notice that this thread is still alive... that's great!
    I wonder if anyone still uses the web app I wrote to display the chord cycles...
    It was 2016... time flies, but the app is still working.

  15. #939

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    Quote Originally Posted by e_del
    hello everybody!
    Just passing by as I had an email notice that this thread is still alive... that's great!
    I wonder if anyone still uses the web app I wrote to display the chord cycles...
    It was 2016... time flies, but the app is still working.
    I still look at it occasionally.

  16. #940

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    I use my own app for that. It's an app that connects ii v i, i vi ii v and blues progressions with smooth voice leading.
    It utilises common chord forms like
    Freddie Green
    Drop 2
    Drop 3
    Drop 2 and 4 etc.
    It's an android app for now.
    It's a paid app but if can't make a purchase, you/anyone from the forum can send me a message for a promotion code to download it.
    Here is the link FretBuzz Progressions - Apps on Google Play

  17. #941

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    Quote Originally Posted by alt
    I use my own app for that. It's an app that connects ii v i, i vi ii v and blues progressions with smooth voice leading.
    It utilises common chord forms like
    Freddie Green
    Drop 2
    Drop 3
    Drop 2 and 4 etc.
    It's an android app for now.
    It's a paid app but if can't make a purchase, you/anyone from the forum can send me a message for a promotion code to download it.
    Here is the link FretBuzz Progressions - Apps on Google Play
    Ha, now I see who you are!
    We're in contact also through the MyGuitatFont facebook page...

    Your web app and android app are very nice!
    I wish I had the skill to develop a mobile version for my cycles app... too much effort for a side project.

  18. #942

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    Thanks, I realise you now too
    It's a small world.

  19. #943

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    Quote Originally Posted by e_del
    hello everybody!
    Just passing by as I had an email notice that this thread is still alive... that's great!
    I wonder if anyone still uses the web app I wrote to display the chord cycles...
    It was 2016... time flies, but the app is still working.
    Love your app and use it all the time.

    There use to be an alternative version of the app accessible via your FB page? Is that still live somewhere?

  20. #944

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    Quote Originally Posted by kirk95
    Who do you contact to buy the Mick's books?

    Thanks
    Can somebody please answer my question?

  21. #945

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    Quote Originally Posted by kirk95
    Love your app and use it all the time.

    There use to be an alternative version of the app accessible via your FB page? Is that still live somewhere?
    there is a newer version (just type 'cycles2' instead of 'cycles' in the URL), that doesn't play sounds, but it should be easier to configure with custom fingerings for the notes, in any string combination...
    After that I din't have the time to further develop the app...

  22. #946

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    Quote Originally Posted by oceanslider

    Did you ever figure out what program or app this was? There are a ton of iPad apps for chords but I'm not seeing one where you can create chord grids yourself.
    There are some very nice and powerful apps for every platform out there, that build and export those grids.

    But if you, like me, don't want to depend on a separate app, you can use my 'Ted-Chemist' font in any text editor that can use Truetype fonts (Pages, Word.. I use LibreOffice...)

    freely available (just give credits to the author) at
    Enrico Dell'Aquila: My guitar fonts

    I use it also in text boxes within Musescore...
    (look for to 'My Guitar Fonts' Facebook page for some examples)

  23. #947

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    Quote Originally Posted by kirk95
    Who do you contact to buy Mick's Almanac books?

    Thanks
    I am looking for a PDF version of book 3?

    Anyone know how to locate?

  24. #948

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    Quote Originally Posted by kirk95
    I am looking for a PDF version of book 3?

    Anyone know how to locate?
    Yes, contact "Jimmy Blue Note" [not his actual name!].


  25. #949

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimmy blue note
    PM me and within, you can include your email. Gmail account will go smoother if you have one.
    I PMed you a bunch of times?

  26. #950

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    Quote Originally Posted by kirk95
    I PMed you a bunch of times?
    Ok, got it.

    Thanks!