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Introduction to Jazz Guitar Chords » Jazz Academy

What Are Extended Chords - Matt Warnock Guitar

Posted: 19 Oct 2015 03:11 AM PDT

Extended Chords for Guitar [9th, 11th, and 13th Chords]

When learning how to play Jazz guitar chords, have you ever found yourself feeling confident about 7^th chords, four-note shapes, but then you see a chart with a 9^th chord and you're stopped in your tracks?

This is a common issue that many Jazz guitarists struggle with in their playing, adding extensions to the Root-7^th chords you've worked so hard to get under your fingers.

Learning how to play extended chords on guitar will help you over this hump in the practicing road, as well as bring new and exciting harmonic colors to your playing.

The key to learning extended chords on guitar, 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths, is to use shapes you already know in new situations, and finding quick ways to build these chords in the moment.

By doing so, you'll not only expand your guitar chord knowledge, you'll be able to easily build these shapes in real time over any chord you're playing in a Jazz jam situation.

This lesson will break down each of the essential extended chord shapes, give you multiple guidelines to build these chords on the fretboard, and provide dozens of real-life examples of how to apply extended chords to your own playing.

Learning how to play extended chords can feel like a big hill to climb in the woodshed.

But, with the right exercises, easy to understand theory, and some time in the practice room, you'll be using these essential Jazz guitar chords in your playing in no time.

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Extended Chords Contents (Click to skip down)

What Are Extended Chords

Before you bring these chords onto the guitar, let's take a minute to define exactly what extended chords are and why they're important to add to your harmonic vocabulary.

Here's a quick definition that you can use as a guide when studying extended chords.

Extended chords are shapes that use intervals beyond the Root, 3^rd, 5^th, and 7^th of the underlying chord shape.

This means that if you take a normal, root-7 chord, such as this maj7 interval pattern.

And you swap one or more of those notes out for intervals that are higher than the 7^th, such as this Cmaj9 chord.

Then you're building an extended chord on the guitar.

You can use extended chords, with intervals above the 7^th, over any chord you're playing in a Jazz standard chord progression.

But, certain chords will take different extensions, and therefore you'll need to work chord types separately in the practice room in order to learn how and when to use extensions in your playing.

As an example of extended chords in action, here's a ii V I bIII progression in the key of C minor.

This first example uses only 1-3-5-7 chords to play each change in the progression.

Click to hear extended chords 1

You'll now use extended chords to color those same changes.

After you can play both of these examples on the guitar, play them back-to-back in order to hear how they both outline the chords, but the extended chords bring more color and excitement to the progression.

Click to hear extended chords 2

Using extended chords is an essential tool for any Jazz guitarist to possess, but they are usually easier to understand than to apply to your comping, chord soloing, and chord melody lines.

Now that you've had an overview of what extended chords are, it's time to dig into working these essential Jazz chords onto the fretboard in your practice routine.

Minor Extended Chords

To begin your study of extended chords, you'll dig into minor family chords on the guitar.

Minor family chords are most often used as iim7 or Im7 chords in a Jazz context.

Though they will pop up in other harmonic locations from time to time, such as ivm7 in a tune like Blue Bossa.

Each of these three extended minor chords will be explained, demonstrated on the fretboard, and shown in various musical examples over common Jazz chord progressions.

To get the most out of these extended minor chords, work them one at a time, starting with m6, then m9, and finishing with m11 chords.

As you learn each new extended chord concept, take them out of this lesson and apply them to other chord progressions and Jazz standards you are working on in the practice room.

This'll help engrain each of these extended chords further in your playing.

So, to begin, time to dig into a classic Jazz sound, the m6 chord.

m6 Chords

Before you start learning about m6 chords, let's take a quick look at why a m6 chord is in a lesson on extended chords, which are normally 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths.

The reason is that the 6^th is also the 13^th, just down one octave.

Because you'll rarely see a chord written m13, and you're far more likely to see it written as m6, it's written that way in this lesson.

So, m6 chords are extended chords, you're just writing the chord symbol using the most common terminology found on Jazz lead sheets and charts.

To begin your study of m6 chords, let's take a look at the easiest way to build these shapes on the guitar, by comparing them to a chord you already know.

You can build a m6 chord by taking any m7 chord and lowering the b7 by one fret on the guitar.

That's it, nice and easy right.

Here's an example of a typical Dm7 chord next to a Dm6 chord, where the b7 from Dm7 has been lowered by a fret.

Click to hear extended chords 3

Notice that both chords sound minor, but they have slightly different shade of color to them.

Paying attention to the differences in sound when learning extended chords, compared to 7th chords, will help your ears learn when to use these new chords in your playing.

As well, if you're learned your m7b5 shapes already, you'll have noticed that Dm6 is the same shape as a Bm7b5 chord.

This knowledge can help you quickly and easily find fingerings on the fretboard, especially if you find using the "lower the b7 by a fret" system doesn't work for you.

Here's another guideline for building m6 chords on the guitar.

You can build a m6 chord by playing a m7b5 chord shape from the 6 of any minor family chord on the guitar.

Here is that same chord shape, but now it's labeled as Dm6 and Bm7b5, so you can compare them on the guitar.

The backing track on the audio example moves with the chords, so you can hear how the same shape can sound differently when the bass notes change underneath it.

Click to hear extended chords 4

Now that you know how to build m6 chords on the guitar, it's time to take this extended chord to a few musical situations in the woodshed.

The first example uses an Fm6 chord to sound the Im7 chord in a minor ii V I chord progression.

This is probably the most common usage of a m6 chord in Jazz, as a tonic minor chord, and so it's a good place to start when taking this extended chord to the fretboard.

Click to hear extended chords 5

Here's another example of a tonic minor chord being sounded with a m6 shape, this time over a longer minor ii V I progression in F.

With any of the examples in this lesson, start by playing the line as written, then begin to alter it, take it to other keys, and otherwise personalize the line in your studies.

Click to hear extended chords 6

In this example, you'll be applying a m6 shape to a descending chord progression that is found in Brazilian Jazz music.

Since it's common in Brazilian popular music, there's a Bossa groove in the audio example, and a Bossa Nova rhythm in the guitar part.

If you like this application of m6 chords, you can also use it in any descending chord progression in other Jazz genres as you expand upon it in your comping and chord melody phrases.

Click to hear extended chords 7

m9 Chords

The next group of minor extended chords that you'll learn are m9 chords.

m9 chords are most often used over iim7 chords in a Jazz context, but you can apply them to Im7, ivm7, and vim7 chords as well.

Here's a guideline to help you build m9 chords quickly on the fretboard.

m9 chords are built by raising the root note of any m7 chord by two frets.

Here's an example of a Dm7 on the left, with the root raised to form Dm9 on the right.

Click to hear extended chords 8

You can hear how they are both minor chords, but the m9 shape has a bit more color to it.

As was the case with the m6 chord, you can also think of m9 chords as being a new application of a shape you already know.

Here's another guideline for building m9 chord using maj7 chords on the guitar.

To build a m9 chord, play a maj7 chord shape from the b3 of any m7 chord on the fretboard.

Here's the same Dm9 chord next to an Fmaj7 chord on the guitar.

Notice that they have the same notes, but the root note alters those notes to make them a Dm9 with a D root and an Fmaj7 with an F root.

Click to hear extended chords 9

Now that you know how to build m9 chords, it's time to take them onto the guitar in your practice routine.

In this first example, you'll use a Dm9 chord over the iim7 change in a short ii V I in C major.

Click to hear extended chords 10

The second example uses three inversions of Fmaj7 to produce a Dm9 sound over the iim7 chord in a longer ii V I progression in C.

Click to hear extended chords 11

The final example comes from the first four bars to Blue Bossa, and uses m9 sounds over both the Cm7 and Fm7 chords in that progression.

As well, there is a Bossa Nova comping pattern used to outline those chords, one that you can explore further in your playing if you're learning Brazilian Jazz in your studies.

Click to hear extended chords 12

m11 Chords

To finish your study of extended minor chords, you'll be working on applying m11 chords to your comping and harmonic vocabulary.

M11 chords are built using one common guideline when applied to the guitar, which you can see here.

To build a m11 chord, lower the 5^th of any m7 chord shape by 2 frets on the guitar.

Here's an example of a Dm7 chord on the left, with the 5^th lowered by a tone on the right to form Dm11.

Click to hear extended chords 13

Now that you know how to build a m11 chord, it's time to take it to the practice room and apply it on the fretboard.

The first musical example features a m11 chord used to outline the iim7 change in a short ii V I progression in C major.

As is the case with any of these examples, once you're learned it, you can take it to other keys, and alter the rhythms, as you expand on these examples in the woodshed.

Click to hear extended chords 14

Moving on, here's an example of an Am11 chord being used to color the iim7 chord in a longer G major ii V I progression.

Notice the open sound that m11 chords bring to a progression, compared to the other minor chords you've learned so far.

This open sound can be a powerful color to use in your playing, but it can also sound out of place if used in the wrong context.

So, as with any extended chord, work on getting the m11 sound in your ears so that you'll be able to apply it with confidence to any musical situation.

Click to hear extended chords 15

In this final example, you'll see a Dm11 chord vamp with a few new harmonic concepts applied to the comping pattern over that chord change.

One of the most common ways to use m11 chords is to pair them up with the same shape two frets higher.

You can see this in the example, as Dm11 and Em11 are being played back and forth over the four-bar phase.

You're staying in the key when using this concept, just added some more color to the progression with the Em11 shape over Dm11.

As well, you can see a second version of the m11 chord in the last two bars of the phrase.

Here, you're building a m11 chord by replacing the b3 of Dm7 with a note two frets higher.

When doing so, you lose the sound of the b3, which defines the chord as being minor and not a 7sus chord.

Because of this, you'll need to be careful where you use this version of a m11 chord.

But, with time and practice, this version of m11 can add a new and cool-sounding harmonic color to your comping, chord soloing, and chord melody playing.

Click to hear extended chords 16

Dominant Extended Chords

In this section, you'll be studying extended dominant 7^th chords, which are most often used to color V7 chords in a major ii V I, as well as the I7, IV7, and V7 chords in a major Jazz blues progression.

V7alt chords, those used in minor keys, will be explored in a further section of this lesson.

As is the case with any group of extended chords in this lesson, learn the theory behind building each of these dominant chords first.

That way you'll know how to build these shapes yourself, and not just memorize grips on the fretboard for these extended chords.

Then, when learning the musical examples, get them down as written, before moving them to other keys and applying them to your playing over Jazz standards.

9^th Chords

The first extended dominant chord you'll study is the 9^th chord, a classic Jazz sound and the most common chord color used when moving beyond the 7^th chord sound in your playing.

Here's a guideline to help you build 9^th chords on the fretboard.

To build a 9^th chord, raise the root note of any 7^th chord by two frets on the fretboard.

Here's an example of a G7 chord on the left, with the root raised to form a G9 chord on the right.

Click to hear extended chords 17

If you've studied your m7b5 chord shapes already, you'll recognize the G9 chord as being a Bm7b5 inversion.

To help you apply this concept to your playing, you can also use this guideline when building 9^th chords on the guitar.

You can build a 9^th chord by playing a m7b5 shape from the 3^rd of any 7^th chord on the guitar.

Here's the G9 chord on the fretboard, this time with a G root note on the left, and a B root note on the right, forming a Bm7b5 chord, for comparison.

Click to hear extended chords 18

Now that you know how to build a G9 chord, it's time to take it to the guitar.

Here's an example of an A9 chord being used to color the V7 chord change in a D major ii V I chord progression.

Click to hear extended chords 19

Moving on, the next musical example uses an A9 extended chord over the V7 change in a long ii V I progression in the key of D major.

Click to hear extended chords 20

The final example uses F9 and Bb9 chords over the first four bars of a Jazz Blues chord progression.

Applying 9^th chords to Jazz Blues changes is a great way to spice up your Blues chords, and bring a Jazzy sound to any Blues tune you're playing.

Click to hear extended chords 21

7#11 Chords

The next dominant extended chord you'll learn is the 7#11 sound, one of the most popular sounds in all of Jazz guitar.

Here's a guideline to help you build 7#11 chords on the guitar.

To build a 7#11 chord, lower the 5^th of any 7^th chord by one fret on the guitar.

Here's an example of a G7 chord on the left, with the 5^th lowered by a fret on the right to form a 7#11 chord.

Click to hear extended chords 22

Now that you know how to build a 7#11 chord, it's time to take this new sound to a few musical situations in your studies.

In this first example, you'll use an A7#11 chord over the V7 chord change in a short ii V I progression in D major.

This is a common approach to using 7#11 chords in Jazz, playing the #11 note on top of the chord and leading it into the 5^th from there, which you can see in the example below.

Click to hear extended chords 23

In this example, you'll use an A7#11 chord to color the V7 in a long ii V I progression in D major.

Notice that you are using the #11 interval to create a descending melody line in the upper note of the last four chords.

Here, you'll start with an E on top of the Em7 chord at the end of the first bar.

From there, you'll play D# on top of the A7, then lower that note to a D, and finally resolve this chromatic descending melody line to a C# over Dmaj7 in bar three.

Click to hear extended chords 24

The final musical example uses 7#11 to color each change in the first four bars of an F Blues progression.

To hear this extended chord in action, check out the Sonny Rollins tune "Blue Seven," which uses the #11 interval in the melody and throughout the soloing sections.

Click to hear extended chords 25

13 Chords

The final extended dominant chord that you'll explore in this section is the 13^th chord.

There are two guidelines that you can follow to build 13^th chords on the guitar, beginning with raising two notes of any 7^th chord on the fretboard.

To build a 13^th chord on the guitar, raise the root and 5^th of any 7^th chord by two frets each on the fretboard.

Here's an example of a G7 chord on the left, with the root and 5^th raised on the right to form a G13 chord.

Click to hear extended chords 26

The second guideline that you can use to build 13^th chords uses maj7#11 shapes in a new context in your comping.

To build a 13^th chord, play a maj7#11 chord from the b7 of any dominant 7^th chord on the guitar.

To help you visualize this maj7#11 application, here are G13 and Fmaj7#11 back to back to see how they have the same notes, but the different root makes each chord sound different in context.

Click to hear extended chords 27

Now that you know two ways to build 13^th chords, you can study three examples of this chord color in action.

In the first example, you'll see a G13 used to color the V7 chord in a short ii V I in C major.

Click to hear extended chords 28

Moving on, you'll now use the same G13 sound to play over the V7 chord in a long C major ii V I chord progression.

Click to hear extended chords 29

In the final example, you'll play 13^th chords over each chord change in the first four bars of an F Blues progression.

13^th chords are an easy and cool-sounding way to spice up any Blues tune you're jamming on in a Jazz, or traditional Blues, context.

Click to hear extended chords 30

Major Extended Chords

After working on minor and dominant extended chords, you're ready to finish off the third chord in the ii V I progression, major extended chords.

In this section, you'll explore maj9, maj7#11 (Lydian), and maj6 chords.

As was the case with minor chords, you won't see a maj13 chord in a lead sheet, and so we'll use the symbol maj6 for that extended chord.

And, though it's not technically a Imaj7 chord, you'll learn how to add the #11 interval to a maj7 chord as you'll use this shape in tunes like Autumn Leaves, IVmaj7, or even as a secondary color over Imaj7 chords in your playing.

After you've worked out these concepts, even one of them is fine, you can begin to jam over ii V I changes and use extended chord shapes for each chord in the progression.

Maj9 Chords

The first major extended chord you'll learn is the maj9 chord, one of the most popular Imaj7 chord colors in Jazz guitar.

When building this chord on the fretboard, you can use the following guideline to help you quickly and easily generate any maj9 shape.

To build a maj9 chord, raise the root of any maj7 chord by two frets.

Here's how that process looks on the guitar, with a Cmaj7 chord on the left, and the root raised by two frets to form a Cmaj9 chord on the right.

Click to hear extended chords 31

You might have noticed that the Cmaj9 chord is also the same shape as an Em7 chord.

Because of this, you can derive a second guideline to help you quickly build any maj9 chord on the guitar.

Maj9 chords can be built by playing a m7 chord from the 3^rd of any maj7 chord change.

Here's an example of that same shape played twice, once with a C root to form Cmaj7, and once with an E root to form Em7.

Click to hear extended chords 32

Now that you know how to build maj9 chords, it's time to take them to the fretboard in your guitar practice routine.

In this first example, you'll use a maj9 chord to color the Imaj7 change in a short ii V I progression in Bb major.

Click to hear extended chords 33

In the next musical example, you'll use Dm7 to create a Bbmaj9 sound over the Imaj7 chord in a long ii V I in Bb.

To spice things up a bit, I've used Drop 2 and 4 chords in this example.

These less common shapes, compared to Drop 2 and Drop 3 chords, are worth exploring if you're looking to expand your chord vocabulary on the guitar.

Click to hear extended chords 34

The final maj9 example uses Bbmaj9 over the Imaj7 chord in a ii V I VI chord progression.

Notice that this chord leads to a Ddim7 chord, which is a common G7b9 extended chord shape.

Because you will often play VI7b9 after a Imaj7 chord, you can treat them in this way to create a smooth voice leading movement over these changes.

Imaj7 = iiim7
VI7b9 = iiidim7

The next time you find yourself playing a I-VI progression, give these easy Jazz chords a go in your playing.

They'll outline the chord changes, and won't put any stress on your hands at the same time.

Click to hear extended chords 35

Maj7#11 Chords

You'll now dig into a bit of tension over major chords, but altering the 5^th of any maj7 shape to form maj7#11 chords on the guitar.

When using maj7#11 shapes, you'll be implying the Lydian mode in your comping and chord soloing.

Here's a guideline to help you understand the concept behind building this chord on the fretboard.

To build a maj7#1 chord, lower the 5^th of any maj7 chord shape by one fret.

Here's how that would look, comparing Cmaj7 and Cmaj7#11 shapes on the fretboard.

Click to hear extended chords 36

Now that you know how to build maj7#11 chords, it's time to take them onto the guitar in your studies.

This first example uses a Gmaj7#11 chord to color the Imaj7 change in a ii V I progression in G major.

Click to hear extended chords 37

Moving on, the second example implies a Lydian sound over the Imaj7 chords in a long ii V I in G major.

Notice that the use of the #11 interval at the top of the chord emphasizes that note, and creates a bit of tension over that part of the progression.

This tension is not for everyone.

So, if you don't find you dig that interval on top of the chord, you can still use maj7#11 shapes in your playing, just bury the #11 lower in the voicing.

Click to hear extended chords 38

In this final maj7#11 example, you'll be using a Lydian sound over the Imaj7 chord in a ii V I VI progression.

Here, the #11 is in the second highest note of the chord, which allows you to hear it, but doesn't emphasize it as much as the previous example.

Click to hear extended chords 39

Maj6 Chords

The final major extended chord sound you'll learn in this article is the maj6 chord.

You'll see this written as either maj6 or 6 in chord charts and lead sheets.

Again, because you use 13 for dominant extended chords, to avoid any confusion when you see maj6 or 6, it'll be a major extended chord.

Here's a guideline to help you build any maj6 chord on guitar.

Maj6 chords are built by lowering the 7^th of any maj7 shape by two frets.

You can see this guideline in action in the example below.

Click to hear extended chords 40

As well, you might have noticed that the Cmaj6 chord is the same shape as an Am7 chord.

You can use this knowledge to build other maj6 chords on the guitar.

You can build any maj6 chord by playing a m7 chord from the 6^th of that change.

Here is that same Cmaj6 shape played twice, once with a C root, Cmaj6, and once with an A root, Am7, for comparison.

Click to hear extended chords 41

Now it's time to take this knowledge to the fretboard.

In this first musical example, you'll use Am7 to create a Cmaj6 chord over the Imaj7 change in a short ii V I progression in C major.

Click to hear extended chords 42

The next example features that same maj6 extended chord, though now in a longer ii V I progression in C.

Click to hear extended chords 43

The final example brings a Cmaj6 color to the Imaj7 chord in a ii V I VI turnaround progression.

Click to hear extended chords 44

Altered Extended Chords

In the next set of extended chords, you'll explore variations of the 7alt chord change on guitar.

Because the 7alt chord is open to a lot of interpretation, it can be any combination of b9, #9, b5, or #5 intervals; there are more options to explore with 7alt extended chords.

Try out each of these 7alt extended chord sounds, then either pick the ones you like best to pursue further in your studies, or keep them all in your pocket and use them at different times in your playing when you deem the moment's right.

Though they're most often used as the V chord in a minor ii V I progression, you can use these chord extensions in major key and Blues progressions if you resolve the tension created by these chord colors.

So, check out these extended chords, experiment with them in your playing, and see where you enjoy using them over Jazz chord progressions.

7b9 Chords

The first 7alt extended chord that you'll work through in this section is the ever-popular 7b9 chord sound.

To build any 7b9 chord on the guitar quickly and easily, here's a guideline to use in your playing.

7b9 chords are built by raising the root note of any 7^th chord by one fret.

Here's an example of that guideline on the fretboard, using G7 and G7b9 to demonstrate this concept.

Click to hear extended chords 45

As you might have recognized, the G7b9 chord uses the same shape as a G#dim7 chord.

To take this concept further, here's a guideline that you can use when building any 7b9 chord on the guitar.

7b9 chords can be built by playing a dim7 chord from the b9 of any 7^th chord change.

To help you take this further, here's a G7b9 and G#dim7 chord side by side for comparison.

Notice that they contain the same notes, but the different root notes make those same shapes sound differently on the guitar.

Click to hear extended chords 46

You're now ready to apply 7b9 chords to your comping and chord soloing phrases.

In this first example, you'll use a 7b9 chord to color a V7 change in a D major ii V I progression.

Click to hear extended chords 47

You'll now use the B7b9 chord to play over the V7alt chord in a ii V I progression in E minor.

As was mentioned earlier, you can use 7alt chords to color dominant chords in major and minor keys.

Now that you've heard 7alt chords in both situations, you will have a better idea of how they sound in these different key centers.

Click to hear extended chords 48

The final example uses another B7b9 chord to outline the V7alt sound in a ii V I progression in Em.

Click to hear extended chords 49

7b13 Chords

The next 7alt chord variation that you'll learn is the 7b13 chord.

7b13 chords are built with the following guideline.

To build any 7b13 chord, raise the 5^th of any 7^th chord shape by one fret.

You can see this guideline applied to a G7 and G7b13 chord below.

Notice that you aren't calling this chord a 7#5, which is technically the same note, Eb/D# is the b13/#5 of G7.

I've found that most charts will use the term 7b13, and so because it's more common you'll see it written in this lesson.

But, just remember that if you do see a 7#5 chord change, you can apply the same guideline to build that chord on the guitar.

Click to hear extended chords 50

Now that you've got the theory down, it's time to work 7b13 chords into common progressions on the guitar.

You'll begin by using the 7b13 chord to color a V7alt change in a C minor ii V I progression, played over two bars.

Click to hear extended chords 51

The next example stretches that progression out to three bars, keeping the 7b13 chord color over the V7alt chord in the changes.

Click to hear extended chords 52

To finish up, here you'll use 7b13 chords to add tension to the first four bars of an F Blues chord progression.

Again, this'll create tension over those changes.

This level of tension can add a lot of interest to your comping, you just need to make sure you resolve that tension after you've introduced it to the tune.

Click to hear extended chords 53

7alt Chords 1

The next 7alt chord extensions will feature two altered notes, #9 and b13, in your chord shapes.

When building this type of 7alt chord, you'll use the following guideline to help you find those shapes on the guitar.

You can build 7alt chords by raising the root by three frets and the 5^th by one fret on the guitar.

Here's an example of that concept in action over a G7 chord.

You'll notice that the G7alt chord uses the guideline to form the interval structure, but that the fingering has been changed to make it easier to play on the guitar.

Click to hear extended chords 54

Now, while you can use that guideline to build any 7alt chord, it is a bit more difficult to apply than the other guidelines you've learned in this lesson.

Because of this, you might want to think about 7alt chords in this manner.

You can build a 7alt chord by playing a maj7#11 chord from the 3^rd of any 7^th chord.

Here's how that guideline looks over a G7alt chord, where the left grid shows G7alt and the right grid shows the same shape, but with a B root to form a Bmaj7#11 chord.

Click to hear extended chords 55

You're now ready to apply this shape to your practice routine, starting with using the 7alt shape over a V7alt chord in the key of C minor.

Click to hear extended chords 56

In the next example, you're moving to the key of E minor and using the same shape to outline the V7alt chord in that progression.

Click to hear extended chords 57

Lastly, you'll use the 7alt sound to color the I7 chord in the first four bars of a Blues chord progression.

As you've seen in other sections of this lesson, you can use extended chords to create tension over Blues changes.

But, just be aware of how these tensions sound, and how to resolve them, so that they come off with confidence and not sound like a mistake in your playing.

Click to hear extended chords 58

7alt Chords 2

The final 7alt extended chord will feature the b9 and b13 intervals combined in your comping and chord soloing.

To build this chord on the guitar, you can use the following as a guideline.

To build a 7alt chord, you raise the root and 5^th by one fret each on the guitar.

Here's how that looks when applied to a G7 chord on the guitar, with the G7 on the left and the extended 7alt chord on the right.

Click to hear extended chords 59

You might recognize the 7alt shape as being a m7b5 chord.

Because of this, you can also think of building 7alt chords with the following guideline.

You can build a 7alt chord on the guitar by playing a m7b5 chord from the 7^th of any dominant 7^th chord.

Here's how that same shape sounds when played over a G bass note, G7alt, and an F bass note, Fm7b5, for comparison.

Click to hear extended chords 60

You're now ready to apply this extended chord to your practice routine.

In the first example, you'll use this 7alt chord to color the V7alt change in a G minor ii V I progression.

Click to hear extended chords 61

Moving on, you'll apply the 7alt extended chord to the V7alt chord in a long ii V I progression in C minor.

Click to hear extended chords 62

Lastly, you'll use the 7alt chord shape to add tension to the first four bars of an F Blues chord progression.

Click to hear extended chords 63

m7b5 Extended Chords

In the next section you'll learn how to extend m7b5 chords in your comping.

When working on extended m7b5 chords, by far the most common chord shape you will find and use in Jazz is the m11b5 chord.

For this reason, because the other extended m7b5 chords rarely show up, you'll focus your attention on that chord in this section of the lesson.

Here's a guideline to help you build a m11b5 chord on the guitar.

To build a m11b5 chord shape, you raise the b3 of any m7b5 chord by two frets on the guitar.

Here's an example of how that looks on the guitar, using Am7b5 and Am11b5 chords as a demonstration.

Click to hear extended chords 64

Now that you know how to build a m11b5 chord, it's time to apply it to a few musical examples in your practice routine.

To begin, you'll use Dm11b5 to outline the iim7b5 chord in short ii V I progression in C minor.

Click to hear extended chords 65

In the next example, Gm11b5 is used over the iim7b5 chord in a longer F minor ii V I progression.

As m7b5 chords are most often used as iim7b5 chords in Jazz, this is the best place to begin and focus your attention in the woodshed when working on m11b5 chords.

Click to hear extended chords 66

The final example uses a favorite m11b5 voicing of mine, where you have the 11 and b5 next to each other in the chord.

This creates a half step between those two notes, which comes with a little more tension than you've heard in the previous examples.

Because of this, you'll have to be careful where you use this voicing as that tension is great in the right moment, or can sound out of place if used in the wrong context.

Experiment with this chord shape in your comping and see where your ears tell you it's appropriate to use and where you're better off using another m11b5 chord shape.

Click to hear extended chords 67

Diminished Extended Chords

When learning to play dim7 chords on guitar, many players make the mistake of learning a few common shapes and then never expanding on these chords from that point in their playing.

But, dim7 chords have one of the coolest extended chord concepts of any chord type you've explored in this lesson.

When playing a dim7 chord, you can alter any note in that shape to form a new version of the chord, while maintaining the underlying quality of that chord sound.

Here's a guideline to help you understand this concept further.

To extend any dim7 chord, raise any note in a dim7 chord shape by two frets.

That's it.

Because the Diminished scale is built with alternating whole and half steps, the next scale note above any chord tone is a whole-step higher.

So, when applying this concept to dim7 chord shapes, you're extended any note in that chord to the next diatonic note in the scale to produce a new diminished chord sound.

Here's an example of raising the b3 of an Adim7 chord to bring an 11^th sound to the underlying chord.

Click to hear extended chords 68

To expand upon this concept further, here are four grids that show each note in that same Adim7 chord being extended up by a tone.

Because you can play the same shape up 4 frets for any dim7 chord to form the four "inversions" of dim7 on the guitar, by raising each note in those shapes, you can now build 16 dim7 chords on any string set with one shape.

How cool is that?

Click to hear extended chords 69

Now that you know how to extend dim7 chords, you can take them to the fretboard by studying the following musical examples.

In the first example, you'll use Cdim7 to outline a B7alt sound, specifically B7b9 as you learned in the altered chord section of this lesson, in the following progression.

Click to hear extended chords 70

In the second example, you'll see a commonly used technique that Sheryl Bailey uses in her comping and chord soloing.

Here, you're alternating between the dim7 chord and the extended version of that shape, taking that concept down the fretboard from there.

This creates extra movement in your comping, and gives you four different sounds over that one D7alt chord to play with in your harmonic vocabulary.

Click to hear extended chords 71

The final example applies the extended dim7 concept to the I7 chord in bars 3 and 4 of a Jazz Blues progression.

Notice the tension that's created by the dim7 chords in this context, which is then resolved to the next chord in the comping pattern.

Using dim7 chords, and their extended versions, is perfectly fine over a Blues progression, just make sure to resolve that tension in your comping to make it more effective and not sound like a mistake.

Click to hear extended chords 72

Stella by Starlight Chord Study

After studying each of these extended chords on their own, and in short musical examples, you can work on a full tune study that uses the various extended chords from this lesson.

The following chord study uses extended chords to outline the changes to the Jazz classic Stella by Starlight.

Go slow when learning this study, working it one four-bar phrase at a time, then piecing those phrases together to form the study as a whole in your practicing.

After you can play the study with the audio track, put on the backing track and practice playing the study from memory without the audio guitar guide track.

Then, practice comping over Stella by Starlight using the chord shapes from this study, and other shapes from the lesson above, to begin creating your own extended chord comping phrases in your playing.

Stella by Starlight Backing Track Stella by Starlight Backing No Piano

Click to hear extended chords 73

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Essential Chord Scales for Guitar | MATT WARNOCK GUITAR

Posted: 07 Oct 2015 05:15 AM PDT

Essential Chord Scales for Guitar

Chords and comping are the lifeblood of any Jazz guitarist.

As much as we like to improvise, as a rhythm player, you'll spend the vast majority of your time comping behind melody lines and other soloists.

Because of the amount of time you'll spend comping, it's essential to develop a deep understanding of Jazz chords and harmonic concepts in your playing.

After learning how to play Jazz guitar chords, one of the most important next steps is to work those shapes in chord scales.

Chord scales are harmonized versions of Jazz scales, played in horizontal fashion across the fretboard.

Not only do chord scales expand your understanding of Jazz harmony and comping, they'll also provide you with a new approach to playing over Jazz chord changes.

By working out diatonic chord scales, you'll always have 7 shapes under your fingers for each chord you're comping over.

With each shape providing a different shade of harmonic color over the underlying chord change.

This can really open up your fretboard and create new avenues of exploration in your comping, chord soloing, and chord melody arrangements.

In this lesson, you'll learn how to build and practice chord scales, as well as how to use them to play over common jazz chord progressions and chord qualities.

There are also two chord studies to help you practice applying chord scales to full Jazz standards in your playing.

So, grab your guitar, crank your amp, and dig in to one of the most common and important harmonic devices in Jazz, chord scales.

Free Jazz Guitar eBook: Download a free Jazz guitar PDF that'll teach you how to play Jazz chord progressions, solo over Jazz chords, and walk basslines.

Chord Scales Sections (Click to Skip Down)

What Are Chord Scales

To begin your study of these important harmonic devices, you can start by learning what chord scales are, and how to build them in your practice routine.

In their simplest form, chord scales can be defined by the following statement.

Chord scales are built by harmonizing any scale or mode across a bass string on the guitar.

Here is an example of how to build a chord scales over the F major scale, in this case on the 6^th string.

The first step is to play the notes of the scale you're working on across one string, either the 6^th, 5^th, or 4^th strings.

You can see how the F major scale sits on the 7^th string in this example.

Click to hear chord scales 1

Then, you harmonize those notes by adding diatonic chords on top of each scale note on that single string.

That's about it.

Here's how that would look when you harmonize the F major scale on the 6^th string using Drop 3 chords.

As you'll see in the example, each chord is in root position.

But, as you move forward in the lesson, you'll learn how to apply any chord inversion to a chord scale in your guitar practice routine.

Click to hear chord scales 2

You can use any chord type you wish when harmonizing the single-string scale, and many common guitar chords will be applied to the examples in the lesson below.

As well, when playing single-string guitar scales, you'll want to start on the lowest possible note in that scale to take advantage of the entire fretboard when you harmonize that scale in step two.

You'll see examples of this approach, starting on the lowest possible note on any string, in the lesson below.

So, if that seems a bit difficult for you right now to work out, not to worry.

After working on the exercises in this lesson you'll not only learn chord scales over various chord types, but you'll practice these chords scales from the lowest note on each string.

This will help to clear up any issues that arise when mixing chords and single-string scales as you do when building chord scales on the guitar.

How to Practice Chord Scales

Now that you know what chord scales are, you can take a look at a few ways to practice chord scales on the guitar to ensure you maximize your time in the practice room.

Chord scales can be applied to any shape that you're working on in your studies.

Example of common Jazz chord shapes would be:

To begin your studies of the chord scales in this lesson, which are written using Drop 2, Drop 3, and Drop 2 & 4 chords, learn them in the given key for each example.

From there you can work them in multiple keys are you bring them to different areas of the fretboard.

As well, each chord scale example, except ii V I lines and tune studies, are written in a steady half-note rhythm.

This is done to make it easy to get these shapes under your fingers in the beginning.

But, once you have any chord scale down, feel free to experiment with adding different rhythms to your chord scale exercises.

These rhythms could include:

Quarter Notes
8^th Notes
Triplet
Dotted Rhythms
Ties
Mixed Rhythms – e.g. Dotted Quarter + 8^th Note

Once you've worked out the first three examples, m7, 7, and maj7 chord families, use the ii V I backing tracks provided to jam those chord scales in a musical situation.

As well, you can take any of these chord scales to a full tune in your studies, either one of the examples below or another Jazz standard that you're working on in the woodshed.

As you can see, there are a number of ways to practice chord scales beyond memorizing these shapes on the guitar.

The main goal of any of these exercises should be to be able to create and use chord scales in the moment.

If you can memorize chord scales, then you can play them back on the guitar.

But, if you can learn how to build chord scales in the moment, then you can apply them to any chord, chord progression, or Jazz standard in real time.

Building that skill will take time, but once you reach that point in your playing, you'll be able to confidently and accurately apply chord scales to any musical situation.

And that's when things become really fun on the bandstand.

Dorian Chord Scales

The first chord scale that you'll learn is built by harmonizing the Dorian scale.

In the examples below, you'll see how you can use Drop 3 chords from the 6^th string to harmonize a D Dorian scale in your playing.

But, feel free to apply this chord scale to any key, any chord type, or any string set in your studies.

Before learning how to play this chord scale, let's take a look at the chords in a harmonized Dorian scale.

Im7 – Dm7
iim7 – Em7
bIIImaj7 – Fmaj7
IV7 – G7
vm7 – Am7
vim7b5 – Bm7b5
bVIImaj7 – Cmaj7

As you can see, the D Dorian scale contains all the same chords as the C major scale, but with different Roman Numerals as you're building the chord scale from the note D, rather than C in the C major scale.

Here are those chords in root position to begin your study of chord scales on the fretboard.

As was mentioned earlier, you'll want to start any chord scale with the lowest possible chord in that key, which is why this chord scale starts with Fmaj7 and not Dm7.

After you've learned this, or any, chord scale, put on the backing track below and practice comping over a static Dm7 chord with any shape in the D Dorian chord scale to hear how it sounds in a musical situation.

Dm7 Backing Track Dm7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 3

Moving on, here's the same Dorian chord scale, only this time written out with the first inversion of each chord used to harmonize the scale.

Dm7 Backing Track Dm7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 4

In the next example, you'll be playing 2^nd inversion Drop 3 chords in your D Dorian chord scale.

As you're working on any inversions in your chord scales, make sure to visualize, or at least be able to find, the root in those inversions so that you keep track of which chord you're on during the chord scale.

Dm7 Backing Track Dm7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 5

The final Dorian example uses 3^rd inversion Drop 3 chords to harmonize the chord scale from the 6^th string.

When you can play all four variations of the Dorian chord scale, all four inversions, start combining them in your comping and chord soloing as you move between inversions in your playing.

Dm7 Backing Track Dm7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 6

Mixolydian Chord Scales

Now that you've learned m7 chord scales, using the Dorian scale, you can proceed to the harmonizing Mixolydian scales in your studies.

When doing so, you'll be using the following chords, written here in Roman Numerals and in the key of G Mixolydian for comparison.

I7 – G7
iim7 – Am7
iiim7b5 – Bm7b5
IVmaj7 – Cmaj7
vm7 – Dm7
vim7 – Em7
bVIImaj7 – Fmaj7

If you've worked out the D Dorian chord scales already, then you'll notice that these chords are the same.

This is because D Dorian and G Mixolydian are both built from the parent C major scale.

Though they share the same chords, they have different functions, as you can see in the Roman Numeral analysis.

When learning chord scales, memorize the Roman Numerals for each mode you're harmonizing.

This'll allow you to quickly transpose any chord scale to another key, such as A Mixolydian or Bb Mixolydian, as you're able to find the chords using the Roman Numerals in any key.

To get you started, here is a root position G Mixolydian chord scale that uses Drop 3 chords from the 5^th string.

G7 Backing Track G7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 7

You'll now learn how to play a G Mixolydian chord scale using first inversion Drop 3 chords on the 5^th string.

Once you can play the first two inversions, play them back to back to hear how they sound and sit on the fretboard when played back to back.

Eventually you'll want to jump between inversions in your playing, so working on this skill in the woodshed can be helpful.

G7 Backing Track G7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 8

Next you'll learn the second inversion G Mixolydian chord scale that uses Drop 3 chords from the 5^th string.

G7 Backing Track G7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 9

Lastly, here's the G Mixolydian chord scale using third inversion shapes on the fretboard.

After you can play one or more of these G Mixolydian chord scales, put on a ii V backing track, Dm7-G7, and work on comping over those changes with the two chord scales you've learned up to this point in the lesson.

This'll prepare you for the ii V I chord progression studies below.

G7 Backing Track G7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 10

Lydian Dominant Chord Scales

As well as using a Mixolydian chord scale over 7^th chords, a great second choice sound is the Lydian Dominant chord scale.

When applying the Lydian Dominant chord scale to 7^th chords, you'll be bringing out the 7#11 sound in your playing.

Here are all of the chords that you'll be using when you harmonize any Lydian Dominant scale, as well as the chord in G to use as a reference.

I7 – G7
II7 – A7
iiim7b5 – Bm7b5
#ivm7b5 – C#m7b5
vmMaj7 – DmMaj7
vim7 – Em7
bVIImaj7#5 – Fmaj7#5

You'll notice that there are a few funky chords in there, such as mMaj7 and maj7#5.

This is because Lydian Dominant is a mode of the Melodic Minor scale, and both mMaj7 and maj7#5 chords are diatonic to the Melodic Minor scale.

To begin, here's a G Lydian Dominant chord scale in root position to learn, using Drop 2 chords on the middle four strings.

G7 Backing Track G7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 11

In the next example you'll learn first inversion Drop 2 chords on the middle four strings, used to harmonize the G Lydian Dominant scale.

After you have a few Lydian Dominant chord scales under your fingers, put on a G7 backing track and move between the Mixolydian and Lyd Dom chords in your playing.

This will help get your ears around the difference between these two chord scales, allowing you to choose which one you want to use in the moment when it comes time to apply them to a jam or gig situation.

G7 Backing Track G7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 12

Moving on, here's the G Lydian Dominant chord scale, built with second inversion Drop 2 chords on the middle string set.

G7 Backing Track G7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 13

The last Lydian Dominant chord scale uses third inversion Drop 2 chords to harmonize the underlying G scale.

After you've worked out these different Lydian Dominant chord scales, put on a Dm7-G7 backing track and practice playing D Dorian and G Lydian Dominant chord scales over those changes.

G7 Backing Track G7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 14

Major Chord Scales

As you've learned chord scales for the iim7 and V7 chords, it's logical that you can now learn chord scales for the Imaj7 chord.

When doing so, you'll have two options for modes to use to build Imaj7 chords scales, beginning with Ionian.

The second option will be explored in the next section of the lesson.

When harmonizing the Ionian mode, otherwise called the major scale, you produce the following Roman Numerals.

Chords in C major have been added next to the Roman Numerals as a reference.

Imaj7 – Cmaj7
iim7 – Dm7
iiim7 – Em7
IVmaj7 – Fmaj7
V7 – G7
vim7 – Am7
viim7b5 – Bm7b5

Again, these chords are the same as D Dorian and G Mixolydian, but they produce different Roman Numerals because of their interval structure.

To begin taking these chords to the fretboard, here is a root position Cmaj7 chord scale on the top four strings, built with Drop 2 chord shapes.

As is always the case, feel free to put on the Cmaj7 backing track and comp or chord solo with the chord scales in this section in order to take them further in your studies.

Cmaj7 Backing Track Cmaj7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 15

The next examples features a first inversion Cmaj7 chord scale, built with Drop 2 chords on the top-four strings.

Cmaj7 Backing Track Cmaj7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 16

You'll now move on to working the second inversion Cmaj7 chord scale on the top-four strings using Drop 2 chord shapes.

Cmaj7 Backing Track Cmaj7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 17

In this final example, you'll be working out third-inversion Drop 2 chords to build a Cmaj7 chord scale.

After you've worked any of these Cmaj7 chord scales, you can skip down and jam over the ii V I backing tracks in the ii V I section below.

Use the D Dorian, G Mixolydian or Lydian Dominant, and C Ionian chord scales to jam over those changes as you bring this concept to a popular Jazz chord progression.

Cmaj7 Backing Track Cmaj7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 18

Lydian Chord Scales

As was the case with 7^th chords, you have two common choices for modes when it comes to building maj7 chord scales.

The second choice to explore over maj7 chords is the Lydian chord scale.

When applying the Lydian mode to your maj7 chord scales, you'll be bringing out the maj7#11 sound in your comping and chord soloing phrases.

Here are the chords that are sounded when you build a Lydian chord scale, with the C Lydian chords included as a reference.

Imaj7 – Cmaj7
II7 – D7
iiim7 – Em7
#ivm7b5 – F#m7b5
Vmaj7 – Gmaj7
vim7 – Am7
viim7 – Bm7

To help you get started with your Lydian chord scales, here is a root position C Lydian chord scale built with Drop 3 chords from the 6^th string.

Cmaj7 Backing Track Cmaj7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 19

In the next example, you'll use Drop 3 chords in first inversion to build a C Lydian chord scale.

After you've worked out a few Lydian examples on the fretboard, put on the Cmaj7 backing track and jam over that chord as you move between C Ionian and C Lydian.

This'll get your ears used to the differences between each maj7 chord scale, allowing you to apply them to your playing over tunes with confidence.

Cmaj7 Backing Track Cmaj7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 20

The next example uses second inversion Drop 3 chords to build a C Lydian chord scale from the 6^th string.

Cmaj7 Backing Track Cmaj7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 21

In the final example of this section, you'll use Drop 3 chords in 3^rd inversion to build a C Lydian chord scale from the 6^th string.

When you have a few of these chord scales under your fingers, skip ahead and jam over the ii V I tracks below.

When doing so, you can use the following chord options for each change.

Dm7 – D Dorian
G7 – G Mixolydian
G7 – G Lydian Dominant
Cmaj7 – C Ionian
Cmaj7 – C Lydian

As you can see, even with just a handful of chord scales under your fingers, you'll be able to outline any ii V I with confidence and creativity.

Cmaj7 Backing Track Cmaj7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 22

Major ii V I Chord Scales

To help you get started in taking the previous five chord scales to musical situations, here are five examples of using chord scales to play over the major ii V I chord progression.

After learning the given examples, feel free to take them to other keys in your studies.

As well, you can put the jam tracks on and practice comping and chord soloing over the Dm7-G7-Cmaj7 chord progression in your studies.

Though the examples are played at a medium tempo, it can be tricky to get some of them up to speed with the sample audio track.

So, go slow, use a metronome, and work the tempo up over time as you tackle these five chord scale licks in the woodshed.

As well, each of these examples uses root-position chords to help introduce you to these concepts over a ii V I progression.

The tune studies will expand upon those shapes and use inversions to allow you to take these ideas further in your studies.

This first example used the following chord scales over each change.

Am7 = A Dorian
D7 = D Mixolydian
Gmaj7 = G Ionian

As you can see, all of these three chord scales use the same chords; they're all from the G major parent scale.

But, it's the underlying chord that makes an F#m7b5 sound different when played over Am7 compared to D7.

This is a good lesson to learn when studying Jazz guitar.

The underlying harmony is what defines the sound of the shape you're playing, chord-scale-arpeggio, not the shape itself.

Major ii V I Backing Track G ii V I Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 23

In the following example, you'll bring a bit of tension to the V7 chord as you use the following chord scales over each chord change.

Am7 = A Dorian
D7 = D Lydian Dominant
Gmaj7 = G Ionian

Notice how the D7#11 sound created by the Lydian Dominant chord scale brings out a sense of added tension in the second bar.

This tension is then resolved to the G Ionian chord scale in the following measure.

Using tension in your comping is perfectly cool in Jazz; you just have to make sure to resolve that tension so you don't leave it hanging in your playing.

Major ii V I Backing Track G ii V I Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 24

In the following sample ii V I chord scale phrase, you'll mix in a few Drop 2 & 4 chords to the line.

You haven't seen these shapes yet in the lesson, but they'll be introduced in the next section.

So, this line is a bit of a taster of things to come in the article.

As well, you'll be adding some tension to the Gmaj7 chord as you use the following chord scales over each chord change.

Am7 = A Dorian
D7 = D Mixolydian
Gmaj7 = G Lydian

You may or may not like the sound of Lydian over a Imaj7 chord, it's different for every playing.

Try it out and see what you think.

If you dig it, you can use it in your playing.

If not, come back to it later on in your development to see if your ears have changed and warmed to the sound of the Imaj7#11 chord in your comping.

Major ii V I Backing Track G ii V I Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 25

In this steady quarter-note comping example, you'll be creating tension over both the V7 and Imaj7 chords during the progression.

You'll be doing this by using the following chord scales.

Am7 = A Dorian
D7 = D Lydian Dominant
Gmaj7 = G Lydian

Again, these sounds may or may not be for you at this stage in the game.

But, they're worth experimenting with in order to see how and where you want to use them in your comping if you decide to adopt them into your harmonic language.

Major ii V I Backing Track G ii V I Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 26

The last lick mixes Drop 2 and Drop 3 chords, as well as uses tension, to create interest in the line.

Often times you'll isolate one type of chord in your studies.

This is a great way to work on new chord shapes.

But, you want to make sure you integrate those chords into your overall harmonic concept.

This line is an example of mixing various chord types as you build your vocabulary and chord scale knowledge at the same time.

The chord scales used in this lick are.

Am7 = A Dorian
D7 = D Lydian Dominant
Gmaj7 = G Lydian

Once you've worked on these sample lines, practice jamming over the backing track and build your own chord scale lines over these ii V I changes.

As well, you can write out some sample phrases of your own as this can be a helpful tool when working new Jazz guitar concepts such as chord scales.

Major ii V I Backing Track G ii V I Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 27

Watermelon Man Chords

Now that you've worked on chord scales over single chord changes and a major ii V I progression, you can take this concept to a full tune.

In this study, you'll apply chord scales to Watermelon Man as you mix Drop 2, Drop 3, and Drop 2 & 4 shapes over each chord in the progression.

Go slow with this study, learning it in four-bar phrases, as you work through the 16-bar etude.

From there, bring the phrases together to jam the study as a whole.

As well as playing along with the sample track, there is also a Watermelon Man backing track (bass-drums) that you can use to practice this etude, and comping in general, over this Jazz standard progression.

Watermelon Man Backing Track Watermelon Man Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 28

Locrian Chord Scales

Now that you've worked out the three chord scales for major ii V I progressions, you can move on the minor ii V I chord scales.

The first chord scale in a minor key that you'll explore is based on the Locrian scale.

When building a Locrian chord scale, you create the following Roman Numeral chords.

The diatonic chords for B Locrian are included as a reference.

im7b5 – Bm7b5
bIImaj7 – Cmaj7
biiim7 – Dm7
ivm7 – Em7
bVmaj7 – Fmaj7
bVI7 – G7
bviim7 – Am7

Often times, comping over m7b5 chords will invoice running through inversions across the fretboard.

But, with the chord scale approach, you'll expand your m7b5 harmonic colors by adding different extensions to your comping over this common Jazz chord.

To help you take the Locrian chord scale to the fretboard, here's an example of Drop 2 & 4 root position chords from the 6^th string.

If you're new to Drop 2 & 4 chords, these shapes might pose a bit of a technical challenge for your picking hand.

You'll have to play them with a hybrid picking style, pick and fingers, or fingerstyle as strumming these shapes will usually cause you to hit unwanted open strings.

Bm7b5 Backing Track Bm7b5 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 29

Here's the B Locrian chord scale from the 6^th string, built with Drop 2 & 4 chords in first inversion.

Bm7b5 Backing Track Bm7b5 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 30

Moving on, here are 2^nd inversion Drop 2 & 4 chords used to build a B Locrian chord scale from the 6^th string.

After working out a few of these inversions, make sure to begin mixing them together as you begin to comp over the backing tracks in your Jazz guitar studies.

Bm7b5 Backing Track Bm7b5 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 31

The final Locrian example uses 3^rd inversion Drop 2 & 4 shapes from the 6^th string in its construction.

After learning how to play each of these four chord scale inversions separately, practice playing them back to back as you work on developing your memory alongside your harmonic practice routine.

Bm7b5 Backing Track Bm7b5 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 32

Phrygian Dominant Chord Scales

With the iim7b5 chord scale under your belt, you can move on to apply chord scale techniques to the V7alt chord.

Now, if you're studied 7alt chords before, you'll know that you have a number of options when it comes to choosing scales over that chord.

These scales include 3 common choices:

Altered Scale

Diminished Scale
Phrygian Dominant Scale

In this lesson, you'll explore examples that are based off of the Phrygian Dominant scale.

This scale is commonly heard in the soloing of legendary players such as Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, and Johnny Smith.

As well, because the Altered Scale is so popular among beginning Jazz guitarists, this will expand your harmonic vocabulary if you're new to this scale in your playing.

When harmonizing the Phrygian Dominant scale you produce the following chords, with chords for E7b9 included as a reference.

I7 – E7
bIImaj7 – Fmaj7
iiidim7 – G#dim7
ivmMaj7 – AmMaj7
vm7b5 – Bm7b5
bVImaj7#5 – Cmaj7#5
bviim7 – Dm7

To get you stared with this scale on the fretboard, here's a root position E Phrygian Dominant chord scale that is built with Drop 2 chords on the middle four strings.

E7b9 Backing Track E7b9 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 33

The second example moves on to the first-inversion chord scale.

If you're new to this sound, put on a 7^th-chord backing track and practice comping between Mixolydian and Phrygian Dominant chord scales.

This might not be something you'd do in a jam situation, though it might be, but it'll begin to teach your ears the differences between each harmonized scale.

Being able to hear this difference will allow you to add these chord scales into your playing with confidence.

E7b9 Backing Track E7b9 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 34

The next example features second inversion Drop 2 chords used to build an E Phrygian Dominant chord scale on the middle four strings.

E7b9 Backing Track E7b9 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 35

The final example moves on to 3^rd inversion Drop 2 chords when building an E Phrygian Dominant chord scale.

After you've worked one or more of these chord scales out on the guitar, put on a iim7b5 V7alt backing track and begin comping over those changes using the Locrian and Phrygian Dominant chord scales.

This'll set you up for moving on to the full ii V I minor key progression as you further your chord scale practicing and application.

E7b9 Backing Track E7b9 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 36

Melodic Minor Chord Scales

The final chord scale in this lesson will be built by harmonizing the Melodic Minor scale.

When doing so, you produce the following chords, with the A Melodic Minor changes included as a reference.

ImMaj7 – AmMaj7
iim7 – Bm7
bIIImaj7#5 – Cmaj7#5
IV7 – D7
V7 – E7
vim7b5 – F#m7b5
viim7b5 – G#m7b5

To begin taking these chords to the fretboard, preparing you to use them over a Im7 chord in a minor ii V I progression, here's the root position Melodic Minor scale.

This chord scale, and each example in this section, will use Drop 2 chords on the top four strings.

But, as is the case with every chord scale in this lesson, make sure to work the Melodic Minor chord scale through other chord types and string sets in your Jazz guitar practice routine.

AmMaj7 Backing Track Am7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 37

Moving on to the next example, here's the A Melodic Minor chord scale written in first inversion on the top-four strings.

AmMaj7 Backing Track Am7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 38

The next example brings second inversions to your guitar workout as you expand on the Melodic Minor chord scale.

After you've worked out a few Melodic Minor chord scales, put on a m7 backing track and switch between Dorian and Melodic Minor chord scales in your comping.

This'll help you learn to hear the difference between these two harmonic devices when learning how to play Jazz guitar.

AmMaj7 Backing Track Am7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 39

The final example in this section features third inversion Drop 2 chords on the top four strings to build an A Melodic Minor chord scale.

Now that you've explore these four mMaj7 variations, you're ready to move on to comping over the full minor ii V I progression.

You can put on any backing track below and begin experimenting with your own comping patterns, or move on to studying the samples written for you in the next section.

AmMaj7 Backing Track Am7 Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 40

Minor ii V I Chord Scales

To finish your study of these three minor-key chord scales, you can now bring them all together over the minor ii V I chord progression.

Each phrase is written out over the key of D minor, which is the first place to start in your study of these lines.

From there, you can work them in other keys around the fretboard, as well as write out a few sample minor ii V I phrases of your own.

Often times writing out lines can be helpful when organizing your thoughts around a new Jazz guitar concept such as chord scales.

From there, you can jam over the backing tracks below, using the chord scales you learned in this section of the lesson.

Each line uses the following chords scales in their construction.

Em7b5 – E Locrian
A7alt – A Phrygian Dominant
Dm7 – D Melodic Minor

To begin, here's a chord scale built on the top-four strings, using Drop 2 chords to create a four bar phrase in D minor.

Minor ii V I Backing Track Dm ii V I Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 41

The next minor ii V I line uses Drop 3 chord scales on various string sets to outline these chord changes in the key of D minor.

Minor ii V I Backing Track Dm ii V I Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 42

In the next sample phrase, you'll use Drop 3 and Drop 2 & 4 shapes to create a D minor ii V I phrase over four bars in your studies.

Minor ii V I Backing Track Dm ii V I Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 43

In the next line, Drop 2 chords are used to build a chord scale phrase on the middle and top-four string sets.

To take things a bit further with this line, you'll now be introducing inversions to your chord scale lines.

Minor ii V I Backing Track Dm ii V I Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 44

In this final ii V I sample line, you'll outline the changes in D minor using Drop 2 chords as you navigate this four-bar phrase.

As was the case with the previous lick, you'll be using a few inversions in this line as you outline the changes.

Minor ii V I Backing Track Dm ii V I Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 45

Blue Bossa Chord Scales

To finish your study of chord scales, here's a chord etude written over the changes to Blue Bossa.

When working on this Brazilian Jazz song, you'll be using a typical Samba rhythm applied to each chord in the progression.

As always, when learning a chord study break it down to smaller phrases as you get the shapes and rhythms under your fingers.

Then, when you're comfortable, you can bring the phrases together and play the study as a whole.

To help you practice these Blue Bossa chords, and to practice comping over the tune in general, there's also a backing track provided as a practice aid.

Blue Bossa Backing Track Blue Bossa Backing Track No Piano

Click to hear chord scales 46

JAZZ GUITAR - BEGINNERS JAZZ GUITAR - IMPROVERS JAZZ GUITAR - RESOURCES

Easy Jazz Chords for Guitar | MATT WARNOCK GUITAR

Posted: 10 Oct 2015 01:53 AM PDT

Easy Jazz Chords for Guitar

When learning to comp Jazz guitar chords, you'll often find that Jazz shapes can be difficult to grab for the beginner Jazz guitarist.

While there are a number of shapes that'll take time to master, you'll be happy to find out that there are also many easy Jazz chords for guitar that you can learn.

By working on smaller, easier to play guitar chords, you'll be able to confidently outline chord progressions without having to grow an extra finger to reach big chords in the process.

This'll give you the foundation you need to outline changes, and then move on to more advanced Jazz chords from there in your studies.

In this lesson, you'll learn what Jazz chords are, why these shapes are considered easier to play than others, and practice playing easy Jazz chords over Jazz chord progressions and standards.

Free Jazz Guitar eBook: Download a free Jazz guitar PDF that'll teach you how to play Jazz chord progressions, solo over Jazz chords, and walk basslines.

Easy Jazz Chords Contents

What Are Jazz Guitar Chords

Before you get started learning how to play these easy Jazz chords, let's take a look at exactly what makes a guitar chord sound Jazzy.

Now, there really is no such thing as a "Jazz guitar chord."

This is because there are only guitar chords, some or all of which are used in many other musical genres besides Jazz.

But, though many genres use similar chords to Jazz, there is a guideline you can use to help define the chords that Jazz guitarists like to use in their playing.

Jazz guitar chords will more often than not be built with four or more notes, such as 7^th, 9^th, 11^th, and 13^th chords.

So, when learning how to play Jazz guitar, working on 7^th chords is the best place to begin, as it'll set you up to learn extended chords as you progress in your studies.

To help you hear and see the difference between a triad, the three-note chords popular in Rock and other genres, and 7^th chords, here's a C and Cmaj7 chord side by side.

Play them back-to-back to hear how they sound similar, but the Cmaj7 has a bit more "color" as compared to the C triad.

Click to hear easy jazz chords 1

As you progress throughout this lesson, you'll be focusing on building your 7th chord vocabulary.

You'll learn three-note root based and rootless 7^th chords, as well as two-note shapes that you can use to play your favorite Jazz chord progressions on guitar.

From there, once the material in this lesson is comfortable, you'll have built a strong foundation that you can use to move on to 9^th, 11^th, and 13^th chords in the practice room.

So, now that you know Jazz chords are shapes that extend beyond the triad, you can learn why the shapes in this lesson are considered easy Jazz chords.

Why Are These Guitar Chords Considered Easy

When you think of the term Jazz guitar chord, you probably don't associate those shapes with the word "easy."

But, while there are many Jazz guitar chords that are difficult to play for beginner Jazzers, there are also shapes that can be easy to get under your fingers.

These two and three-note shapes will not only introduce you to the world of Jazz chords on guitar, but they'll become a go-to resource in your comping, chord soloing, and chord melody phrases for years to come.

To begin, let's take a look at some typical Cmaj7 shapes on the guitar, ones that would be difficult for many beginner Jazz guitarists to play.

Click to hear easy jazz chords 2

As you can see and feel, some of these shapes have barres and stretches that can be tricky to get under your fingers.

While this may deter many players from continuing their Jazz guitar studies, there are other, easier shapes that you can bring to the fretboard in studies.

In the next example, you'll see a typical Jazz guitar chord, followed by three easy Jazz chords in the same position.

As you'll see, the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th chords in the sequence are much easier to play.

Give them a try and see what you think.

Click to hear easy jazz chords 3

If you've played through the examples, you might have figured out that the first shape is still being played in the other three; you're just removing notes to make it easier to fingering on the fretboard.

In Jazz, you can remove notes from any chord you're playing and still maintain the fundamental sound of that chord.

Here's an example of another typical Jazz chord, one that's tricky to play, with the 5^th taken out in the second example that makes it easier to finger on the guitar.

Click to hear easy jazz chords 4

When taking notes out of more complex shapes, you'll create three common chord shapes on the fretboard.

Shell Chords – R-3-7
3rds and 7^th – 3-7
Rootless Triads – 3-5-7

These three shapes will be the basis for your studies in this lesson.

Now, while these chords are easy to play, some only require one finger and many don't have barres or just two-string barres in their construction, there are some roadblocks that you will encounter with these chords.

The first will arise when you reach the 3rds and 7ths below.

Though these chords are the easiest to play in the lesson, they don't have a root note.

Because of this, you'll have to learn how to play these chords on the correct fret without the aid of a root note to guide you.

To help you get over this roadblock, there are tips and exercises presented below.

But, if you get stuck with those shapes in your studies, learn the examples as written, go slow, work the suggested exercises, and over time you'll be able to find any rootless chord quickly and easily in your playing.

Now that you know why these are easy Jazz chords, and the biggest obstacle you'll face when learning these shapes, you can explore effective and efficient ways to practice these shapes on the guitar.

How to Practice Easy Jazz chords

When learning how to play easy Jazz chords, especially for beginner Jazz guitarists, it can often seem like memorizing the shapes is enough.

But, memorizing Jazz chord shapes is just the beginning.

If you can play a shape from memory you've got it in your fingers, but there's a difference between reciting shapes and applying them to chord progressions in real time.

To get you move beyond memorization, here are a number of exercises that you can use to make the most of your time studying easy Jazz chords in the woodshed.

Learn the examples as written
Practice each example in other keys
Play the examples with a whole-note rhythm
Experiment with other rhythms over the backing tracks
Apply these chords to other progressions you're studying
Practice playing these shapes over Jazz standards
Learn the chord studies below as written
Change the rhythms for the chord studies over the backing tracks

As you can see, there's a lot of work in that list of exercises.

Don't feel that you have to work on every exercise in that list.

Instead, use the list as a reference and pick a few exercises to work on to get started.

From there, you can move on to other chord shapes and sections of the lesson and try other exercises with those new chords.

There'll be other, chord specific, exercises below.

But, for now, you can use this list as a reference chart when working these, or any, Jazz guitar chord shapes in your practice routine.

So, enough talking, time to take these shapes to the fretboard.

Shell Voicings

The first set of each Jazz chords that you'll learn on guitar, are shell voicings.

Shell voicings are three-note chords that contain the root, third and seventh of the underlying chord change.

There are other options and extensions that people use when comping shell voicings, but these two are the best place to start.

When building shell chords on the guitar, you'll find two options for fingerings.

Root-3^rd-7^th
Root-7^th-3^rd

Though they only have three notes, shell voicings can provide you all the information you need to sound the essential notes of any chord.

Here is a list of the functions of each note in any shell chord.

The Root defines the chord name
The 3^rd tells you if it's major or minor
The 7^th tells you if it's maj7, 7, m7, or mMaj7

As you'll see below, these chords sound great, but they don't outline every chord change directly, such as m7b5 chords where you need the 5^th to tell m7b5 apart from m7.

You'll explore ways to outlining m7b5 chords in later examples in this lesson.

To begin your studies of shell chords, it's time to take them to the fretboard.

Rather than learn a number of fingerings for shell voicings over different chord qualities, you're going to take these chords directly to chord progressions in your studies.

This way, you'll learn how to play shell chords on guitar, as well as be able to apply them to popular Jazz progressions at the same time.

The two progressions that you'll study in this lesson are major and minor key turnarounds, beginning with the major key ii V I VI progression.

The first major ii V I VI example begins with a R-7-3 Dm7 chord and then moves to the closest chord shapes from there in the progression.

When doing so, you'll use the following intervals for each chord.

m7 = R b3 b7
7 = R 3 b7
Maj7 = R 3 7

Go slow with these chords if they're new to you.

Play each chord separately until you've got it under your fingers.

Then, when your comfortable, you can bring the progression together, first on your own, then with a metronome, and finally with the example and jam tracks below.

Once you can play them from memory with the jam track, begin to alter the rhythm and experiment with your picking/strumming options with each chord.

This'll get the chords under your fingers, and give you practice being creative with Jazz chords in your playing at the same time.

Major ii V I VI Backing Track 2 5 1 C Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 5

In the second major turnaround progression, you'll begin with a R-3-7 Dm7 chord, moving on to the closest shapes for each subsequent chord from there.

Once you can play these first two examples, put on the backing track and jam over those changes while moving between both positions.

This'll teach you to shift between fretboard positions as you comp over common Jazz progressions, such as major turnaround chords.

As well, feel free to stay in C major with these chords, as written, or you can challenge yourself further by moving these chords to other keys on the neck in your practice routine.

Major ii V I VI Backing Track 2 5 1 C Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 6

In the next set of examples, you'll learn how to play shell chords over a minor turnaround progression, iim7b5-V7alt-Im6-bIIImaj7.

When doing so, you'll outline the following intervals for each chord.

m7b5 – R b3 b7
7alt – R 3 b7
m6 – R b3 6
Maj7 – R 3 7

Notice that there's a Cm6 chord in this progression, a common sub for m7 chords when playing in minor keys, especially over Im7 chords.

You'll also notice is that the Dm7 and G7 chords have the same notes as the Dm7b5 and G7alt chords.

This is because there is no 5^th in a shell voicing, and Dm7 and Dm7b5 share the same 3^rd and 7^th.

As well, G7 and G7alt share the same 3^rd and 7^th and so are the same shape on the fretboard when using shell voicings over these changes.

Minor ii V I bIII Backing Track 2 5 1 Cm Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 7

The final shell voicing example starts with a R-3-7 Dm7b5 chord and moves on to the closest shapes for each new chord change from there.

When you have these shapes under your fingers, put on the backing track below and move between both minor turnaround chord groups in your playing.

That'll get the chords under your fingers, as well as give you practice moving around the fretboard in your comping at the same time.

Minor ii V IbIII Backing Track 2 5 1 Cm Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 8

3^rd and 7^th Chords

The second group of easy Jazz chords are some of the easiest to play shapes you'll ever encounter, 3rds and 7ths.

Now, while 3rds and 7ths are easy to paly, often using one or at most two fingers, they do offer a particular challenge to beginning Jazz guitar players, there's no root note.

Because there's no root note, you'll have to learn how to visualize the root note while note playing it in order to ensure you're fingering the correct 3rds and 7ths.

This'll take a bit of time to master.

But, in the meantime you can learn how to play these shapes and apply them to common progressions as you build your ability to play rootless chords in real time over Jazz standards.

When playing 3rds and 7ths, you've got two inversions to choose from.

From there, you can apply those two inversions to various string sets on the guitar.

To make things easy in the beginning, focus on the 4^th and 3^rd strings when playing these two-note chords on the guitar.

From there, once you're comfortable, you can move them to the 5^th and 4^th strings as you expand upon these ideas on the fretboard.

One thing you may be asking yourself at this point is:

How can I sound the chord changes with just two notes?

Well, as you learned with shell voicings, the 3^rd tells you if a chord is major or minor, and the 7^th tells you if the chord is maj7, 7, m7, mMaj7 etc.

If you have a bass player, they'll be covering the root note for you, which frees you up to only play the 3^rd and 7^th on the guitar.

Then, if you don't have a bass player, you might be surprised at how well the 3^rd and 7^th defines the chord progression on their own.

When working through the chords below, play them without the backing track and see if you can still hear the chord progression moving by.

Most people can still hear the changes, even without the root note.

This is why 3rds and 7ths are so powerful, and are essential Jazz chords for any guitarist to have under their fingers.

The first major turnaround example starts with a 7-3 chord over Dm7 and then moves to the closest chord shape from that starting point.

When doing so, you'll use the following intervals for each chord.

m7 = b3 b7
7 = 3 b7
Maj7 = 3 7

One thing to notice with 3rds and 7ths, is that you'll barely move your hand as you outline the changes.

This is an added bonus, you're able to outline the chords and use minimal movement on the fretboard at the same time.

Major ii V I VI Backing Track 2 5 1 C Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 9

The second example starts with the 3^rd and 7^th for Dm7 and move to the closest shapes from that starting point.

If you are having trouble finding the root notes on the guitar close to these two-note shapes, you can do a few exercises to help you always know where the root note is.

Play the chords and sing the root note
Play the root note, then play the 3^rd and 7^th
Play the shell voicing first, R-3-7 or R-7-3, then drop the root note

These three exercises can be applied to any 3^rd and 7^th shape, and are a great way to work on you root visualization in the woodshed.

Major ii V I VI Backing Track 2 5 1 C Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 10

Moving on to minor key turnaround, here's an example that starts with a Dm7b5 3^rd and 7^th and moves to closest chord shapes from there.

As you saw in the previous section, the lack of a 5^th over Dm7b5 and the altered notes over G7alt prevents those chords from totally sounding on the guitar.

But, the strength of the 3^rd and 7^th is enough to carry the progression, with or without a bass player.

When playing minor key 3rds and 7ths, you'll use the following intervals for each chord.

m7b5 = b3 b7
7alt = 3 b7
m6 = b3 6
Maj7 = 3 7

You'll notice that there's a Cm6 chord in the progression, and therefore the b7 you'd expect over that chord is replaced with a 6^th interval.

This is common in Jazz, especially with Im7 chords, and so it's worth exploring and applying to your practice routine.

Minor ii V I bIII Backing Track 2 5 1 Cm Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 11

The final 3^rd and 7^th example begins with the Dm7b5 3^rd and 7^th intervals, then moves to the closest subsequent chords from that starting point.

Once you have these shapes under your fingers, put on the backing track and mix together both positions as you work on shifting in your comping.

This is tougher with 3rds and 7ths, as there are no root notes, which are usually the first note you visualize when shifting chords around the fretboard.

Go slow when working on shifting rootless chords, visualize the root notes, and build up the tempo in this exercise from there.

Minor ii V I bIII Backing Track 2 5 1 Cm Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 12

357 Triads – Rootless Chords

The last group of easy Jazz chords that you'll learn are three-note rootless shapes containing the 3-5-7 of each chord.

These shapes build on the 3rds and 7ths you learned in the previous section, you're now bringing in the 5^th for some added color to those two-note chords.

When doing so, you'll produce the following interval groups for each chord.

3^rd-5^th-7^th
5^th-7^th-3^rd
7^th-3^rd-5^th

As well, when using 357 chords, these shapes form triads on the guitar.

This can make it easy to learn if you already know how to play triads on guitar.

If not, triads are easy to finger on the fretboard, and won't take long to get under your fingers if they're new at this stage in your playing.

After learning any of these examples, practice moving between 37 and 357 chords to begin hearing and seeing how they're similar, yet unique, on the fretboard.

Lastly, there are many different string sets to explore with 357 chords.

To keep things focused, you'll learn 357 chords on the 432 string set in this lesson.

These strings are perfect for 357 chords, as they sound the chord, stay out of the way of the bass player, and don't interfere with the soloist at the same time.

Once you've worked out this string set, you can expand to other strings as you take these shapes further in your studies.

The first example starts with a 357 Dm7 chord and moves to the closest next shape from that starting point.

When doing so, you'll use the following triads for each chord.

Dm7 = F
G7 = Bdim
Cmaj7 = Em
A7 = C#dim

Knowing which triads are being used for each 7^th chord will allow you to apply 357 chords to other musical situations, as each triad is always associated with the same 7^th chord in any key or tune.

For example, any m7 chord can be played with a major triad from the 3^rd of that chord, such as F over Dm7 or C over Am7.

Now, having said that, in the first example you'll see the b13 being used over A7, which isn't part of a triad.

Since you'll often see the VI chord in Jazz written as a VI7b9 or VI7b13, I've included that alteration for you to explore on the guitar in the first example.

The second example features the C#dim triad over A7 to use as a comparison.

Major ii V I VI Backing Track 2 5 1 C Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 13

Moving on, you'll now play the Dm7 with the intervals 573, moving to the closest chord from that starting point.

Practice moving between these first two chord positions before moving on to the next example, as you have three positions of 357 chords to learn on the guitar.

Major ii V I VI Backing Track 2 5 1 C Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 14

In order to cover the entire neck with 357 chords, you'll need to learn three different positions.

This example begins with the 735 Dm7 chord and moves through the changes from that starting point.

After learning this example, begin jamming over the backing track and jump between the three positions for major turnaround 357 chords you've learned in this section of the lesson.

Major ii V I VI Backing Track 2 5 1 C Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 15

Moving on, you'll now play 357 rootless chords over a minor turnaround progression.

When doing so, you won't be using triads for every chord, as G7alt and Cm6 don't produce triads with these chord shapes.

Here are the intervals used over each chord.

Dm7b5 – b3 b5 b7 (Fm)
G7alt – 3 #5 b7
Cm6 – b3 5 6
Ebmaj7 – 357(Gm)

As you can see, some chords produce triads while others don't.

You'll also notice that you're now outlining the b5 in each m7b5 chord, as well as the #5, an altered note, in the G7alt chord.

This'll help you get a bit of color over those chords, and help differentiate them from their major key counterparts.

Minor ii V I bIII Backing Track 2 5 1 Cm Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 16

In the next progression you'll play the 573 Dm7b5 shape and move on to the closest next chord from there.

Once you can play these first two positions, practice moving between them as you take them to the backing track below.

Minor ii V I bIII Backing Track 2 5 1 Cm Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 17

The final example uses the 735 Dm7b5 chord and moves to the next closest chord shapes from that starting point.

After getting these chords down, put on the backing track and move between all three minor turnaround examples as you begin to work on shifting in your guitar practicing.

Minor ii V I bIII Backing Track 2 5 1 Cm Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 18

Major Jazz Blues Studies

Now that you've learned how to play easy Jazz chords, and apply them to major and minor progressions, you're ready to take them to larger forms.

In this section, you'll learn three major Jazz Blues studies that are built using the easy Jazz chords from the previous sections of the lesson.

Each study mixes both positions of chords you studied earlier, so you'll have a shift or two to navigate in each example.

As well, the studies are written with a static rhythm to make it easier to get these shapes under your fingers in the beginning.

From there, once any study is memorized, take them to the jam track and practice altering the rhythms as you take each study further in the practice room.

Lastly, make sure to memorize the shapes as you go, and memorize the root-note positions for the rootless shapes.

By doing so, you'll not only learn these chord studies, you'll build your ability to apply these easy Jazz chords to other musical situations.

Major Jazz Blues Shell Chords

The first chord study uses shell chords to outline a Jazz Blues chord progression in G.

The chords are written with a steady half-note rhythm that you can use as a starting point in your studies.

Once you've got this rhythm under your fingers, and the chords memorized, comp them over the backing track, altering the rhythm as you go.

As you can see, the chords are a mixture of the two positions learned earlier.

This means that you'll have to move around the fretboard a bit more than you have so far in the lesson.

If this poses a technical problem, go slow, and isolate those shifts in your practice routine.

When they're comfortable, speed them up and bring them back into the phrase and study as a whole.

This will allow you to both play the study with confidence, and increase your ability to navigate shifts on the fretboard at the same time.

G Blues Backing Track Blues G Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 19

Major Jazz Blues 3rds and 7ths

In the next Jazz Blues chord study, you'll use 3rds and 7ths to outline each chord in a G Blues progression.

This study uses a steady quarter-note rhythm, which again you can use to get you going with this study before moving on to other rhythms from there.

As well, once you get this example under your fingers, and memorized, you can begin to mix the shell voicings and 3rds and 7ths in your comping practice.

In the woodshed it's beneficial to isolate chord types such as these two shapes.

But, in the real world you'll move between shapes at will and as the musical situation dictates.

So, feel free to push your practicing in that direction if it feels OK and comfortable to do so.

G Blues Backing Track Blues G Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 20

Major Jazz Blues 357 Chords

In the final major Blues chord study, you'll use the rootless three-note shapes that you learned previously to outline the chord progression.

If you're having trouble finding the root notes of these shapes in your playing, feel free to slow way down and practice playing the root note of each chord followed by the shape.

This'll help you learn the chords, relate those shapes to the root notes, and be able to apply them to other musical situations in your playing from there.

After you can identify the closest root note for each shape, speed the study back up and work on playing it over the audio example and jam track below.

From there, you can begin to alter the rhythms as you expand upon this chord study in your woodshedding.

G Blues Backing Track Blues G Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 21

Minor Jazz Blues Studies

To finish your study of easy Jazz chords, you'll now apply the shapes from this lesson to another popular Jazz chord progression, the minor Jazz Blues.

When jamming with other musicians, minor Jazz Blues tunes are called almost as often as their major Blues cousins.

Because of their popularity, knowing how to comp over this 12-bar form with confidence will help prepare you for your next Jazz jam situation.

Besides, it's also just a lot of fun to jam over these chords on guitar.

As always, take your time with these studies, work them with a metronome, and memorize them as you go.

Once you can play them from memory with the audio track, put on the backing track and begin to comp over those changes with the chords in the studies.

If you feel ready, you can begin to change the rhythms at this point to take each chord study further in the woodshed.

Minor Jazz Blues Shell Chords

The first minor Blues study featuring easy Jazz chords uses three-note shell voicings to comp over each chord change.

As you saw with the major Blues examples, this study mixes both positions of chords that you learned earlier in the lesson.

Because of this, there are a few shifts that you'll have to navigate when learning this chord study.

As well, the chords are written with a steady half-note rhythm to get your started.

Once you've got the chords down, jam with them over the backing track and begin to add your own rhythms as you take these shapes further in your Jazz guitar practice routine.

C Minor Blues Backing Track Blues Cm Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 22

Minor Jazz Blues 3rds and 7ths

Moving on, the second minor Jazz Blues chord study is built with two-note chords, the 3rds and 7^ths you learned earlier.

These easy Jazz chords may only have two notes, but as you learned in previous exercises, they can be tough to nail because of their lack of a root note.

Because of this, visualizing the root note for any of these two-note chords will be helpful as you learn to play each shape on the guitar.

Feel free to play the root note then the 3rds and 7ths at first to build that relationship on the fretboard.

Or, you can play the root note, followed by the two-note chords, which will also help you use the root note as a reference when first working this chord study.

If you find that you can visualize the root notes easily, or have no problems finding the 3^rd and 7^th of any chord without having to use the root as a reference, then simply move on to learning the study on the guitar.

This easy Jazz chords study uses a steady quarter-note rhythm, which you an use as a jumping off point in your practice routine.

Once you can play this rhythm, feel free to experiment with your own rhythmic variations as you jam this study over the minor Blues backing track below.

C Minor Blues Backing Track Blues Cm Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 23

Minor Jazz Blues 357 Chords

The final minor Blues study built with easy Jazz guitar chord, features the rootless three-note shapes you learned earlier in the lesson.

Again, you might need to use the root note as a reference to help find these shapes on the guitar when taking them to other situations.

Or, you may find that you're able to grab them without any issue right away.

To test your chord-finding skills, play the shapes in the study below and say each chord name out loud, or to yourself if you prefer.

Then, after you've memorized the first four bars, do that from memory.

Play the chords, say the names, but don't look at the sheet music.

When you can do that comfortably, move on to the next four bars and repeat the exercise.

This is another way to build your confidence and ability with rootless Jazz chords on the guitar.

And again, use the static rhythm as a starting point, then move on to using your own rhythms from there as you jam these shapes over the backing track below.

Lastly, you'll notice the last Cm7 chord, in bar 11 of the progression, uses the note B, the 7 of Cm7.

This is a third variation that you can use when comping minor chords in Jazz.

Alongside the m7 and m6 chords, this mMaj7 chord gives you another color to play with in your comping and chord soloing lines.

C Minor Blues Backing Track Blues Cm Slow No Piano

Click to hear easy jazz chords 24

JAZZ GUITAR - BEGINNERS JAZZ GUITAR - IMPROVERS JAZZ GUITAR - RESOURCES

Kick Out the Jams: Two Chords and the Truth | Premier Guitar

Posted: 10 Oct 2015 03:50 AM PDT

Chops: Beginner
Theory: Intermediate
Lesson Overview:
• Learn how to embellish basic triads.
• Create rhythmically interesting grooves with simple harmonies.
• Understand the "Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression."

Click here to download a printable PDF of this lesson's notation.

In this lesson we'll be exploring the idea of the two-chord jam, specifically a Dorian jam, using the chords Am and D. If this jam sounds familiar, it should. Dorian is the sound Santana used in "Evil Ways" and "Oye Como Va." Even Frank Zappa used it in the aptly titled composition, "Variations on the Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression." As you'll see in Ex. 1, we're only using two different chords, Am and D, but we're playing them in a variety of positions, thus expanding our two-chord jam beyond two chord shapes.

Throughout this lesson I've used a Santana-inspired, pseudo-Latin groove for the rhythm section, but feel free to incorporate any rhythmic variations you'd like. As you'll notice, I play the first eight measures with the same rhythm, and then when repeating the chords I start to improvise. This is vital when it comes to a jam—you have to mix up your rhythm, otherwise it will get old quickly. One caveat: I've varied my rhythm in these examples more frequently than I really would in a jam. So even though it's good to mix it up, you want to find the right balance between locking in a groove and exploring alternatives.

All that said, it's not the rhythm that makes this jam Dorian, it's the chords. Let's investigate why that is.

The Am and D chords in this jam are actually the ii and V chords in the key of G. Here are all the diatonic ("of the scale") chords in G.

G	Am	Bm	C	D	Em	F#m7b5
I	ii	iii	IV	V	vi	vii

By restricting our harmony—and most importantly, our bass line—to Am and D, we ground ourselves in A Dorian (A–B–C–D–E–F#–G), rather than G major, even though the scales have the same notes. (If that's confusing, don't worry about it for the sake of this lesson. Modes tend to confuse people. For now just take it on faith.)

Our next step in expanding this two-chord jam is to add some extensions. The Am (A–C–E) and D (D–F#–A) chords are triads. By adding different notes to the triads we can bring more color and variety into our jam. The most common addition to any triad is the 7, so here we get Am7 and D7 (Ex. 2).

In Ex. 3 we take this idea even further by adding the 9, thus creating Am9 and D9.

As you can see by now, one quick and easy way to vary any chord progression without radically altering its essence is to simply move its chords around the neck and add a few basic extensions.

Finally, Ex. 4 gets a little more abstract. Rather than restricting ourselves to fixed chords, we have an assortment of three-note voicings that hint at the chord progression (the bass is keeping us grounded) and bring a mixture of tonal colors to the jam. We've also started to vary the rhythm even more by playing arpeggios. All these voicings, even the ones with dissonances, are diatonic. This means as unusual as some of these chords might sound, we're not using any notes from outside the key.

Here's a general rule I like to suggest for rhythm guitar: For every chord you play, learn it in at least two, if not three, positions. Then add a couple of extensions, starting with the 7. Not only will this help make a two-chord jam more interesting, it will expand your knowledge of both the fretboard and music in general.

Introduction to Jazz Guitar Chords » Jazz Academy

Posted: 24 Sep 2015 08:14 AM PDT

Written by user on September 24, 2015

Guitarist Tom Dempsey
(Tom Dempsey, Photo Courtesy of the Artist)

When you start playing Jazz Guitar, you may find that the chords you learn in a chord book sound too heavy and too bulky. You might also find that it's too difficult to move about the fingerboard smoothly when you're voicing such large chords. However, there's good news: you don't have to do those voicings. In fact, with a full rhythm section, you can focus on much sparser outlines of chords for your playing and comping.

Guitarist Tom Dempsey shows you how:

Want to learn more? Check out our YouTube Playlist How to Play Guitar.

Once you've done that, check out a resource page devoted to Count Basie's legendary rhythm guitarist Freddie Green, which contains transcriptions and lessons on how to comp like him. You can find that here.

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chordscompingfreddie greenjazz guitarrhythm guitartom dempsey

Chords Guitar