jazz lead guitar
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A Systematic ApproachTo l m p ro i i a t i o n
by: ROGER EDISON
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LEARN TO PLAY THE ALFRED WAY
A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO IMPROVISATION
Jazz is American music. Only in America were
conditions right for i t s development. Although
there i s no doubt that the major contribution was
made by Afro-Americans, there were many threads
that went into the original fabric of jazz. I t was the
interaction of black African rhythms with such
things as Sousa marches, French quadrilles, Spanish
habaneras, mountain clog dance music, vaudeville
songs, barroom ballads and many other types of
music extant in America in the nineteenth century
that produced jazz as we know it . The proof of this
lies in the fact that where African culture interacted
with non-American cultures, as for example in
Cuba and Brazil, much exciting rhythmic improvised
music emerged, but no t jazz.
FOREWORD
The main thing that sets jazz apart from other types
of music i s i t s rhythmic swing. Swing cannot be
defined, but it i s essential to playing jazz. (Some
potent quotes: "It don't mean a thing if it ain't
got that swing" [Duke Ell ington]. Fats Waller,
when asked what swing was, is said to have replied,"I f you got to ask, you'll never know!") You can
learn to swing. In one word, listen! Listen to the
great jazz players on all instruments and from all
eras. From the 1920's - Louis Armstrong, Bix
Beiderbecke, Frank Teschemacher (the legendary
Chicago clarinetist who was Benny Goodman's
first inspiration). The 1930's: Lester Young,
Frankie Newton (the first 'cool' trumpet player),
Coleman Hawkins, Bud Freeman, the entire Count
Basie band. The early be-boppers, Charlie Parker,
Charlie Christian, Dizzy Gillespie. And today,
John McLaughlin, Joe Pass, Chuck Wayne, StanGetz, Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson and hundreds
of others.
Jazz i s improvised music. Improvising means not
playing the notes as written. The tradit ion of
improvising has existed in many times and places.
J. S. Bach was renowned for h isability to improvise
fugues; Beethoven usually improvised something
a t all his concerts; Spanish Flamenco music i s
mostly improvised as i s Indian classical music.
Even parts of traditional Polish polkas are impro-
vised by clarinet and accordion players. In America
improvising was well known among country
fiddlers and banjoists, black singers, harmonica and
guitar players and even members of marching bands
and vaudeville p it orchestras. Jazz could be defined
as "improvisation with swing."
Except for some very recent experiments, jazz
improvisation i s always based on an underlying
chord structure or melody. In the early period
(1890-1920) jazz tunes were often of a march-
like character with typical chord progressions
(cycle of 5 t h ~ ) nd modulations up a fourth for
the trio section. (See for example, Tiger Rag and
High Society.) Even today there are many tradi-
tional jazz bands that play in this style.
From 1920 until today most jazz has been basedon popular tunes of the day such as Sweet Georgia
Brown, 1 Go t Rh ythm , All The Things You Are ,
etc. In the mid-1940's, the jazz composer came
into his own, writing many original tunes or lines,
often basing them on existing chord progressions
such as Charlie Parker's Billie's Bounce (blues),
K O -K O (based on "Cherokee"), Groovin' High
(based on "Whispering"), etc. The modern era
also brought in much more sophisticated harmony
such as the use of altered 5ths and gths,, l l t h s
and 13ths, substitution chords, and suppression
of plain major and minor chords.
Today jazz uses many techniques once thought to
be the exclusive domain of classical music-irregu lar
rhythms, exotic scales, atonality, nnd free for n.
In this book, we'll try to open a tew doors and
point some directions.
Roger Edison
See Roger Edisonls companion bo ok, "Jazz Rhy thm Guitar - A Systematic Approach to Chord Progressions"
/
@ Copyright MCM LX XV ll l by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.
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CONTENTS
1: IMPROVISING ON A MELODY.. . . . . . . . 6
Anticipation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Retardation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Subdivision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Neighbor Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Grace Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Mordents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Turns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Passing Tones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Slides, Smears, and Trills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
IMPROVISING ON CHORDS.. . . . . .. . . .30
How to Spell Chords. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
How to Use Chords in a Solo. . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Chord Arpeggio Studies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Using Chord Arpeggios in a Solo. . . . . . . . . . .44
Improvising on Chords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Blue Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
IMPROVISING ON SCALES AND MODES. .56
Major Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Jazz Minor Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Harmonic Minor Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
The Chromatic Scale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
The Diminished Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
The Blues Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Pentatonic Scales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
How to Use Scales in lmprovising . . . . . . . . . .62
Analyzing Chord Progressions. . . . . . . . . . . . .62
W H A T Y O U
SHOULD K N O W BEFORE
STARTING THIS B OO K
1. How to tune and care for your guitar.
2. How to hold the pick and the guitar.
3. How to find every note in the 1st position
(if you've gone through Alfred's Basic Guitar
Method Book 1 you'll have this covered).
4. How to read the basic rhythms including
0 1 d . . d I J J. band equivalent rests.
5. Some facil ity in playing scales.
6. Knowledge of accents and expression marks.
> A - .
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Th e f i rs t thing th a t any c lass ica l, Lat in, o r rock music ian not ices abou t jazz is tha t the 8t h notes
are no t p layed evenly. Technica l ly, of course , a passage of 8t h note s should be p layed so tha t
they are al l equal , the d own beats be ing s l ight ly s t rong er than the upb eats .
1 (straight melody)
O h , I've come from A1 - a - ba - ma with a b a n - j o on my knee,
A jazz player makes two important changes in this phrase. First, he lengthens all the down-
beats while shortening all the upbeats. How much of a change this i s cannot be accurately no-r 3 i
tated. Some writers have used , others J JI . This writer believes the basic jazz rhythm
consists of dividing each beat in to five parts with three on the downbeat and two on the upbeat.5 5
This could be written asJmor J7 bu t would cause a great deal of confusion and
VV Vmake jazz arrangements very hard to read. In this book, we will wri te everything as straight 8thnotes, bu t expect that the player wil l interpret them wi th a jazz feeling.
Getting back to Oh Susannah, the second thing the jazz player does is to reverse the accents.
That is, the upbeats are played stronger than the downbeats. The final result would sound ap-
proximately like this:
2 With a jazz feeling
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THR EE IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER
I . Alternate picking throughout.
2. Down beat 8th notes longer than upbeat 8th notes.
3. Upbeats more accented than downbeats.
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JAZZ R H Y T H M EXERCISES (cont'd.)
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Part 1IMPROVISING ON A MELODY
Melodic improvisation was the characteristic style i n the early days of jazz. One can imagine a
bored trumpet player playing The Stars and Stripes Forever for the umpteenth time deciding to
"fool around" wi th the tune in places. Or a vaudeville piano player asked to "fake something"
while a comedian did his routine, coming up with a new twist on some ragtime song.
There are several devices w hich can be u se d t o ' y a zz u p J ' a m e l o d y .
1. Anticipation. This means getting to a note before i t s actual time, usually on the upbeat
before the downbeat on which it is written. Any n.ote in a melody can be anticipated, but
i t 's best to keep a balance between anticipated and "straight" notes. Examples of this
device are on pages 7 to 9 .2. Retardation. Playing a note after i t s actual time. Again, i t 's best not to overdo this effect.
Keep a balance between "straight" notes and retarded ones. Examples on pages 10 and 11.3. Sub-division. Breaking longer notes into shorter ones. For example, two 8th notes for a
quarter note. Examples on pages 12 and 13.
4. Neighbor notes. The actual melody note can be preceded by one or more neighbor notes.
Neighbor notes are those notes which lie a half step or whole step above or below the
melody note. Examples are on pages 14 to 23.
5. Passing tones. Connecting melody notes with scale passages. These can be either diatonic
(in the key) or chromatic (using all half steps between). Examples on pages 24 to 28.
There i s much to be said for melodic improvising.
For one thing, it is the most "commercial" jazz
style. That is , i t ' s the easiest jazz style for the
average (non-musically trained) person to under-
stand. Although the heyday of this style was the
period 1890-1920, there have been great melodic
improvisers in every period of jazz. Unquestionably
the greatest was Louis Armstrong, who did his best
work in the years 1926-1931. He influencedvirtually every jazz player who came after him.
You should make every ef fo rt t o hear his recordings
from that period. (They were re-issued by Columbia
a few years ago on two LPs.)
On the following pages you will find examples of
all the devices mentioned above. Try to keep in
mind what you are doing when practicing the
various charts. Of course, no jazz player says to
himself, "Now I'm playing a passing tone" when
improvising, but what these exercises can do for
you i s to develop your ear so that passing tones,
neighbor notes, anticipations, etc., become part
of your playing vocabulary and flow naturallyduring your improvisations.
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To illustrate this we'll give you a short fragment of a melody "straight," then various ways to
anticipate the notes in it. Chord symbols are fo r a second player on guitar or keyboard.
Antic ipat ions are marked with an A.
StraightMelody
Medium TempoC E7
lmprovisation No. 1 A
lmprovisation No. 2An .
lmprovisation No. 3 A
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ANTICIPATION (cont'd.)
Straight Melody
F
lmprovisation No. 1A
Improvisation No. 2 A A A
lmprovisation No. 3
Straight Melody (in minor key)Em
In the author's opinion, too many anticipations in Ex. No. 3!
B7 Em
lmprovisation No. 1A
lmprovisation No. 2
A .I
lmprovisation NO.3A
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ANTICIPATION (concluded)
What follows is a 16 bar melody, first straight, then with anticipations.
ght Melody
Suggestions for further study. Learn the melody to some great older jazz standards such as
Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone, Whispering, I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write
Myself a Letter and improvise on them using anticipations. Or, make up your own straight
melodies and vary them as above.
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As me ntioned before, retardation means playing a no te after its ordina ry time. We will use.some
of the same m elodies as in th e preceding section to make this clear. Retar dations are ma rked
with an R.
Straight Melody
Medium Tempo
C
lmprovisationR
Straight Melody
F F 7
Improvisation
R
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ANTICIPATION AND RETARDATION
Of course, in an actual solo, no distinction i s made among the various types of improvisational
devices. For study purposes only, the fo llowing charts use only A and R.
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This i s a particularly useful device for improvisation when the straight melody has many long
notes in it . For example, tunes like Heartaches, Bye Bye Blues, Me and M y Sh adow. In the
fol lowing exercises all subdivided notes are marked with an S.
Straight Melody (Improvisations with subdivisions on facing page.)
Fast C ~ b 7
n 63 b e IY I I
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a a a a a
I L L I r I I P I r r r II I I II I I aD I 1 I I I I I J cm t
(now adding A and R )
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I f you felt that the preceding jazz solo had a rather listen to some of the more commercial bands of
stilted sound to it, you're perfectly right. I f players the 20's and 30's. you'll hear many "hot choruses,"
had been limited t o the three devices we've dis- as they used to be called, that sound a lot l ike
cussed so far, jazz would have died out years ago what you've just played.)
for lack of interest. (As a matter of fact, if you
The next two devices introduce notes which are not actually part o f the melody
NEIGHBOR NOTES
Any melody note can be preceded by one or more neighbor notes. A neighbor note may lie:
UPPER NEIGHBOR NOTES LOWER NEIGHBOR NOTES
1 . A half step above the melody n ote 3 . A half step below the melod y no te
2 . A whole step above the melody not e 4 . A whole step below the melody note
Examples
Melody Note 1. 2. 3. 4.
IMPORTANT: NEIGHBOR NOTES MUST RESOLVE TO MELODY NOTES
The question of which neighbor notes to use. s the melody note. In the 40fs, however, the emerging
largely a matter of taste and style. I n the music modern jazz style began to make use of No. 1of the 20's and 301s, the upper N was usually more and more. Listen especially to lines by
in the key . That is , i f playing a N to the melody Charlie Parker and you'll hear many neighbor
note C you would use a ~b in the key of F minor, notes a half step above, regardless of key. No. 4,
but a D natural in the keys of F, C or G major. a whole step below the melody, i s usually confined
The lower N was always No. 3, a half step below to blue notes such as the lowered 7th.
On the fol lowing pages you'll find examples of different types of N. Practice both the straight
melody and improvised versions so the various devices get "in your ear."
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Neighbor notes = N; resolutions shown by arrow.
Other devices not marked.
ght Melody (same as p.13)
Fast, be-bop styleC
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Straight phrase
Moderate swing
Dm Dm/C ~b A7 Dm Dm/C ~b A7 etc.
With N
Straight phrase
Ballad tem po
G Em Bm G7 C Cm A7 D7 G etc.
With N
Straight phrase
Jazz Waltz
With N
Straight phrase
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Any melody note can be preceded by more than one neighbor note, but,it i s very rare to see
more than three. Here are some examples:
ght Melody
C D/C FmG/C C etc.
I - I a 8
I I I Aneighbor notes
N N N
ght Melody
Fetc.
N
ght Melody
. G m 7 ~ b m a j 7 etc.
N
ght Melody
A m 7 D7 etc.
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Grace notes are special cases of neighbor notes. On guitar they pose a special problem. Usually
only the first note i s picked; the others, including the melody note, are played by ham'mering
down or pulling off the lef t hand fingers. Play the exercises on these two pages making sure
that you pick only where indicated.
Grace note from below. Play either by hammering down next finger or by sliding up to next note:
Hornmering down
Sliding
must use
hammer
down
must use
hammer
down
Grace note from above. Pick the grace note ; pull o f f to the lower note.
Double grace note from below. Pick once; hammer other fingers down:
3rd str. 2nd str.
u w u w
The note you're going to must be a t least as high as the 2nd fret. Notice the special fingering
for C in bar 2 and F in bar 3.
Double grace note from above. Pick once; pull o f f other fingers.
Remember that all grace note figures must be played on one string. I n bar 2, for example, the
E i s
played on the 2nd string 5th fret so that the rest of the figurecan be played on the 2nd string.
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MORDENTS
Two types of mordents are used, the ordinary mordent ( w ) and the inverted mordent ( W ) .
Both are very effective devices when used with taste and restraint. Here's how t o do them:
The Mordent. Play the written note, then the note above it (i n whatever scale you're in a t the
time), then the written note again. Mordents must be executed on one string.
Written Played
Only the first note of each mordent is picked. The 2nd note i s hammered on, the final note is
pulled off. The mordent is a characteristic of the be-bop style that evolved in the early 1940's;
listen to Dizzy Gillespie's playing from that period for many examples. (The melody to 52nd
Street Theme which Dizzy recorded contains many mordents.)
The inverted mordent. Play the written note, then the note below it (usually a half step regardless
of the scale), then the written note again. Inverted mordents must be played on one string.
Make sure to finger the writ ten note with the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th finger, never the 1st finger.
Written Played
2 1 2 1 22 - 3 2 3ww 0 1w w l -Only the first note i s picked. The 2nd note i s pulled off; the final note i s hammered down. The
inverted mordent i s less used than the mordent, but may be heard a t the end of the first phrase
of George Wallington's Godchild.
The inverted mordent (alternate way of playing). Play the written note with any finger. Quickly
slide back one fret then back up to the written'note. This fingering wi ll work on any note higher
than the 1st fret.
Written Played
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Keep in mind the two words " taste" and "restraint." Any device can become an irr ita ting man-
nerism if over-used, and this applies especially to the above. The lines on this page should be
practiced as written.
When playing the ones on page 21, add embellishments as you wish.
Fast
C A m 7 D m 7 G I 1 C A m 7 D m 7 G I 1
A *C *C H ** ** 44
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Moderately
Gm7 C7-9
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T h e tu r n ( cv ) may be described as a comb ination of mo rden t and inverted mord ent . I t is a
very pret t y effect t o use o n ballads on notes with a value of a t least tw o beats (bu t do n ' t overdo
i t ! ) . Turns a re commo nly p layed in e i the r o f tw o ways. S tudy th e examples below; then app ly
them sparingly to the ballad on page 23.
TURN NO. 1 . Star t wi th the no t e above the wr i t ten n o te , then th e wr i t ten no te , then the no tea half s tep below, f inal ly the writ ten n ote .
Written Played n
4 2 1 2 or 3 1 1 1
One p i ck for the four notes in the turn.
TLIRN NO. 2. Star t wi th the w r i t ten no te fo l lowed by the no te above, the wr i tten no te , the no te
a half s tep below, and f inally the w rit ten note . Once again. only the f irs t note of the turn is picked.
Written cu
APlayed
As with oth er typ es of em bell ishment, a ll turns m ust be played on the same str ing. No te the
fingering in the examples be low:
Slowly
5t h string 3rd string 5th string 3rd string 4th string 2nd string 4th string 2nd string
n n- c\, iU & -, I I r
I e I r I 1I I I
I I I I I -I I4 m
4th string 2nd string 3rd string 1st string 3rd string 1st string 3rd string 1st string 2n d string
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A d d t u rn s a n d o her em be l l i shments where de s ired.
Em7 -5 A7-5 Dmaj 7
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Part 1: Diatonic passing tones (DP) are scale passages that connect melody notes separated by
a fourth or more.
For example:
1. Fourth
A I I FI
r n n hnrome I I .I
C
2. Fifth
I I I nI r
I I can become m r ~ or the reverse Id
l
3. Sixth
h I I Ir I I r l I tI can become I I d m - or the reverseI - I
4. Seventh
- 1can become
I r 4
r l t I II 1 1 - 1 I 1 1 or the reverse. I
d
5. OctaveA ,11 ILI ,rJ u I I
INr w r 1I I I I 1 - 1 I I I
an become or the reverserl
eJ" I
It's not a good idea to play these passages too square (evenly). We've only writ ten them this
way for ease of reading. A jazz player might play No. 5:
Generally, it sounds better to accelerate a scale passage towards the end.
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The matter of which scale to use as passing tones is in F, then to G minor, later to ~b and other keys)
no t always an easy matter to determine. As long as Tea for Two ( 8 bars in ~ b ,bars in C, etc.), and
a tune stays in the same key there i s no problem. virtually every jazz tune of any sophistication. I f
But tunes, especially interesting ones, often have you have some knowledge of harmony, you should
temporary changes of key. Examples of this may be able to determine temporary key changes. This
be found in I'll RememberApril (4 bars in G, 4 bars subject is discussed in greaterdetail in Part 3 of this
book, "IMPROVISING ON SCALES" (page 56) .
The following line i s based on the chord changes to a famous jazz tune. Temporary key changes
are marked.
-Key of Gm
I -Key of Eb
~ b r n a j 7 ~ b 6 C m 7 G m aj Am 7 Bm 7 E m 7
Key ofG
25
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PASSING TONES (cont'd.)
Part 2: Chromatic passing tones (CP) are a series of half steps that connect melody notes. We
assume tha t y ou k now yo ur chro matic sca le . I f n o t , re fer to page 60.
1 . Fourthn - CI r r^
o can become m . r u m I f I I or the reverseI I
A 2. Fifth
A 4. Seventh
A 5. Octave
As with diatonic passing tones, don't play chromatic
scale passages too square. You've already learned
that the melody note may be anticipated or
retarded, so there's no need to arrive at the melody
note exactly on the beat. As a matter o f fact, one
of the reasons classically trained musicians sound
stiff and stilted when they try to play jazz i s that
they play too precisely. In jazz, the whole effect
i s that while the accompaniment played by the
rhythm section remains steady, the melody goes
ahead of and behind the beat, only occasionally
coinciding with it .
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The first half of this melody has chromatic passing tones wri tten in. In the second half, use
them at will.
Moderate to fast
r r I I V I I I ' l l - a
B m7 ~ b m a j 7 A m 11 D 7 -5 G m aj7
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A very effective device i s to approach a melody note from three half-steps away, above or below.
The other fingers are then hammered down or pul led off. In each case the figure must be played
on one string and only the f irst note i s picked.
From belown
From above n
Play the exercise below with a light swing. I t uses the above device more than good taste would
allow in an actual solo.
~ b 6 . 2nd str. Bb7
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SLIDES, SMEARS, and TRILLS
Probab ly because they ' r e so easy to p l ay , sl ides have been o verdone . So m uch so , t ha t man y , i f
no t mo st , jazz p layers never use th em . We include them here for completene ss.
THE SLIDE FROM BELOW. Sta r t anyp lace lower on the f r e tboard than the n o te you ' r e head ing
to ; p ick o nce and sl ide th e same f inger up th e s t r ing, ar riv ing at the f inal no te where i t is wr i t ten ,
o n o r o f f t h e b e a t .
, slide slide ,lide slide slide
From four From five From seven From nine From eleven
frets below frets b ~ l o w frets below frets below frets below
THE SLIDE FROM ABOVE can a l so be m ade f rom an y f r e t , bu t good t as t e d i c t a t es no m ore
than th r ee o r four .
From five From seven From nine From eleven
frets above frets above frets above frets above frets above
Smears also called "bends" and "chokes" are well word "bend"; otherwise there i s no way of knowing
known to blues and rock players. They are played whether bends, mordents, or turns are meant.
by pushing the string across the fretboard, increas-
ing the tension on the string and thus raising i t s Smears are most effective on the higher strings.
pitch. Confusingly enough, the symbols used are I f you have trouble pushing the string hard enough
either cu or w . Careful arrangers also use the to change i t s pitch, try using a lighter gauge string.
In the fol lowing example, finger G; push the string up to G # .
bend
**
The trill i s rarely used in jazz, although some country blues players (e.g. Blind Lemon Jefferson)
use(d) them of ten. Pick once;play the other notes by alternately hammering down and pulling o ff .
Written Played
1 3 1 3etc.
5
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Part 2
IMPROVISING ON CHORDS
Up to this point, chord symbols above the melody
have been for accompaniment only. We will show
you how to integrate chords into single string solos.
A chordi s
a group of three or more notes. Intraditional harmony, the notes of a chord were
arranged in 3rds, bu t modern musicians often use
other combinations that don't f i t that defin ition
(for example, C sus4-C F G; G 13-5 -G ~b F B E A).
In the early period of jazz, most harmony consisted
of major, minor, and 7th chords with an occasional
diminished. In the 1920's, augmented triads and
dominant 9th chords were added.
The swing era (1930-1945) brought in the minor
7th, major and minor 6th, major 7th and major 9th.
Starting in the 19401s, azz harmony was expanded
to include lowered and raised 5ths, lowered and
raised Sths, natural and augmented 1 ths and 13ths
as well as other altered and sometimes rather
dissonant chords.
In recent years players have introduced super-
imposed triads ( two chords a t the same time),
chords extended into scales, totally free form,
microtones (intervals smaller than a half step)
tone rows (a series of tones always played in the
same order backwards, upside down or upside
down and backwards), and other more or less
successfuI experiments.
In this book we will take you as far as gths, 11 hs,
and 13ths, sti ll the mainstay of most jazz chord
progressions.
HOW TO SPELL CHORDS
All chords may be derived from the basic five:
The m ajor chord ( I s t , 3rd, and 5th steps of any major scale)
The m inor chord ( I s t , lowered 3rd, and 5th steps of any major scale)
The 7th chord t l s t , 3rd, 5th and lowered 7th steps of any major scale)
The diminished chord ( I s t , lowered 3rd, lowered 5th, and 6th steps of any major scale)
The augmented chord ( I s t , 3rd, and raised 5th of any major scale)
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Thus, a major 7th chord i s a major chord plus the 7th step of the scale.
A major 6th (or 6th ) is a major chord plus the 6th step of the scale.
A minor 7th adds the lowered 7th to a minor chord.
A minor +7 chord adds the 7th to a minor chord.
A minor 6th chord adds the 6th t o a minor chord.
Ninth chords always add a 9th to a 7th chord unless otherwise specified. For example, C9 means
C7 plus the 9th step of the scale, D.
C major 9th means C major 7th plus the 9 th step of the scale.
Eleventh chords add the 11 h step of the scale to a 9th chord. C11 means C9 plus the 11 h step
of the C Scale, F.
Thirteenth chords add the 13th scale step t o an 1 t h chord. C13 means to add the 13th step ofthe C scale (A) to a C11 chord.
Thus, each higher numbered chord builds on the one before it .
Altered notes are self-explanatory. C7-9 means to add the lowered 9th step of the C scale ( D L )
to a C7 chord. C7 + 5 means to raise the 5th step of the C scale ( G#) n the C7.
HOW TO USE CHORDS IN A SOLO
First, you must know what notes belong in a First, learn your chord arpeggios. Since this is not
chol'd. Take C, for example. The notes are C, E, G . meant to be a book on arpeggios, only one short
I f any kind of a C major chord is being played as phrase in the lower positions i s given for each
accompaniment, C, E, and G are "free tones." chord. Once you have the notes down, mix them
That is, they may be played a t any time in any up any way you like, preferably wi th another
order. In addition these free tones may be treated instrument playing accompaniment.
as melody notes. Thus, any of the devices learned
in Part 1 can be applied to them.
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A R P E G G I O S T U D I ES O N C
(Use alternate picking and iazz phrasing throughout.)
C ~ ( C E ~ G ) c ~ + ~ ( c E ~ G B )
7 C ~ ( C E G B ~ ) C S( C EG B~ D)
C O ( C E ~ F # A )
for
aug. C+(CEG#)
Ideally, the above exercises should be played while an accompanying chordal instrument such
as guitar or pian o plays the indicated chords.
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A R P E G G IO S T U D I E S O N F
e
r
e
for
F ~ ( F A ~ C )
e
for
~7 F ~ ( F A C E ~ )
e
for
dim. FO(FA~BD)
Use ,
for
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A R PEGGIO STU D IES ON 6 b
Use
r r v ( ~ v u r Uvl l l aJ I~~ UI'nI
major h. n : f , f Ela
a I
Use
for
minor ~ b m ( ~ b ~ b ~ )
Use
forB ~ ~ ( B ~ D F A)
Use
for
~b dim. B ~ ' ( B ~ D ~ E G )
Use .for
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ARPEGGIO STUDIES OR1 ~b
Use
Use
J
Use
for
~ b 7 E ~ ? ' ( E ~ G B ~ D ~ )
Use
Use
for
aug. . E ~ + ( E ~ G B )
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ARPEGGIO STUDIES UN A D
Use
for
major A ~ ( A ~ c E ~ )
Use
Use
I
t
Use
for
dim. Abo (AbBDF)
Use
for
b aug. A ~ + ( A ~ c E )
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Use
D b r n a j 7 ( ~ b ~ ~ b ~ )
Use
Use
for
~ b 7 D ~ T ( D ~ F A ~ C ~ ) D ~ ~ ( D ~ F A ~ C ~ E)
Use
Use
for
aug. D ~ + ( D ~ F A )
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e
~ b ( ~ b ~ b ~ b )
e
e
e
F td i r n (F#~cE)
e
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A R P EG G IO S T U D IE S O N B
Use
for
major B ~ ~ ~ ~ ( B D # F # A # ) --
Use
Use
for
B 7 B~(BD#F#A)
Use
for
Use
for
aug.
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Use
for
for
Em(EGB)
IUse
for
Use
for
Use
for
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ARPEGGIO STUDIES O N A
Use
for
Use
for
e
e
for
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UN
Use
for
D ~ ~ ~ ~ ( D F # A c # )
Use
for
Dminor D m (D F A ) D ~ + ~ ( D F A c # )
v
Use
for
D7 D ~ ( D F # A C )
Use
for
Use
for
D aug. D + ( D F # A ~ )
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A R P E G G IO S T U D I E S O N G
se
e-
G ~ ( G B ~ D ) G ~ + I ( G B ~ D F #
G ~ ~ ( G B ~ D F ) G ~ G ( G BD E )
G 9 ( G B D F A )
t - +-t -
e
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As previously mentioned, it i s more "commercial" Below i s the melody to a medium tempo tune.
(easily understood by the average listener) to stick On page 45 you 'll find a jazz version using all the
close to the melody when improvising. I n Part 1, devices learned in Part 1 as well as chord arpeggios
we learned various devices to embellish the melody used as fill-ins.
and give it a jazz feeling. Our fi rst step in using
chord arpeggios will be to keep the melody intact, We are limi ting the types o f arpeggios to the five
but use chord arpeggios to fi ll in dead spots, places basic sounds in jazz:
where the melody sustains a long note or rests.
1. Maior, major 7th, 6th, major 9th
2. Minor, minor +7, minor 7th, minor 6th
3. Dominant, 7th, 9th, 1 1 h, 13th
4. Diminished
5. Augmented
Straight Melody
Both the melody and the chords have been "jungleized" - simplified to the lowest common
denominator. The jazz soloist can now begin to bu ild on this simple structure. One of millions
or billions of possibilities appears on page45 . Original melody notes are circled; chord arpeggio
fil l-ins are bracketed and labeled.
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Comments: This solo i s reminiscent of the 1920's and 30's. The chord structure i s primitive and
the arpeggio figures reflect it. Nevertheless, the solo would have been perfectly acceptable to the
audiences of those days because ( a) the melody i s sti ll recognizable and (b ) the arpeggios are all
within the chord.
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IMPROVISING ON CHORDS (cont'd.)
W H Y DIDN'T THE PRECEDING SOLO SOUND MOD ERN?
Basically, fo r tw o reasons:
1. The chord arpeggios were based on simple, unaltered chords.
2. The arpeggios were played w ithout embellishment.
Basic chord arpeggio variations
Important: Any chord arpeggio can be treated
like a new melody and can, therefore, be em-
bellished with neighbor tones, passing tones,
anticipations, retardations, etc. The possibilities
are so enormous, that we'll only be able to suggest
some examples:
Above are just a few of the many, many possibilities.
You will notice that the rhythm i s basically 8th
notes and that the original order of notes has been
retained. There is, of course, no reason why you
have to do either. You can play slower or faster
notes or mix up the notes of the arpeggio any way
you choose. Also, don' t forget the other ernbel-
lishments you have learned, the mordent, turn, etc.
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IMPROVISING ON CHORDS (cont'd.)
Below, and on the next few pages, are fur ther examples of what may be done with simple arpeg-
gios of C minor, G7, C diminished and C augmented. I f you like the sound of any of these frag-
ments, transpose them to other keys and chords. Then make up your own.
Basic C m i n o r
Basic G7 Var ia t ions
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BasicC diminished Variations
BasicC augmented Variations
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IMPROVISING ON CHORDS (cont'd.)
Added and altered notes
As already implied in the arpeggio studies on pages 7ths, or 9ths. The best policy i s to try them out.
32 t o 43, major chords can be altered by adding I f they sound right to you, then they're right.
any combination qf the Gth, major 7th, or 9th. This also goes for the lowered 5th (- 5) . To some
These notes will always sound good in a modern people, playing -5 against a major chord sounds
context and can be used almost as freely as chord too far out; others love the sound. (Listen totones. We say "almost" because neighbor notes records by Lennie Tristano or George Russell for
don't always sound right when leading to Gths, many examples of -5.)
Here are a few variations on a plain major chord using Gths, 7ths, Sths, and an occasional -5.
F major chord Variations
maj 7 maj 7N N
maj7 9 maj7
(an early be-bop cliche)
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Minor chords can also be varied by adding 6th, 7th, and 9th. The 7th can either be the +7 or the
7 depending on the key and your personal taste. Examples below.
F minor chord Variations +7 7
Seventh chords have a whole arsenal of altered notes. These include -5, +5, -9, 9, +9, 11, + l 1, and
13. Below are only a tiny fraction of the possibilities.
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Diminished chords can be expanded by adding the +7th , 9th, and 1 1 h.
E diminished chord Variations +7 9
11
Augmented chords can be expanded by adding the 7th, 9th, and + 1 th.
F augmented Variations7 7 9
A famous Dizzy Gillespie lick
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Blue notes are derived from African sources. They described as the lowered 3rd, lowered 5th, and
do not actually exist in the Western European lowered 7th degrees of a major scale. This i s not
tempered scale that we use. Piano players are accurate and comes from the fact that early
stuck here, because they cannot alter the pitch of theorists tried to force Afro-American music into
a note, but guitar players can push the string across a European mold. Actually, blue notes lie between
the fingerboard and thus raise i t s pitch a quarter the lowered and the natural note as the example
step, half step or more. Blue notes are usually below illustrates.
C maior scale
A
lowered 3rd "Blue" 3rd natural 3rd
thigher than Eb but lower than Eh
similarly,
lowered 5th blue 5th natural 5th
thigher than Gb but lower than Gh
lowered 7th Blue 7th natural 7th
t
higher than Bb but lower than Bt(
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All b lue notes marked with a B. Each one should be pushed about a quarter tone higher than written.
Slow P 7
Blue notes can also be introduced into non-blues type solos as a touch of "funk."
Medium Bounce (A la Count Basie)
F D m 7 G m 7
C7-5, > B D. . a1 Fine
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rParts 1 and 2 have covered jazz styles up to about
1960. Even today, many jazz players use only the
devices we have covered.
Does there always have to be a reference to the
melody in an improvised solo? No. Many great
jazz players in a sense create their own melodies
based on the existing chord progression. The
usual pattern in a jazz arrangement i s
Introduction: (Usually 4 bars)
First Chorus: Front l ine plays melody in unison or in harmony
Middle Choruses: Individual players take solos based on the same chord progression as the
melody.
Last Chorus: Same as first chorus.
It's up to the soloist whether he refers to the
melody or not. Some players stick fairly close
especially on the first chorus, then get farther
and farther away. Others start right out playing
only on the chords assuming that since the melody
Planning your solo
I f you can play great ideas "off the the top of your
head," great! Just listen to the rhythm section and
blow! But if you don't have that kind of talent, a
little planning will go a long way towards helping
you create interesting and exciting solos.
1. Know the basic tune thoroughly. That means
know the chords and know the melody.
2. Create a 'jungleized' lead sheet; that is , a basic
melody and chord sheet reduced to the simplest
essentials of notes and chords.
3. Sketch in the important notes you want to
use in your solo and, i f possible, run down some
ideas before you're actually in a playing situation.
If you have a tape recorder this can be done easily
by feeding the chord changes into i t and trying
out various ideas against them.
was played once up front and once a t the end,
referring to it even more would be repetitious and
boring. It's up to you! Jazz is wonderful music,
especially because it leaves so much room for
self expression.
Ideally, jazz should be totally improvised, com-
pletely made up as you go along. But actually,
most players have a general idea of what they're
going to do before they do it. A few geniuses like
Charlie Parker seem to have an endless flow of
fresh, exciting ideas. It's fascinating to listen to
different takes of the same tune. Most of the
other players sound very similar from take to
take, but Parker always comes up with somethingtotally different. . . and usually better than the
take before. This might be a good time to suggest
listening to the great Bird. Most of his records
have been re-issued, and every one i s worth listening
to and analyzing. Slow them down to half speed
and try to copy the solos, on paper if you can,
then on the guitar. It's not an exaggeration to say
that every modern jazz player owes a great deal
to Charlie Parker.
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CHARLIE PARKER
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Part 3
IMPROVISING ON SCALES AND MODES
In many ways, this type of improvising gives the
player the most freedom. He need not concern
himself with melody notes or chords. As long as
the player keeps with in the scale, any note sounds
right. Because of i t s free nature, this type of
improvisation is hardest to describe on paper. At
least with melodies and chords, the player (and
the listener) have something t o hang on to. Thetask of playing scalar improvisations that have
line and direction is a formidable one. All too
often such solos degenerate into a meaningless
display of technique with little or no emotional
content.
AI l scales and modes are presented in diagram form.
The advantage of this is that one scale pattern can
be used anywhere up and down the fretboard. The
fingering i s the usual one finger for each fret
except where marked.
Once a scale has been mastered, i t can be made the
basis of all the embellishments learned in Parts 1
and 2. That is, the scale itself becomes the melody
which in turn can be embellished wi th grace notes,
mordents, neighbor notes, passing tones, etc.
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Major scale pattern No. 1
As given here, w ith the keynote on the 6th string 3rd fret, the pattern produces the scale of
G major. This pattern works from ~b or F# (keynote on the 2nd fre t) through G (keynote on
3rd fret), ~b (keynoteon 4th fret), A, ~b , B, C , ~b , D, ~b , E, and F with keynoteon 13th fret..
Keynote
Keynote
IVlajor scale pattern IUo. 2
As given here with the keynote on the 5th string 5th fret, the pattern produces the scale of D
major. This pattern works from D b (keynote on 5th string 4th fret) through C (keynote on
5th string 15th fre t).
Keynote/
Keynote
Major scale pattern No. 3
As given here, with the keynote on the 6th string 5th fret, produces the scale of A major. This
pattern works from A major through ~b major with keynote on 6th string 14th fret.
Keynote
Keynote
e 3rd string.
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The jazz minor scale i s identical to the major scale except for the 3rd which is lowered a half
step in the jazz minor.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
C maior scale: C D E F G A B C
.Cjazzminor: C D E b F G A B C
Jazz minor scale pattern No. 1 (As given in G 1
Keynote
Keynote
Jazz minor scale pattern No. 2
This pattern works from C# minor up to C minor. (As given, in D minor.)
Keynote
Keynote
Jazz minor scale No. 3
This pattern works from A minor up to C# minor
Keynote
Keynote
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i s identical to the jazz minor except for the 6th which is a half step
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Jazz minor : C D Eb F G A B C
Harmonic minor : C D ~b F G A b B C
1
G minor. Works from F# minor up to F minor.
Keynote
Keynote
or scale pattern No. 2
D minor. Works up to C minor.
Keynote
Keynote
nor scale pattern No. 3
n in A minor. Works up to G minor.
Keynote
Keynote
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THE CHROMATIC SCALE
The chromatic scale consists entirely of half steps.
It has no key center and therefore no keynote.
Chromaticscale: C C# D E b E F FS G ~b A ~b B C etc..Chromatic scale pattern N o. 1 (four notes to a string).
Chromatic scale pattern No. 2 (five notes to a string).
THE DIMINISHED SCALE
e diminished scale consists entirely of alternating whole stepsand half steps
ed scale: C D E b F F $ G$ A B C (Either C, Eb , F # , or Acan be the keynote).
Diminished scale pattern (as written, starting on G).
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THE BLUES SCALE
This scale i s well known to blues and rock players who make great use of it . I t incorporates all
the "funky" notes discussed under blue notes. In C, it looks like
C D ~b F ~b G (A) ~b C
(as given in F).
MODES
The ordinary modes are seven in number. As they are simply re-arrangements of the major
scale, no new material need be learned. For example, the Dorian mode i s the same as the C major
scale except starting on D. The Phrygian mode starts on E, etc. Here they are:
IONIAN: C D E F G A B C
DORIAN: D E F G A B C D
PHRYGIAN: E F G A B C D E
LYDIAN: F G A B C D E F
MIXOLYDIAN: G A B C D E F G
AEOLIAN: A B C D E F G A
HYPODORIAN B C D E F G A B
When playing in the above modes the ordinary C rnaior fingering can be used.
PENTATONIC SCALES
These are greatly used in rock and have a lim ited value in jazz. A pentatonic scale contains five
notes. Since the five notes correspond to the 1, 2, 3 or 4, 5 and 6 of the major scale, no new
fingering need be learned.
Pentatonic scale on C: C D E G A
Pentatonic scale on C: C D F G A
You wil l notice that the first scale is another way of saying C6 add 9; the second is an F6 add 9.
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HOW TO USE SCALES IN IMPROVISING
As stated before, a scale can be thought of as an extended chord. For example, take C13 + 11
If we re arrange the notes of the chord as a scale, w e come up with:
G A Bb C D E F # (G)
This i s a jazz minor scale based on G. So i f the rhythm section i s playing C13 + 11, C9, C7,
C7-5, C9 + 1 1 or almost any C dominant sound, you can play any note in the G jazz minor scale
and sound right.
All the devices learned in Parts 1 and 2 can also
be applied to scales, but a great deal of personal
taste enters here. Fast grace notes and mordents
can be used on any scale or chord tone, but long
delayed neighbor notes can sound wrong when
resolving to more remote scale tones such as the
9th, 1 th , and 13th. But here's where you have tobe the boss. (Remember, in 1930, added 6ths and
major 7ths sounded "far out " and "weird."') So
don't be afraid to strike out in new directions.
On the other hand, be honest. Don't use sounds
that are far out just to raise eyebrows. Make sure
they really sound good to you.
Some modern jazz composers are writ ing pieces
that state, for example, "Play 32 bars in the
Phrygian mode." In a situation l ike this, anything
goes as long as i t 's within the mode. This type of
improvisation certainly gives the player more
freedom than the type that gives you a chord chart.
The latter type often leads to a more or less cutand dried "running through the changes" with the
player's creativity stifled by the limitations of
staying within the chord progression.
ANALYZING CHORD PROGRESSIONS
A detailed discussion of this subject is beyond the scopeof this book, as i t presupposesa thorough
knowledge of harmony. However, we can poin t you in the right direction.
Below i s the chord progression to a great jazz standard. The bars have been numbered t o make
analysis easy.
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ANALYSIS
a l l the
a scale. Eb maj7 gives us Eb G Bb
D; Eb 6 gives us C; to this we can add the 9th, F.
a scale we get: Eb F G B ~ C
. This is obviously an Eb scale of some kind. I f
we fi ll the gap between G and Bb wi th Ab, we getban E major scale; i f we use the less obvious Ah, we
get a transposed Lydian mode: Eb F G A Bb C D.
(This is simply a Bb major scale starting on Eb .)
Using similar methods, Bars 3 and 4 give us the scale G A C D E F # . If we fill the gap with the
expected Bb, we get a G jazz minor scale. The less expected Bh gives us a G major scale.
Bars 5 and 6 are the same as 1 and 2.
Bars 7 and 8 are a whole step lower than bars 3 and 4. They imply either F jazz minor or F major.
Bars 9 and 10 imply either Bbmajor (expected), or Bbjazz minor (less expected).
Bars 11 and 12 imply either Ebmajor (expected), or Bbjazz minor (less expected).
Bars 13 through 16 imply ED major. That is , all the notes in the chords ~bmaj7, m7, Gm7, and
~ b 7elong to the Ebmajor scale. The ~ b m 7hord i s a passing chord and may be ignored.
Bars 17 through 28 duplicate bars 1 through 12.
Bar 29: Ebmajor.
Bar 30: The notes in an Abm6 are AbcbEb . These all belong to the ~ b m a j o rcale.
Bars 31 and 32 shift between Ebmajor and ~b ma jo r .
On page 64, you"ll find a "map"' of the same tune as on page 62. This tells you what scales to
play and when. Bars are numbered as before.
7/30/2019 Jazz Lead Guitar
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/jazz-lead-guitar 65/65
A Ebmaj7 Fm7 Gm7 ~ b m 7 Fm7 ~ b 7
Ebmaj7 ~ b 6 Ebmaj7 ~ b 6 Gm7 c 7
I b o r h I _ a
a I I I r 1 3 1II
I 0 - I-- -
0 @ Q
bor b b o r b