PlayJazzGuitar.com Forum

[6string83]

I have been looking at smoe chord melody arangements in particuler Beautiful Love aranged by Cory Christian and have noticed how little chord shape knowlage i have other than what I would call standars extended chord shapes i.e. bared major and minoe 7th chords. Can someone give me some advice on the way of going about learning more chord inversions over the fret board. There just seem to be so many and I cant seem to find where to start.

Cheers...

JB
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Passion before reason.

[mr. beaumont]

well, i'd say get a good working knowledge of how to build chords. if your fretboard knowledge and knowledge of the major scale is pretty good, it's not too bad-- say something like this G13b9 -- pops up...what you have to know is that you need a G dominant sound with the 13th (E) and the b9 (Ab) in there...

i think the best way to get better at some of these is to come up with your own chord melody arrangements. you'll start to see them in there-- like when you have an E melody note over a G7 chord in the chart, now you can think "13." (of course, a Db7#9 might sound cool here too) i wouldn't get too hung up on shapes for every chord-- in time, just after doing it so much you'll see 'em that way. but there's a lot more value to being able to know how to build those chords and knowing what notes are the important ones...
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“For the guitar is the most unpredictable and least reliable musical instrument in existence...and also the sweetest, the warmest, the most delicate, whose melancholic voice awakes in our soul exquisite reveries.”

Andres Segovia

[wannabjazzy]

Ok, I've listened to a clip of your playing and really can't believe you dont' know this!...lol...that means there is nope for me at all!...

But, I do have this book, ...."Chords For Jazz Guitar"...by Charlton Johnson...that really seems to explain all of this. It's supposed to be a complete guide to Chord Melody, Comping, and Chord Soloing..

From simple right on up......the chord foumulas are there...you may know this stuff already...

BUT.....since it claims to be a complete guide, thought maybe it may help!
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"....I was gonna play. but I forgot what to play after hearing him!"

[jokron]

There is only one way, learn to construct chords.

I suggest you forget the chord shapes and start learning the notes on the fretboard and how notes are related to each other in scales and chords. Pure boring music theory, but if you want to make your own chord melody arrangements it's the best way to go to my opinion.

Begin with identifying simple triads, the root, the 3rd and the 5th of major, minor, diminished and augmented chords in all keys and all positions on the fretboard.

Continue with triads 1st inversion; the 3rd, the 5th and the root of major, minor, diminished and augmented chords in all keys and all positions on the fretboard.

Then go through triads 2nd invension; the 5th, the root and the 3rd of major, minor, diminished and augmented chords in all keys and all positions on the fretboard.

After that, add the 7th and play all the inversions of all chords in all keys, then the 9th, and continue to investigate the fretboard.

It's hard work, but it will pay in the end.

Jody Fisher's "The Complete Jazz Guitar Method" is a perfect guide that shows the way step by step.

Ted Greene's "Chord Chemistry" might help you too.

Good luck!

/Jokron
_________________
Play what you hear - not what you know.

Miles Davis

[wannabjazzy]

I'm sort of in that process right now. If I understand what you are saying correctly, I should be able to hit any fret and know instantly how to contruct any chord from that fret without thinking it thru?

I'm trying to figure out a short cut for this, but it's eluding me!

I am starting to think in terms of scale degrees rather than just the notes. So then if a person has this mastered, along with the chord formulas, it should be a fairly easy thing (well, once your'e there) to plop down on a fret and play whatever ya want?

In otherwords, for any given fret, I should know exactly how the other frets relate to it in terms of scale degrees for the given key I'm in?.

If that's what the pro's out here do, I got a loooooooong way to go!
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"....I was gonna play. but I forgot what to play after hearing him!"

[jazz_fan]

Hello,
if you want some positions to play chords, there are many here :
[url]http://www.serendipity-band.com/misc/manouche/src/voicings-en.htm[/url]
I think you should focus on Major, Minor, m7b5 and 7th chords first. In my opinion, the best way to practice them is to play II-V-I in different positions and different keys : check out the " Voicings on cadences" ,"II V I " figure on the site. Then practice 9 , 13 and altered 7th to spice up the changes and open your hears.
This is hard and long work....
thierry

[6string83]

Thank you for all of your responses. It seems that this is a subject which will kep me busy for a long time to understand it thorouly and adapt it into my playing. but im sure it will increase my flexability as a player a great deal

Onward and upward.

JB
_________________
Passion before reason.

[jokron]

[jokron]

...one way of learning the notes on the fretboard is to work through the major scale in all the keys.

Lesson 005 on my site http://jazzguitar.kronqvist.org has all the tones in all keys described as dots on a fretboard, standard notation and TABs. It's free to use for anyone who wants it. And please tell me if there are any errors there...

In lesson 006, that are under construction, I will deal with chord tones of the seventh chords Imaj7, iim7, iiim7, IVmaj7, Vdom7, vim7 and viim7b5 in a way I find it's easy to learn the tones.

Just a beginners effort to write down the experiences while walking the way...

/Jokron
_________________
Play what you hear - not what you know.

Miles Davis

[6string83]

Ok, I thik I get it. If I stop looking for the shapes and take a chord say Cmaj. then look for the colection of nates that form the chord all over the neck the put them together in all inversions and do it for minor and &th extensions aswell it will help me see the notes i need to play over all the chord changes and free me from the pattern playing im stuck in. right?
_________________
Passion before reason.

[jokron]

[hanni]

@ jokron

hi, where do you get the ted green book in europe? or did you get it somewhere as e-book? i´m surching this since weeks, bookshops, downloads, pdf ´s..........nothing

[jokron]

I bought it from Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Chord-Chemistry-Ted-Greene/dp/0898986966/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3820191-0677708?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1182145754&sr=8-1

/Jokron
_________________
Play what you hear - not what you know.

Miles Davis

[hanni]

thank´s, i surched at the german amazon page, not at the american page,
i made another interesting pdf download, it seems to be a mathematic formula to build chords and some people have this in thier heads, i´m not ready with reading this music theory it´s very much......later

[6string83]

Hi jokron,

The ted green book seems to me a must have acording to alot of players and i will look into buying it when money alows it.

as for creating music I like where you are coming from and I think that seems to be a beeter way of leatning the chords and aplying them as bel but should i be looking at creating a chord for each note of a melody the getting rid of the ones that are purley superficial or should i set about only creating the chords that are going to be playable as a chord melody peice.

cheers
_________________
Passion before reason.