Drop 2 Chord Voicings for Jazz and Modern Guitar If you would like a free high resolution .pdf of this book, please get in contact via the email address in the final chapter.
Copyright © 2012 by Joseph Alexander All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United Kingdom
ISBN 978-1481827454
First Printing, 2012 Joseph Alexander www.fundamental-changes.com
Contents Chapter 1: What is a Drop 2 voicing? .................................................................. 4 Chapter 2: An Easy 7b9 Substitution. ................................................................. 6 Chapter 3: Quick Natural 9th Extensions ............................................................ 9 Chapter 4: Cascading Voicings on a ii V7b9 I VI7b9 ............................................. 12 Chapter 5: Different Substitutions for the Dominant Chord. ............................... 15 Chapter 6: Different Substitutions for the Dominant Chord Part 2 ...................... 18 Chapter 7: The Tritone Substitution. .................................................................. 21 Chapter 8: The Minor ii V i Progression .............................................................. 25 Chapter 9: Altering Inside Tensions. ................................................................... 27 Chapter 10: Combining the Techniques. ............................................................. 31 Other Books by this Author................................................................................ 35 The CAGED System and 100 Licks for Blues Guitar .......................................... 35 Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar .............................................................. 36 15 Essential Guitar Lessons for Beginners ...................................................... 38 Contact information .......................................................................................... 40
Introduction Have you ever found yourself stuck in a rut when it comes to playing common chord progressions? – In this book we’ll be looking at how we can bring great depth and interest to certain stock sequences. Drop 2 chords are some of the most common and useful voicings to play on the guitar. They form the basis of hundreds of popular sounds, from jazz to Motown, funk to blues. This book is a study of how to use these chords on only the top four strings of the guitar. Why only the top four strings? There are a few good reasons to start with this grouping: -
Firstly, when we play in bands with other harmonic instruments, e.g. piano, keyboard, vibes, or even harp; if all the instruments are playing in the same range or frequency, the sound can get very muddy with all the same notes being played in the same register. By arranging the chords high up on the guitar, we can stay out of the way of other instruments.
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Another good reason is that when we play the lower voicings of chords we can often get in the way of the bass player. In jazz, if there is a walking bass it can also cause some undesirable clashes.
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By learning your chords in this way, you will vastly improve your chord vocabulary and move away from tired barre chords and piano voicings.
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Finally, when it’s time to alter chords, for example, changing a G7 to a G7#5, other instruments may not be playing the same alteration. They may, for example, play a G7b5. By arranging our chords high on the guitar, we are reducing the chances of combining awkward dissonances.
The following 10 chapters provide an in-depth study of drop 2 chord voicings. You will learn: -
How to form a drop 2 chord How to voice lead drop 2 chords over common chord progressions How to extend drop 2 chords to include 9ths, 11ths and 13ths How to add chromatic dissonance to drop 2 chords, e.g. b5 #5 b9 #9 How to use common substitutions to imply richer or dissonant harmony The use of the tritone substitution How to combine all the techniques in to a real-life musical setting
Many common chord progressions are covered. By the end of 10 chapters you will have developed an excellent understanding of these ideas and will be able to apply them practically.
Chapter 1: What is a Drop 2 Voicing? We’ll start by moving away from your big guitar/piano chord voicings and look at how to play a Major ii V I progression on the top four strings. By staying high up on the guitar, we can avoid the harmony part getting ‘muddy’, especially when we’re playing with a piano in the line-up. When I play rhythm guitar, more often than not, I’ll be playing drop 2 chord voicings on the top four strings. A drop 2 voicing is simply any 7th chord with the second highest note dropped an octave. This is shown for a C Major 7th chord in example 1a:
In the top notation part, you should be able to see that the second note down (the G) has been dropped an octave and is now in the bass of the chord. We can create four inversions of our original chord by putting a different chord tone in the bass each time, so this in turn gives us four possible inversions of our drop 2 voicings of C Major 7. This is shown in example 1b:
These in themselves are extremely useful voicings of a C Major 7 chord and you should be comfortable comping with them in any situation, so make sure they’re memorised. In most music however, we don’t often play any chord in isolation so it is important to be able to play sequences of ii V I progressions using this concept. We’ll stay in the key of C Major 7 so let’s look at the drop 2 chord voicings of the Dm7 (ii7) and G7 (V7).
Example 1c is Dm7 as a drop 2 voicing:
Example 1d is G7 drop 2:
Our task is now to find the closest changes between these chords, moving as little as possible each time on our Dm7 – G7 – CMaj7 progression. I’ll start you off in example 1e with two examples, but your task is to find the other two ways of playing a ii V I with the chords listed above. A good hint is to find the two Dm7 chords I don’t use in the above example below and then go from there.
Have fun with these ideas and make sure you incorporate them into your playing. Use them on tunes you know and practice them in different keys.
Chapter 2: An Easy 7b9 Substitution Let’s examine a quick and easy way to add tension to your chord voicings by substituting the G7 for an Ab Diminished 7 Chord. In chapter 1 we derived the drop 2 chord voicings for a ii V I in C Major on the top four strings as shown in example 2a:
I gave you this progression in two positions on the guitar and your task was to work it out in the other two. Now let’s examine some harmonic possibilities for the G7 Dominant chord. When we play jazz, the Dominant chord is considered to be a point of tension in the chord progression which is resolved by its movement to the home chord, in this case C Major 7. Musicians figure that as this Dominant chord is tense anyway, we can add as much tension as we like to it as long as it resolves nicely. A common way to do this is by substituting a different chord for the Dominant (G7). There are a plethora of great chord choices that we will look at in future chapters, but here we will substitute the G7 for an Ab Diminished 7. Example 2b is the chord of Ab Diminished 7 on the top four strings of the guitar:
Let’s substitute this chord into our original chord progression in example 2c; the chord you play is on the top line and the harmony the listener hears is written underneath.
Compare this chord progression to the one in example 2a. As you can see, there is only one different note between the Ab Dim7 chord and the original G7 chord. The root of the G7 has been taken out and replaced with the b9 (Ab). To see this clearly, compare the notes on the second string. This chord can now be seen as a G7b9 as it has all the important bits of G7 but the extension ‘b9’ has been added. Play this progression and hear the tension that is now evident on the G7b9 chord. A beautiful thing about the Diminished 7 chord is that it is symmetrical. This means that its chord shape is the same in any inversion. Example 2d shows how you play the four inversions of the Ab Diminished 7 / G7b9 chord in drop 2 voicings on the top four strings:
Once again, as in chapter 1, I’ll give you one more position of the ii V I using this substitution, but it’s your task to now to apply this idea to the other two positions of this progression!
Example 2e:
It is important that you spend a few minutes working out the other two ways of playing this substitution in each position on your guitar and incorporating it into your playing. The knowledge and understanding that working things out for yourself gives is impossible to teach and the chord voicings are all given to you in chapter 1. Summary To create a tense ‘7b9’ sound on a Dominant chord, substitute the original chord (G7) for a Diminished 7th chord 1 semitone above. (Ab Dim7) Another way to view this is to consider that we’re taking out the root (G) and raising it a semitone to the b9 (Ab).
Chapter 3: Quick Natural 9th Extensions This chapter takes a look at how to add richness to your chord voicings by adding in the natural 9th extension. Chapters 1 and 2 show how to create drop 2 voicings on the top four strings and how to remove the root of the Dominant chord to replace it with a b9 tension. We will be doing something similar today but this time we will be replacing the root of each chord with a natural 9th (the second degree of the scale). Once again, we will start by looking at Major ii V I in C in example 3a:
Homing in on the Dm7 chord, we can see that the root of this chord (D) is on the 1st string, 10th fret. Just as we did in chapter 2, we will remove the root and replace it with another note, but this time a whole tone above; (E). This is the new chord voicing:
By replacing the root in this way, we are now playing a Dm9 chord. If you imagine the bass player is playing the note D, then this chord contains the chord intervals (F) b3, (A) 5, (C) b7 and (E) 9. Another way to see this is to consider that we have substituted an F Major 7th (F,A,C,E) chord on the 3rd of D minor.
We can repeat this process for the other two chords in the sequence, G7 and CMaj7. Each time we simply move the root one tone higher to create unaltered ‘9th’ chords
G9 can be seen as an m7b5 chord from the 3rd, (B) and CMaj9 can be seen as a minor 7 chord from the 3rd, (E). It is important to learn these substitutions as a formula in this way, because any chord substitution can be used as a soloing option. For example, if I’m jamming on a bar of CMaj7, I will often play an E minor 7 arpeggio as a soloing device. Once again, I will give you the concepts above in one more position on the guitar, but I want you to figure out the other two ‘top four string’ voicings of these extensions.
If you are struggling to find the other two positions to play these chords, refer back to chapter 1. The ideas in this chapter are common concepts that form the basis of many chord extension approaches. Make sure you understand the concepts here before continuing.
Chapter 4: Cascading Voicings on a ii V7b9 I VI7b9 This chapter extends the ii V I sequence to contain the VI7 chord. Before attempting this chapter, make sure you’re comfortable with the material so far. We can now play the Major ii V I progression using drop 2 voicings on the top four strings. These voicings are often used by guitarists to stay out of the way of the bigger piano chords and to avoid clashes between two instruments using different altered extensions. In this chapter we will add in chord VI7b9 and ‘cascade’ the voicings through all four positions on the guitar for a great voice leading effect. The ii, V7b9, I, VI7b9 progression in music is extremely common. These are the chords in the key of C: Dm7, G7b9, CMaj7, A7b9. You will remember from chapter 2, that to create a 7b9 sound we simply substitute a Diminished 7 chord for the Dominant a semitone above the root. Here is that idea with G7 and A7 in example 4a:
If you examine these chords, you will see all that is happening is that the root of each Dominant chord is being raised a semitone to become the ‘b9’ altered Dominant sound. Now let’s incorporate the A7b9 chord into our original progression as shown in example 4b:
Hopefully you can now see that we can create full chord progressions on the guitar in just one position by only altering one or two notes each time. This gives a wonderful cohesive quality to our comping. Try substituting the m7 and Maj7 chords for the m9 and Maj9th chords respectively that we discussed in chapter 3. Because it is always good to be able to change positions on the guitar easily, finally I will show you how to play a repeating sequence of ii V I VI chords descending the guitar neck, using only these drop 2 chord voicings. Learn example 4c.
The above example shows the chord progression from the highest inversion on the neck down to the lowest. Your job is to learn this backwards and also in three different keys. Try Bb Major, E Major and F Major. You could also take this approach for any tune in your repertoire. “All The Things You Are” is a great workout for this sort of exercise. Remember to learn the voicings ascending the neck too.
Chapter 5: Different Substitutions for the Dominant Chord (Part 1) This chapter aims to show you that any substitution you know as a soloing device can be used as an idea when comping rhythm guitar. You may be aware that when we solo, there are many substitutions that we can play at any point in time. In essence, this means that just because the chord says G7, we don’t have to play a G7 arpeggio over it, especially when the G7 is functioning as a Dominant chord as in the previous four chapters. Chord or arpeggio substitutions are an uncomplicated way to add tension and interest to the harmony we are outlining in our solo. In chapter 2, we examined the 7b9 substitution, and we will now discuss another of my favourite substitution ideas. This substitution is Play a Major 7th chord on the 6th degree of the Dominant Chord. i.e. EMaj7 over G7. First let us analyse the notes and resultant intervals of the EMaj7/G7 substitution: Chord tones of EMaj7
E
G# (Ab)
B
D#
Interval created from root of G
13
b9
3
#5
So if the bass player is playing a G7 idea and we play an E Maj7th chord, the harmony we are implying is G13b9#5. While I believe it is important to understand the above idea, I think it is more important not to be overthinking as you play. In other words, learn this idea as a pattern, or as a series of movements on the guitar and once you know the theory above, forget it and just play it! Transpose it to different keys to really get it fixed into your head. In the context of our ii V I in C, one way to play this with drop 2 voicings is shown in example 5a:
The combined harmony the listener hears is written on top; what you are actually visualising is written on the bottom. This is a very simple way to generate very rich and complex harmony. This substitution can also be used as a soloing idea too; try playing a Maj7th arpeggio from the 6th of the Dominant chord next time you jam on a ii V I. In addition, don’t forget the ideas from chapter3 either! On the ii chord, we could play a Dm9 by substituting the Dm7 for an FMaj7 and then a C Major 9th on the tonic by substituting the CMaj7 for an Emin7. Study example 5b:
In the above example, the combined harmony (that the listener hears over the bass line) is written along the top. If you study the bottom line of chords, you will see a very simple pattern: One Major7 chord descending a semitone, which then becomes a minor 7th chord. Hopefully it is becoming clear to you that we can create complex and rich harmonies and solos with some very simple chord substitutions. Obviously the bottom line of chords is much easier to remember! These ideas sometimes have to be used with care, especially if you’re comping under the head or melody of the tune, as often the composer will specify which extensions should be played. However, these ideas can usually be freely woven into comping under a soloist, and they work especially well when you have a good bass player or the piano player comps fairly sparsely.
Exercise: Work out the substitutions shown in example 5a, in the remaining three positions on the guitar with the drop 2 voicings that were given in chapter 1. Start with just the Major 7th chord on the 6th degree of the G7 in all positions. Once you have that down in all positions, experiment with the 9th substitutions that you learned in chapter 3 to recreate the idea in example 5b. To get you started, I’ll give you one more example for each substitution in examples 5c and 5d:
Chapter 6: Different Substitutions for the Dominant Chord (Part 2) In the last chapter we began looking at different substitutions for the Dominant chord in a ii V I. We will continue now with another of my favorite subs: This substitution is Play a Dominant 7 chord on the b3 degree of the original Dominant Chord, i.e. Bb7 over G7 First let us analyse the notes and resultant intervals of the EMaj7/G7 substitution: Chord tones of Bb7 Bb D F Interval created from root of G
#9
5
b7
Ab b9
So, if the bass player is playing a G7 idea and we play a Bb7 chord, the harmony we are implying is G7b9#9 with no 3rd. At the risk of repeating myself, I believe it is important to initially understand the theory of this idea, but normally if you’re thinking subs ‘on the fly’ while you’re improvising you’re distracting yourself from the music. Learn these ideas as patterns first. Learn this simply as a shape to play on your guitar just like you would any other lick. In the context of our ii V I in C, one way to play this with drop 2 voicings could be like this:
I have written the chords that we are seeing along the bottom and the resultant harmony (that the audience hears) along the top.
This is a very simple way to get a very complex harmony. As any chord substitution idea can also be used as a soloing device; try playing a Dominant 7 arpeggio from the b3 of the Dominant chord next time you jam on a ii V I. Let’s extend this idea out to all four positions of the guitar just like the cascades in chapter four. Example 6b:
In the above example, the combined harmony (that the listener hears over the bass line) is written along the top. Hopefully it is becoming clear to you that we can create complex and rich harmonies and solos with some very simple chord substitutions. Obviously the bottom line of chords is much easier to remember. Once again, use these subs with care, especially under the ‘head’ of the tune.
Exercise: As an exercise I’d like you to write the above example but with a new substitution idea; Play a Dominant 7 chord on the b6 of the original chord. For the chord of G7 you would substitute an Eb7. Start by working out the resultant extensions for the substitution as we did in this chapter, and then work out how to play the sub in each position of the guitar like in example 6b. Here is one position to get you started:
Chapter 7: The Tritone Substitution The most important substitution to know in jazz is the tritone substitution. In its simplest form, it is the substitution of an original Dominant chord for another one three tones (or one tri-tone) away. The distance of three tones in music is a flattened 5th (or b5). The terms tritone substitution and b5 substitution are synonymous. Staying with the ii V I progression in C Major, the original Dominant chord is G7. The tritone substitution on the b5 is therefore Db7. Something very interesting happens with the guide tones (the 3rd and b7 of each chord) in a tritone substitution. This is easier to see in the table below. Interval
1
3
5
b7
Chord tones of G7
G
B
D
F
Chord tones of Db7
Db
F
Ab
Cb (B)
Look at the guide tone notes (3 and b7) in both chords. Can you see that in each chord the 3rd has become the b7 and the b7 has become the 3rd. In fact, it is a rule of music that when you substitute a Dominant chord for another Dominant chord, three tones away from the original, the two chords will ALWAYS share the same guide tones. Why is this important? As you may know from soloing or comping, the two most important notes and defining intervals of a chord are the 3rd and the 7th. If we target these in our playing, our soloing will always closely outline the harmony we are soloing on. Not only that, if we strongly emphasise the 3rd and 7th, we can pretty much get away with any amount of tension in the melody as long as we melodically resolve our phrases. All this means that soloing or comping the tritone substitution is a very concise way to ‘stick to the changes’ while adding in some beautiful creative tensions.
Analysis of the tritone substitution Let’s look at the intervals formed when we play the tritone substitution Db7 over our original bass line of G7:
Chord tones of Db7
Db
F
Ab
Cb (B)
Interval formed against G bass note
b5
b7
b9
3
The above table shows that if we play a Db7 chord over a G bass line, the resultant harmony is G7b5b9. Example 7a shows the drop 2 voicings of Db7 on the top four strings:
And here are those voicings substituted into the ii V I in C Major:
In the above example, the resultant harmony is written above the stave, and the chords we are playing are underneath. Carefully study the voice leading in each chord change. Notice that every note except the B (Cb) moves down by a semitone between Db7 and CMaj7. The B doesn’t change. The tritone substitution is one of the main ways we produce chromatic voice leading when playing in a chord melody style. It is also an extremely useful device to reinforce a jazz melody in the rhythm part when the notes are chromatic to the chord. Extensions We can also extend the tritone chord as far as we like away from the original Db7. i.e. Db9, Db13 etc. We can also add altered extensions too, i.e. D7b9, D7b13 etc. An interesting quirk is that natural extensions like 9s and 13s make the substitution more dissonant from the original chord of G7, whereas altered extensions like b9s and b13s make the chord less dissonant against the G7.
Exercise: Extend the Db7 chord to a Db9 chord and insert it into the Major ii V I progression. We did a similar exercise with G7 in chapter 3 so you should already have the chord shapes ‘down’. Notice how the natural 9th extension becomes a #5 (b13) against the original chord root of G. When you are comfortable with that, try doing the Diminished 7 sub from chapter 2 to create a Db7b9 instead of the Db7 chord. Now notice how the b9 of Db becomes a natural 5th of the underlying G harmony. Do this in all four positions.
Chapter 8: The Minor ii V i Progression This chapter continues our study with the minor ii V i. In essence the minor ii V i is the same fundamental progression as the major ii V I, but instead of coming from a major scale, the chords come from the harmonic minor scale. This means that instead of the ii chord being minor 7, it is now a minor7b5. The minor ii V i crops up all over the place and you’ll normally find at least one in most jazz standards. The minor ii V I progression in the key of A minor is this: Bm7b5 – E7 – Am/Maj7… However, it is more common to play the home chord as A minor 7 or just straight minor. For the purposes of this chapter we will treat it as an A minor 7. Once again, let us look at the drop 2 voicings of these chords. Example 8a
Become comfortable with these inversions by first of all recognising where the root of the chord, (B) is in each shape. Then transpose them to a few other keys; I’d recommend G, Eb and C. Next, let’s look at how these fit into a minor ii V i progression in all four positions in example 8b. You will notice that for nice voice leading, I am using the 7b9 Diminished substitution on the Dominant chord (i.e, E7b9).
As the final idea today, let’s look at a substitution you should explore for the Dominant chord of the minor ii V I progression. The tritone substitution (see chapter 7) Example 8c:
Your exercise is to extend example 8c into all 4 positions on the top four strings. In the next chapter, we will examine how to change a couple of notes in voicings we already know to create rich extended examples.
Chapter 9: Altering Inside Tensions While it is good to see possible altered chord extensions as a simple substitution, as shown in previous chapters, there is a very easy way to add tension and color to your chord playing without having to play substitutions at all. Sometimes it is just simpler to adjust notes of the chords we already have. Often in music the harmony calls for extensions of the Dominant chord, e.g, A7#5 or A7b9#5, etc. If we understand where these extensions lie in terms of our original unaltered chord, then it is easy to adjust our fingering to include these notes. As I have mentioned in previous chapters, the most important notes in any chord are the 3rd and 7th, sowe definitely want to leave these in. The other notes, the root and 5th, are expendable, so it is these notes we will normally adjust to alter the chord. For example, look at the following voicing of A7:
In the above voicing, example 9a, the root of the chord, (A) is played on the top string, and the 5th, (E) is played on the second string. To make an A7b9 chord, we can simply remove the root and replace it with the b9 note, (Bb )which is a semitone above.
To make an A7#9 chord, we remove the root and replace it with the #9 scale tone, which is a minor 3rd above the root. This is shown in example 9b:
We can adjust the 5th of the A7 chord in a similar way. To play A7#5 (or A7b13), we raise the 5th by a semitone, To play A7b5, we lower the 5th a semitone as shown in example 9c:
It’s also perfectly fine to combine the above alterations like in example 9d:
Practice altering the other 3 positions of the drop 2 A7 chord in this way. Not all the positions are feasible, but it should give you a good understanding of this process and help you recognise where each chord tone lies in each voicing. We can take a similar approach to extending Major7 and minor7 chords with natural 11ths and 13ths. To make a Major7 chord into a Major 6th, flatten the 7th by a tone. (This can be seen as a minor7 chord built on the 6th or the original chord.) To make a Major7 chord into a Major7#11, flatten the 5th by a semitone. To make a Major7 chord into a Major 13th, raise the 5th by a tone. Example 9e, A Major 7th alterations
Transfer these ideas to other drop 2 inversions.
Altering Minor 7 chords. Flatten the 5th by a tone to play a minor 11. Raise the 5th by a tone to play a minor 13. Flatten the 7th by a semitone to play a minor 6th (can be seen as a m7b5 chord on the 6th) Example 9f, A minor 7th alterations:
Again, transfer these ideas to other voicings. I hope you can see how a little information can take you a long way musically. In the final chapter we will be combining the techniques of the last nine chapters to form a short chord melody example.
Chapter 10: Combining the Techniques In order to consolidate the techniques in the preceding chapters, it is important to combine the ideas that have been taught into one etude. I’m sure you will recognise the following song, but it shall remain nameless for copyright reasons! If you want a sneak peak, just play through the top line of the melody. All will be revealed! **Disclaimer** The following piece of music is very ‘forced’. It would be extremely unusual to arrange a whole piece of music with the same type of specific voicing throughout. We have covered solely drop 2 chord voicings on the top four strings and so that is what we will be applying here. In a real world example it would be normal to combine different voicings and different string groups, and arrange the melody so it is closer together on the guitar. In the following example, all the melody notes have been voiced on the top E string of the guitar to allow for the relevant drop 2 chords to be used. In summary, this is a study to consolidate the previous nine chapters and not intended as a real-world example.
Example 10a
I have written the original harmony as I see it on the top line of chords. The actual harmony as I play is on the second line, then underneath the staves I have put in any substitutions that I have used to imply the harmony written on the second line. In the table below, I have analysed my thinking behind each chord in the song. This is completely subjective and you may see it differently. Obviously the table contains a lot of information. My advice to you would be to play through the piece, ignore all the theory for now, and just see which shapes you recognise from the previous nine chapters. See if you can figure out how each chord or substitution is functioning. If you get stuck, use the table below to help answer your questions.
Bar / Beat 0/3 0/3.5
Chord G7 G7#5
Concept Drop 2 Altered inside voice from Drop 2 substitution to hit melody note Unharmonised note for texture Altered inside voices from CMaj7 Drop 2 Altered voicing from drop 2
1/1
C6
1/2
C
1/3
C 6/9
2/1 2/3
G7 Dm11
2/3.5
Db7b5#9
Drop 2 with altered voices
3/1
Dm7
Drop 2
3/2 3/3
G7 G7b9
Drop 2 Drop 2
4/1 4/3
C6 G7
5/1
C Maj9
Drop 2 No harmony for texture Drop 2
5/2
C6
Drop 2
5/3
C6
Drop 2
Substitution / /
Notes Upbeat to bar 1 #5 gives good voice leading
m7 on 6th
Melody note is the natural 6th of C Major. This substitution is an easy way to imply a Maj6 chord 6th in previous chord resolves to 5th
/
/
/ Imply ii V I in C by substituting G7 for Dm7 Tritone Substitution (Db7b5#9 for G7) Imply ii V I in C by substituting C Major for Dm7 – G7 / Substitute a Dim7 on the b9 of G7 to imply G7b9 m7 on 6th / Substitute a m7 on the 3rd (Em7/C) Substitute a m7 on the 6th (Am7/C) Substitute a m7 on the 6th
3rd is dropped to 9th, 7th is dropped to 6th
Original harmony is G7 (V chord). Implying a ii V (Dm7 – G7 ) over a V is a common device. Instead of moving to G7 from Dm7, I have included a tritone substitution, although this could be seen as G9#5 Instead of moving straight to C Major, I repeat the ii V substitution idea. Check out “Satin Doll” for a similar idea. As above
Finally resolving to C6
Same as previous chord, different inversion
Bar / Beat
Chord
Concept
6/1
G7b5
6/2 7/3
F7 F6
Drop 2 altered inside voicings Drop 2 F Maj7 with 7th dropped to 6th.
8/1
CMaj9
Drop 2
8/2 8/3
CMaj7 G7b9#9
Drop 2 Drop 2
9/1
C6/9
Altered inside voices from CMaj7
Substitution (Am7/C) / / /
Substitute m7 on the 3rd (Em7/C) / Substitute a Dominant 7 chord on the b3 of the original Dominant /
Notes Flatten the 5th of the original G7
Can be seen as a straight F Major with the 5th raised to the 6th
Big finish…
3rd is dropped to 9th, 7th is dropped to 6th
As always, have fun with this! Try the concepts in the previous chapters with other string groupings and always remember the golden rule: If it sounds good, it is good.
Other Books by this Author.
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-100 Top Quality Blues Licks-Complete Method to Learn the Guitar Neck-Over 1 Hour of Live Examples and Audio for FREE DownloadWhether you want a complete method to learn blues guitar or just a set of 100 excellent blues guitar licks, this book has you covered. Most guitarists stay locked into the same patterns and scale shapes for years, unable to break out of the habits and licks they first learnt as a beginner. This leads to creative stagnation, boring solos and a sense that something will always be missing from their playing.
Ask yourself this: - When you solo do you normally go straight to your first pentatonic box shape? - Do you normally play in a limited range of ‘easy’ keys, like A, E, G and C? - Would you like to have complete freedom to visualize and play in any key, in any position on guitar? - Do you only use minor pentatonic scales, or rarely use rich sounding modes to enliven your playing? If the answer to any of the above questions is yes then this book is for you. This book helps you spread out your playing all over the guitar neck. It frees you from playing the same ideas over and over again. This book spurs creativity by opening up the neck and most importantly, it teaches you an incredibly strong visual method to ‘hang’ scales and licks off 5 easy to remember chord shapes.
The CAGED System for Blues Guitar covers both Major and Minor Pentatonic Scales, The Blues Scale and The Mixolydian Mode. With 25 licks for each scale covering all 5 positions, you’ll never be short of something interesting to say on your instrument. This isn’t a book just about scales. There are over 100 blues guitar licks in different styles that you will memorise easily, and can form the basis of your new, improved solos. You’ll learn to hang these off each chord shape, so wherever you are on the guitar you’ll never lose the groove.
This is the method taught at the London College of Music’s Guitar Institute and I’m very happy to share these powerful concepts with you. Click here to buy it now in Paperback or for Kindle/iPad/PC or Smartphone
Fundamental Changes in Jazz Guitar
- 20 Lessons – - Over 2hrs of Audio - 163 Live Examples played at 2 speeds - Standard Notation and Tablature - 6 Backing Tracks – The COMPLETE Jazz Guitar Soloing Course. Buy Now in Paperback or for Kindle/iPad/PC or Smartphone Containing over 2 hours of audio examples and backing tracks, Fundamental Changes on guitar is a logical, in-depth soloing study of the important Major ii V I (2 5 1) in jazz. Aimed at the intermediate guitarist or first time jazz soloist, this important and comprehensive work takes the student from first principles right through to advanced substitutions and extensions that can be played over each chord of the progression.
The focus of the book is on playing, rather than theory and while there is often a brief explanation of the necessary concepts involved, each of the 20 chapters emphasizes playing and creating music. The book contains over 162 individual, notated musical examples in tablature and standard notation. Each musical example has a corresponding audio file and they are all available for free download from a dedicated website. The book also contains 6 backing tracks for the student to practice the jazz lines they are learning to construct. Buy Now in Paperback or for Kindle/iPad/PC or Smartphone
15 Essential Guitar Lessons for Beginners
Click here to buy it now in Paperback or for Kindle/iPad/PC or Smartphone Written by a professional, full time guitar teacher, 15 Essential Guitar Lessons for Beginners, teaches you to play the right way from the first time you pick up the instrument. "The most common scenario I come across as a guitar teacher is the adult who is self-taught with bad habits: Things that should be sorted out on day one and have been left unchecked for years have developed into brick walls stopping any progress. These fundamental problems need to be sorted out before the student can improve and sadly it takes a long time to un-learn and re-train an ingrained habit. I wrote this book to try to help people get things right, right from the start". - Joseph Alexander This isn't a theory book; it’s not all about posture or technique. It's about getting the simple, essential things right, while quickly building the important skills you need to play the guitar. The in depth chapters cover: The Important Things You Should Know First Chords and Changes Holding the Plectrum (Pick) More Common Chord Changes Strumming Part One Changing Chords While Strumming New Chord Progressions to Practice More Interesting Rhythms Splitting the Chord
Descending Bass Lines Fragments of Songs Reading Guitar Tablature Finger Picking Patterns Further Study Dictionary of Useful Chords It's all about playing and learning music while keeping in mind the foundational techniques that will allow you to continue to grow as a guitarist, long into the future. As a bonus, there is a comprehensive Chord Dictionary to help you with the first chords you will come across as a beginner
Click here to buy it now in Paperback or for Kindle/iPad/PC or Smartphone
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