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EasyJazzGuitarProgressions

12EssentialProgressionsforJazzGuitarWrittenBy:MatthewWarnockPublishedBy:GuitarforLifeLLCCopyright2017GuitarforLifeLLC

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TableofContentsHowtoUseThiseBookIntroductiontoChordProgressionsMajoriiVIProgressionMinoriiVIProgressionMajorIVIiiVProgressionMinorIbIIIiiVProgressionMixediiVI1ProgressionMixediiVI2ProgressionsBackdooriiVProgressionTaketheATrainRhythmChangesBridgeTurnaroundtotheiim7ChordIVmaj7toImaj7TurnaroundMinorCliché

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HowtoUseThiseBookBeforeyoudiveintothismaterial,takeaminutetolearnhowtogetthemostoutofthiseBookinyourpracticeroutine.Thefirstthingtoknow,isthatjazzprogressionsarenotusuallythoughtofas“easy”asthebook’stitlesuggests.But,withtherightpracticeapproach,youcanmakeanyprogressionsoundeasyinyourcompingandsoloing.Byunderstandingtheirconstruction,andworkingfunandessentialexercises,anyjazzprogressioncanbeeasytooutlineinyourplaying.ThematerialinthiseBookdoesjustthis,breaksdownseeminglydifficultprogressionsintoeasytounderstandconcepts.Doingsobuildsyourconfidenceandallowsyoutooutlineanyoftheseprogressionsinjazzstandardswithease.WhenlearninganyprogressioninthiseBook,workitinthefollowingwaystogetthemostoutofyourpracticetime.

Ø Learnthechordsinthegivenkey.Ø Workthosechordsoverthebackingtrack.Ø Takethosechordstootherkeys.Ø Learnthesingle-notematerialinthegivenkey.Ø Takethatmaterialtosoloingoverthebackingtrack.Ø Workthesingle-notematerialinotherkeys.

Workingprogressionsthiswayteachesyoutorecognizethesechangesinjazztunesandoutlinethemwithconfidence.Thisiswhythefirstpartofanychapterisoftenthemostimportant.

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It’snogoodtohaveatonofgreatchordsorlicksoverabackdooriiVIifyoucan’trecognizethatprogressioninatune,forexample.Recognizingtheprogressionsinajazzstandardisthefirststeptobeingabletocomporsolooverthosechangeswithconfidence.Becauseofthis,don’tskiptheintrotheorytojumpintothechordsandsoloingmaterial.Asyoulearnthesechordprogressions,takeoutyourRealBookandseeifyoucanfindthosechangesinjazztunes.ThisisapowerfulcomplimentaryexercisetothematerialinthiseBook.Withthatsaid,you’rereadytolearntheseessentialjazzchordprogressionsonguitar.

AbouttheBackingTracksForsomeoftheprogressionsbelow,youcanplaythemas2or4-barphrases.Becauseofthis,thematerialispresentedinbothofthoselengths.Whenthishappens,thebackingtracksarethe4-barversions.Thisallowsyoutostretchout,takeyourtime,andworkthematerialuntilit’scomfortableandconfident.Anyofthe2-barmaterialcanalsobeplayedoverthe4-barbackingtrack;youjustneedtoadjusttherhythms.

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IntroductiontoChordProgressionsBeforediggingintotheessentialprogressions,takeafewminutestolearnorreviewhowprogressionsareconstructed.Chordprogressionsarebuiltbymixingdiatonicandnon-diatonicchordsbasedaroundthetonickeyofthesong.Thosechordsarebuiltbystackingnotesontopofanynoteinthediatonicscale,orborrowedscaleinthecaseofnon-diatonicchords.Asprogressionsarebuiltbyaddingchordstoeachnoteinascale,thefirstthingtoknowisthenotes/degreesofanymajorscale.Thesamethingcanbedoneforminorscales,buttokeepthingssimpleyoulookatmajorprogressionsintheseexamples.Here’saCmajorscalewrittenwitha5th-stringbassnote.Theletternamesandscaledegreenumbersarewrittenbeloweachnoteinthescale.Scaledegreeswillbeveryimportantgoingforward,sokeepacloseeyeonthose.Lastly,whentalkingaboutsingle-notes,scaledegreesforexample,youuseArabicnumerals,1-2-3-4-5,etc.Then,forchordnumbersyouuseRomannumerals,I-ii-iii-IV-V,etc.Thisletsyouquicklyunderstandwhichonesomeoneistalkingaboutwhenreferringtoeithersingle-notesorchords.

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Tomakethingseasiertobuildchordsunderthesescalenotes,youputthescaleononestring.YoucanseethisherewiththeCmajorscalewrittenonthe5thstring.

Onceyouhavethenotesinakeyononestring,youcanaddchordstoeachoneofthosenotes.Foreverymajorscale,nomatterthekey,youusethefollowingchords.

Ø Imaj7Ø iim7Ø iiim7Ø IVmaj7Ø V7Ø vim7Ø viim7b5

HerearesamplechordsforallthechangesinthekeyofCmajor.

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IfyouweretotakethesechordstothekeyofGmajor,forexample,itwouldallbethesameorder,justdifferentnotes.InGmajoritwouldbeGmaj7,Am7,Bm7,Cmaj7,D7,Em7,andF#m7b5.

Nowthatyouhavethediatonicchordsworkedout,youcanarrangetheminanewordertocreateprogressions.Here’sanexampleoftheCmajorchordsinthefirstline,aswellasacommonprogressioninthesecondline.Tobuildthatprogression,youtaketheI,vi,ii,V,andiiichordsfromCmajorandarrangethemintotheprogressionbelow.Alldiatonicprogressionsarebuiltthisway;youfigureoutthechordsinakeyandthenmatchthosechordstothenumbersintheprogression.

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Non-DiatonicChordsBesidesseeingchordsfromthekeyyou’rein,youalsoseenon-diatonicchordsinpopularjazzprogressions.Whilethesechordsaretemporarilyoutsidethekey,theycanbelabeledandthoughtofasvariationsofdiatonicchords.Youseethisintheexamplebelowwiththeivm7bVII7chordsinaCmajorprogression.NormallythosechordsareFmaj7(IVmaj7)andBm7b5(viim7b5)inthekeyofC.WhileFm7andBb7aren’tinthekeyofC,they’releadingtoaCmaj7chord,andareonlybeingsoundedforonebareach.

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Thoughtheyaren’tinC,they’reonlytemporarilyoutsidethekey,andtheyjumpbacktoCmajorrightaway.Becauseofthis,it’seasiertothinkofthemasvariationsofchordsinCmajor,ratherthananewkeyforsuchashortamountoftime.

SecondaryDominantChordsYoualsoencountersecondarydominantchordsinthiseBook.Theseare7thchordsthatyoufindinjazzsongsthataren’ttheV7ofthetonickey.ThemostfamousexampleistheV7/V7chord,alsocalledII7,asit’sadominantbuiltfromthesecondnoteofthescale.Secondarydominantsareusedtocreatetensionandstrongermovementtoadiatonicchordthat’snotthetonic.TheV7/V7examplebelow,takenfromTaketheATrain,showsaD7inbars3and4.Here,D7istheV7ofG7,theV7ofCmaj7;thereforeit’stheV7/V7.

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Ifthisisconfusing,nottoworry,justknowthatyouwillsee7thchordsinjazzthataren’ttheV7.Mostofthetime,byfar,thosechordsaretheV7ofanotherdiatonicchord,suchastheV7/iim7,V7/vim7,orV7/V7.Here’sthatTaketheATrainexampletocheckoutbeforediggingintosecondarydominantchordsfurtherintheprogressionsbelow.

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MajoriiVIProgressionAsit’sthemostfamousprogressioninjazz,themajoriiVIisthefirstsetofchangesyoustudyinthiseBook.Thisprogressionisfoundincountlessjazzstandards,andit’sthemostessentialprogressiontopracticeforanyjazzguitarist.Below,youworkon2and4barversionsofthisprogression,asyoudoformanyprogressionsinthiseBook.Thebackingtrackisthe4-barversiontokeepthingsspreadoutandsloweddownwhenpracticing.But,any2barmaterialcanbeappliedtothe4-barversionandvice-versa,youjustneedtospeeduporslowdowntofitthephrase.

BuildingtheProgressionTobuildtheprogression,youtakethe2nd,5th,and1stchordsfromthekeyofCmajorandplaytheminthatorder.Here’saharmonizedCmajorscalewiththeRomannumeralsforeachchordwrittenbelowthechanges.Fromthere,youcanseehowyoutakethe2nd,5th,and1stchords,Dm7-G7-Cmaj7,toformtheiiVIprogression.

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CompingExercisesNowthatyouknowhowtobuildthisprogression,herearechordexercisestotakethoseshapesontothefretboard.Thefirstgroupofchordsbrings9and6colorstotheG7andCmaj7chordsrespectively.EachchordinthiseBookiswrittenwithaplainrhythmtomakeiteasiertolearn.Afteryoulearntheseshapes,experimentwithvariousrhythmsasyoutakethesechordstothebackingtrack.

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AudioExample1

Inthischordphraseyoubringm9,13,and6/9colorstoeachchangeintheprogression.Makesuretoworkthese,andallchords,in12keysasyoutakethemaroundthefretboardinyourstudies.AudioExample2

Totakethesechordsfurther,herearefourpositionsofdrop2chordsthatusevoiceleadingtooutlinethemajoriiVI.Here,youstartbyplayinganinversionofDm7,thenyoulowertheb7ofthatDm7chordbyonefret,CtoB,toformarootlessG9chord.

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AnytimeyouhaveaiiVprogression,youcanplaytheiim7chord,lowertheb7byonefret,andyougetaV9chordwithoutaroot.CheckouttheseshapesandhavefunwiththesejazzysoundingiiVI’s.AudioExample3

4ChordLicksHereare4chordlickstolearnoverthemajoriiVI,andthenaddthemtoyourcomping,chordsoloing,andchordmelodyplaying.ThefirstlineisanEdBickertstylelinethatusessyncopationanddifferentchordcolorstocreateinterestovertheprogression.

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AudioExample4

ThisisabusierJoePassinspiredlinethatusesanumberofchordcolorsoverthewrittenshapes.Ifthesechordsarenewtoyou,writethemoutonaseparatesheetofpapertostartbuildingyourchorddictionary.Asyoulearnnewshapesthatyoulike,addthemtoyourchorddictionaryuntilyoubuildasolidvocabularyofcolorfulchords.AudioExample5

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Here,youusethree-notechords,noroots,tooutlinethechanges.Oftenfast-movingchordsareeasiertooutlinewithsmallershapes,suchasthese.Workingupafewchordlinesthatusesmallershapespreparesyoutoapplythemtofast-movingchordsortunesplayedatfasttempos.AudioExample6

Thesethree-notechordsbringsomecolortotheunderlyingchanges.Don’tforgettotakethis,andother,chordlinetootherkeysinyourpracticeroutine.AudioExample7

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ArpeggioExercisesYounowworkonsoloingoverthemajoriiVIprogression,beginningwitharpeggios.Herearefourpositionsofone-octavearpeggiosoverthosechanges.Eachofthesepositionsiswrittenup,down,andalternatingtodemonstratethosevariationsoverthesechanges.Thesevariationswon’tbewrittenoutagainintheeBook,orelsethebookwouldbe500-pageslong.So,studythesevariations,andasyoumoveontootherprogressions,alwaysworkarpeggiosandscalesup,down,andalternating.Thisteachesyoutheshapes,aswellasgetsyouawayfromalwaysstartingontherootwhensoloingwitharpeggios.AudioExample8

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Herearethedescendingversionsofthearpeggiostostudy.AudioExample9

Herearethealternatingversionsofthearpeggiostoexplore.

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AudioExample10

Herearethetwo-octavearpeggiosforeachchordinamajoriiVI.Onceyoucanplaythemfrommemoryup,workthemdown,andalternatingtogetthemostoutoftheseshapes.And,don’tforgettosolowiththeseshapesoverthebackingtracktoaddthemtoyourimprovisations.

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AudioExample11

ScaleExercisesBecauseyoucanoutlineallthreechordsinamajoriiVIwiththemajorscale,you’llchallengeyourselfwithnewscalesinthissection.Foreachchordintheprogression,youusetherelatedbebopscale,minorbebop,dominantbebop,andmajorbebop.Thesebebopscalesarebuiltbyaddingonechromaticnotetoamajormode,likeso.

Ø MinorBebop=Dorianwithadded7Ø DominantBebop=Mixolydianwithadded7Ø MajorBebop=Majorwithaddedb6

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Herearethosescalesintwopositionsontheguitartolearnandaddtoyoursolos.Startbylearningonebebopscale,probablyminor,andsoloingwiththatscaleovertheDm7chord,leavingtherestblank.Then,addthedominantbebopscaleandleavethemaj7chordblank.FinallyplayallthreescalesasyoubuilduptooutliningeverychordinamajoriiVIwithitsrelatedbebopscale.AudioExample12

AsyouworkthroughthiseBook,youlearnscalesandarpeggiosseparatelyovereachprogression.But,onceyouhavethosedownyoucanalsocombinethemtotaketheseconceptsfurtherinyourplaying.

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HerearefourpositionsofplayingthearpeggioupandscaledownforeachchordinthemajoriiVIprogression.Foreachoneyouplayupthe1357arpeggioanddownthebebopscaleforeachchord.Afteryoucanplaytheseexercises,takethemtootherprogressionsinthiseBookifyouwantthatextrachallenge.Youdon’thavetoworkarpeggiosandscalestogetherlikethis,butitdoeschallengeyourfretboardknowledgeandtechniqueontheguitar.AudioExample13

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4SingleNoteLicksTohelpyoutakethesetechnicalitemstoamusicalsituation,herearefourmajoriiVIlickstolearnandaddtoyoursolos.Thefirstlickisabeboplinethatmixesarpeggios,scalesandchromaticnotestobuildaslipperysoundingphraseoverthechords.AudioExample14

Inthisline,youmixscales,arpeggios,andpassingnotestocreateafour-barmajoriiVIphrase.AudioExample15

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Here’salickthatalternatesanarpeggioupandscaledownovertheiiVthatresolvestothe3rdofCmaj7.Playingthearpeggioupandscaledownisacommonbebopexercise,soworkthisconceptinotherpositionstotakeitfurtherinyourplaying.AudioExample16

Thelastlickusesalternatingarpeggios,thistimestartingwithdescending,tooutlinethechanges.Afteryoucanplaythislick,experimentwiththerhythmstocreatevariationsthatyoucanuseinyoursolos.AudioExample17