Extended Major 7th Chords | Guitar Diagrams & Voicings
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2017-04-01
- 0 comments
Seventh chords (aka four-note chords) represent the backbone of jazz harmony. It is common to extend them with extra tones. These other notes form the upper structure of a chord which includes the 9th, 11th and 13th.

Adding extensions to chords help to get off the beaten tracks and provides some new harmonic colors to your playing (chord soloing, comping, and arrangement).

This lesson provides useful extended major 7th chord shapes to apply to your playing.

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Chord Substitutions For Guitar
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2017-03-25
- 0 comments
Chord substitution is to replace a chord by another one to add more harmonic interest to a piece, a song or a chord progression.

In jazz music, this technique is widely used by composers and improvisers.

It can be useful to reharmonize a chord sequence or a jazz standard.

This lesson will help you better understand what is the diatonic chord substitution.

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Guitar Walking Bass Lesson and Improvisation | Bb blues jazz progression
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2017-02-20
- 0 comments
This lesson is about a 12-bar blues in the key of Bb included two guitar transcriptions with tabs : a guitar walking bass line for the accompaniment and a guitar improvisation to solo over.

Note that this study is based on a common blues jazz progression? but with a descending chromatic progression in bars 7 & 8 using three dominant 7th chords (Bb7, A7, Ab7) to approach G7 at the end of the bar 8.

Bb7 | Eb7 | Bb7 | % |

Eb7 | Edim7 | Bb7 A7 | Ab7 G7 |

C-7 | G7 | Bb7 G7 | C-7 F7 |

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NEW PDF eBook available | 11 blues-jazz progressions for guitar | Chords and comping studies
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2017-02-12
- 0 comments
A new printable PDF eBook is available. It's about 11 blues progressions for jazz guitar with tabs, analysis (with roman numerals), explanations and audio files, divided into four chapters :

1- Blues progressions and variations
2- Chord studies
3- Guitar walking-bass studies
4 -Rhythm patterns

Download

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Minor and Major 6 chords on Guitar | 24 Diagrams and Voicings
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2017-02-04
- 0 comments
Understanding and playing 6th chords—both major and minor—is a powerful way to add richness and color to your guitar playing.

These chords are versatile and frequently used in jazz, blues, rock, and pop music, offering a melodic and harmonic depth that goes beyond standard major and minor chords.

This lesson provides 24 guitar diagrams and voicing charts to play major 6 and minor 6 chords on guitar.

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So What Chord - Jazz Rhythm Guitar Lesson - Modal Comping
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2017-01-24
- 0 comments
The origin of the "so what chord" name would be due to its use by the jazz pianist Bill Evans in the modal tune "So what" by Miles Davis.

This is a cool and modern sounding chord voicing often used as an alternative to quartal voicings. It is built with a fourth chord on the bottom (3 perfect fourths stacked) and a major third added on the top.

This particular chord was originally played on a piano, but it is quite interesting to play it on the guitar to support rhythmically and harmonically a soloist over a modal tune.

This jazz guitar rhythm lesson with tabs and diagrams provides you some interesting ideas of comping inspired by McCoy Tyner's playing on "impressions" by John Coltrane.

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There Will Never Be Another You - Jazz Guitar Chord Lesson
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2017-01-20
- In Jazz Standards
- 0 comments
"There Will Never Be Another You" is a popular song by Harry Warren (music) and Mack Gordon (lyrics).

It is one of the most known jazz standards and an indispensable study for any jazz guitarist.

This jazz guitar lesson provides you different chord voicings (drop 2, inverted, rootless and extended chords) on the top four strings of the guitar to comp over this jazz tune.

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Chords in Fourths - Quartal Harmony
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2017-01-07
- 2 comments
To enrich and modernize the harmonization of a piece it is common to use fourth chords.

They can replace some original chords to bring more melodic freedom into improvisation and more tension in harmony.

Since the late 1950s, harmony in fourths has played a very important role in the development of modern jazz.

Musicians and composers have used a lot quartal harmony.

Among them, the great American pianist McCoy Tyner, who, is a master in the art of playing quartal chords. Mike Stern, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Bill Evans and Kurt Rosewinkel have also used this technique.

In this lesson with tabs and shapes, we will see how to build chords in fourths, how to harmonize the major scale with and how to use them in comping.

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What's the Major 2 5 1 Progression - Guitar Lesson with Shapes , Tabs and Licks
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2016-12-22
- 0 comments
The major 2 5 1 sequence is the most common chord progression used in jazz music but also in a whole number of styles of music as pop, rock, blues, country.

It is present in many jazz standards (Summertime, Autumn leaves, Blue bossa, All the things you are and many more), this is why it is very important to master it.

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Harmonization Of The Major Scale - Guitar Lesson With Shapes and Charts
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2016-12-19
- 0 comments
Scale harmonization is the process of creating chords from each note of a given musical scale. This is one of the fundamental theoretical elements to understand music.

This lesson explains how to create triads and seventh chords from each note of the major scale.

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What Are Guide Tones and How to Use Them
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2016-12-14
- 2 comments
Guide tones are the notes in a chord which leads or gives harmonic pull toward the next chord, these are an excellent way to study and absorb the sound of any chord progression.

Guide tones are used to outline chord progressions in an improvisation.

They are most of the time the 3rd and the 7th because this is what determines whether a chord is major, minor, or dominant.

This jazz guitar lesson explains how to solo over common jazz chord progressions by using guide tones.

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How To Connect Dominant 7th Arpeggios In Blues
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2016-12-13
- 0 comments
Mastering arpeggios is inevitable for anyone who wants to improve its sense of improvisation and bring more musicality to its playing.

Practicing and mastering them is a necessity for all jazz guitarists, indeed arpeggios are great tools to improvise over chord changes and jazz standards.

You'll find at the end of this lesson a basic blues study in C showing how to connect dominant 7 arpeggios and here a serie of Mini Lessons with tab, PDF guitar pro file and short video for practicing arpeggios a little more closely.

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What Are Drop 2 Voicings - How To Play Them On Guitar
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2016-12-09
- 0 comments
Drop 2 chords are very used and appreciated by guitarists of all styles, they are formed by dropping the second highest note of a four-note chord in close position down an octave.

This guitar theory lesson with diagrams and charts explains how drop 2 chords are built and how to play them.

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Misty - Arrangement with chords & melody - Jazz guitar lesson
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2016-12-03
- In Jazz Standards
- 4 comments
Misty is a jazz standard written by Erroll Garner following a 32-bar progression in the key of Eb including some common chord sequences as II-V-I, I-VI-II-V. A very popular ballad that has crossed over genres of music for the past 50 years (1959). This lesson provides a guitar chord melody arrangement with a Youtube video and a brief analysis.

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84 Triad Chords For Guitar | Open and Close Voicings | Root Positions & Inversions
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2016-11-26
- 4 comments
Mastering triads is necessary for any guitarist who wants to expand his fretboard and theory knowledge.

Even if these chords are not really considered as jazz chords because of their basic sound, but they can be efficient tools for comping and chord soloing.

Indeed, the strong point of these chords is the simplicity of learning and playing.

You will find in this guitar lesson 84 ways of playing triads (major, minor, diminished and augmented) using root and inverted voicings in close and open positions.
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How Chords Are Built - Music Theory
- By jazz-guitar-licks
- On 2016-11-12
- 0 comments
How Chords Are Built?

Chord formulas show all the notes which constitute a chord. They reveal their structure and provide a link between scales and arpeggios.

Why Learning Chord Formulas

Knowing the structure of chords will help you find any chord position on the guitar when you only have the name.

This will help you better understand the difference between many types of chords.

Learning chord formulas is necessary for anyone who wants to expand their musical knowledge and increase their guitar playing skills.

The formula chart below show how the main types of chords are built.

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Guitar Scale Dictionary

This E-book is a printable PDF method including over 700 scale diagrams and formula charts for guitarists.
Guitar Chord Dictionary

This PDF eBook provides over 550 guitar chord shapes. This is the perfect reference guide to understand how chords are built and how to play them on the guitar neck.
30 Groovy Jazz Guitar Licks

This downloadable package contains a PDF WITH audio files giving access to 30 groovy guitar phrases mixing jazz, blues and funky licks for beginners.
172 Arpeggio Shapes For Guitar

This printable PDF is a method dedicated to guitarists of all styles who want to learn build and play the most important types of arpeggios.
126 Triad Chord Shapes

This handbook for guitar players is intended both for teachers and students. It includes 126 guitar shapes for mastering triads.
Major Scale Harmonization

This package provides a printable PDF with exercises and audio files to learn how to harmonize the major scale with 3 note chords and their extensions.
30 Minor Arpeggio Licks

This package includes a printable PDF method containing 30 exercises with tabs, staves and audio files for practicing minor arpeggios on guitar.
II V I Bundle - 170 Exercises

This bundle contains 4 PDF methods for a total of 170 exercises with tabs, staves, analysis & audio files for practicing scales, arpeggios licks & chords over the 2-5-1 progression.
Diatonic Licks Bundle

This package contains 120 jazz guitar lines based on diatonic modes as Mixolydian, Dorian and Ionian. PDF format with tabs, audio files and analysis.
30 Smooth Jazz Guitar Licks

In this package you'll get a printable PDF Method with tabs, notation, analysis, scale shapes and audio files for practicing 30 smooth jazz guitar licks.
40 II V I Jazz Guitar Licks

This pdf method for guitar contains fourteen 2 5 1 jazz guitar lines with tab, standard notation, analysis, scale charts and audio files.
50 II-V-I voicings

This printable PDF guitar method provides 50 exercises with audio files, analysis, tab and staves for learning major 2-5-1 chord voicings.
40 Minor 2 5 1 Chord Voicings

This PDF method contains 40 exercices with tabs, scores and audio files for practicing jazz guitar chords over the minor 2 5 1 progression.
40 Minor II V I Licks

This guitar method is a printable PDF with tabs, diagrams, theory and audio files providing 40 minor 2 5 1 jazz patterns.
40 Mixolydian Jazz Guitar Lick

PDF guitar method with tabs, audio files and theory providing 40 dominant jazz guitar lines for teachers and students.
40 Minor Jazz Guitar Licks

This printable guitar method in PDF format contains 40 easy minor jazz guitar lines based on the Dorian mode.
40 Major Jazz Guitar Licks

Printable PDF eBook method containing 40 major jazz guitar licks with tab, standard notation and audio files for beginners and intermediates.
Guitar Walking Bass Lines

This jazz guitar method about walking bass lines and chords is available as a PDF files containing 35 exercises with tabs, analysis and audio files
101 Dominant Arpeggio Patterns

This printable PDF method provides 101 dominant arpeggio exercises with tab, theory and standard notation for the jazz, blues and rock guitarist.
49 Essential Jazz Lines

This printable eBook method in PDF format provides 49 jazz solo transcriptions of the greatest jazz musicians. Tab, standard notation, audio files & analysis.
11 Jazz Blues Studies

11 jazz blues chord studies with tabs, standard notation, analysis, and audio recordings and PDF.
10 Easy Fingerstyle Blues

This PDF with Tabs and audio files provides 10 easy acoustic fingerstyle blues guitar studies for kids and beginners.
25 Altered Jazz Guitar Lines

This PDF eBook method contains 25 altered jazz guitar licks with tabs, patterns, scale charts and audio files to master, apply and develop the altered scale.
40 Blues Dominant Patterns

This printable method is available as a PDF file containing 40 easy dominant jazz-blues guitar lines with tabs, standard notation, analysis, audio files and scale charts.
25 Pentatonic Licks

This jazz guitar method is an eBook available as a PDF with standard notation, guitar tabs, diagrams, analysis, audio files and backing tracks. You will find in this booklet 25 easy jazz guitar lines with theory using common and rare pentatonic scales.
25 Soul Jazz Guitar Licks

You will find here an eBook available in PDF containing 25 soul jazz and hard bop guitar licks in the style of Grant Green, Melvin Sparks, George Benson.
25 Diminished Patterns

This eBook PDF with audio files contains 25 dominant diminished jazz guitar patterns using the half-whole diminished scale and diminished 7th arpeggios.
6 Tritone substitution licks

This Printable PDF eBook available for free download contains 6 easy jazz guitar licks with tabs/notation, youtube video link and analysis about the tritone substitution.
10 Minor 7 Arpeggio Patterns

This printable PDF eBook offers 10 easy minor 7 arpeggio patterns with its related YouTube video for beginner guitarists.
10 Easy Major 7 Arpeggio Licks

This is a printable PDF for beginner jazz guitar players providing 10 easy licks to practice major 7 arpeggios.
10 Chord Melody Lines

Within this package, you'll discover a set of ten chord melody exercises for beginners. Printable PDFaudio files, a backing track, and a link to the associated YouTube video.
10 Minor Blues Scale Licks

You'll find here a PDF with 10 easy jazz guitar licks to practice the minor blues scale on guitar.

Blog - Jazz Guitar Lessons

Welcome,

This blog covers different topics with several useful lessons both for beginners, intermediate and advanced jazz guitar players.

Whether you're looking for tips on playing jazz guitar, this blog surely has the information you crave and will help you expand your music knowledge and technical skills.

Here below many tutorials grouped into several distinct categories:

Chord substitution is to replace a chord by another one to add more harmonic interest to a piece, a song or a chord progression.

In jazz music, this technique is widely used by composers and improvisers.

It can be useful to reharmonize a chord sequence or a jazz standard.

This lesson will help you better understand what is the diatonic chord substitution.

Understanding and playing 6th chords—both major and minor—is a powerful way to add richness and color to your guitar playing.

These chords are versatile and frequently used in jazz, blues, rock, and pop music, offering a melodic and harmonic depth that goes beyond standard major and minor chords.

This lesson provides 24 guitar diagrams and voicing charts to play major 6 and minor 6 chords on guitar.

"There Will Never Be Another You" is a popular song by Harry Warren (music) and Mack Gordon (lyrics).

It is one of the most known jazz standards and an indispensable study for any jazz guitarist.

This jazz guitar lesson provides you different chord voicings (drop 2, inverted, rootless and extended chords) on the top four strings of the guitar to comp over this jazz tune.

To enrich and modernize the harmonization of a piece it is common to use fourth chords.

They can replace some original chords to bring more melodic freedom into improvisation and more tension in harmony.

Since the late 1950s, harmony in fourths has played a very important role in the development of modern jazz.

Musicians and composers have used a lot quartal harmony.

Among them, the great American pianist McCoy Tyner, who, is a master in the art of playing quartal chords. Mike Stern, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Bill Evans and Kurt Rosewinkel have also used this technique.

In this lesson with tabs and shapes, we will see how to build chords in fourths, how to harmonize the major scale with and how to use them in comping.

The major 2 5 1 sequence is the most common chord progression used in jazz music but also in a whole number of styles of music as pop, rock, blues, country.

It is present in many jazz standards (Summertime, Autumn leaves, Blue bossa, All the things you are and many more), this is why it is very important to master it.

Scale harmonization is the process of creating chords from each note of a given musical scale. This is one of the fundamental theoretical elements to understand music.

This lesson explains how to create triads and seventh chords from each note of the major scale.

Guide tones are the notes in a chord which leads or gives harmonic pull toward the next chord, these are an excellent way to study and absorb the sound of any chord progression.

Guide tones are used to outline chord progressions in an improvisation.

They are most of the time the 3rd and the 7th because this is what determines whether a chord is major, minor, or dominant.

This jazz guitar lesson explains how to solo over common jazz chord progressions by using guide tones.

Mastering arpeggios is inevitable for anyone who wants to improve its sense of improvisation and bring more musicality to its playing.

Practicing and mastering them is a necessity for all jazz guitarists, indeed arpeggios are great tools to improvise over chord changes and jazz standards.

You'll find at the end of this lesson a basic blues study in C showing how to connect dominant 7 arpeggios and here a serie of Mini Lessons with tab, PDF guitar pro file and short video for practicing arpeggios a little more closely.

Drop 2 chords are very used and appreciated by guitarists of all styles, they are formed by dropping the second highest note of a four-note chord in close position down an octave.

This guitar theory lesson with diagrams and charts explains how drop 2 chords are built and how to play them.

Mastering triads is necessary for any guitarist who wants to expand his fretboard and theory knowledge.

Even if these chords are not really considered as jazz chords because of their basic sound, but they can be efficient tools for comping and chord soloing.

Indeed, the strong point of these chords is the simplicity of learning and playing.

You will find in this guitar lesson 84 ways of playing triads (major, minor, diminished and augmented) using root and inverted voicings in close and open positions.

How Chords Are Built?

Why Learning Chord Formulas

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