Jazz Guitar Chords The Ultimate Guide

Jazz guitar chords are both essential tools for any jazz guitarist to have under their fingers,
and the cause of much mystery to the uninitiated player.There seems to be a never-ending
number of chords to learn to even get started with comping and chord melody playing.While
the mountain ahead of you may seem tall and steep, this doesnt have to be the case. With the
right practice routine, an understanding of how jazz guitar chords function, and some cool-
sounding shapes under your fingers, you too can comp over jazz standards with confidence.In
this in-depth guide, youll learn how to practice, play, break down, and apply jazz guitar chords
over essential jazz chord progressions.By studying the material in this lesson, youll build
your jazz chord vocabulary in no time.

Contents
How to Use This Guide
What Are Jazz Guitar Chords
How to Read a Jazz Lead Sheet
Essential Jazz Rhythms
Must Know Jazz Chord Progressions
Beginner Jazz Guitar Chords
Intermediate Jazz Guitar Chords
Jazz Standards Chord Studies

How to Use This Guide

As you can see by the table of contents, theres a lot of information to cover in this lesson.To
help you organize this material, here are practice guidelines that you can follow when studying
jazz guitar chords.

Keeping a Practice Room Focus

While it may be tempting to jump around, learning a few progressions or chords here and
there, the best way to study this material is to keep focus in the practice room.Start by picking
a single chord progression to work on.Then, read about that chord progression and begin to
practice the chord studies below.Work those studies from memory in the given key, then take
them to other keys around the fretboard.Study them at various tempos, and when ready, apply
those shapes to other tunes and musical situations in your studies.If youre a beginning jazz
guitarist, you dont have to learn every beginning chord study before moving on to the
intermediate versions.Thats perfectly fine, but you can also work one progression at both the
beginning and intermediate level back to back.When youve worked through two or three of the
chord progression studies, youll be ready to jump down and learn one of the jazz standard
 chord studies.With those full tune studies, its best to learn them in the order presented, as they
get progressively more difficult as you go.In regards to the chord progression studies, you can
jump around, but the best way to work that material is in the given order.Lastly, and most
importantly, no matter how you tackle this material, have fun with it!

Picking Hand Variations

The last item to cover before practicing this material is your picking hand.And, more
specifically, how to use your picking hand to play these jazz guitar chords and
progressions.There are three ways to play any of the chords in this lesson, or any jazz guitar
chords in general, and all can be used successfully in different musical situations.These
picking variations are:

Flatpicking

Fingerpicking
Hybrid Picking

If youre used to using a pick to play single notes, then working on flat-picking and hybrid pick
(pick and fingers) is probably the best course of action.Thisll give you two options, strumming
and plucking, to sound any chord in a progression.As well, when playing chords that contain a
string skip, such as Drop 3 shapes, youll find it easier to use hybrid picking compared to
flatpicking.If youre a fingerstyle jazz guitarist, then working these chords with your fingers to
pluck them, and using your thumb when you want to strum, will provide you with those same
two variations.No matter which option you choose, make sure to have two variations of that
picking attack, one plucked and one strummed.Thisll give you enough technique to tackle any
progression, and provide variety when needed in our comping lines and phrases.Now that you
know how to organize and approach the material in this lesson, you can start your journey into
jazz harmony by learning exactly what jazz guitar chords are.
What Are Jazz Guitar Chords
Before you take this material to the fretboard, you might be asking yourself:

What exactly is a jazz guitar chord?

While theres no definite jazz guitar chord, there are types of chords that jazz composers and
musicians use in their writing and performing.When playing rock and pop music, or most other
musical genres, youll mostly play three-note triadswhen it comes time to play chords on the
guitar.This means playing C, Dm, A, Bm, etc., with the odd 7th or m7 chord throw in.

When playing those same chords in jazz, musicians prefer to use extensions beyond the
triad to include four, five, and six-note chord shapes.
This would mean playing those same chords as Cmaj7, Dm9, A7b13, and Bm11.
 So, while there isnt a definitive jazz chord, or set of jazz chords, you can think of this as a
guideline.Jazz chords, unless specified, include extensions beyond the triad, including 7th, 9th,
11th, and 13thbased chord voicings.Though these extended chords may be new to you, after
working on the material in this lesson, youll be able to confidently apply those chords over
progressions.As well, your ears will start to recognize these extended chords as sounding as
natural in your playing as an open C chord.When that happens, then youre really playing jazz
guitar chords, with confidence and authenticity.

How to Read a Jazz Lead Sheet

Heres where the biggest confusion happens when learning how to play jazz guitar chords
and play jazz standards on guitar.So, Im going to clear this confusion up for you before going
any further in the lesson.When first learning jazz guitar chords, many players believe that
youre only supposed to play the chord that you see on the lead sheet.

If you see G7, you only play a G7 chord.

If you see G7b9, you only play a G7b9 chord.

But, this isnt how jazz works.

As a guitarist, youre expected to use other chords beyond those in the lead sheet changes
to make your comping sound hip, and fit this style of music.This means seeing a Cmaj7 chord
and playing C6, or seeing G7 and playing G13.It can also mean seeing Cmaj7 and playing
Em7, or seeing G7 and playing Bdim7 for more advanced guitarists.Now that Ive blown that
door wide open, which is a good thing, lets break this down further to make it easier to apply
this concept to any jazz standard youre playing in your studies.To understand how to see one
chord and play another, youll need to take a look at the main families of jazz guitar
chords.Then, youll be able to swap out these chords for each other.As long as you stay within
the same family, for now, youll be cool.

Major Chord Family

These chords are all based on the major triad and maj7 chord, and are found on the Imaj7 and
IVmaj7 chords in a major key.When playing a jazz standard, you can usually move between
these chords without much trouble.I say usually because the maj7#11 and its variations might
cause too much tension for some players, while others may enjoy this tension.The only way to
figure out if you dig that tension is to experiment.Just make sure you experiment at home first
before taking these chords to a jam situation.

Maj7

Maj9
 Maj6

Maj6/9

Maj7#11

Maj9#11

Maj6#11

As you can see, you have quite a number of options to choose from when it comes to the
major family of chords.When learning any chord study below, make a mental note of which
variations you like the best.That way, youll be able to apply them further in your studies with
confidence and an ear for those chord variations on the fretboard.

Dominant Chord Family

Moving on to dominant family chords, there are just as many options with these chords as
applied to lead sheets.And youre not even going into altered dominant chords yet.For this
reason, dominant 7th chords are some of the most fun, yet most difficult, chords to navigate in a
jazz chord progression.Here are the chords that you can use when you see a 7th chord in a
lead sheet.Again, the 7#11 chords will be a bit tense, so test those out at home before bringing
them onto the bandstand.

13

7#11

9#11

13#11

7sus

The last chord, 7sus, is technically part of the suspended family of chords.But in jazz its most
often applied to the V7 chord, or other dominant chords, and thats why its included as an
option here.

Minor Chord Family

As you dig into minor family chords, youll find you have fewer options, as there isnt a #11
version of these chords to navigate on the guitar.When you see a m7 chord on a jazz standard
lead sheet, you can use the following minor chord options.

m7
 m6

m9

m6/9

m11

Though they have fewer options than dominant or major family chords, there are some very
cool colors in the minor family.Chords such as m11 and minor 6/9 will expand your comping
colors immensely, and bring a jazz vibe to any progression you play.

Altered Dominant Chords

Youll now take a look at 7alt chords.This is one of the most confusing chord symbols
because its often not used as a specific chord, but as a catchall for any altered sound.Then,
you the performer are required to figure out which 7alt option youll play on the guitar.While
there are a number of 7alt options, you only have two notes that can be altered, the 9th and the
5th.This can seem simple, but it causes even more problems as sometimes the b5 is written
#11, or other times the #5 is written b13.Itll take some time to learn how to interpret a 7alt
chord correctly in your comping, so start today.And, if you get stuck and dont know which
chord to play, look at the melody.Often the melody will contain a few altered notes, dictating
which ones youll use in your Jazz guitar chord voicings.

7b9

7#9

7b9b5

7b9#5

7#9b5

7#9#5

On the guitar, those are about all the options you have for a practical 7alt jazz guitar
chord.Pianists can bring more options to the table, but we do just fine with our six strings and
these 7alt chord on the guitar.

Diminished Chord Family

The final family to look at is the diminished family of chords.This family contains dim7 and
m7b5 variations, both diminished and half-diminished chords.Though these chords function
differently in jazz chord progressions, they both contain the diminished triad, so are grouped
together here.To begin, if you see a dim7 chord symbol on a lead sheet you can play.

dim7
 dimMaj7

Then, if you see m7b5 on chord sheet you can play.

m7b5

m11b5

There are a few other options for m7b5 chords, such as m9b5, but they tend to be indicated in
lead sheets as theyre only used in specific musical situations.Now that youve worked out how
to read a jazz lead sheet, and understand the various families of chords, youre ready to
explore the essential jazz rhythms that you can use to play these chords on the guitar.

7 Essential Jazz Rhythms

When learning any of the chord progression studies in this lesson, youll notice that theyre all
written out with a simple rhythm pattern.This is to make it easier to learn and read the chord
shapes, as well as leave the rhythms up for your interpretation.To help give you an
understanding of how to practice rhythms over these jazz chord progressions, you can study
the following essential jazz rhythms in your practice routine.When doing so, you can learn any
chord study below.Then, once its memorized, work that same progression through these
different rhythms to get a feel for how you can vary the rhythms in your comping.

Half Time Feel

The first must know jazz guitar rhythm is the half-time feel.This rhythm is based on the half
note in each bar of 4/4 time, which you can move around from that starting point.Heres a
sample half-time rhythm over a Dmaj7 chord.

You can also place the second chord on the 4th beat of each bar, or other beats as long as
you maintain the half-note accent within the bar.Heres an example of that second approach to
half-time rhythms.
Once you can play these two examples, begin to experiment with other variations as you keep
the half-note accent, but place chords on different beats within the bar.

Freddie Green Rhythm

Probably the most famous rhythm guitarist in jazz, Freddie Green even has a rhythm named
after him.Freddie Green style comping, from a rhythmic perspective, means playing one chord
on each quarter note in a bar.From there, you put a slight accent on beats 2 and 4 to increase
the swing feel.Heres an example of the Freddie Green rhythm that you can learn and apply to
any progression in this lesson.

Charleston Rhythm
Heres one of the most common rhythms in jazz, the Charleston rhythm.Named after the tune
and dance from the 1920s, the Charleston is a dotted quarter note followed by an
8th note.Heres example of that rhythm to check out and apply to your jazz guitar chords
practice routine.

You can also place the Charleston rhythm on other beats within the bar.
An example of this is moving it over by an 8th note, as you can see here.
From there, experiment with playing the Charleston rhythm on any 8th note within a bar.
Moving a rhythm around like this is a great way to come up with new rhythm ideas without
leaving the original rhythm in your comping.

Upbeats on 1 and 3
Here is a syncopated (offbeat) rhythm that you can use to raise the interest level in your jazz
guitar comping.When playing on the & of 1 and 3, you might tend to rush these chords.So,
make sure to work slowly with a metronome first.Then, slowly speed up the tempo from there
as you become more comfortable with this rhythm in your playing.

Upbeats on 2 and 4
You can take the previous rhythm and push it over by a beat to play on the & of 2 and 4 in
each bar.When doing so, youll need to decide on what chord to play on the & of 4.Technically
its still in bar 1, for example.But, you might want to use that attack to anticipate the next chord
that falls on the downbeat of bar 2.Try both and see what you think.You will probably end up
using both in different situations; so let your ears decide as to what chord you want to place on
that beat.
 Dotted Quarter Notes
This is a favorite rhythm of jazz guitarist Jim Hall, among others, who used it in many of
his classic jazz recordings.Dotted quarter notes can be chained together to cover one, two, or
three bars before they repeat back on the first beat of any measure.An extension of the
Charleston rhythm you learned earlier, this extended jazz guitar rhythm can take some time to
get comfortable in your playing.Go slow, try playing dotted quarters for a bar or two at first, and
then when youre ready extend them out to three or four bars from there.

Bossa Nova Rhythm

The final rhythm that youll study is a Bossa Nova rhythm.When jamming on Bossa tunes,
many guitarists not born in Brazil will fake a Bossa rhythm.While you may be able to do a
convincing job in a pinch by faking a Bossa, its best to get an authentic Bossa Nova guitar
pattern down when jamming in a jazz situation.This first pattern is a favorite of guitarist Joao
Gilberto, and can be used for any Tom Jobim style Bossa tune, such as Corcovado, Girl From
Ipanema, Meditation, etc.

Make sure to keep everything quiet, except the very last attack on the & of 3 in each bar, that
should be accented a bit.This will give you that cool, laid-back Brazilian swing feel when
applied to any chord progression.

Heres a second version of the Bossa Nova rhythm that you can work on as you master the
first version.In this Bossa rhythm, youre anticipating the next chord by playing the top 3 notes
on the & of 4 before the next down beat.This is easy to understand, but tricky to get down, as
youll naturally want to play that chord with the bass note on beat one.
For that reason, make sure youve got the first Bossa Nova rhythm fully under your fingers
before you attempt them pattern in your studies.

With a firm grasp on important jazz guitar rhythms, youre ready to move on to studying the 10
most popular jazz chord progressions on your instrument.

Must Know Jazz Chord Progressions

Before you learn how to play jazz guitar chords on the fretboard, take a minute to look
through each of the 10 essential jazz chord progressions that are used in this lesson.The other
option, which is cool as well, is to skip down to the chord studies below.Then, after youve
picked one to work on, pop back up here and read the background on that particular chord
progression.That way youll not only learn how to play chords over these must know
progressions, but youll understand how theyre built and why theyre used so often in jazz
standards.Lastly, there are backing tracks for every progression, both here and again down in
the chord study sections for you to practice with.

These backing tracks use drums and bass only to allow you to comp over those progressions
without interference from a piano part.If you know some jazz guitar chords already, feel free to
start trying out these progressions with the backing tracks as you read about them.

But if not, no worries.

Just learn the examples below and then come back to the backing tracks when you have those
chords under your fingers and are ready to apply them to a comping situation.

Major ii V I
The first progression is the most popular of them all, the major ii V I chord progression.Found
in too many jazz standards to list here, jazz wouldnt exist without these three chords, at least
not in the form we know and love.Built from the 2nd, 5th, and 1st chords of the major scale, the ii
V I is a cadence progression.This means that the iim7 chord wants to move forward, in this
case to the V7 chord.
Then, the V7 chord creates a bit of tension that feels like it wants to resolve, which it does to
the tonic chord, Imaj7.So, you can think of any ii V I progression as:

Setup-Tension-Resolution

In the progressions below, youll see the two most common durations for a ii V I progression,
labeled long and short.The long progression is four bars long, while the short progression is
half that length, two bars.As you study jazz standards further, youll find that the ii and V are
often played on their own.Studying ii V Is will not only prepare you to play those exact chords,
but the ii V variation as well.

Minor ii V I
The other side of the most popular chord progression in jazz is the minor ii V I
progression.These three chords come from various minor family scales, which is why theyre
often more difficult to solo over than the major ii V I chords.From a soloing standpoint, the
iim7b5 chord comes from the natural minor scale, while the V7alt chord comes from
the harmonic minor scale.Then, to resolve the progression, the Im7 chord is either
from melodic minor or Dorian, depending on your musical tastes.Before you start to play this
chord progression, just a reminder about V7alt chords.Though the chord is writing E7alt, that
doesnt automatically imply the altered scale, or a full altered chord.

You have the choice to play E7b9, E7b9,b13, E7#9, E7#9b13, etc. in both your chords and
solos.Because of this, it can take some time to know where and when to use those chords in
your comping patterns.Study the examples below, and over time youll develop a sense for
where each of these 7alt chord variations will fit into your comping vocabulary.Lastly, as was
the case with the major ii V I, there are both long and short versions of the minor ii V I
progression, which you can see below.
 Major I VI ii V
Often referred to as a turnaround progression, I VI ii V is found in many jazz standards,
often at the end of a section or full tune.The name turnaround refers to the fact that these four
chords turn around the tune back to the tonic chord.As well as turning tunes around, these
four chords are also found in the A section to rhythm changes, one of the most popular forms
in Jazz history.Youve already studied three of these chords, the ii, V, and I, but the VI chord is
new.In a diatonic major key, the vi chord is minor.But.

In jazz, we prefer to use the VI7b9 chord in its place.

The reason for this is that the VI7b9 chord is also the V7b9 of the iim7 chord.

So, in the key of C, A7b9 is the V7b9 of Dm7, the iim7 chord in that key.

As you learned earlier, this creates tension over the VI7b9 chord that is resolved down to the
iim7 chord in the progression.Give it a try, listen to the backing track, and learn the examples
below to hear how this progression, long and short versions, sounds on the guitar.

Minor I bIII ii V

The next progression is the minor key turnaround, which is actually very diatonic compared to
the major key version.In this case, youre adding a bIIImaj7 chord to the ii V I progression that
you just learned.When doing so, youll be turning any chord progression or tune back to the
tonic minor chord.As youll see in the chord studies below, the bIIImaj7 chord is often played as
a maj6 chord, which is a quasi-inversion of the Im7 chord.But, for now, just know that these
four chords make up the short and long minor turnaround chord progression.Then you can take
that knowledge to the guitar with the backing tracks and chord studies in this lesson.
 Backdoor ii V
The next progression stretches out over 8 bars and is found in jazz standards such as Lady
Bird, where its heard in the A section of the tune.This progression starts on the tonic chord,
and then uses a ivm7 and bVII7 chord progression to turn back around to that same tonic
chord.This ii V progression resolves from behind, or from the back door of the Imaj7 chord,
hence the name.The ii V, ivm7 to bVII7, is borrowed from the tonic minor key, which is why it
looks a bit out of place, but sounds cool when played over a tune.In the tonic minor key, Am for
example, you have both a ivm7 and bVII7 chord.With the back door ii V progression, youre
simply borrowing those chords for a moment to create a new chord progression.This type of
progression is called modal borrowing.It might sound complex, but for now just know that if
youre in a major key you might see a few chords from the minor key thrown into the mixture.

Take the A Train

Taken from the A section of one of the most famous jazz standards, this 8-bar phrase outlines
the opening changes to Take the A Train.While there isnt much going on for 6 of these bars
that you havent seen before, its the D7 chord thats interesting and new.

The II7 chord, referred to as two dominant, is a classic jazz chord that youll find in many other
jazz standards, including the ever-popular Girl From Ipanema.This chord is a secondary
dominant, which means its the V7 chord of the V7 chord in the given key.

In the key of C, the V7 chord is G7, and D7 is the V7 of G7.

This creates a bit of tension that is then resolved down through the iim7 chord to the V7 chord
and eventually to the Imaj7 chord.As well, when you study the chord examples below, youll
discover that the D7 chord is often played as D7#11 in this progression.Again, this is a new
chord sound that youll need to practice to get under your fingerings and into your ears as you
progress in your jazz guitar studies.
 Rhythm Changes Bridge

Moving on, youll now look at the bridge to rhythm changes, which features a dominant cycle
progression.Here, youre running a series of secondary dominant chords, as you did with Take
the A Train only now in a series of V7s.When doing so, you create the progression III7-VI7-II7-
V7, with each chord being the V7 of the next chord.Not only is this progression important to
know because of its relationship to rhythm changes, but its a great vehicle for testing new
dominant chords.

Jordu Cycle
Related to the progression that you just studied, you can think of the Jordu cycle (found in the
bridge section of the tune Jordu) as a sped up, extended rhythm changes bridge.This dominant
cycle starts on the tritone chord, Ab7 in this key of D major, and runs a series of secondary
dominant chords from that starting point.These secondary dominants then resolve down to the
Imaj7 chord in the fourth bar of the progression.If youre new to jazz guitar chords, make sure
to work this progression slowly at first, then speed it over time as you gain confidence with
these fast-moving changes.

All The Things You Are

The last 8 bars to All the Things You Are is built from a common chord progression, and is
worth taking a closer look at in your studies.Starting on the IVmaj7 chord, the progression then
runs down a ivm7, iiim7, biiidim7 progression before running the ii V I to end the changes.

The move from IVmaj7 to ivm7 is very common in jazz, and so working on ATTYA this way will
not only help you comp over that jazz standard, itll prepare you for other tunes as well.
As well, theres a biiidim7 chord in this progression, one of two popular uses of the dim7 chord
in jazz.The first is described here, and the second is used heavily and explained further in the
intermediate chord studies below.In this instance, youre using the dim7 chord as a passing
chord between iiim7 and iim7.Whenever you have two chords a tone apart like this, iiim7 and
iim7, you can connect them with a passing dim7 chord, such as biiidim7.Give this progression
a try with the backing track, or by learning the chord studies below.Its a classic progression
from an important jazz standard, and itll open new doors in your jazz guitar chord studies.

Giant Steps
The final essential jazz chord progression is a doozy.Giant Steps is looked upon as the
pinnacle of chord progressions in the jazz world, and often used as a litmus test for any up and
coming players blowing and comping chops.While soloing over Giant Steps takes a lot of work
to sound good, comping over the tune is much more accessible for players of all levels of
experience.The chords to Giant Steps are based on three main maj7 chords, Bmaj7-Ebmaj7-
Gmaj7.These chords are built from the B augmented triad, with each note in that triad getting a
maj7 chord, B-D#(Eb)-Fx(G).From there, you add in a V7 chord before each of those three
maj7 chords to form the full chord progression.Sounds so simple when you look at it that way.

If only it was that easy to play on guitar.

While it will pose a challenge, even to comp these changes, with time and some slow practice
youll be able to comp with confidence over these difficult changes.
 Beginner Jazz Guitar Chords
The following 10 exercises are designed to help beginning jazz guitarists build chord
vocabulary and apply this vocabulary to popular jazz chord progressions.With a focus on
introducing you to new Jazz guitar chords, and keeping with the beginning level, these shapes
are all root-based chords.As well, the rhythms for each chord study are written in whole or half
notes to make it easier to read and learn in the beginning.Once you can play any of these
chord examples from memory, jam them over the backing tracks and start to alter the rhythms.

From there, you can alter your picking hand attack, and add slides and other devices to
personalize these beginner jazz guitar chords in your routine.As well, any of these chords can
be taken to other progressions and jazz standards in your studies.

So, learn the examples below, work them at various tempos and in different keys, and then
bring them to other tunes as you begin to grow your jazz guitar chord vocabulary.

Major ii V I
To begin, youll learn how to comp over the most important jazz chord progression, the major
ii V I.In this example, youll learn to play Drop 2 chords (bars 1, 2, and 4), as well as Drop 3
chords (bar 2).The key takeaway from this comping sample is in bar 4.

Here, youre playing a Cmaj9 chord over a Cmaj7.As these chords are both from the major
family, they can be interchanged in your jazz guitar comping.The best place to do that when
beginning is when you have one chord for a long time.This Cmaj7 chord does just that, as its
one chord for two whole bars in the progression.

Minor ii V I
In this minor key progression, the second most popular group of jazz guitar chords, youll
learn Drop 3 chords (bars 1, 2 and 4) as well as apply the Hendrix chord shape to bar two of
the phrase.Bar 2 is an important group of chord shapes to check out.Here, youre moving from
E7#9 (Hendrix chord) to an E7b9.When doing so, you outline the E7alt chord, and create
movement in your chords at the same time.Then, you resolve that b9, F, down to the E, 5th, of
Am7.The last bar of the phrase features an Am6 chord shape.
Again, as these chords both belong to the minor family, they can be interchangeable in your
playing.

Major I VI ii V
For this major turnaround chord progression, youll use Drop 3 shapes (bars 1 and 3), the
Hendrix chord over bar 2, and a new chord in bar 4.Bar 4 uses a G9 chord over G7.Because
theyre both part of the dominant family of chords, you can move between these two chord
types in your comping.This movement, between the Drop 3 Dm7 and G9 chords is essential
learning for any jazz guitarist.This chord combination can be found in the comping of many
legendary players.As well, the smooth movement between each shape is easy to play on the
guitar.So, make sure to take those two shapes out of the example below and work them in
other keys and over tunes in your studies.

Minor I bIII ii V
Youll now take chord shapes that youve seen before and apply them to a new chord
progression, in this case a minor key ii V I.Though there arent any new shapes here, youll
need to work hard on the transition between the Am7 and Am6 chords in bar one, just as you
did with the 7#9 to 7b9 chords that reappear in bar four.If you find it beyond your technique to
nail those chords right now, dont sweat it.Pick the first chord shape from each bar and work
the progression that way.Then, pick the second chord from each bar and work the changes
that way as well.After theyre comfortable separately, you can then combine all of the chords in
the example below to form the entire progression.
 Backdoor ii V
With this chord study, youll be adding in a 13th chord in bar four and a maj6 chord in bars 2
and 6 of the progression.Otherwise, youve seen these chord shapes before, just not over this
particular progression.If you have a 7th chord, such as the Bb7 Drop 3 shape in bar four, you
can raise the 5th of that chord to form a 13th chord shape.As well, if you have a maj7 chord
shape, like the first chord in bar one, you can lower the 7th by 2 frets to form a maj6 chord
shape.

Both of these chords, 13th and maj6, are essential jazz guitar chords, and adding them to your
tool belt will help bring a jazz sound to any progression you play.
 Take the A Train
In this progression, the first 8 bars of Take the A Train, youll be introduced to an important
jazz guitar chord type, the 7#11 chord.You can see this chord in bar four of the progression, in
this case sounding a D7#11 over the D7 chord in the tune.To build a 7#11 chord shape, you
simply take any 7th chord you know, lower the 5th by one fret, and youve got a 7#11 chord.

By altering chords you know, which youve done in just about every study so far, youll expand
your chord knowledge without having to learn any new shapes in the process.Thisll maximize
your time in the woodshed and give you new chord shapes to add to your jazz comping
phrases at the same time.

Rhythm Changes Bridge

This rhythm changes bridge chord study will challenge you by using two different chord
shapes in each bar.When you have a longer chord rhythm, such as one chord every two bars,
you can bring more shapes into play over those chord changes.If you find it too difficult to nail
all of these chords at once, not to worry.Pick the first chord shape for each chord type, one per
chord, and start there.When thats comfortable, move on to the second chord shape for each
chord change.Repeat that exercise until youve worked all four chord-shapes for each change
separately.Then, begin to combine two, then three, and finally all four shapes over the chord
progression.Thisll help you learn to play the chord study, but do it in a systematic way that
builds up in easy to practice steps.
 Jordu Cycle
The next chord study will pose a challenge for any beginning jazz guitarist.With two chords
per bar, these changes move by very quickly.When playing fast-moving chords such as these,
running repetitive shapes can help you outlined the progression and take it easy on your hands
on the fretboard.In this case, youll alternate 9th and 13th chords as you make your way through
the Jordu bridge chord progression.Even though youre repeating chords, and making it easier
on yourself, youll still want to go slow when first learning this study.After you can do it slowly,
smoothly, and from memory, then start to increase the tempo to raise the intensity with this
exercise.

All The Things You Are

One of the most common progressions in jazz, starting on the IVmaj7 chord and working
down to the Imaj7 chord is essential practicing for jazz guitarists.
 Not only will this chord study introduce you to this important progression on the guitar, but
youll also add the dim7 chord to your vocabulary at the same time.Dim7 chords dont pop up
as often as the other jazz chords youve seen so far.But, when they do, youll want to be ready
to nail that chord in your comping.As well, theres a CAGED Eb7 chord in the last line of the
study.This type of chord is great for when you need the root note as the melody note in any
7th chord, and should be added to your chord vocabulary going forward.

Giant Steps
Now, I know what youre thinking, and no, Giant Steps is not a beginning jazz guitar standard.

Before you skip ahead, soloing over Giant Steps is very difficult, even for intermediate or
advanced players.But.Using the chord progression to study shapes is an effective way for any
guitarist to work on comping in the practice room.Even beginners.So, try out the chord study
below, at a slow tempo.

Even start with no tempo at first.Switching between these chords, which move in non-
traditional intervals, will help you develop coordination and smoothness in your chord
transitions.Though you may never jam Giant Steps on a gig, its a great progression to use as
a practice vehicle no matter what level youre at in your development.
 Intermediate Jazz Guitar Chords
For those guitarists that have worked through the beginner jazz guitar chords in this lesson, or
are coming here with more experience, youre ready to dive into intermediate chords and
concepts.The focus of this section will be rootless jazz guitar chords.These shapes are
essential for any jazz guitarist to learn, and the more you study them, the more you realize just
how often great players used them in their comping.Each example below will either introduce a
new concept, such as contrary motion, rootless chords, and chord substitutions.While the focus
for the beginner jazz guitar chords exercises was to introduce new voicings, here youre
shifting your attention to concepts.Now, thats not to say that there arent new chord shapes to
learn in these examples.Its just that the discussion will center around more advanced comping
concepts and their application to popular jazz chord progressions.Make sure to learn each
example in the give key, and then move it to other keys around the fretboard.As well, play the
examples over the backing track from memory, and apply them to tunes youre working on to
hear them in musical situations.From there, you can begin to alter the rhythms, add in slides,
change your picking attack, etc. to make these progressions more personalized in your studies.

So, have at it.

These concepts will take some time to become comfortable in your playing, so theres no better
time to start working on them than today.
 Major ii V I
To begin your intermediate level jazz guitar chords study, youll apply rootless chords to a
major ii V I progression.When doing so, youll start with a rootless Dm9 chord, where you play
Fmaj7 over Dm7 to form that sound on the guitar.Whenever you have a m7 chord, you can
play a maj7 chord from the b3 to form a rootles m9 chord sound.From there, youre using some
classic jazz voice leading to create a G13 sound over G7.

Here, youll lower the b7 from Dm7, the note C, by a half step.

When doing so, you create a rootless G13 chord shape.

As well, you can think of the G13 rootless shape as being an Fmaj7#11 chord over G7.

You can play a maj7#11 chord shape from the b7 of any dominant chord to create a rootless
13thchord sound in your playing.
To finish the progression, youre playing Em7 over Cmaj7 to create a rootless Cmaj9 sound.

Playing a m7 chord shape from the 3rd of any maj7 chord will produce a rootless maj9 chord
sound. Whew! Thats a lot of material packed into four short bars.
To help you organize those thoughts in the practice room, heres a summary of what you just
learned.

Rootless m9 = maj7 from b3 of m7 chord

Rootless 13th = maj7#11 from b7 of 7 chord

Rootless maj9 = m7 from 3 of maj7 chord

Now that youve got a bunch of new theory concepts to check out in your comping over
Standards, you can hear and play those concepts by learning the example below.Start in one
key, then work it to other keys and finally apply it to jazz standards that youre working on in the
woodshed.
 Minor ii V I
In the next chord progression, youre applying similar concepts to what you just learned, only
this time in a minor key.Starting at the end, a Cmaj7 chord is being used to create a rootless
Am9 sound in those two measures.Over the first chord, youre playing a root-position Bm7b5
followed by a Bm11b5 chord shape.Keeping things simple in that bar.But.

The interesting part comes in second bar.

Here, youll be taking those same Bm7b5 and Bm11b5 shapes and playing them from the b7 of
E7alt.This means that youre playing Dm7b5 and Dm11b5 over E7alt.When doing so, you bring
out an E7(b9,b13) and E7(#9,b13) sound over that bar in the progression.There are two ways
to think of this concept.

The first is to think of playing m7b5 and m11b5 chords from the b7 of a dominant chord to
create an altered sound.Secondly, if you have a minor ii V progression, you can play the
iim7b5 chord, following by those same shapes a minor 3rd higher to form the V7alt chord in that
progression.This is how you get the Bm7b5-Dm7b5 shapes over Bm7b5 and E7alt in the
example below.Heres a quick summary of those concepts that you can use as a reference
going forward in your studies.

m7b5 and m11b5 shapes work well together

Rootless 7alt = m7b5 and m11b5 from b7 of chord

Playing iim7b5 then iim7b5 up a minor 3rd outlines minor ii V changes

Time to take these concepts to the fretboard.

Major I VI ii V
Continuing your study of rootless jazz guitar chords, youll now apply those shapes to a major
turnaround chord progression.In the first bar, youre using Am7 over Cmaj7 to create a C6
sound.You can play a m7 chord from the 6th of any maj7 chord to produce a rootless 6
sound.Then, in the second bar youre playing Gm11b5 over A7alt, which you saw in the
previous section.
 This altered chord is followed by Bbdim7 being played over A7, which creates an A7b9 sound
in that bar.Playing a dim7 chord from the b2 of any dominant chords produces as 7b9 sound
over that chord change.To finish the progression, youre using Bm7b5 and Bm11b5 over G7.

When doing so, youre bringing out rootless G9 and G13 sounds in your playing.Using m7b5
and m11b5 chords from the 3rd of any dominant chord creates rootless 9 and 13 sounds over
that chord.To help you summarize these concepts, heres a quick reference list to study further.

Rootless 6 = m7 from 6 of maj7 chord

Rootless 7b9 = dim7 from b2 of 7 chord

Rootless 9 = m7b5 from 3rd of 7 chord

Rootless 13 = m11b5 from 3rd of 7 chord
Armed with this new information, youre ready to hear and play these concepts through the
major turnaround example below.

Minor I bIII ii V
Moving on to a minor turnaround progression, youre going to apply previously learned
concepts to this new progression.Each chord features rootless shapes that youve learned in
last few progressions, only in a minor key in this example.This is a turning point for most
guitarists when studying jazz guitar chords.In the beginning, especially at the intermediate
level, it can seem like there are endless concepts and voicings to learn and discover.

But. Once you get into it, you realize that, practically speaking, there arent that many
concepts and voicings that you have to learn to sound good with jazz guitar chords.

The hard part is taking this handful of concepts, and essential jazz chord shapes, and being
able to apply them to any tune you learn.Its even more difficult to apply them when sight-
reading.So, as you move forward in your development, dont worry about learning too many
more theoretical concepts in your studies.Instead, focus on applying the concepts you already
know to as many musical situations as you can on the guitar.
 Backdoor ii V
Again, in this backdoor ii V jazz guitar chord study, you arent learning any new concepts, but
youre working on new combinations of chord voicings.When learning this example around the
fretboard, pay attention to the second chord voicing used Bb7.

This rootless Bb13 shape, Abmaj7#11 over Bb7, was a favorite chord voicing of both Ed
Bickert and Joe Pass.Though it may look simple on paper, this one shape will bring an
authentic jazz sound to your comping and chord progressions.If you only get one thing out of
this example, make it that voicing.Then, bring that shape to as many 7th chords as you can in
your playing to begin integrating it into your jazz guitar comping phrases over tunes.
 Take the A Train
The crux of this progression, as you learned earlier, is playing a D7#11 chord over bars three
and four of Take the A Train.Here, youre playing a rootless D9 chord, F#m7b5 from 3rd in bar
3 of the progression.In bar four, youre lowering the 5th of D, A, by a fret to highlight the #11
interval in that chord, G#.This is a great example of altering chords you know to form new
shapes in your comping.You dont always have to learn shapes for new chords in tunes youre
studying.In fact, youre better off not learning new chords.Instead, take shapes you already
know, alter them by one or at most two notes, and youve got enough chord vocabulary to
outline the new chord changes.This helps with both practice room time management and
fretboard visualization at the same time.

Rhythm Changes Bridge

In the example below, youll be working across the entire fretboard as you focus on covering a
lot of ground when comping over the rhythm changes bridge.When you have a longer
harmonic rhythm such as you do here, with two bars per chord, you can move around the
fretboard more in your comping.A good rule of thumb when comping over any tune is:When the
chords are busy play simple. When the chords are simple, be busy.Thisll allow you to create
interest in your comping when the progression is straightforward.Then, when the chords are
moving by fast and furious, you can lay back, outline the chords, and let the changes create
interest for you.Eventually youll be able to do both, play complex chords over fast chord
progressions.But, in the meantime, you can use this guideline to help you maximize your jazz
guitar comping lines over standard chord progressions.
 Jordu Cycle
Heres an important jazz guitar chord concept to explore over the Jordu cycle
progression.When playing descending cycles, such as Jordu or a Tune Up, one of the most
interesting approaches to take is to play ascending chords.This contrary motion creates a bit of
surprise with the listener, as theyre expecting descending chords and your comping an
ascending line.While its a great concept to explore, its easier said than done.Moving up the
fretboard like this takes a solid knowledge of chord shapes and inversions on your part.

But. With time and practice youll be applying contrary motion to your jazz guitar chords with
ease and confidence.
 All The Things You Are
Again, you arent using any new concepts in this All the Things You Are comping study, but
are applying known concepts to a new progression.Here, youll use rootless chords to outline
most of the chords in the progression.This approach can be helpful with a progression such as
this, especially in the first four bars.Here, the chords dont have a lot of movement, the root
notes only moving down 3 frets in four bars.So, to create interest, you can bring rootless
chords into the mix, adding color to a progression with minimal movement.

Giant Steps
The final intermediate Jazz guitar chord example applies rootless shapes to the first half of
Giant Steps.Rootless chords can be tough when applied to a fast-moving chord progression
such as this.So, take your time with this example and work on memorizing it in your
studies.From there, begin to apply rootless chord shapes to your Giant Steps comping
phrases.Even if you use only one per chorus, over time youll build your skill set to where you
can play every chord in the progression as a rootless chord shape.
 Jazz Standards Chord Studies
To finish up your jazz guitar chords exploration, here are five chord studies that you can learn
over classic jazz standards.Each study will use chord voicings, rhythms, and other concepts
that you learned previously in this lesson.And, to make it more beneficial, there are some new
shapes in there to challenge you even further in your playing.When working on any study in
this section of the lesson, here are a few suggestions on how to practice each standard to get
the most out of your time in the practice room.

Learn the studies as written

Memorize them and play along with recording

Play along with backing track only

Jam on backing track with chords from the studies

Apply those chords to other standards and progressions

As you work through these jazz guitar chord studies, youll reach a point where you have a
study memorized and you want to make it more personal on the fretboard.When doing so,
there are a number of ways that you can begin to expand these chord studies to make them
your own.Here are a few examples of how you can alter any chord study to bring a personal
touch to these chords and phrases.
 As well, these techniques will help set you up to bring any chords and chord lines in these
studies to other tunes, keys, and progressions in your playing.

Slide into chords from a fret below or above

Change your picking attach strum, pluck, mixed

Fingerpick the chord shapes

Break the chords up into bass-middle-melody notes

Leave some chords out or add new chords in

Now that you know how to learn each chord study, and how to begin taking these chords and
phrases into your own playing both on these tunes and over other jazz standards, youre ready
to learn these 5 chord studies on the guitar.

F Jazz Blues Chord Progression

In this chord study, youll apply the Freddie Green rhythm to the F jazz blues chord
progression.

Beyond the rhythm, youll want to check out bars 7 through 10.

In bars 7 and 8, you have four descending chords that are often played over that section of a
Jazz Blues tune.

Then, in bars 9 and 10 you have inversions mixed in with root-position chords over the ii V
progression, Gm7-C7.

With these inversions, youre using the bass notes to lead up to the next chord in the
progression.

Again, this is something this is common in jazz blues standards, as well as over any ii V and ii
V I chord progression that you come across in your comping.
 Summertime Chord Progression
Moving on, youll now be mixing in root-based chords and rootless chords as you comp over
the jazz standard Summertime.When working on the first half of the study, youre playing
rootless chords for each change in that section.To help you take these chords into other
aspects of your playing, visualize the root note even though its not being played.

For example, in bar one you would picture the D on the 5th string, 5th fret as being the closest
root note for those chords.Thisll help you with transposing and applying these Jazz guitar
chords to other standards and chord progressions in your playing.
Lastly, the rhythm is based on the two Charleston variations that you learned earlier.

And, for good measure, there are a few & of 1 and 3 rhythms thrown at you as well.
 Blue Bossa Chord Progression
Here, youll be applying the two Bossa Nova rhythms that you learned in this lesson to both
halves of the tune Blue Bossa.Blue Bossa is one of the most commonly called jam session
tunes in the jazz idiom.But, even though its so popular, many guitarists tend to fake a Bossa
rhythm when jamming on this tune.To help you nail an authentic Bossa Nova rhythm in your
next jam session, learn the chords below with the given rhythm.Then, to take it further in your
studies, play the rhythm in the first half all the way through until its comfortable.From there,
learn the rhythm is the second half of the study all the way through.Thisll give you two
authentic Bossa rhythms to apply to this Brazilian jazz standard the next time you encounter it
in a jam session.
 Sunny Chord Progression
In this funk-jazz classic, youll learn how to apply rootless three and four-note chords to a full
tune as you nail this Sunny chord study.When comping with a piano or organ player in your
group, guitarists have to be careful not to step on their toes with your chord shapes.The best
way to do that is to play smaller, more rhythmic chord lines and let the piano be more colorful
with their larger voicings.This study demonstrates that approach over the Sunny chord
progression.As well as using rootless chords, youre playing a lot on the & of 2 and 4, using
Charleston rhythms, and applying dotted quarter notes to the tune.All of which combine for a
highly syncopated, and cool sounding, chord study.Because of this high level of syncopation,
using a metronome at a slow tempo is a good practice strategy when first learning this chord
study in the woodshed.
 Giant Steps Chord Progression
The final chord study might scare off a few guitarists, especially beginners, as Giant Steps is
legendary for its high level of difficulty in the Jazz world.

But, dont run away just yet.

While its very difficult to solo over Giant Steps, especially musically, the chord progression is a
great vehicle for working fast-moving chord changes on guitar.
So, even if youre a beginner, give this chord study a try.

You may never jam this tune on a gig, but working through the changes in a study like this will
help you develop both right and left-hand coordination on the guitar.

In the study itself, the rhythm is very straight ahead.

This is because the chords move so fast, especially at quicker tempos, that keeping the
rhythms simpler is a good place to start.

Once you get these chords memorized, and comfortable, then begin to experiment with adding
other rhythms to this Giant Steps chord study.

Lastly, the chords were chosen to move from one to the next with as little movement as
possible.

This type of voice leading is tough to learn at first, as you have to have nailed inversions in
your playing.

But, over time voice leading chords will make playing tough chord progressions and faster
tempos that much easier.