#1
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Easy and small chord melody lesson?
I am looking to get into a little bit of jazz and have come across "chord melody".
I may be about to purchase af Truefire course or two on the subject but before I do that I was wondering if there was somewhere I could try it briefly in a smaller lesson format. SO - can anyone point me to a lesson on Youtube or the like where I can try a smaller portion - like a few bars? I am OK with purchasing tab for a few bucks if necessary. I have looked at Sandra Sherman's jazz lessons on Youtube but her chord melody arrangements just seem pretty long for someone like me who would just like to get my feet a little wet... The price is pretty good, though... I would be absolutely thrilled if someone could help me in the right direction? |
#2
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Chord melody is one of those things that you have to do, repeatedly, and little by little, it becomes easier and more "natural"... I'm no whiz at it, nor do I care to be, but having a bit of a foundation in some of the various chord shapes (usually 3 or 4 finger "partial" chords) can expand one's playing abilities in all genres (except maybe bluegrass!).
I don't have a Youtube video to recommend, but I will throw this out there: Get a copy of Mickey Baker's "Complete Course in Jazz Guitar", book one. The very first page/lesson is 24 or so GREAT chord forms that will immediately give you a sense of "Oh! THAT'S what I want to hear!"... It is a venerable book that's been around since the 50's and it is still a viable resource for a lot of jazz, especially the "old school" stuff. Some of the chord names have been changed slightly with the advent of "modern harmony", but it's all right there for you. As you get into lesson 5 and 6, they get into some basic chord melody passages and those will get you started on the road... There are certainly other books that will assist you with chord melody, but Mickey Baker Book One has been a wonderful foundation for many, MANY great guitarists... In an interview, Robben Ford was asked "who he studied with", and his response was that the ONLY book/lesson he ever "studied" was Mickey Baker Book One, ESPECIALLY that first page! It's great stuff and a book I have returned to many times over the past 40 years or so... Good luck!
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"Home is where I hang my hat, but home is so much more than that. Home is where the ones and the things I hold dear are near... And I always find my way back home." "Home" (working title) J.S, Sherman |
#3
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If you decide to go with the Mickey Baker book, check out this site to guide you through it...
http://www.jazzandhotguitar.com/ ...and this thread at the jazz guitar forum that is a study group for that book... https://www.jazzguitar.be/forum/gett...-guitar-2.html Tony
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“The guitar is a wonderful thing which is understood by few.” — Franz Schubert "Alexa, where's my stuff?" - Anxiously waiting... |
#4
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I had several of Mike Elliot’s books, “ Contemporary chord solos”:
https://books.google.com/books/about...d=ES5zOwAACAAJ Excellent primers, Elliot explains the principals of keeping the melody line on the upper strings, basic harmony, chord inversions and substitutions, etc. Problem... Commerially these books are hard to find and expensive... Out of print to my knowledge. Joe Pass gave simple advice that I try to follow.... “Figure out the melody and find chords that sound nice.” You can actually produce nice-sounding solos that only involve a relatively few chord-forms. |
#5
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Misty
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Martin OM-18 Authentic 1933 VTS (2016) |
#6
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Quote:
As for those books, the whole series is: "Jazz Harmonies: The System" by Pat McKee (3 volumes) "Contemporary Chord Solos" by Mike Elliot (books 1 and 2) "Contemporary Chord Solos" by Len Braunling (books 3 and 4) I have them all right here as I am typing this. The COMPLETE series is what one needs to really get what this is about. The Pat McKee books give you a working system of chordal vocabulary that is then used in the four volumes on chord solos. The Mike Elliot books focus on the Great American Songbook, while the Len Braunling books focus on pop tunes that were current at the time such as "Endless Love", You Needed Me", "Through The Years", etc. - songs that were all over the radio at the time. Another piece of advice that Joe Pass gave me one time was to play the songs of my generation, the ones I grew up with because those are the songs we REALLY know, and that is very important, to know the tunes rather than just copping them from a Real Book. So the WHOLE SERIES, and not just a small part of it is necessary to fully comprehend and be able to do this type of arranging on your own is essential, Without the whole series, you are pretty much going to learn some tunes in this style and some ideas about bass line movement, but you won't get the WHOLE PICTURE. There really was a reason that there was a whole series, rather than just two books about this published. It is a terrible shame that these were discontinued because I have yet to see anything that truly replaces them. Tony
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“The guitar is a wonderful thing which is understood by few.” — Franz Schubert "Alexa, where's my stuff?" - Anxiously waiting... |
#7
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Frank Vignola's stuff is really good, if not challenging. His teaching is very down to earth however. If you go with Truefire, you might want to try his "Channel" with access to hundreds of lessons at only $10 per month (no affiliation).
Here's a free lesson of "Tenderly" in chord melody style to give you a feel. Let us know if you think this too difficult or easy ... there are numerous options in both directions.
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#8
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Thank You, people!
Your answers are much appreciated! ... I will get to work on it all.... |