Sussex Jazz Guitar School Prep work is here! Just some things to digest and get under your fingers before the first jazz guitar class on 29th June. We’ll be looking at creating jazz lines over chords using various devices and working on the given material will help each student to be on a similar starting point. I filmed the video below so you can get the most out of the classes – rather than teaching you scale positions and triad and 7th chord arpeggios in the class, it would be a better idea for me to give you the material now and then we can learn how to use these scales and arpeggios in practical ways for improvising interesting zigg zaggy jazz lines.
You should know that in the key of Cmajor, the chords built off each scale degree are;
I Cmaj 7 (CEGB)
ii D-7 (DFAC)
iii E-7 (EGBD)
IV Fmaj7 (FACE)
V G7 (GBDF)
vi A-7 (ACEG)
vii Bm7b5 (half diminished) (BDFA)
Note; Capital Roman numerals represent Major chords & dominant chords, lower case numerals represent minor chords.
So a ii V I progression in C is… Dm7 G7 Cmaj7
You should also know these progessions in other keys, eg in Bb
Cm7 F7 Bbmaj7
In Eb
Fm7 Bb7 Ebmaj7
You should memorize the order of these chords (maj, minor, minor, maj, dominant, minor, half diminished)
So if I said what arpeggio is built off the 3rd degree of a C major chord?
Answer – E minor 7!
You should also be able to HEAR these and hear the differece between a major and a minor arpeggio. Don’t worry if you can’t follow all the shapes in the video, you could work them out using the theory of the order of the arpeggios in each scale position.
Read any resources you like to help brush up on your theory..
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_harmony
Here’s the video, don’t worry if you can’t do it all by the class, But it’ll really help if you do! Also, you need to be familiar with a handful of jazz standards such as.
Autumn Leaves (in Bb/Gminor)
Jazz Blues
Jazz minor blues
Rhythm changes in Bb (for example the tune Oleo etc..)
This material is only for students of Sussex Jazz Guitar School.
