JA-001 • Basic Jazz Chords

[XamTheOne]

for the 6th string root chords, I find it easier to use my thumb instead of index finger.. Is there any disadvantage or advantage to that?

I do that too, but in some cases it can be a handicap.  For example, if you change from an Amin7 to an Amin7b5, it's very hard to play the second with your thumb on the 6th string.  You'll have to do a big movement to replace your fingers to play it the regular way.

So I've also learned to play chords without my thumb, because sometime it gives me a better technique.  But if you feel that changing positions between chords is easy, it's cool.

[ren]

Hi all 

Just wondering if anyone can suggest a reliable site, resource for learning the most popular, useful inversions of common Jazz chords.

I would use a book but there are so many different inversions and I'm not sure how practical some of them are...

Thanks!

[ren]

I can't find any pages on Justin's site addressing Augmented chords...? Does anyone know where I can learn the shapes and theory etc.

Thank you.

Ren, UK Somerset.

[David V]

In Justin's lessons on jazz chord extensions he gives a bunch of common ways of playing each of the main chord types.  The site http://www.jazzguitar.be/ has good jazz resources also.  Not sure about augmented chords.

[ren]

Hello Justin.

I want to ask the whole community for their ideas but specifically wanting to ask Justin's advice to.

I studied you jazz lessons and I think they have been the catalyst for me starting to enter more music ground with the guitar. Since then I have studied intervals, arpeggios, modes, scales, harmonization of scales etc.

What I am wanting to know is I foudn your basic jazzz chords lesson incredibly helpful and well put together. Now I've learnt those I want to start using more advance jazz chords like Bill Evans, Tad Farlow, Ted Greene, Lenny Breau etc use but I don't know which resources and the best way to learn them.

I bough Ted Greene's Opus Chor Chemistry but foudn this to be to hard to understand. And I don't like the idea of other books with thousands of chords in them.

Where can I learn the essential, proper advanced Jazz chords maybe even inversions?

p.s I brought both your chord construction pdf and you musical theory pdf.

Regards and thanks.

Ren, UK Somerset.

[Hakan]

Okay great, so we've seen the 7th chords with the root on the 6 and 5th strings, but what about the ones with the root on the 4th string?

here's what I've made up out of it:

EMaj 7 - xx2444
Edom7 - xx2434
Emin7 - xx2433
Em7b5 - xx2333
Edim7 - xx2323

Although I must admit, the min7 shape is kind of awkward, but for the sake of completion, it should be there.

[Fly4him17]

I bough Ted Greene's Opus Chor Chemistry but foudn this to be to hard to understand. And I don't like the idea of other books with thousands of chords in them.

Where can I learn the essential, proper advanced Jazz chords maybe even inversions?

Ren, You should check out Mickey Baker's "Complete Course in Jazz Guitar." Its only like $8.00 on Amazon and is super helpful. Its intended for jazz beginners and starts by helping students learn about 15-25 of the most important jazz grips.

BTW, Ted Greene's stuff is amazing but yes, it overwhelms me too.