Voicings & Melodies Guitar Lesson
Voicings & Melodies
Time to take the basic voicings you learned before & add on to them. The ability to modify chords will give you great resources when jamming to some jazz.
Taught by Matt Brown in Jazz Guitar with Matt seriesLength: 19:13Difficulty: 3.0 of 5
The Charleston is a sparse, syncopated rhythm. Due to its sparse rhythmic nature, it is best used as a comping rhythm when a more active rhythm, such as a walking bassline, is already present.
The two most basic variations of the Charleston are presented in this lesson. However, the comping musician most typically improvises the Charleston at will. Its main purpose is to fill space on an as needed basis.
Let’s imagine that you are playing in a band with a bass player, and the other guitarist is taking a solo. If the soloist is playing a very active line, the comping should be sparser. Otherwise, the overall sound may become too cluttered. On the other hand, if the soloist is playing sparse phrases or is letting a note sustain for a long duration, the comping can be become more active to fill space. Listen to your favorite jazz guitarists or pianists to see how they apply the Charleston to their comping rhythms.
Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for two primary variations of the Charleston rhythm.
Before you begin to improvise your own comping rhythms, master playing the Charleston within the context of a ii V I progression first. As always, practice it in all twelve keys. If your time is limited, stick to the most popular jazz keys: F,Bb, Eb, and C. Be sure to use all of the chord voicings learned up to this point. Chapter 2: (5:04) Rootless Set I Voicings If you are playing with a bass player, it isn’t necessary to play the root/bass note of a given chord while comping. It isn’t wrong to do so. The root note will simply be doubled an octave higher. Since the root is already covered by the bass, the guitarist is free to play more colorful voicings. Since you are not using a finger to play the low root, that finger is free to play higher extensions in the chord. Extensions are the notes that “extend” beyond the 7th scale degree of a chord. Typical extensions are the 9,11,and 13.
Rootless Set I voicings are very effective, because they only contain the two most important chord tones. Depending on the chord, the most important chord tones are both the 3rd and 7th or the 3rd and 6th.
Once you have memorized all of these rootless voicings, begin practicing them in the context of a ii V I using the Charleston.
Keep in mind that rootless voicings should only be used when a bassline is present! They should be applied to the Charleston rhythm, not the Freddie Green rhythm. Chapter 3: (8:45) Set II Chord Voicings These chords expand upon the Set I voicings learned in Jazz Lesson 1. Adding a note to the 2nd (B) string creates these new voicings. Before you begin practicing these chords, make sure you are comfortable with all of your Set I and rootless Set I voicings.
The same scale degree will not always be added to each new chord. The 5 or 9 is typically added to major and minor chords. The 9 or 13 is added to dominant chords. Examine each chord voicing in detail to determine which chord tones the voicing contains. The way in which these chord tones interact with one another gives the voicing its overall sound or tonal “color.”
Important: When a dominant chord (C7) is written on a lead sheet, it is seldom played as a simple dominant 7 chord. When a dominant 7 chord is indicated, it should be played as a dominant 9 or dominant 13. For example C7, should be played as C9,C13, C7(#11), etc. Some of these voicings will be discussed in later lessons.
Note: Click the “Supplemental Content” tab for diagrams of the most basic Set II voicings.
Memorize these new chord voicings and start incorporating them into your daily practice of ii V I progressions. These are just the most basic Set II voicings. There are more to come in later lessons! Start by practicing these chords with the Freddie Green Rhythm. Then practice Rootless Set II chords using the Charleston.
Supplemental Learning Material
Jazz Guitar with Matt
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsIn this lesson set, Matt will teach you everything you need to know to fluently play jazz guitar.
Lesson 1
Intro to Jazz
Check out this lesson to learn some basic jazz theory & chord voicings.
Length: 31:36 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Voicings & Melodies
Learn some more advanced chord voicings as well as the Charleston rhythm.
Length: 19:13 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Set II Voicings
Learn a handful of Set II voicings & round out your knowledge of the basic jazz chords.
Length: 27:08 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Applying Chords / Solo Ideas
Apply the chords you've learned & experiment with some solo ideas.
Length: 32:47 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Scales and Chords Together
Learn which scales work with which jazz chord voicings.
Length: 43:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Circle of Fifths
Matt sheds some light on the circle of fifths.
Length: 28:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Proper Practicing
Learn how to get the most out of your time when practicing.
Length: 31:00 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Proper Practicing Part 2
Here's the second installment of Matt's proper practicing lesson.
Length: 32:00 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Physicalities of Playing
Learn how to avoid carpal tunnel and other hand injuries by using proper technique.
Length: 46:19 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
All of Me
Matt Brown teaches the jazz standard "All of Me."
Length: 31:12 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Lead and Scales
Matt Brown explains how to improvise over the changes to "All of Me."
Length: 7:54 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Estudio No. 1.
Matt Brown begins talking about solo arrangements in this lesson. He teaches Carcassi's "Estudio No. 1" as an introduction to this concept.
Length: 18:10 Difficulty: 2.5 Members Only
Reviewing the ii V I Progression
Matt Brown returns to his Jazz series with a review lesson. He applies the standard ii V I progression to the circle of fifths.
Length: 18:10 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Turnback Progression
In lesson 14, Matt discusses the turnback progression in the jazz style.
Length: 22:20 Difficulty: 1.5 Members Only
Set Three Voicings
Matt brown discusses and demonstrates the set three voicings used in jazz guitar.
Length: 25:42 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Jazz Solo Arrangement
In this lesson, Matt demonstrates how to practice jazz solo arrangements by taking a look at "Here's That Rainy Day."
Length: 35:10 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Expanding on the 12 Bar Blues
In lesson 17, Matt reviews and expands on the jazz version of the 12 bar blues form.
Length: 23:20 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Adding Voices
In this lesson, Matt adds to your voicing repertoire while playing the Charleston rhythm.
Length: 14:22 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Key of B Flat Major
Matt Brown talks about lead options when playing a blues in B flat major.
Length: 23:35 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Key of F
Matt Brown provides instruction and examples of playing jazz heads in the key of F. Once again, all examples follow the 12 bar blues form.
Length: 18:22 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Jazz Heads in B Flat
Matt Brown takes another look at blues heads in the key of B flat. In this lesson, he covers a head by Thelonious Monk.
Length: 10:03 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Tools for Solo Arrangements
Matt Brown takes a look at a solo arrangement and provides thoughts and tools necessary to complete this type of guitar playing.
Length: 23:13 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Introduction to Bossa Nova
Matt Brown starts breaking down the rhythmic tendencies and patterns to the Brazilian Bossa Nova style of playing.
Length: 17:56 Difficulty: 0.0 Members Only
Blue Bossa #1
In lesson 24 of his Jazz series, Matt takes a look at the melody to Blue Bossa.
Length: 9:12 Difficulty: 0.0 Members Only
Blue Bossa #2
Matt Brown takes a look at the available chord voicings for Blue Bossa.
Length: 10:39 Difficulty: 0.0 Members Only
About Matt Brown
View Full Biography
Matt Brown began playing the guitar at the age of 11. "It was a rule in my family to learn and play an instrument for at least two years. I had been introduced to a lot of great music at the time by friends and their older siblings. I was really into bands like Nirvana, Alice In Chains, and Smashing Pumpkins, so the decision to pick up the guitar came pretty easily."
Matt's musical training has always followed a very structured path. He began studying the guitar with Dayton, Ohio guitar great Danny Voris. I began learning scales, chords, and basic songs like any other guitarist. After breaking his left wrist after playing for only a year, Matt began to study music theory in great detail. I wanted to keep going with my lessons, but I obviously couldn't play at all. Danny basically gave me the equivalent of a freshman year music theory course in the span of two months. These months proved to have a huge impact on Brown's approach to the instrument.
Brown continued his music education at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. He completed a degree in Classical Guitar Performance in 2002. While at Capital, he also studied jazz guitar and recording techniques in great detail. "I've never had any desire to perform jazz music. Its lack of relevance to modern culture has always turned me off. However, nothing will improve your chops more than studying this music."
Matt Brown currently resides in Dayton, Ohio. He teaches lessons locally as well as at Capital University's Community Music School. Matt's recent projects include writing and recording with his new, as of yet nameless band as well as the formation of a cover band called The Dirty Cunnies.
Acoustic Guitar Lessons
Our acoustic guitar lessons are taught by qualified instructors with various backgrounds with the instrument.
Mark Kailana Nelson
Mark Nelson introduces "'Ulupalakua," a song he will be using to teach different skills and techniques. In this lesson, he...
Free LessonSeries Details
Randall Williams
In this lesson Randall introduces the partial capo (using a short-cut capo by Kyser) and talks about how it can make the...
Free LessonSeries Details
Hawkeye Herman
Hawkeye teaches several Robert Johnson licks in this lesson. These licks are played with a slide in open G tuning.
Free LessonSeries Details
Jim Deeming
Jim Deeming discusses how to use a metronome for practice, skill building, and speed building.
Free LessonSeries Details
Trace Bundy
Trace Bundy talks about the different ways you can use multiple capos to enhance your playing.
Free LessonSeries Details
Nick Amodeo
Nick explains how to play some of the most commonly used chords in the bluegrass genre.
Free LessonSeries Details
Danny Voris
Lesson 7 is all about arpeggios. Danny provides discussion and exercises designed to build your right hand skills.
Free LessonSeries Details
Erik Mongrain
Erik expounds on the many possibilities of open tunings and the new harmonics that you can use in them. He explains what...
Free LessonSeries Details
Miche Fambro
Miche introduces several new chord concepts that add color and excitement to any progression.
Free LessonSeries DetailsElectric Guitar Lesson Samples
Our electric guitar lessons are taught by instructors with an incredible amount of teaching experience.
Jane Miller
Jane Miller talks about chord solos in part one of this fascinating mini-series.
Free LessonSeries Details
Nick Kellie
Nick explains how to use scales and modes effectively when soloing over a chord progression.
Free LessonSeries Details
Kenny Ray
Albert Collins brought a lot of style to the blues scene. In this lesson, Kenny breaks down Albert's style for you to learn.
Free LessonSeries Details
Mark Brennan
Mark Brennan teaches this classic rock song by Jethro Tull. Released on the album of the same name in 1971, this song features...
Free LessonSeries Details
Chris Liepe
Chris brings his ingenuity to this lesson on the American folk song called "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" Also known as...
Free LessonSeries Details
David Wallimann
This is a crucial lesson that explains tablature, how to read it, and why it's important.
Free LessonSeries Details
Lisa Pursell
Lisa breaks into the very basics of the electric guitar. She starts by explaining the parts of the guitar. Then, she dives...
Free LessonSeries Details
Brad Henecke
Free LessonSeries Details
Eric Madis
In this lesson Eric talks about playing basic lead in the Memphis Blues style.
Free LessonSeries Details
Nick Greathouse
Nick starts his series with Alternate Picking part 1. Improve your timing, speed, and execution with this important lesson.
Free LessonSeries DetailsAdditional Lesson Features Available to Members
While we have attempted to provide you with an accurate rendition of our video lesson experience, there are some features which
require a membership with us!
Custom Progress Reporting
At JamPlay, we give you the ability to monitor your own progress for any lesson! If you watch one of our lessons and feel as though you understand around half of it, mark your progress at 50%. This adds the lesson to your customized Progress Report, and gives you an incredible ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.
Progressive Bookmarking
With thousands of lessons at your fingertips, JamPlay can be a touch intimidating to a first-time user. With Progressive Bookmarking, we give you the ability to systematically bookmark sections of any lessons you are working on to quickly access later. After all, what is the point of all this content if it isn't easy to use?
Save Your Notes
JamPlay also gives you the ability to leave notes for yourself on any lesson. Just like in any educational system, taking your own notes while learning gives you the ability to highlight the instruction that is important to you. Leave your notes, and we store them in our database for you to reference each and everytime you come back to the lesson.
Join the Thousands of Members at JamPlay
Signup today to enjoy access to our entire database of video lessons, along with our exclusive set of learning tools and features.
Unlimited Lesson Viewing
A JamPlay membership gives you access to every lesson, from every teacher on our staff. Additionally, there is no restriction on how many times you watch a lesson. Watch as many times as you need.Live Lessons
Exclusive only to JamPlay, we currently broadcast 8-10 hours of steaming lesson services directly to you! Enjoy the benefits of in-person instructors and the conveniences of our community.Interactive Community
Create your own profile, manage your friends list, and contact users with your own JamPlay Mailbox. JamPlay also features live chat with teachers and members, and an active Forum.Chord Library
Each chord in our library contains a full chart, related tablature, and a photograph of how the chord is played. A comprehensive learning resource for any guitarist.Scale Library
Our software allows you to document your progress for any lesson, including notes and percent of the lesson completed. This gives you the ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.Custom Chord Sheets
At JamPlay, not only can you reference our Chord Library, but you can also select any variety of chords you need to work on, and generate your own printable chord sheet.Backing Tracks
Jam-along backing tracks give the guitarist a platform for improvising and soloing. Our backing tracks provide a wide variety of tracks from different genres of music, and serves as a great learning tool.Interactive Games
We have teachers covering beginner lessons, rock, classic rock, jazz, bluegrass, fingerstyle, slack key and more. Learn how to play the guitar from experienced players, in a casual environment.Beginners Welcome.. and Up
Unlike a lot of guitar websites and DVDs, we start our Beginner Lessons at the VERY start of the learning process, as if you just picked up a guitar for the first time.Our teaching is structured for all players.
Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.Mtt I am following your reading and rythmcourse along with this course. I can play the charleston rythm by ear watching you but am having a hard time counting it. I don't know why, in your reading lessons i can count out kind of the same beat.
well...In the supplemental content, you have notes on "1" and the "and of 2". In the following measure, you have notes on the "and of 1" and the "and of 2". I set the metronome so that it clicks on beats two and 4. Then, in my head, I keep a "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" feel going with a swing rhythm....Then, you just have to strum at the appropriate times.
Mtt I am following your reading and rythmcourse along with this course. I can play the charleston rythm by ear watching you but am having a hard time counting it. I don't know why, in your reading lessons i can count out kind of the same beat.
Matt thanks, I know what you mean. I found a very good autumn leaves tutorial on you tube by www.play-jazz de. that has really helped to understand what your doing.
Matt did you give thoses song as ajust a example of the charleston rythm or can we play to them with the chords we have learned so far, I have been playing for a while and haven't a clue what to do. I don't read music. Imostly play by ear.
Well, the Charleston Rhythm is a comping style that can be applied to any tune that is played with a swing rhythm feel. As a guitarist, you're either going to "comp" with the Freddie Green rhythm, the Charleston, a walking bass line, or some sort of combination of the three when playing swing. If you're playing with a bass player or a piano player that is covering the bass, there's no need for you as a guitarist to provide bass. If you're playing with a bass player and a drummer, Freddie Green is too busy for many situations....So, that's when you want to comp more sparsely with the Charleston. Listen to a variety of different ensemble types playing some jazz standards (guitar duets, big band, small jazz combo, etc.)...you'll see what I mean.
As a bass player, I can hear what you are saying about the rootless voicings. This actually may be the easiest section for me since I do play bass. It's nice to know the root voicing and actually do like you showed in the beginning with the walking bass line and the rootless chords. This is something I'd be more interested in doing since I play mostly solo. So I've not only learned the rootless voicing but how I can combine my bass playing with them to really fill things out for me as a soloist. Thanks.
Matt - can you give us a couple of examples of Jazz standards that we could practice the Charleston rhythm against? Thanks.
Most definitely! I'll be filming some new jazz lessons in the middle of June. I'll definitely do some lessons on some standards. These lessons will be taught in three parts - one part on the melody, one on comping, and one on playing solos. In the meantime, check out the rest of the lessons in this series. I believe I did one that has some instruction on how to comp with the Charleston over the 12 bar blues. I also cover rootless set 1, rootless set 2, and set 3 voicings. All of these voicings are used with the Charleston. As you learn these new voicings, apply them to some simple standards like "Take the A Train," "Autumn Leaves," "All of Me," etc. I recommend you get a copy of the Real Book and go to town. Good luck!!!
hey, just thought I'd point out that one of the Cdim7 chords is diagrammed incorrectly. it says that the root is at the 6th string, 3rd fret. I believe it should be at the 8th fret. thx Matt
You're totally right. What's written in that diagram is a Go7 chord. Thanks for the heads up!!
Thanks Matt. A lot of chords covered up to this point. I was wondering if it might be possible to slot in a lesson that helps us consolodate these chords, maybe by using them in a Jazz standard, rather than just ploughing on with more variations?
Yep! That's what is coming next for this series. We're going to take a look at a bunch of standards that follow the 12 bar blues form. Then we'll start getting into minor keys and some tunes in minor keys.
Excellent, thanks. :)
Your lessons are very good, I joined after seeing your 'free' lessons. But I cannot find supplement content that has the Charleston syncopated rhythm. I almost have it and want to confirm I have it right. Are there any practice tracks in later lessons?