Rhythm: Three note chords - Why?

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Because of a comment on another post, I realized that I hadn't cover why the classic swing rhythm guitar voicings are three notes.

Consider the rhythm guitarist in a swing band: Allan Reuss in Goodman's Band, Freddie Green in Basie's, etc. It's you and your acoustic archtop versus 10 to 13 horns. You have to cut through and still provide the pulse. The answer is a three note chord.

While it might seem counter-intuitive that playing less notes will be heard better than more notes, but you have to think about being a knife. In a big band, the bass player, bass drum, the trombones and the left hand of the piano are below you, and the trumpets, saxes, cymbals, and the right hand of the piano are above you. In between all of these voices is a small notch - that's where the rhythm guitar goes. By filling that notch, and not trying to play any other notes, you're acting as knife, slicing through the mix.

If you play higher and lower notes, they'll just get lost in the mix of the other instruments. But the notes (especially on the D and G strings) can cut through the band. Think of that space as a hole in enemy lines - you need to get a small special forces squad through unnoticed, not try to cram a battalion through. Playing more notes in a big band just muddies things up. It blunts the rhythmic impact (which is really the primary thing), and it results in a lot of wasted effort.

Acoustic archtop guitars happen to have their natural peak in the mid-range on the D and G strings, between the 5th and 10th frets - basically prime rhythm guitar chord territory. By focusing on that region, you get the best return on your efforts.

When people talk about Freddie Green playing only or two note chords, he would basically be fingering the classic three note voices, but not fully pushing down the bass string, and/or or the G string. He would be focusing on the D and G strings for the maximum punch and cut.

I generally stick to the classic three note voicings for 90% of playing. Sometimes, in a bigger band, I'll drop the bass string. And sometimes, in a trio setting, I might add a fourth note, but I also might not. By focusing on only playing those three notes, it is also easier to check the rhythmic snap needed for the style.

Charlie Christian - All Star Jump

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I've generally not been one to do my own transcriptions. For one, I find transcribing very, very difficult. And two, I'd generally rather spend what little patience I have for transcribing on taking down arrangements for one of my bands. But the other night, I found myself really driven to figure out Charlie Christian's solo on "All Star Jump," recorded January 16, 1941.

"All Star Jump" is one of my favorite recordings, both from a musician and a dancer's perspective.  The Metronome All Star Band of 1941 featured no less than Charlie Christian, Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Cootie Williams, Harry James, Ziggy Elman, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Carter, Coleman Hawkins and Buddy Rich. It's one of my favorite versions of "One O'Clock Jump", albeit with a slightly different shout riff. It's filled with fantastic solos, and unlike many "all star" sessions where the players seem to have no chemistry, the band really jumps. "All Star Jump" is something I almost always play when I DJ, and I've transcribed the arrangement for the Jonathan Stout Orchestra. (The other tune recorded on that session was "Bugle Call Rag", using the Fletcher Henderson arrangement made famous by Benny Goodman. The All Stars' version is easily the tightest and most ferocious recording of that arrangement. But CC doesn't get a solo.)

That CC solo, though, is something I'd never seen transcribed (although maybe it was on Garry Hansen's now defunct site), but I could generally sing it back from memory. I was able to get the first three bars without trouble, but I'd started it around the 9th fret. I couldn't get the next couple bars to lay right on the fretboard. In a moment of frustration, I went to check Leo Valdez's Site to see if maybe he did have one up. Instead I found myself looking at another one of his transcriptions and the playing notes he provided. He mentioned that he had a different outlook on how to finger CC's playing versus more common transcirptions. While some of his fingering just seem implausible, many do lay better.

With than in mind, I tried playing the "All Star Jump" solo in the 4th-6th position, and using some of Charlie's classic shapes in that position, and the next couple bars clicked. So, since I figured I should write it out to keep for myself, I though I'd share.

Have fun - maybe when I have some time, I'll write some notes and analysis. But for now:

Charlie Christian - "All Star Jump" (pdf)

All Star Jump - Metronome All Stars (excerpt) by campusfive

Approaching Minor Keys, pt.1

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I've had many friends who have begun trying to play swing guitar after coming from a rock/pop background, not a modern jazz one. "Minor Swing" is a popular tune to start with, but many players without a jazz background can't figure out how to approach soloing over the chords.
Specifically, it's the minor pentatonic scale that is the backbone on much rock and blues that doesn't fit. The main culprit of this is the 7th scale degree (in Am, the G note) - it just doesn't fit over swing or early jazz minor songs. And there's good reason: the V7 chord.

Going back at least as far as Bach, classical music did not use the standard v chord of a mino key (key Am: A-B-C-D-E-F-G; a V chord based on this scale would be an E minor7: E-G-B-D). In classical music a V chord is always a DOMINANT 7 chord (in Am, an E7 chord: E-G#-B-D). There is pavlovian response to hearing the G# note it that chord, which demands that it be resolved to the A note.
With the G# note being so important, makes sense that the minor pentatonic scale doesn't fit with it's G natural note.

In classical and in early jazz and swing, they don't use the minor pentatonic scale, or the "natural" minor scale - which is just the normal notes of the key (in Am: A B C D E F G). Instead, they both use a minor scale with a raised 7th (in Am, a G# note). There are two minor scales that contain a raised 7th that are used extensively in early jazz and swing, the harmonic minor and the jazz minor.

The harmonic minor scale dates back to at least Bach, and has a particularly "European" sound (at least to my ears). It is a natural minor scale with a raised 7th (in Am: A B C D E F G#).
The jazz minor is comparatively younger, and has a more "American" sound (again to my ears). It is a natural minor scale with both a raised 7th, and a raised 6th (in Am: A B C D E F# G#).

By "American" and "European", I'm really getting at the distinction between the gypsy-influenced hot jazz of Django, and the less classical sounding playing of American swing musicians, like say, Charlie Christian. Charlie was more likely play more raised 6ths and feature them as an important note in his phrasing. Django was at least equally as likely to play either a regular or raised 6th, and perhaps more likely to play the regular 6th. American pre-bebop jazz harmony often voiced a minor i chord as a im6, which contains the raised 6th. But it should be noted that even if there is a raised 6th in the harmony, the soloist can also use the regular 6th, as Django did, even though it technically shouldn't fit.

In all harmony, some notes are "functional" in the sense that they are guide tones important to voice leading and chordal movement. Other notes are not, and there for they can be approached less strictly. The 7th scale degree is clearly a functional note, whereas the 6th scale degree is not. That's why you can often play either 6th with no problem, but that natural 7th just doesn't sound right.

Even modern jazzbos have a hard time approaching pre-bop minor key tunes. When Miles Davis released "Kind of Blue" in 1959, he ushered in a new era of modal jazz, specifically based on the Dorian mode, with "So What", being the chief example.

The Dorian mode is a natural minor scale with a raised 6th (like the jazz minor), but NOT the raised 7th (in Am: A B C D E F# G).. The sound of the Dorian mode is based on a minor7 chord as the tonic, and there for the regular 7th scale degree fits. Many modern jazzbos have forgotten the older-style sound of pre-bop, and just ignorantly play Dorian over everything. I avoid musicians like that like the plague.

As a early jazz/swing style musician, one should learn both the harmonic minor and jazz mimor scales like the back of one's hand. Part 2 will feature some musical examples.

Here are the scales in question with the i and V chords built on those scales.

 

BOOK: Masters of the Plectrum Guitar - ERRORS!

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After spending a bit more time with the book "Masters of the Plectrum Guitar" (Mel Bay), I've come to realize that it's full, and I mean full, of errors. Wrong notes are sprinkled through out. I thought it had just been the transcription to "Sutton Mutton", but they're on other songs too.

One possible explanation is that the music in the book is taken from the original sheet music produced back in the 20's-40's and that the originals had mistakes, which is plausible. However, it doesn't take much time working through one of the pieces to hear the wrong notes as compared to the recordings of the songs.

Granted, the original sheet music was never an exact transcription, but if you take a look at the transcription of "Pickin' My Way", a Lang/Kress duet number, the first 8 bars after the intro are filled with musical typos.

So, I'm working on re-copying "Pickin' My Way" but fixed. I'll post it when I get done with it (although, bear in mind, that might be a while).

Swing Harmony: Turnarounds, Vamps and Line Cliches - Part 1, Major Turnarounds

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Turnarounds and line cliches are both common chord sequences in Swing Harmony, and can be found in numerous songs. Each sequence contains an ascending or descending line, often voiced in the bass. From a rhythm guitar standpoint, it’s important to get them under your fingers, because they come up often, and they come up fast when sight reading.

Major I-IV Turnaround

Most commonly found in songs based on the chords to “I Got Rhythm”, the I-IV turnaround can also be found at the end of some blues songs, and sprinkled in several traditional jazz standards. The sequence is a fancy way of moving from a I chord to the IV and back. Both the ascending and descending versions have the same chords except for the transition chord from the IV chord back to the I chord (a #ivº in the ascending / a iv minor in the descending). Both the ascending and descending versions are used interchangeably, and sometimes by musicians in the same band at the same time – even though, technically, the #ivº and iv conflict. But, hey, that’s jazz.

 

In either case, from a rhythm guitar perspective, the turnaround can be approached as static chords, or using walking chords. Here are examples of both:

Ascending and Descending I-IV Turnarounds (PDF)

The examples are in a couple different keys, so that you can see in the shapes in different positions.



BOOK: Masters of the Plectrum Guitar

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The pre-bebop styles of block-chord solos and solo guitar chord melody are almost completely lost arts. There are few living practitioners, and few resources to learn from. However, there is one book out there which is still in print that provides a great deal of insight, as well as a multitude of transcriptions:

Masters of the Plectrum Guitar (Mel Bay)

Transciptions of Eddie Lang, Carl Kress, Dick McDonough, George M. Smith, Carmen Mastren, and Tony Mattola, as well as couple duet pieces. Modern technology also provides you the opportunity to check out the book before you by it at Google Books.

Masters of the Plectrum Guitar (Google Books Preview)

I particularly suggest taking a look at the full transcription of "Sutton Mutton" by Carl Kress on pgs. 42-45. I still haven't gotten around to learning the slow section, but I love the first section, and it's often the first thing I play when testing out an acoustic archtop. Thanks to Mike Faltesek for bringing it to my attention.

More Example Tunes

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Here are a few more tunes to work through, all using the 20 Essential Voicings.

F Blues (PDF)
F Rhythm Changes (PDF)
Sweet Sue (PDF)
Avalon (PDF)
On the Sunny Side of the Street (PDF)

Each tune is chock full of voice leading and transitions that come up all the time. The quicker you get these classic moves under your fingers, the quicker you'll be able to sight read a lead sheet or a rhythm guitar part.

Also, keep checking back regularly. I'm going to be redoing all of the charts in my usual music font, the Swingfont by Sigler Music Fonts, which is awesome looking, and, more importantly, it's highly legible. I use the Swingfont for all of the charts for both the Campus Five and the Orchestra, and I highly recommend it! As soon as I can download an updated version of the font, I'll be putting up more rhythm chord charts, but also some regular leadsheets, and even some rhythm guitar charts from the Campus Five and Orchestra so you'll be able to practice your reading!

Great Link: Playing Swing and Sweet Music Of the 1930s and 1940s

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Here's a great link that talks about the rhythm style of the 1930's-1940's. The point-of-view of the article is clearly of a frustrated bandleader that has to deal modern jazzbos all the time. Still, the philosophy is pretty much dead on.

Playing Swing and Sweet Music Of the 1930s and 1940s

Playing Swing and Sweet Music Of the 1930s and 1940s 

 

Masters of the Block-Chord Solo

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UPDATE: Links fixed - however, you may need to save them to play them for reasons I can't quite figure out.

Here are some recordings of acoustic chordal solos that I consider essential (and are easily linked to at Classic Jazz Guitar). Yeah, it's lame that these are just clips, but you should just go by the tunes now. Go on itunes or amazon.com and just buy all of them now. Go. I'll wait.

Allan Reuss - Beside being one of, if not the best swing rhythm guitar player, Reuss was also my favorite Block-Chord Soloist. The solo on "Bye Bye Blues" is amazing. Reuss had many gems on record through out the years.
Arnold Ross Quintet f/Benny Carter - Bye Bye Blues
Lionel Hampton - Rhythm, Rhythm
Jack Teagarden Orchestra - Pickin' for Patsy
Coleman Hawkins - Stuffy
Benny Goodman Orchestra - Rosetta

George Van Eps - Although he is now mostly famous for inventing and playing 7-string guitar, Van Eps was a fantastic 6-string rhythm and chordal player. He was a cooler player that Reuss, and he approached the guitar more like a "lap piano". Still, he had some great block-chord solos on record.
Adrian Rollini Orchestra - Somebody Loves Me
George Van Eps - Ain't Misbeavin'
Jess Stacy - Indiana

Carmen Mastren - Another great rhythm player, Mastren started out with Wingy Manone, but most famously he played with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra and even did some arranging for the band. He later joined the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band during World War II. Here are his two most famous block-chord solo breaks are with two one-off quartets.
Delta Four - Swingin' on that Famous Door
Bechet-Spanier Big Four - If I Could Be With You

Carl Kress - Kress' chordal style descended from extented Tenor Guitar / Banjo tuning. He famously recorded duets with Eddie Lang. After Lang's death in 1933, he partnered with Dick McDonough, until that guitarist's death in 1938. Kress also did duets with Tony Mattola, and later George Barnes. Most of his well known recordings are duets or solo pieces. Here are two examples with a band, and no other guitar player.
Edmund Hall All Star Quintet - Seein' Red
Edmund Hall All Star Quintet - Rompin' in '44
(ok, here's one solo piece) Carl Kress - Sutton Mutton