| Jazz for Absolute Beginners –> | Jazz Starter Kit |
| Jazz Starter Kit –> | Dominant 7th Land |
Hello Eat Sleep Guitarist. I am back after a brief hiatus. So make sure you have your guitar in your hand and get ready for a lot more posts, videos, and learning tools!
This post is going to be a basic introduction into the smoke-filled, dimly-lit world of Jazz. If you want to be a jazz player then you need to learn some standard tunes so that when you show up to play with the big dogs, you have already memorized and practiced a few. You can buy a “Real Book” (usually stored out of sight behind the music store counter) and it is completely normal to show up to jam sessions or gigs with it. I included an online version at the end of this post.
Obviously the best way to get into any new genre is to begin listening to the essential albums. Here is a really cool chart about getting into jazz music. And here are the albums written out in case you cannot read them on the image.
Jazz is a challenging genre so it must be assumed that you already have a good grasp on major, minor, major 7th, minor 7th, dominant 7th, and full diminished chords. If you are still learning those chords then check out Jazz for Absolute Beginners, also a great place for intermediate players to practice the inversions and shapes of Dominant 7th Land.
To make your life easier, I have chosen 4 new chords for you to learn and developed a list of standards and popular jazz songs (with sheet music) that you can now play through (click here for backing track sites). But first, here are your new chords:
Sixth Chord (6th)
Minor 7th flat 5, AKA Half-Diminished Chord (-7b5, or ø7)
Dominant 7th flat 9 Chord (7b9)
Augmented Seventh Chord (+7)
* Most Played Jazz Standards
All of Me * 
6th chord; Backing Track to practice melody/solo
All the Things You Are * 
+7; Backing Track
Autumn Leaves * 
-7 flat 5, 7th flat 9; Backing Track
Blue Bossa * | easy changes 
-7 flat 5; Backing Track
Blues For Alice 
-7 flat 5, 7th flat 9
Blue Trane 
-7 flat 5
Body and Soul | lots of changes | chord inversions 
6th Chord, -7 flat 5, 7th flat 9
Cherokee 
+7, -7 flat 5
Days of Wine and Roses | easy melody 
-7 flat 5, (7th flat 9); Backing Track
Don’t Get Around Much Anymore 
+7, -7 flat 5, 7th flat 9
Fly Me To The Moon 
6th chord, -7 flat 5, 7th flat 9
Girl from Ipanema * 
7th flat 9; Backing Track
Green Dolphin Street * | easy melody | chord inversions 
-7 flat 5, 7th flat 9; Backing Track
How High the Moon | easy melody 
-7 flat 5, 7th flat 9, 6th chord
It Don’t Mean a Thing | chord inversions 
+7; Backing Track
I’ve Got You Under My Skin 
-7 flat 5, 7th flat 9
Misty 
-7 flat 5, 7th flat 9, 6th chord; Backing Track
Ornithology | challenging melody | chord inversion 
-7 flat 5
Round Midnight * | lots of chord changes 
-7 flat 5, 7th flat 9; Backing Track
Satin Doll * 
-7 flat 5, 7th flat 9; Backing Track
Scrapple From The Apple 
7th flat 9
Stella By Starlight * 
-7 flat 5, 7th flat 9, +7; Backing Track
Sweet Georgia Brown * 
+7
There Is No Greater Love 
-7 flat 5
There Will Never Be Another You 
-7 flat 5, 7th flat 9; Backing Track (fast)
………………………………
_______________________________________________
Click here to donate if you have learned something from this site and have the price of a guitar lesson to spare. Also, feel free to check out the Gifts Galore page!
If you learned something and cannot spare a donation, following me on youtube is a great (and free) way to show your support. Every new subscriber not only helps to legitimize my content, but more importantly: it keeps me going!
Feel free to SHARE SHARE SHARE any of my content, anywhere!!! While giving visible credit to eatsleepguitar.com
-Sean