Pop Goes The Weasel

Today I will share a transcription of a tune that is familiar to us all but maybe not in this exact iteration. Please listen to this tune on "As of now" by Canadian jazz tenor sax player Cory Weeds, its great! I liked the vibe so much that I couldn't help but transcribe it for my own group to play. Enjoy!

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Samba Guitar "Three Sharp Samba"

This tune is based on the famous "rhythm changes". Because it is for guitar I have used a guitar-friendly key (A major).

The style is a bass note, chord voicing with melody on top. I prefer to use all finger instead of pick and fingers. The tempo is around 100 bpm.

For comping the melody can be omitted and/or the bass notes depending on the instrumentation.

1970 Rene Thomas Concert Excerpt

Here is a fun trio setting with Rene Thomas and his trio playing in Belgium in 1970. There is a lot of interesting group improvisation going on here. One of the lesser known jazz guitar greats. The band is obviously very interested in dynamics and interaction. Check out 8' 30".

Circle of Fifths

 Some new circle of fifths images. These include the inner spiral for enharmonic pitches.

Ice Cube Blues

Here is a video of a slowed version of "Ice Cube Blues" and a faster tempo version. After the 2 repeats of the head I have added some choruses of comping for you to improvise over.



Here is the lead sheet.

Bass Chord Blocks

Blank bass chord diagram charts. 4-string bass guitar format. 25 blocks per page.

The Working Guitarist Series

I have created a new series of guitar literature entitled "The Working Guitarist Series". In this simple and concise line of guitar concepts one will find valuable information that inspires and promotes logical guitar thinking. Guitarists who work for a living will appreciate the no-nonsense approach, extremely low cost and eBook format available for instant printing.

As of now there are 4 titles available:

Practical Guitar Scales Chart
Practical Bass Guitar Scales Chart
Major Modes and Progressions
Melodic Minor Modes Moveable Patterns

Please visit the following link or e-mail me for more information.

Working Guitarist Series Titles

"Fractals" Jazz Head

Here is the head of "Fractals" at tempo.


Here is "Fractals" played slow.

Lines Emphasizing Fifths

As a recent improvisational exercise a series of melodic line patterns which emphasize the interval of a diatonic fifth were created. These patterns are shown over a C major 7th chord but can be played over any major 7th chord if transposed accordingly.

The relative minor chord can also be played over. For example if A minor 7th was the given chord a C major 7th line from these examples could be used.

Because of the wide intervals (a fifth ranges from 3 whole steps as a diminished fifth, to 3 1/2 steps as a perfect fifth and 4 whole steps as an augmented fifth) these lines have what could be called an angular sound. Scalar lines (C-D-E-F) could be described as linear whereas angular lines would have intervals greater than a third (C-F-B-E or C-G-D-A, etc.).

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"Arirang" Lead Sheet

Here is a melody and chord lead sheet for the Korean folk song "Arirang". This beautiful melody is generated from the major pentatonic scale (1-2-3-5-6) or G-A-B-D-E and the chords are simple triads which can be extended and added to to creating a jazz style waltz if desired.

I have experimented with the chords and suggest the following for a traditional jazz waltz sound:

Gmaj7-Bm7-Cmaj7-D7sus-Gmaj7-Em9-Am7 / D7- Gmaj7
Bm7- Cmaj7 / D7- Gmaj7- Em9- Am7 / D7- Gmaj7

(-) equals bar line (/) equals half note then quarter note

The Major Modes (moveable shapes)

This is a chart of the diagram forms of the major modes. These have their roots on the 6th string and are primarily in one position. Students should note the fingering and try other alternatives if desired. Also be familiar with both traditional and modern naming conventions. Click Here For Printer Version

"Twinkle, Twinkle" Guitar Chord-Melody Solo

A fun interpretation of an old and familiar melody this piece is a good intermediate chord-melody solo as it incorporates some extended harmony, substitutions, and inversions. The tempo is to be rubato and the indications in the music are simply suggestions based on how I play the tune.

The fingering was chosen from two perspectives: to create the richest possible timbre, and to facilitate movement between chords.

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"Tell Me Something Good" Chord Melody

Here is a chord-melody version of Rufus' "Tell me something good" for guitar. It has been changed to the key of A major but since there are no open strings it can easily be "shifted" up or down into other keys.

The style of this particular chord melody is a "block'" chord style as the melody and rhythm dictate. This arrangement was originally for guitar/bass/drums trio but I imagine several other instrumentation formats would work well.

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1-2-3-5 Improvisation Study

The 1-2-3-5 concept is highlighted in this etude which was written for one of my guitar students. The structure of this study is simple and can easily be applied to any progression: over a given chord play a 1-2-3-5 pattern ascending from each scale tone, once the octave is reached descend using 5-3-2-1 or reverse 1-2-3-5 patterns.

In the music provided the following scales are used:

Dm7- ascending and descending Dorian
D-E-F-G-A-B-C

G7- ascending and descending Mixolydian
G-A-B-C-D-E-F

Cmaj7- ascending and descending Major
C-D-E-F-G-A-B

*G7- ascending and descending Major (from 1/2 step above root or minor 2nd)
Ab-Bb-C-Db-Eb-F-G

*This set of notes, while disguised as Ab, is functioning as a G altered dominant scale:
G-Ab-Bb-C-Db-Eb-F (less the b4)

This would be the G altered scale:
G-Ab-Bb-B-Db-Eb-F

Solo Over "So What"/"Impressions" Changes

This example was written out for a student of mine who was learning the 1-2-3-5 concept of improvisation. By using any tone of the given scale one can create ascending and descending lines (which is also teaching melodic contour) that provide more color than cut and dry arpeggios.

As a concept, this is a great way to hear the various extensions above chords and it also serves to familiarize the player with the scales and chords at hand.

The changes from the classic modal tunes "So What" or "Impressions" are used as a way to allow the student to stretch out and really play creatively.

Underneath the staves are the triads that the various 1-2-3-5 patterns create. Each chord created actually functions as an upper extension of the underlying chord.
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Whole Tone Scale Etude: Outlining Harmony

Today the topic of discussion is the in-out whole tone scale. I have fashioned a study (which I use for my students) that is a simple way to memorize the repeating harmonic structures of the whole tone scale. In a nutshell, all that is happening is 6 dominant 7th #5 (augmented) chords a whole step away from each other in all regards. If nothing else this study promotes technical facility with the scale and familiarizes the ear to the sometimes enigmatic sound of the whole tone.

I recommend, as always, to practice the study slowly to allow for focus on accuracy. Then once you feel comfortable take the tempo up. Have fun and feel free to ask questions.

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