rhythm changes

[slowpoke]

I know rhythm changes can be altered a whole lot but whenever I play I seem to only be able to play the changes in different shapes. I'm really terrible at substituting chords unless it's by extending the chord.

Does anyone know some basic things I can do to just switch things up a little?

[Professor]

Why do you want to substitute the chords so much of the time? (You've asked this before, IIRC)

What's wrong with the given chord progression?

Substitution doesn't work well in a band setting, because other players are playing the original chords...if you're playing a tritone substitute, you are now not just playing one "wrong" note, but all of them.

[slowpoke]

I suppose I want to because it's foreign to me and I don't really understand how to. A lot of questions I have would probably be answered in playing experience but I don't really do that, I eventually want to be playing in small combos. And it's not that there's anything wrong with the progression it's that I feel what I am playing is sort of sqaure, well at least after a few choruses, maybe it really isn't but I just think there's something more I can be doing to it. I feel like I get caught playing a pattern and not a progression. Like I'm caught in a loop. I'm just looking for a way to be more creative... but I'm not necessarily looking to change the song or anything just give a bit more flavor. Ya know?

[Professor]

Well, you're playing a progression, but it is a pattern...and it does loop usually. To make it more interesting, play the extensions given, learn to play the chords in more than one position.

Nothing wrong with being creative as long as your creativity doesn't mess it up for others. Just remember that there's a time and place to be creative, and there's times to be SOLID.

So that other people can be creative.

I dare to venture that the guy who has a reputation for being a solid rhythm jazz player will get more gigs than the guy who doesn't.

[slowpoke]

Oh yeah, I dig it.

That's what I do now, well I haven't been working on many tunes, but now I've got time to get back in to it. I've worked on a few tunes that have rhythm changes in Bb. I've learned pretty much just three positions for the chords.

I like making the smooth transitions a lot, and I guess there's just so much I've heard that I wish I could do I forget there's more basic things I need to master.

And yeah you're right.

Well, what's your approach? How do you switch things up to keep them interesting?

Again, I don't really play jazz so a lot of these questions might be moot after I start getting some real experience under my belt... but I can't help being curious.

[Professor]

I play in a big band, and we do alot of sight reading of charts. Those, I grab chords on the fly. If it's a tune we are going to do for a concert, I'll work on it to make all the position shifts smooth and see where I can use a different chord inversion to get more efficient changes, which can be really necessary in a fast tune.

In general, I don't worry about which note is the bass note -- at all. The bass player, baritone sax, piano, and the 3rd and/or 4th trombones will all be playing the right bass note. So, like in a 7b9 chord, I'll omit the root entirely, and just play the appropriate fully diminished 7th chord. Also, I don't always play the extensions: 9, 11, 13, #, b, etc. Other band members are already playing them, and sometimes the tuning is suspect at best. I'm there for mostly rhythm. I DO try to play the right jazz voicings for the chords, however. Mostly "drop 2" chords, but others, too. Common barre chord voicings will often be too muddy for a jazz setting. (Remember Freddie Green only used 2 or 3 notes.)

Finally, I'm not afraid NOT to play. Not every tune needs guitar, some are better without.....and you'll get along much better with the piano player to boot.

[slowpoke]

That might be something I need to add to my thinking. Maybe I'm a little too reliant of the root as the starting point. I keep trying to learn inversions but I keep getting distracted, any tricks other than to sit down and do it? I want to get to a point of hearing sounds and not really thinking about things, do you think it's a good idea to think in numbers? hmmmmmmmmmmm

[Professor]

You need to learn the inversions of the chords you normally use, like I said, other people are playing the root, so you don't need it as your lowest note. Find the chord forms where the root is the soprano voice, then the third, then the fifth, then the seventh. This will open up a whole bunch of new choices for comping. Some people will change chord inversions every half measure if the chord lasts for two bars or more.

Then there are chords that are equivalents. 6th chords are an inconvenient chord shape, so...you can use a minor seventh chord with that 6th as the root ---- C6=Am7 ; F6=Dm7. This can be helpful as well.

I'm not sure if converting things to numbers will be helpful, it just might make things more complex which is the opposite of what you really want.

Remember Occam's razor...if two theories describe the same thing, then the simpler one is the correct one.

Also, the simpler the concept, the wider its application.

[rachard1583]

For a C Major chord in C major key, the C major scale is your starting point, namely, CDEFGAB. In this, the first, third and fifth notes of the scale, which are C, E and G, are played together, resulting in the C Major Chord.

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