Jazz Guitar Improvisation: Beginning with Guide-Tones

Abstract

This article discusses an approach to teaching linear improvisation to beginning jazz guitarists through the function of voice leading in harmonic progressions. The student may gain a clear understanding of improvising melodies byestablishing clear visual and aural relationships between the chordal and melodic textures. Three dominant 7th chordvoicings are introduced and applied to a twelve bar blues progression in F major. After learning the rhythm guitar accompaniment, single note guide tones consisting of the flat 7th and 3rd chord tones of each dominant seventh chordare extracted from the chord voicings and applied in a melodic texture following chromatic voice leading principles within the harmonic progression. Musicality within the exercises is increased by the addition of a series of rhythmicvariations that are applied to the guide-tone lines. Continuing with the concept, full dominant seventh arpeggios areintroduced in order to expand the available note choices as a way to build a solid foundation for improvising within harmonic progressions prior to using diatonic scales.