Reading Jazz Chord Charts

[conttador]

I’ve been trying to be proficient with chord charts but I think my problem is that I don’t really know what I should be doing.

Maybe I’m starting with songs that are too complex for my level. So are there some good tunes that would be good to begin with? My biggest issue is that I’ll start reading and eventually I’ll stop and just play from memory and sometimes in fighting that I’ll make mistakes or lose concentration all together.

Any insight on how to begin and progress?

 

[Papageno]

Do you know the meaning of the chord symbols ?

Do you know what are the chord tones of a chord symbol, and respective role for the harmony ?

Are you familiar with basic jazz chord progressions: 12-bar jazz blues, 2-5-1s, turnarounds, etc. ?

Do you know how to construct a jazz bass line (walking, 2-feel, bossa, funk, etc.) ?

Do you know where the notes are on your fingerboard (all of them) ?

If you have to answer "no" to some of these questions, then that's what you need to learn. Best option would a good jazz bass teacher. Depending on your ability to self-learning, you can also make use of plenty of excellent internet resources (the difficult task being to sort the good stuff from the rubbish).

 

[AGCurry]

Reading chord charts alone, without a melody going on, just isn't much fun. If you're able to sing the melody while reading the chart - or have someone or something play it - you'll be more motivated, I think.

There are hundreds of old standards which are good for practice. Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, show tunes, etc..

 

[conttador]

Do you know the meaning of the chord symbols ?

Yes

Do you know what are the chord tones of a chord symbol, and respective role for the harmony ? Yes to the tones no to their role

Are you familiar with basic jazz chord progressions: 12-bar jazz blues, 2-5-1s, turnarounds, etc. ?

Not familiar enough

Do you know how to construct a jazz bass line (walking, 2-feel, bossa, funk, etc.) ?

instinctively yes, academically no.

Do you know where the notes are on your fingerboard (all of them) ?

No, this is one that I just need to work on!

If you have to answer "no" to some of these questions, then that's what you need to learn. Best option would a good jazz bass teacher. Depending on your ability to self-learning, you can also make use of plenty of excellent internet resources (the difficult task being to sort the good stuff from the rubbish).

Thank you for that! I have areas I need to polish and shouldn’t lose sight of!

 

[BassNinjaConnor]

Start off with bossa nova as it is very easy just play the root and fifth in the right rhythm. this guy explains it pretty well.

 

[TreySonagras]

A good exercise to practice in 4/4 time is to play 1-1-5 on the first three beats and then on count 4 play a half step above or below the 1 in the next measure. An example is if playing a 2-5-1 in the key of C, I would play:
D-D-A-G#—G-G-D-B—C

The beauty of playing bass is we really only have to worry about the root and fifth of a particular chord and then choose how to get to the next chord. When I see a “Cb5#7b9#11b13” I just play a C…..LOL

 

[BassNinjaConnor]

A good exercise to practice in 4/4 time is to play 1-1-5 on the first three beats and then on count 4 play a half step above or below the 1 in the next measure. An example is if playing a 2-5-1 in the key of C, I would play:
D-D-A-G#—G-G-D-B—C

The beauty of playing bass is we really only have to worry about the root and fifth of a particular chord and then choose how to get to the next chord. When I see a “Cb5#7b9#11b13” I just play a C…..LOL

Yeah that is very true for most genres but if you want to play jazz of any sort you're going to end up needing to know your chords pretty good.

 

[BassyBill]

A key skill here is being able to SPELL the chords - that is, to look at any chord symbol and simply list the notes that make up the chord. For example, Fmaj7 = root F, major third A, fifth C and major seventh E. It’s all down to familiarity and practice, but until you can do this quickly, confidently and accurately for all chords, you have no way of knowing what notes to play over any given chord sequence. Learn your intervals, learn your chords. Here’s a really good book to get you started and for many further years of study.
https://www.amazon.com/Jazzology-Encyclopedia-Jazz-Theory-Musicians/dp/0634086782/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZI7C7A6W1NVV&keywords=Jazzology&qid=1652292796&sprefix=jazzology,aps,165&sr=8-1

 

[mambo4]

A key skill here is being able to SPELL the chords

protip: memorize the cycle of thirds CEGBDFA,CEGBDFA...

This the 'natural' order of stacked thirds that build all chords
sometimes a tone may be sharp or flat
but the note names of the root, 3rd, 5th, 7th etc are always in this order

 

[conttador]

A key skill here is being able to SPELL the chords - that is, to look at any chord symbol and simply list the notes that make up the chord. For example, Fmaj7 = root F, major third A, fifth C and major seventh E. It’s all down to familiarity and practice, but until you can do this quickly, confidently and accurately for all chords, you have no way of knowing what notes to play over any given chord sequence. Learn your intervals, learn your chords. Here’s a really good book to get you started and for many further years of study.
https://www.amazon.com/Jazzology-Encyclopedia-Jazz-Theory-Musicians/dp/0634086782/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2ZI7C7A6W1NVV&keywords=Jazzology&qid=1652292796&sprefix=jazzology,aps,165&sr=8-1

Thank you for this. I have familiarity with chords and their shapes on the fretboard. I probably need to be intimately familiar with chords so certainly plenty of opportunities there.

I think the biggest take away from the responses here has been that I have quite a few areas to shore up before I can become a proficient chart reader. I ordered the book, not the 1st time someone suggested it, so I’ll start working with it.

 

[BassyBill]

I ordered the book, not the 1st time someone suggested it, so I’ll start working with it.

Great move! You’ll be glad you did. Good luck with your studies.

 

[gcb]

John Clayton Jr., Big Band Jazz, A guide to the essentials, for double bass an electric bass.
Also the Ray Brown Bass Method.

 

[gcb]

Any material from Bob Cranshaw, master of the electric bass in straight ahead jazz.

 

[gcb]

 

[BassChuck]

Here's an exercise I like to do.
Open a song on iReal Pro. Get something simple, like one change per measure. Set the reps for 4 times.
1st time, play the root on the change. 2nd time the 3rd, 3rd time the fifth.
4th time mix it up. Start with the root on the first chord and then move the the next closest note from there that is a part of the next chord. Move through the changes always going to the closest note that fits in the chord.
Count on the first couple times this being a real challenge. Keep with it. As you get to know the chord members better it will be easier. Set the tempo that works for you. (no prizes for speed just yet).
It's a skill thing. It takes time. Be as patient with yourself as you would if you were teaching a loved one.

 

[dreamadream99]

I’ve been trying to be proficient with chord charts but I think my problem is that I don’t really know what I should be doing.

To successfully interpret a chord chart, beyond simply hoping for the best by ear, you must be familiar with keys and chords. This means you must know music theory. Music theory doesn’t start there, it ends there. To get there you must learn key signatures, scales, intervals, harmonized scales, then chords and progressions.

 

[Wasnex]

First off you need realistic expectations. I was a pro for over 25 years. If I was reading chords I was familiar with, it was easy. But this is because I had worked out the changes over many years.

Give me a new chart to read and I can usually play the chords, but I may not necessarily be able to craft a great bassline the first time through. In all truth there are many songs that I could probably create a fairly decent bassline on the first read, but if the song uses altered or unusual harmony, it tends to be a lot more complicated. If possible I like to get music in advance, so I can work it up.

The first step to reading chord changes is to know your key signatures. The second step is to know your 7 chords, 6 chords, and their inversions. The third step is to know the various symbols that stand for the 7 chords and 6 chords. Once you have this basic knowledge you are ready to start reading chord changes.

When I was first starting learning songs I had to play extremely slow and out of time. I would work my way through a tune one bar at a time. Then I might try to string two bars together. Then I might try to string four bars to together. It's sort of like that old joke about how to eat an elephant--one bite at a time.

The basic harmony of many jazz standards tends to cycle through multiple key centers. This is where it starts getting a bit tricky. Look to the chords and the melody and most of the time you will have enough structure to figure out where the key centers are.

Sometimes the key center shifts quickly and continually as harmony cycles through a series of ii V changes that each imply a different key. The dominant V chords are generally your strongest indicators of implied key centers, and in jazz you don't necessarily need the I or i chord. In an extended ii V sequence, i becomes the next ii. For example: |Em7b5 A7|Dmin7 G7| In this case E7b5 to A7 to D min7 implies ii V i in D min. But D min7 to G7 implies ii V in C major.

Sometimes the key center is ambiguous and can be interpreted in multiple ways. Also there are many instances where you will be presented chords that are non-functional. Non-functional means a chord does not really fit/function diatonically into the established key center. Nonfunctional chords usually still sound really great. Sometimes nonfunctional chords pop up in a seemingly random and surprising way; but many result due to harmonic sequences. Certain harmonic sequences are used over and over again.

It's a lot to learn and you could spend the rest of you life trying to master all there is to know. But you will probably only scratch the surface, even if you get pretty good. I suggest you enjoy the journey rather than worrying too much about mastering the process.

After you learn the rules fairly well you start learning to break the rules. Probably the first way to break the rules is to use a tritone subs. But there are many systematic ways to approach playing outside of the changes. This is not really something I would suggest worrying to much about now, just know it's something to explore in the future once you are ready.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Here’s a really good book to get you started and for many further years of study.

Just a question from that book.

What is the need to notate B as Cb in G7b9b13?

Is it because some musicians see that G7b9b13 chord as Fmin7b5/G?
Fmin7b5 as F - Ab - Cb - Eb?

But...

Another example of G7b9b13 clearly shows B natural.

 

[Papageno]

Just a question from that book.

What is the need to notate B as Cb in G7b9b13?

Is it because some musicians see that G7b9b13 chord as Fmin7b5/G?
Fmin7b5 as F - Ab - Cb - Eb?

View attachment 4690162

The context of the chord is essential to understand what is meant.

But, whatever, I think it just makes no sense to spell B as Cb is a G7 chord, no matter what extensions and alterations it carries.

If what is to be understood is some kind of Fm7b5 chord, as you suggest, then one should write the appropriate chord symbol, not a misspelled G7 chord.

For music like for text, proper spelling helps understanding the meaning of what is written: in the case of music, this concerns proper understanding of harmony.

In this case, it is possibly just a typo. The other chord, G13(#11), is correctly spelled.

Or maybe this a text for pianists, showing them how, by playing various kinds of triads with their right hand over a G and F played with their left hand, they obtain various flavors of G7. But even in that case, it would be useful to show aldo the correct spelling.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Or maybe this a text for pianists, showing them how, by playing various kinds of triads with their right hand over a G and F played with their left hand, they obtain various flavors of G7. But even in that case, it would be useful to show aldo the correct spelling.

The book also provides simplified upper-chord notation from piano players.
And, again, it shows two ways of notating it.

Another question about the notation of #11.