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GuideTonesEssentialExercises,Lines,andPatterns|MATTWARNOCKGUITAR

MATT WARNOCK GUITAR

Guide Tones Essential Exercises, Lines, and Patterns
Guidetonesareatopicthatcomesupearlyandoftenwhenlearninghowtoplayjazzguitar.
Theseessentialchordtonesoutlinechordprogressionsinthesmoothestwaypossible,andthereforeare
essentialjazzguitartools.
Whileyoumayhavereadaboutguidetones,youmightnotknowhowthesesmallmusicaldevicescan
transformyourplaying.
Thislessonwilldojustthat.
Thematerialinthislessonteachesyouwhatguidetonesare,howtoapplythemtoyoursolosand
comping,andhowtousethemoversongs.
Everythingyouneedtobringthisessentialjazztechniqueintoyourplayingtoday.

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Guide Tones for Guitar (Click to Jump Down)

1.WhatareGuideTones
2.MajoriiVIGuideToneLines
3.MinoriiVIGuideToneLines
4.BlueBossaSolo
5.MajoriiVIVIChords
6.MinoriiVIbIIIChords
7.SunnyGuideTones

What Are Guide Tones

Beforeyoutakethisessentialjazzconcepttotheguitar,itsimportanttounderstandwhatguidetonesare.
Theresalotofmisunderstandingwhenitcomestoguidetones,soitsbesttolearnthesimplestdefinition
oftheterm.

Guidetonesarenotesthatconnectchordswithminimalmovement,mostlyhalfsteps.

Herearethetwomostpopularwaystoconnectchordsusingguidetones.
Thefirstintervalisplayedonthechordyoureonandthesecondonthechordyouregoingto.

b7to3
b9to5
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Thereareotherguidetonesavailable,butthesearethemostpopularandthislessonfocusesonthese
twopatterns.
Onceyoucanapplytheseguidetonesinrealtime,exploremorehalfstepconnectionsbetweenchordsin
yourplaying.
Guidetonesarenttheendofyourstudies,norwilltheyinstantlymakeyousoundlikeJoePassinyour
solos.
But,theyreanessentialtoolforoutliningchordchanges,withorwithoutabandbackingyouup.

Major ii V I Guide Tone Lines

Nowthatyouknowwhatguidetonesare,andhowtheyconnectchords,youlltakethatknowledgetothe
fretboard.
Hereare5majoriiVIphrasesthatalluseb7to3guidetonestoconnecteachchord.
Learnthelinesaswritten,thentakethemtootherkeysandaddthemtoyoursolosoverfulljazztunes.
ThefirstguidetonepatterngoesupanAm7arpeggiobeforegoingdownaDMixolydianscaleand
resolvingtothe3rdofGmaj7.
Noticetheb7to3movementbetweeneachchord,whicharetheguidetonesinaction.
Onceyoucanplaythisline,takeittootherkeysandbegintoexperimentwithitinyoursolosoverbacking
tracksandfulltunes.

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HeresadescendingguidetonepatternthatyoucanusetooutlineshortmajoriiVIchords.
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Noticethatthearpeggiosinthefirstbarconnectstheb7tothe3rdofthenextchord,bouncingaround
overtheD7tomakethathappen.
Asyoubecomecomfortablewithguidetonesyoullmovethoseresolutionsaroundthebar.
But,fornow,itsbesttokeeplandonthe3rdofeachchordonthedownbeatofthatchangeinthe
progression.

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Thenextlineusesabeboptechniquetooutlinetheb73movementbetweenchords.
Here,youplayonechromaticnoteabove,thentwobelow,beforelandingonyourtargetnote.
Thefirstnoteofthepatternistheb7ofthatchordsandthefinalnoteisthe3rdofthenextchord,
completingtheguidetoneline.
Workthislineinafewkeysandthentakeittofullsongsasyouimprovisewiththisconceptinyourplaying.

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Inthisline,youuseenclosurestoconnecttheb7and3rdofeachchord.
Anenclosureiswhereyouplayafretabove,thenfretbelow,beforeresolvingtothetargetnoteinyour
line.
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Afteryoucanplaythislickfrommemoryinafewkeys,addenclosurestoguidetonesinyoursolosto
expandthisconcept.

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ThefinalmajorguidetonelineusesasidesteppingsuboverthefirstbartocreatetensionoveraiiVI
progression.
WhenyouwanttoaddtensiontoaiiVI,youcanplaybiiibVI/iiV/Itosidestepyourwayintothetonic
chord.
Asyoucreatetensionwiththissub,theguidetonesholdthelinetogether.
Experimentwiththissoundoverbackingtracksandfulltunesasyoutakeittootherareasofyourplaying.

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Minor ii V I Guide Tone Lines

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Thefirstminorguidetonelineusesboththeb73andb95patternsoverashortiiVIinGm.
ThislickusesascendingarpeggiosovertheiiVbeforeresolvingtothe5thofGm7inthesecondbar.
Workthispatternineverykeyifpossible,andtakeittofulltunesasyouaddittoyoursoloinglinesover
jazzchordprogressions.

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HeresadescendingminoriiVIguidetonepatternthatusesb95overbothconnections.
Mixthisideawiththefirstpatternasyoubegintocombineguidetonelinesinyourplaying.
Aswell,workthislineovertunestobuildconfidencewhensoloingoverfastmovingiiVIchords.

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HereyouascendbothAm7b5andD7altbeforeresolvingdowntotheGm7chord,usingab95guidetone
pattern.
NoticetheF#dim7arpeggiousedoverD7alt,creatinga3to9arpeggiooverthatchordchange.
Aswell,theresab73guidetonepatternthatconnectstheAm7b5andD7altchordsinthefirstbar.
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HereisastandardbebopphrasethatusesbothguidetonepatternsoveraminoriiVIinG.
Thesecondbarinparticularisamustknowbeboplickthatyoucanextractfromthislineanduseitinother
areasofyourplaying.
Workthisguidetonelineinotherkeysasyoumovethisessentialphrasearoundthefretboard.

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Inthisfinalguidetoneline,youuseboththeb73andb95patterns.
Thefirstbarisaclassicbeboplinethateveryjazzguitaristshouldlearn,sotakethisbartoothersections
ofyourplaying.
Takethislinetootherkeys,aswellasjamitovertunesasyouexpandthisphraseinthewoodshed.

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Blue Bossa Solo

Bringtheseguidetonelinestogetherinyourimprovisations,heresasolooverBlueBossathatusesb73
andb95guidetones.
Learneachfourbarphraseonitsownfirst,beforecombiningthemtoplaythestudyasawhole.
Theresabackingtracktojamoverwhenyoufeelreadytosolousingguidetonesandguidetonelines
overthischordprogression.

BackingTrack
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Vm P

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Major ii V I VI Guide Tones

Movingontotheharmonicsideofguidetones,younowtake3rdsand7thstoyourcomping,chord
soloing,andchordmelodyplaying.
Whendoingso,youplaythe3rdand7th,or7thand3rd,ofeachchordontwostrings.
Fromthere,youcansimplycompwiththeseshapesbehindasoloist.
Or,asyouseebelow,youcancompforyourselfasyousolooveranyjazzstandard.
Thefirstexamplehasthe3rdand7thforAm7onthe4thand3rdstrings,thenmovesthrougheachchord
fromthere.
Taketheseshapestootherkeys,aswellasplaythemovertunestoexpandtheminyourstudies.
Whendoingso,changetherhythms,breakupthechords,andfindwaystobecreativewiththesetwonote
chords.

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Younowinvertthepreviousexampleasyouplaythe7thand3rdofAm7andmovearoundthechords
fromthere.
Workthesechordsinmultiplekeys,andtakethemtofullsongswhenyoureready.
Lastly,whentakingthesechordstosongs,changetherhythmsandpickingpatternstoexpandthemin
yourpracticeroutine.

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GuideTonesEssentialExercises,Lines,andPatterns|MATTWARNOCKGUITAR

Thenextexampleshiftsthe3rdand7thdowntothe5thand4thstrings.
Youcanplaytheseguidetonesonthe6thand5thstrings,buttheytendtosoundmuddydownthere.
Aswell,youcanplaythemonthe3rdand2nd,oreven2ndand1st,strings,buttheysoundtoothininthat
range.
The4thand3rd,then5thand3th,stringssoundbestwhencomping3rdsand7thsbehindasoloist.

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Thisfinalmajorexampleinvertsthepreviousone,asyounowplaythe7thand3rdforAm7andmoveto
theclosestshapesfromthere.
Afterworkingthesechordsinafewkeys,mixallfouriiVIchordvariationstogethertocomparethemin
yourstudies.

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Minor ii V I bIII Guide Tones

Younowmoveintotheminorrealmasyouwork3rdsand7thsforeachchordinaminoriiVIbIII
progression.
Thefirstexamplestartsonthe3rdand7thofAm7b5andmovestothenextclosestchordsfromthere.
Afteryouvelearnedthisexampleaswritten,takeittootherkeys,andaddittotunesinyourstudies.
Aswell,changetherhythmsforthis,orany,guidetoneschordexercisetopersonalizethesesoundsin
yourplaying.

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Heresaninversionofthepreviousexample,whereyounowstartonthe7thand3rdofAm7b5before
movingtotheclosestshapesfromthere.
Whenyoutakethesechordstootherkeys,noticetheopenstringontheBbmaj7chord,asyoullhaveto
fretthatnoteinanyotherkey.

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Thenexttwoexamplesmovethechordstothe5thand4thstrings,startingwiththe3rdand7thofAm7b5
andmovingtotheclosestchordsfromthere.
ThisexamplehappenstohaveopenstringsontheBbmaj7chord,sotakethatintoaccountwhen
transposingthisexampletootherkeys.

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Younowinvertthepreviousexampleasyoustartonthe7thand3rdofAm7b5,workingtotheclosestnext
chordfromthere.
Onceyouhavethesechordsunderyourfingers,mixthemwiththeotherexamples,aswellastakethemto
otherkeysandfullsongsinyourpracticing.

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Sunny Guide Tones

Heresasolothatmixesguidetonesinglelineswith3rdsand7thsoverthechordstothejazzstandard
Sunny.
Mixingguidenotelinesandguidenotechordscreatesapianisticsound,wherethelinesaretherighthand
andchordsarelefthandofapianist.
Goslowwiththisstudy,learnthelinesfirst,andthenlearnthechordsontheirown,beforebringingthem
alltogetherinyourstudies.
Theresalsoabackingtracksoyoucancreateyourownlinesandchordphrasesoverthis16barform.

BackingTrack
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