Freddie Green Chord Voicings

Freddie Green was the guitar player for the Count Basie big band from 1937-1987. Freddie
used an acoustic guitar so he played chord voicing with very few notes to keep them from
becoming muddy. His style of comping has become essential for big band guitar playing. The
chord voicings below were used by Freddie and should be the first voicing that a novice jazz
guitar player learn. These are movable shapes that have the root on the 6th and 5th strings.

Root on the 6th string

Major 7 Dominant 7 Minor 7 Major 6 Minor 6
6 6

R R 7b R 7b 3b R R 3b

7 3 3 3

Root on the 5th string

Major 7 Dominant 7 Minor 7 Major 6 Minor 6
3b 3b

3 3 3 6 6

R R 7b R 7b R R

Names on the E and A string

A A# C# D# F# G#
string A Bb B C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A
E F# G# A# C# D#
string E F Gb G Ab A Bb B C Db D Eb E
Fret 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Freddie Green Chord Equivalents
dominant 7/9/13 minor 7b5
with altered 5th and/or C-7b5
9th
C7alt Co7
C7b9
b9#9
C7 b5#5

dominant 13 minor 11 major diminished

C13 C-11 C Co7
Cmin11 Cdim7
Cm11

major 9 dominant 9 minor 9 6/9 minor 7

Cmaj9 C9 C-9 C 6
9 C-7
Cmin9 Cmin7
Cm9 Cm7

major 7 dominant 7 minor 7 major 6 minor 6

C 7 C7 C-7 C6 C-6
Cmaj7 Cdom7 Cmin7 Cmin6
CM7 Cm7 Cm6

Major 7 Dominant 7 Minor 7 Major 6 Minor 6

The below diagram explores the different chord tones that surround the root on either the 5th of
6th string. If a guitar player can master the Freddie Green chords, then they can start to add in
other chord tones to color the chord differently.

Root on 6th String Root on 5th String

#5 11 #9 #5 11
b13 b9 4 b7 b3 b13 R 4

#11 6 #11
6
o7 9 b5 7 3 o7 b9 b5

11
R b7 #9
b3 5 R R 4 b7 9 5

#5 #11 #9 #5
7 3 b13 b9 b5 7 b3 b13

11 6 6
R 4 o7 9 5 R 3 o7
Common Blues Voicings
The following voicings either extend or alter Freddie Green chords and are often used to comp
a standard blues. Experiment with playing these voicings in addition to the Freddie Green
ones. Try playing these voicings without the root or play the root on a different string. The
chords with the root on the 6th string can easily be changed so that the root in on the 1st string.

Root on the 6th string

Alt Dominant
Major 7 Dominant 13
Dominant 7 #5 Minor 7 Diminished 7

o7 b5

R 5 R b7 R b7 R b7 b3 5 R b3

7 3 3 b3 #5

13

Root on the 5th string

Alt Dominant
Major 9 Dominant 9
Dominant 7 #9 Minor 9 Diminished 7

b3

3 3 3 o7

R 9 R b7 9 R b7 R 7 9 R

7 #9 b5 b3
Octave Rule
An octave is the distance between 8 notes. On string sets 6:4 and 5:3, the octave of any note
is two frets and two strings up. On string sets 4:2 and 3:1, the octave of any note is three frets
and two string up.

String set String set

6:4, 5:3 4:2, 3:1
R R

Power Chords
A power chord is a diad (two note chord) consisting of the root and the fifth. Sometimes the
root above the fifth is played.

Root on 6 Root on 5
R R

5 R 5 R

Names on the E and A string

A A# C# D# F# G#
string A Bb B C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A
E F# G# A# C# D#
string E F Gb G Ab A Bb B C Db D Eb E
Fret 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Drop two voicings
Drop two voicings are created by taking the second to the highest note and bringing it down to
the lowest voice. These new voicings are easy to play on four adjacent strings. Wes
Montgomery would use these chord voicing in his soloing. It is best to use the top note as a
reference note when playing these chords.
F7

Dominant
Root on top
7
3rd on top 5th on top 7th on top

6 5 R R R 5 R 3

3 6 3 b7

5 3 7 5

Major 6
Root on top 3rd on top 5th on top 6th on top

5 R R 6 R 5 R 3 6

3 3 6

5 3 5

Minor 6
Root on top 3rd on top 5th on top 6th on top

6 b3

b3 5 R R 6 b3 R 5 R 6

b3 6

5 5
More Drop two voicings
A C6 chord is spelled C, E, G, A and an A-7 chord is spelled A, C, E, G. The C6 chord is
actually an A-7 chord in first inversion. The same shapes are used for both of these chords, but
the location of the chord tone changes. The same is true for -6 chords and -7b5 chords.

Minor 7
Root on top 3rd on top 5th on top 7th on top

b7 b3 5 R b7 b3 b3 R b3

5 5 R

b7 5 b7

Minor 7b5
Root on top 3rd on top 5th on top 7th on top

b5 R

b7 b3 R b5 b7 b3 b3 R b5 b3

b5 R

b7 b7

Diminished 7
Root on top 3rd on top 5th on top 7th on top

o7 b5 R o7

b3 R b5 b3 b3 R b5 b3

o7 b5 R o7
Freddie Green Inversions- Dominant 7

6th String Root

3rd on top 5th on top b7 on top R on top
R

R b7 3 5 3 b7

3 b7 5 b7 3

5th String Root

3rd on top 5th on top b7 on top R on top

R b7 3 3 b7 R

b7 5 5 3

3 b7

4th String Root

3rd on top 5th on top b7 on top R on top

R 3 3 b7 R

b7 b7 5 5 b7 3