10 Must Know Beginning Jazz Standards

10 Must Know Beginning

Jazz Standards
PUBLISHED IN BEGINNER, JAZZ GUITAR LESSONS, JAZZ GUITAR TUNES, POPULAR
A big part of learning to play jazz guitar is learning how to
play standards.

And, playing jazz guitar standards means studying

the Great American Songbook.

As a jazz guitar teacher, I’m often asked which tunes

beginning guitarists should learn when starting their
exploration of jazz.

In this article, you learn 10 must-know easy jazz

standards that every beginning guitarist should study.

These jazz standards cover a range of chord progressions

and prepare you for your first, or next, jam session or gig.

If you aren’t sure how to learn these tunes, check out my

“Learn Jazz Standards” lesson for instructions on the best
way to learn any tune on guitar.

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 Easy Jazz Standards (Click to Jump

Down)
1. Major Blues
2. Minor Blues
3. Summertime
4. Bye Bye Blackbird
5. Autumn Leaves
6. Blue Bossa
7. Take the A Train
8. Milestones
9. Tune Up
10. Blue Seven

Essential Jazz Guitar Standards

Each of the jazz guitar standards has a video of a famous
recording so that you can hear how these tunes sound
before learning them on the fretboard.

There are also a few pointers under each standard on why

this tune is important to add to your repertoire list.

These pointers help you study these jazz standards, as

you’re able to focus on many of those important elements
in your practice routine.

Lastly, there’s a chord study for each tune to get these

songs under your fingers and onto the fretboard.
 There are two main reasons why these jazz standards are
on this list:

1. They’re commonly called at jam sessions or gigs.

2. They offer an important learning tool such as an
essential chord progression.

There are other tunes that could be on this list, but I

wanted to stick to 10 tunes to keep things focused in your
studies.

As well, I consider the following standards to be at

an intermediate level, which is the ceiling I’ve used from a
difficulty standpoint.

 Rhythm Changes
 Cherokee
 All the Things You Are
 Stella by Starlight
 There is No Greater Love

Here are the 10 must-know beginning jazz guitar

standards. Have fun learning these important melodies
and jazz chord progressions in the woodshed.

To take your jazz tune studies further, check out my Jazz

Standard Study Guides.

Major Blues (Keys: F, Bb, C)

 Form is common to many musical genres.
 Guitarists with rock or blues backgrounds will be
familiar with the basic form and chords.
 Usually the most common form called on a jam
session or gig.
 Good introduction to the Dominant 7th chord, one of
the most commonly used sounds in jazz.

To help you learn how to play a major jazz blues tune,

here’s a chord study that teaches you jazz blues chords
on guitar.

Start by learning this chord study as written, then begin

to experiment with the rhythms over the backing track.
 Minor Blues (Keys: Cm, Dm, Am)
 The progression is common in the blues, rock and
soul genres.
 Can use the blues scale to solo over entire tune, a
solid intro to jazz soloing.
 Introduces the iim7b5-V7alt or the bVI7-V7alt
progression.
 Provides a look into a jazz blues variation beyond the
major blues progression.

In order to introduce your fingers to this tune, here’s

a minor blues chord study that you can learn.

Work this study as written, then when you’re ready

change the rhythms and begin to personalize these
shapes over the backing track.
 Summertime
 Memorable melody that many players have heard
before beginning to study jazz.
 Introduction to minor key sounds, including the minor
ii-V-I.
 Mixes tonic minor and relative major sounds during
the second half of the tune.
 Can use the pentatonic scale or blues scale to
improvise over entire form.

Here’s a chord study to get the essential jazz standard

under your fingers and onto the guitar.

This chord study uses a standard jazz rhythm, playing

chords on the & of 1 and 3 in each bar.

Start with this rhythm, then move on to other rhythms as

you expand this study in your practice routine.
 Bye Bye Blackbird
 Uses major and minor key progressions.
 Introduces the diminished chord and scale for
improvising.
 Has famous chord alterations such as those used
by Miles Davis that are an introduction to chord subs.
 Can be played at a wide range of tempos.
 Often called by singers, both male and female, on
jazz jams and gigs.

Here’s a Freddie Green style chord study that you can

learn in your jazz guitar studies.

Work the study on your own first, then jam with it over the
backing track as you get it up to speed in the woodshed.
 Autumn Leaves
 One of the most popular, and a definite must know,
jazz standard.
 Often played in two keys, so it’s a good intro to
learning standards in multiple keys.
 Features ii-V-I progression in both the tonic minor
and relative major keys.
 The melody line has built in space that make it
perfect as a first chord melody arrangement.

Here’s a chord study to help you learn how to comp the

chords to Autumn Leaves on guitar.

Notice the repeat sign for the first-eight bars, which is

easy to miss on the sheet.

Also, work this study with a metronome first, then bring it

to the backing track when ready.
 Blue Bossa
 Introduces the bossa nova comping rhythm.
 Introduces a tricky key with the ii-V-I in Db major
during the second half of the tune.
 Pat Martino recording is a solid source for licks over
this tune.
 Uses syncopated rhythms in the melody that are
an introduction to Brazilian and jazz melodic rhythms.

Here’s a Blue Bossa chord study that you can learn to get
this song onto the guitar.

In this study, you use a standard bossa nova guitar

pattern over each chord.
This pattern helps you sound authentic with bossa songs,
but it’s tough to get down for beginner jazz guitarists.

Because of this, start by learning the first bar from

memory.

When you can do that comfortably, play the entire study

on your own and with the backing track.
 Take the A Train
 Introduces the II7 chord, a commonly used chord
change in the jazz literature.
 The melody is largely based on chord tone and
arpeggio shapes, so you can draw ideas from the melody
when soloing.
 Has one of the most famous intros and endings in
jazz, great intro to an arrangement than head-blowing-
head.
 Played at a wide variety of tempos, and often called
by singers on jams and gigs.

To help you learn this classic jazz standard, here’s a chord

study over Take the A Train.

Work these chords with the given rhythm before

personalizing these shapes in your studies both on your
own and over the backing track.
 Milestones
 Nice intro to a modal jazz tune that mixes the
Dorian and Aeolian minor sounds.
 The bridge shifts into a Latin groove, introducing A
section swing and B section Latin form commonly used in
jazz.
 The horns are harmonized in a way that sits easily on
the guitar, creating a ready made chord melody.
 Faster tempo than other tunes, forces you to build up
your guitar technique.

Here’s a Milestones chord study that you can learn and

add to your comping vocabulary.

Notice the repeat signs, which make it easier to read but

sometimes you miss them and skip a section, be aware of
that.

Also, the rhythms in this study mimic the melody to the

tune, just different notes, in case you want to practice
these chords along with the original recording.
 Tune Up
 Features ii-V-I progressions in three keys, introduces
chordal sequences.
 Great tune for building ii-V-I comping and blowing
vocabulary.
 The melody sequences down the keys with the
progression, introducing melodic transposition and
development.
 Wes Montgomery recording is an excellent resource
for transcribing ii V I lines.

To introduce you to this essential jazz standard, here is a

chord study that you can workout in your studies.

Start by learning the chord study as written, with the

given rhythm, before changing the rhythms and
personalizing the chords in your practice routine.
 Blue Seven
 Uses 7#11 chords, acts as an introduction to the
Lydian Dominant sound in jazz.
 Opening two choruses are solo bass lines, which are
easy to transcribe and learn on guitar.
 Sonny’s solo is filled with 7#11 licks that jazz
guitarists of any level should get under their fingers.
 Introduces jazz blues chord variations beyond the
typical major and minor blues forms.

Now that you know why you should study this song, here’s
a Blue Seven chord study that you can work out in your
practicing.

Each chord uses a 7#11 sound, reflecting the melody line

and the overall sound of the tune.

Since these chords are hard on the ears for beginner jazz
guitarists, they’re written with a simple rhythm.

Once you’re used to the 7#11 sound, change the rhythms

and personalize this chord study in your playing.