Upper Structures, Synonyms & Slash Voicings for jazz guitar E-Book

Ged Brockie

• Herausgeber: Guitar & Music Institute
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

A JAZZ GUITAR BOOK FOR GUITARISTS LOOKING TO EXPLORE UPPER VOICINGS

At over three hundred and sixty pages (print version, Kindle version slightly less) Upper Structures, Synonyms & Slash Voicings For Jazz Guitar takes a wide ranging and in-depth look at the subject of upper voicings and their application with respect to the guitar. Slash voicings and synonyms are also cover in great detail with numerous examples showing how these musical concepts connect and work together.

From individual examples both played and explained in text and narration, to lick ideas and then full blown solos, this book covers a huge amount of material that will help you understand how upper structures work.
WHAT LEVEL OF GUITAR PLAYER SHOULD CONSIDER THIS BOOK?
This book is aimed at experienced guitar players and will act as a reference and technical guide for players, teachers, educationalists and music conservatoires.
With hundreds of musical examples, chord progressions, diagrams, lick ideas and solo examples and in depth theoretical explanation this book is a must for every aspiring guitarist.

SECTION ONE - FOUR CHAPTERS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING TOPICS:

Stacking Chords, Chord formulae, Chord extension & alteration, Triads as upper structures, Pseudo scales, Inferring altered dominants, Generating chords across the neck, Chord & line superimposition, Voice leading, Vagrant harmony, Inferring altered dominants, Single line solo ideas, Tri-tones & flat five concepts, Chromatic movement, Deconstructing altered dominants, Synonyms, Movable solo lines, Cascading chords, Motif development, Sidestep line movement.

SECTION TWO:

A three chapter lick library of 70 original lick ideas that demonstrate each upper structure voicing category. All licks are offered in mp3 format as well as including narration from the author on the points of interest and technical challenges of the line. Each lick is provided in musical and TAB notation. Every chord type includes arpeggio patterns across the fretboard with large format easy to view chords included with each lick example.

SECTION THREE:

Three chapters offering original jazz guitar solo examples over three well known jazz standard progressions. Full analysis from a comparative, melodic and harmonic viewpoint is included. Solos are fully notated in music and TAB with chords provided in large easy to view format.

SUPPORTING DOWNLOAD

Over one and a half hours of mp3 files included. Section 1 music examples, Section 2 demonstration licks with author's technical narration for all seventy lick ideas and Section 3 which includes complete solo demonstrations as well as a wide range of backing tracks for you to practice over the three included sequences.

Leseprobe

 

 

UPPER STRUCTURES, SYNONYMS & SLASH

VOICINGS FOR JAZZ GUITAR

Chord & single line soloing concepts for jazz guitarists

By Ged Brockie

Text and musical examples proof read by Douglas Urquhart

Copyright © 2021 GMI - Guitar & Music Institute

ISBN 978-1-9163024-9-5

www.guitarandmusicinstitute.com

https://gmiguitarshop.com

First published in Scotland in 2021 by GMI - Guitar & Music Institute

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by

any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of

the author.

Cover - Ged Brockie. Ged’s Eastman Pagelli PG2

THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR DOWNLOADING THE MATERIAL (mp3 files, PDF, video) THAT

SUPPORT THIS BOOK ARE FOUND ON PAGE 118.

1

 

2

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preamble from author 7

Legend  

8

INTRODUCTION: 

9

How To Get The Most From This Publication  

11

Understanding The Strengths & Weaknesses Of Chord Symbol Notation 13

Making Full Use Of Chords With Alternate Bass Notes  

15

Why Upper Voicings, Slash Voicings & Synonyms Offer An Advantage In Some Areas 17

Melodic/Harmonic Flow Diagram 18

SECTION 1:

19

CHAPTER 1: 

MAJOR  

21

Stacking Chords  

25

Do You Really Know Your Triads? 27

It’s In The Formula 31

Leave Out Another Note  

32

Extrapolating New Material 34

How To Use This Material In Many Ways 36

Harmonising a Major Scale 36

Playing Over The II Chord 38

Playing Over The V Chord 41

Making Use Of The Flattened Fifth 42

Playing The Triads Against A Dominant Seventh 43

Combining All Lines Over A II-V-I Progression  

46

Summary Of Material Covered In This Chapter  

48

CHAPTER 2: 

MINOR  

49

Minor Over Major And Dominant Chords 53

How To Choose A Chord, Voice Leading Is Key  

53

What To Consider When Utilising Voice Leading 54

Four Ways Of Defining The Melody/Bass Relationship  

55

Contrary Motion - Ascending Melody Descending Bass  

55

Contrary Motion - Descending Melody Ascending Bass  

56

Parallel Motion Between Melody & Bass  

57

Similar Motion Between Melody & Bass  

58

Synonym Information 58

Pedal Tone Between Melody & Bass 59

Inverted Pedal Tone Between Melody & Bass  

60

Do You Really Know Your Triads? 62

Hiding In Plain Site 65

Closer Minor Chord To The Dominant  

69

Summary Of Material Covered In This Chapter  

73

CHAPTER 3: 

DOMINANT SEVENTH  

75

More Chords Within Chords 79

The Effect On Single Line Solo Ideas  

82

3

 

CHAPTER 3: 

DOMINANT SEVENTH Continued...

Use These Principles To Create Voicings Across The Fretboard  

84

Closely Linked Polychords & Slash Voicings  

85

Further Use Of The Same Notes/Shapes  

88

Using The Same Notes/Shapes...Again!  

91

Summary Of Material Covered In This Chapter  

93

CHAPTER 4: 

AUGMENTED & DIMINISHED 95

Symmetrically Speaking  

99

What Does All This Mean? 101

Using Symmetrical Ideas In Your Improvisations 104

Motif Shapes Played Symmetrically & In Position 105

Do You Really Know Your Triads? 106

Side Slipping Your Way Through The Cycle 109

Do You Really Know Your Triads? 112

Altered Voicings & Augmented/Diminished Chords 115

Summary Of Material Covered In This Chapter  

117

HOW TO DOWNLOAD YOUR SUPPORT MATERIALS

118

SECTION 2:

119

A Lick Library Of Ideas  

121

Lick Library Contents 121

CHAPTER 5: 

MAJOR LICKS  

123

Major Nine Licks  

125

Major Thirteen Licks 129

Major 6/9 Licks  

133

Major Seven Flat Five Licks 137

Major Seven Sharp Five Licks  

141

Major Nine Sharp Eleven Licks  

145

Major Thirteen Sharp Eleven Licks 149

Major Seven Sharp Nine Sharp Eleven Licks  

153

CHAPTER 6: 

MINOR LICKS  

157

Minor Nine Licks  

159

Minor Eleven Licks 163

Minor Thirteenth Licks  

167

Minor Natural Seven Licks 171

Minor Nine Natural Seven Licks  

175

CHAPTER 7: 

DOMINANT & ALTERED LICKS 179

Dominant Ninth Licks  

181

Dominant Thirteenth Licks 185

4

 

CHAPTER 7: 

DOMINANT & ALTERED LICKS Continued...

Dominant Seven Sharp Five/Nine Sharp Eleven  

189

Dominant Seven Flat Nine Licks  

195

Dominant Seven Sharp Nine Licks 199

Dominant Seven Flat Five/Sharp Nine Licks 203

Dominant Seven Sharp Five/Flat Nine Licks 207

Dominant Seven Flat Five/Flat Nine Licks 211

Dominant Seven Sharp Five/Sharp Nine Licks  

215

Dominant Thirteen Flat Nine 219

Dominant Thirteen Sharp Eleven  

223

SECTION 3:

227

CHAPTER 8: 

I CAN’T HEAR A THING! 231

Comparative Analysis of the Harmony  

233

Notated Solo 239

Melodic Analysis of the solo 243

Harmonic Analysis of the solo  

251

The Chords Used In Large Format 257

CHAPTER 9:  

THE DAY WE RENAMED NIGHT 263

Comparative Analysis of the Harmony  

265

Notated Solo 271

Melodic Analysis of the solo 275

Harmonic Analysis of the solo  

283

The Chords Used In Large Format 289

CHAPTER 10:  

WHO’S DREAM IS THIS? 295

Comparative Analysis of the Harmony  

297

Notated Solo 305

Melodic Analysis of the solo 313

Harmonic Analysis of the solo  

323

The Chords Used In Large Format 329

APPENDICES

335

A

Upper Voicing Formula To Chord Symbol Visual Guide 336

B

List Of Polychords 338

C

“Short List Of Common Synonyms/Substitutions...”  

340

D

“Synonym Selection Of Extended/Altered Dominant Guitar Chords”  

342

E

“Graphical Dominant Seventh...” 343

F

mp3 Audio Reference  

343

G

Upper Voice Memorisation Cut Out 351

H

Recordings & Other Books By Ged Brockie 353

Other GMI Publications  

356

Online Resources  

358

INDEX  

359

5

 

6

 

PREAMBLE

I started playing guitar relatively late, at the age of

fifteen, but I did have the benefit before embarking upon

this course of action of a very musical childhood. For

example, I was exposed to melody regularly as I sang in

two church services every week. I also played piano

from the age of five receiving lessons from an aunt.

These lessons lasted two years or so until I discovered

football.

Aged nine I got the chance to play the cornet at school. I

passed the entrance exam which consisted of attempting

to get a rasp out of the instrument’s mouthpiece. I

somehow managed it and I was in! For the next two

years I was parping my cornet at home, in school and

Ged in a recent recording session

eventually as part of the Edinburgh Schools Orchestra.

As a teenager my interest in music intensified as I tried to knock out pop tunes on my mum’s old out of tune

piano. At the age of fourteen my friends and I decided to do the done thing back then, start up a band. After

a year of saving I bought my first guitar. On the 30 

th

October 1980 I played the first notes on my own

instrument and I haven't stopped playing the guitar since. I had, however, played a guitar before this. It was

an old acoustic guitar a friend had which only had two strings and two holes; the sound hole and a hole in

the back of the guitar. It didn’t really make much of a noise worth hearing.

The learning process was exciting and I couldn’t get enough of music, performance, theory, reading, you

name it, I was into it. One thing that became apparent to me was that there were chords and there were really

complex chords; long named (extended) chords and weird sounding (altered) chords. I wanted, of course, to

be the best guitarist in the world like most teenagers set out to be. Learning these big, complex sounding

chords seemed the way to go if I wanted to become a real player. I then figured that if I was becoming more

competent and a better player I wouldn’t need to play simple “triad” chords and in that one moment I missed

a crucial point. The point being that the most complex harmonic structures are more often than not created

by combinations of, or the re-purposing of the humble triad.

If this book does nothing more than open up your eyes to the incredible power of the triad then it will

definitely have been worth the purchase. By playing triads and understanding how to use them together you

will be able to create harmonic textures and melodic lines that would be beyond the musical reach of most

who depend upon eureka moments to infer new knowledge.

Welcome to the world of “Upper Structures”, often referred to as polychords when the entire structure is

considered. We will by necessity, due to the close linked nature of certain topics and the limitation of a six

string guitar, also study slash voicings and synonyms which are much used by jazz guitarists. I hope the

concepts found in this book enlighten your musical world. I’m not saying that any of the ideas in this

publication are original, but they are presented as I discovered them in my musical life. So in some way they

feel authentic and original to me and I feel that’s important when imparting knowledge to others.

Finally, you may find this text jumps about a bit but I have tried to maintain order by splitting the book into

three sections. Hopefully this jumping around subjects will not put you off and you’ll be able to work with

the way my mind works. This book is, in places, as much musical research and discovery for myself as it,

hopefully, will be for you.

My wish is that this book will open a door to new musical vistas which once may have seemed a distant far

off dream. Best of luck with your guitar playing and musical progress.

Ged Brockie

7

 

INTRODUCTION

9

 

10

 

HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM THIS PUBLICATION

This publication contains three sections with each section containing chapters. The chapters do not need to

be studied in sequence in order to get the most from this book. You will find that some chapters within a

section will often be used for reference whereas other chapters will be used more frequently as they offer

practical and technical playing experience.

Section one is split into four chapters with each chapter headed by a chord type; major, minor etc. Each of

these opening chapters in section one include ideas and concepts which relate sometimes closely and

sometimes in a more loose way to the overall subject matter of upper voicings, synonyms and slash

voicings. At other times, the author has strayed into musical territory that although distant from the original

focus of the text, is still an important consideration when considering the subject of jazz guitar as a whole.

Section two is devoted to providing the player with a catalogue of guitar lick (line) ideas split up by chord

type that demonstrate upper voicing use within common progressions found in jazz. These ideas can be

applied and developed to reflect the player’s own taste and musical style.

Within the second section, suggested arpeggio patterns for each chord type are provided as well as all the

chord forms that were played in the demonstration tracks. With respect to the arpeggio patterns, the author

does not expect the player to memorise all notated arpeggio patterns. The inclusion of these patterns,

however, will prove a useful study aid in understanding how upper voicings from a single line perspective

can be applied across the guitar fretboard.

Finally, section three provides the player with three recorded solos which demonstrate, within a playing

context, the concepts outlined in this book. These solos are played over chord progressions that are directly

attributable to popular jazz standards that most guitarists that wish to play jazz music will at some point

learn as part of their repertoire. These three solos are analysed and commented on from both a melodic and

harmonic point of view. A comparative analysis of each solo is also undertaken by the author to enable the

player to see exactly how the various chords function within the context of a guitar solo.

GMI would urge you to download the free materials that have been created by Ged Brockie for you to use in

conjunction with the following text. The materials include an introductory video, mp3 files for you to listen to

and learn from, as well as backing tracks and a PDF to aid in memorisation of the upper voicings presented 

.

GMI - Guitar & Music Institute - creates books that are more akin to multimedia productions. The emphasis

is on guitar players playing and learning through actual persistent practice while being provided with,

hopefully, fun to play music examples. Almost all our publications include a download pack that is an

integral part of the learning process.

We hope that you get a lot out of this publication. It has been carefully designed to help the advancing

guitarist gain a lot of practical line improvisation, theoretical and chordal skills knowledge. From everyone

at GMI we wish you all the best in your jazz guitar journey.

GMI - Guitar & Music Institute

11

 

12

 

UNDERSTANDING THE STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES OF CHORD

SYMBOL NOTATION

It’s very easy to get attached to any system of understanding that has served you well. If you are

comfortable reading and writing standard chord symbol notation, you may find it rather confusing to move

to or to add another notation and reading system. More than this, you may feel resistant to other ways of

understanding harmonic progression. If this is you, then here are some thoughts on the subject which I hope

will make you pause for thought and reconsider.

Before becoming too misty-eyed about the current system of chord symbols, just remember what any

system of notation sets out to do; enable understanding to the immediate viewer and to facilitate

memorisation, replication and communication of ideas to others. Language is in a constant state of flux and

so is musical notation. Look at the following example below which is often referred to as figured bass.

Ex.1a 

Ex. 1b

C Major C/E C/G G7 G7/B G7/D G/F

Most contemporary musicians will not use the above system of chord notation. As archaic as it may seem, if

you only read chord symbols, figured bass has been around for hundreds of years and many people around

the world still use it. The numbers underneath the bass line are a code of sorts which relates to interval

distance from the note shown. This, in effect, denotes chords in root position and inversion.

In example 1b, the treble clef line displays the chords that a musician would play if faced with the first

example bass line with an empty treble clef. I have added chord symbols for clarity of chord only.

If figured bass is of interest I’m afraid there is not enough room to go into it here but there are plenty of

online and book resources available. What I am trying to impress upon you is that when a classically trained

musician is reading a bass line and they see a bass note that has a six and a four underneath it, as in example

1a above, they will automatically play a second inversion with reference to the given note just as you would

if shown a slash voicing chord symbol as displayed in example 1b. The process is fundamentally the same.

The only thing that has changed is that the majority of contemporary musicians work with the “newer”

system which is shown above example 1b’s chords (these chord symbols would not be displayed in a real

world situation).

When it comes to helping people know what chords you want them to play, for the most part these days,

letters and numbers are in, numbers on their own, not so much.

So, hopefully, if you were unaware of the above you can now see that our chord symbol notation is nothing

new and is but a re-imagining of an older system. One of the benefits of our current chord notation system is

that it allowed expansion in terms of describing extended and altered chord structures, many of which may

not have been musically acceptable hundreds of years ago.

I would now like to discuss a few areas that may just be taken for granted when it comes to the process of

understanding and analysing chord symbols, specifically what they often do and don’t tell you.

13

 

Study the chord progression below. Playing over this traditional chord symbol notation, which may come as

second nature to many, actually needs a lot of knowledge and understanding before you can make an

educated attempt using meaningful improvisational tools such as scales and arpeggios.

S1EX1

First of all, you would need to be able to analyse the chord progression and realise that it is in the key of C

major. To do this you need to understand both scalar and harmonic theory to a high degree of competency.

● In the example above, if you know that all the notes found in the C major scale are all natural (no sharps

or flats), you may then notice that all of the roots of the chords found in the progression are also all

natural. This could be a big clue to the actual key of the chord progression.

● If you understand diatonic chord theory, you may realise that although many of the chords have quite

complicated names, they are, for the most part extensions of the basic chord forms. By taking the

respective scales into the next octave; for example, C Maj9 for C Major and A minor 9 for A minor.

Note: Extending the scale into the next octave means the 9 

th

is the same as the 2 

nd

etc.

● Further to the last point, the understanding of how diatonic key centres work will enable you to pinpoint

the position of each chord within the key and its probable function relative to the tonal centre (chord I).

Understanding the malleable nature of certain chords concerning chord function within a diatonic key

centre will also help with perception as to why there is such a prevalence of dominant seventh structures

within the progression.

● Dissonance creates a sense of motion and instability within chord structures leading the ear to desire

resolution of the chordal motion, as displayed in the complicated chords above. This dissonance would

also include how 5 

th

and 9 

th

tones can be sharpened and flattened when employed using “voice leading”,

enabling heightened tension beyond what is already present. The prevailing tension is due to the tri-tone

interval being present within dominant 7 

th

chords.

● In general, when trying to locate the key centre of a piece of music or chord progression, work

backwards. If you view the last chord and work backwards, you will realise that all of these chords are

travelling around the cycle of 4 

ths

/5

ths  

and the probable final destination chord beyond the last chord

shown will be C Major or possibly C minor. If the progression does lead to a C root chord, then the

movement from G7 (alt.) to a C root chord as shown above would create a perfect V - I cadence.

● Finally, the chords do not tell you the notes needed to play an improvisational line that reflects both the

guide tones (3 

rd

and 7 

th

) and other important extended and altered notes found within each chord

structure. There is, however, every likelihood that regardless of the system used you would need to

know something about the chords you were playing over and the notes found within them. I’m hopeful

that you will agree with my point when I explain further.

So, let’s carry on and see how else some of the chords shown in this example could be re-spelt or named.

14

 

CMaj9 IN EIGHT POSITIONS (Emin7 with a C in the bass - Emin7/C)

Amin9 IN EIGHT POSITIONS (CMaj7 with an A in the bass - Cmaj7/A)

16

 

MELODIC/HARMONIC FLOW DIAGRAM

Below is a diagram which outlines the connectivity of chord symbols, polychords, slash voicings and

synonyms. This diagram will become clearer and will act as a point of reference for you once you have

started to really work through the ideas presented in this book.

POLYCHORDS 

SYNONYMS

MELODIC &

HARMONIC

APPLICATION

FORMULA 

RE PURPOSE

CHORD 

CHORDS

SYMBOLS

REDUCE CHORDS

MELODIC &

HARMONIC

APPLICATION

SLASH

VOICINGS

18

 

SECTION 1

19

 

20

 

MAJOR

II

I

CHAPTER 1

21

 

22

 

Chapter 1

What’s discussed in

this chapter...

stacking chords

chord extension & alteration

major triads as upper structures

chord formulae

making use of the cycle of 4 

/5

th

ths

pseudo scales

inferring altered dominants

generating chords across the neck

chord & line superimposition

23

 

24

 

STACKING CHORDS

A good way to understand how upper voicings work, how to play them and what notes to use when

improvising over them is to view a complex chord. The chord, shown on the next page, has been created

from two simple major triads. First of all though, let’s consider extended chord theory which is the usual

way of thinking about such chords. Major triads consist of a root, 3 

rd

and 5 

th

as shown below. We can

colour the basic triad by adding the 6 

th

to make a Major 6 chord, and a 7 

th

to create a Major 7 from within

the first octave. By extending the same scale into the next octave, we can then add further notes

(extensions) which are found in this upper register such as the 9 

th

, 11 

th

and 13 

th

.

Extended scale into next octave

C Major scale extended into a second octave

9

th

11

th

13

th

Root  

3

rd

5

th

6

th

7

th

Therefore, a player could use triadic and four note chords and expand upon them by adding further notes for

larger voicings such as Major 9 

th

and Major 13 

th

. For example, a Major 9 

th

chord would consist of a major

triad plus the 7 

th

and the 9 

th

. The Major 13 

th

would consist of the major triad plus the 7 

th

, 9

th

and 13 

th

.

The 11 

th

(which is also the 4 

th

) creates an issue. A clash results between the 3 

rd

and the semi-tone higher 4 

th

.

#

If both are present in a chord structure the result is a very dissonant sound. If, however, the 11 

th

is

sharpened a major chord with a  

11 results in a sound that is lydian (mode) in nature and is one of the

brighter sounding modes. Although now an altered sound colour, the chord still functions and is heard as a

major chord tonality. As you can see below, by utilising upper triads things get considerably easier to

understand regarding the nature and composition of large chord voicings

C Major triad 

D Major triad 

#

9

th

11

th

13

th

Root  

3

rd

5

Root  

3

th

rd

5

th

Looking once again at the C major scale with the sharpened 11 

th

in the second octave, we can see that both 

#

C and D major triads can be identified within the notes. These two triads when combined result in the ever

so complex sounding C Major13 

11 voicing; in essence just a C major triad with a D major triad on top. 

#

Let’s consider how this actually affects our understanding of a C Major13 

11 chord. If you don’t know, or

you are not sure about the composition of this chord and how it “functions” within the harmony, you might

be a little confused about the scale to use when improvising. Armed, however, with the knowledge above,

you have a complete six note scale, seven notes with the octave. These notes will work every time you play

them over this chord as they are the only notes found within this complex chordal structure.

On the next page you will see in graphic form the chord and fingering that can be used and the notes that 

#

can be played with regards improvisation. As is often the case with these chord structures, there has been a

note casualty when creating the C Maj13 

11 chord to enable it to be played with root on five and that was

to omit the 7 

th

from the chord.

25

 

This chord form is a good

example of the approach

that a guitarist needs to

take to create “sounds”.

The “A” note in the chord

C Major triad (No 5 

th

).

could be thought to be in

The 7 

th

is not present

the position of the 6 

th

but

either due to physical

we refer to it as the 13

D Major triad 

th

.

3

limitations i.e. root on

There is no 5 

th

and no 7 

th

string 5.

present due to the root

being placed on the 5 

th

string.

Slash voicings have the chord and the bass note separated by a diagonal slash. Polychords, are shown one

above the other and are separated by a horizontal line.

EXAMPLE OF SLASH VOICING  

EXAMPLE OF POLYCHORD

D

D

(Upper chord) 

(Upper chord)

D Major triad 

D Major triad

C

C

(Lower chord)

C note 

C Major triad 

(Bass note)

As mentioned earlier, because we only have six or fewer strings to work with, on many occasions we need to

omit one, two or more notes to physically play the chords we are trying to build. In the form above it’s the

5

th

of C Major, the “G” note that has been left out as well as the 7 

th

. We can relate to and use the theoretical

concepts of polychords, but in most cases, as guitarists, we can only express them through slash voicings.

You can see that we have the root and 3 

rd

of C Major and the D Major triad above it. Now, let’s observe how

this chord looks on the manuscript both as a structure and with all notes in arpeggio and scalar form.

C Major arpeggio 

D Major arpeggio

(Combined C and D Major arpeggios in scale form

creating what I refer to as a pseudo scale)

#

The chord C Maj13 11 as written in music notation is shown on the left. Then we can see the two triads

played one after the other in II position on the guitar neck (2 

nd

finger over fret 3) and finally the notes of the

two triads laid out in ascending order as a pseudo scale. Almost a complete C lydian scale but no 7 

th

.

As I have pointed out, if you do not know how the chord shown at the top of this page functions and you

don’t know a scale that will work, upper voicings actually give you plenty of musical ammunition to play at

least within the chord sound.

Are there other notes that could be played over this chord in addition to the six different ones shown above?

Absolutely; as pointed out in a prior paragraph. What this does show you, however, is that by deconstructing

then reassembling a chord into easy to understand chunks of information, you then have a simple starting

point for both soloing and chordal development. Later in this section we are going to see how we can build a

wide range of chord forms all over the neck that would not be that apparent if it was not for the

understanding that upper structures brings.

26

 

DO YOU REALLY KNOW YOUR TRIADS?

One recurring problem in being able to use and visualise potential polychords effectively is not the theory but

the technical building blocks that may have been overlooked in the early stages of playing. Knowing your

triadic shapes in all possible inversions over all string sets is a must. Many players will think that knowing all

of these probable shapes is just too massive a job; it’s just not true. The following twenty five shapes will

serve most potential scenarios. All major arpeggio forms you need to know for most music are shown below.

27

 

28

 

29

 

Understanding and using the cycle of 4ths/5ths for your practice and general understanding cannot be

overstated enough. So much of the musical language created over hundreds of years uses the musical wheel

you see above. Think of it like a clock with the twelve numbers being replaced by twelve key sounds.

A couple of things to keep in mind.

1. Memorise the cycle if you do not already know it, you will never regret this.

2. There are obviously other ways to spell the keys shown above, we are dealing with sound. Name the

keys any way you wish or that feel appropriate.

3. The cycle has many uses, not just in terms of knowing keys and practising chords, scales and arpeggios.

It also is a great help in understanding many theoretical concepts from the notes in scales to how

progressions work to more advanced ideas such as the “alternate cycle”.

30

 

IT’S IN THE FORMULA...

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One thing that you will need to be aware of to get the most from upper structures is the need to memorise. If we

consider our current example, which is C Maj13 

11, what we have found is that this chord name and sound equals

a major triad played at the same time as the root note major triad but played one tone higher.

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b

#

b

Extrapolated to other chords you’ll find that if you play a G major triad over an F major triad you will get the

sound of F Major13  

11. If you play a C major triad over a B major triad you will be playing a B 

Major 13 

11

and so on. The formula for a given chord symbol’s polychord alternative is given in Roman numerals wherever

possible and can include accidentals such as flats and sharps. Understanding and memorising these simple

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formulae and what they create in terms of traditional chord symbol notation is highly desirable, if not a necessity.

II Major

Maj13 11

I Major

Just to recap, the above formula is founded on the structure of a major scale and works from that interval basis.

Here is an example of how a major scale is created from a chromatic scale although I did make the assumption

that most people purchasing this book would know this information already, but just in case...

So, in the case above you can see that the 2 

nd

or II degree is D which is a tone above C. This way of relating one

chord to another and the relationship this represents in Roman numerals will be used for the rest of this

publication’s text unless stipulated otherwise.

When I started out I would have been thrilled to know two chord shapes for the same “complex” chord but we can 

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use what we’ve learned in a very dynamic way to find many shapes. We will now look at how we can use this

simple formula to build chord forms for Maj13 11 chords all over the guitar neck. The important thing to

remember is that, armed with the principle outlined above, you can use it to create extended and altered chords of

all types all over the guitar fretboard.

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LEAVE OUT ANOTHER NOTE?!

To create a form that can be used to generate many possible chord forms I’m suggesting that you actually

leave one more note out of our original example, in addition to the fifth and the seventh. From a music

history point of view, as the twentieth century has moved into the twenty first century, many musicians

have taken to paring down the notes played within chord voicings to create what is thought of as a more

“modern” and “open” sound. You will no doubt have heard the phrase “less is more” when it comes to

playing, well this is exactly one of those scenarios.

In a nutshell, many players are looking for the essence of a chordal sound. This does not have to mean that

the guitarist needs to play a full bodied six note six string voicing every time. I’ll demonstrate this by

revealing the note that can also be left out whilst preserving to a large degree the original sound in a moment.

The final point I’d like to make is that by leaving out a further note we will in fact go full circle and end up

with a triadic slash voicing and another case for making use of synonyms. The reason that both of these

subjects should be looked at within the context of this publication, which highlights the subject of

polychords, is that the resulting forms are incredibly malleable and can be applied in numerous musical

circumstances.

Further, due to the limitations of six strings, root placement and tuning, slash voicings are never far away

from consideration and will through necessity be used often when referring to a polytonal sound. This

musical consideration is, however, very much down to the individual’s musical taste.

The 3 

rd

of C will be left out which

gives us a D/C chord. Basically a

D Major chord with a C in the 

b

bass which could be heard as a D7

3

rd

inversion; D major with the  

7

th

in the bass.

This is where a chord’s function

within a harmonic progression

becomes paramount. The key 

3

3

centre, the chords that surround

the voicing and of course the

melodic line all work together to

establish how we “hear” a chord

and it’s relationship to the

progression in general.

So here we are now looking at a chord that could be described as one of the following depending on

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musical context (with all the provisos as given in this chapter taken into account):

II Major 

D

CMaj13 11 

or

or D/C

IMaj 

C

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#

CMaj13 

11 alternative voicing ideas (D/C)

Root notes (light grey for

all other chord as well)

Hopefully, you are looking at some shapes you have never viewed before. If this is the case, then just

remember this; it’s important to see the major shape with the root note being added on. This is how the

actual function and sound of the chord changes by the addition of that one note which is considered the root.

Potential ideas but perhaps fringe voicings...

Remember, all of the above voicings could also be thought of as D7. That is, a D major chord with the

flattened 7 

th

in the bass, a 3 

rd

inversion.

33

 

EXTRAPOLATING NEW MATERIAL

We’re now going to explore how we can take our C major chord with a D major chord above it and create

new ideas for improvisation by utilising various melodic techniques.

By isolating each individual triad and thinking of it as a building block or motif, we can create a lot of new

material by simply changing the direction that each subsequent inversion of these triads take. This idea of

shape and melody is often expressed or referred to as “melodic contours”.

Case #1 - both triads up  

Case #2 - 1 

st

triad up 2 

nd

down  

Case #3 - 1 

st

triad down 2 

nd

triad up Case #4 - both triads down

What follows is C and D major triads combined and utilising one of the four cases shown above. In each

case I have created the line in two positions on the neck for variety, however, up to another five positions

are possible. This book would be too big if all were listed. Work out these ideas in other scalar patterns.

All triads are played first in root, then 1 

st

inversion (3 

rd

in bass), then 2 

nd

inversion (5 

th

in bass) and so on up

the fretboard.

Case #1 - both triads up

S1EX2

S1EX3

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Case #2 - 1 

st

triad up 2 

nd

down

S1EX4

S1EX5

Case #3 - 1 

st

triad down 2 

nd

up

S1EX6

S1EX7

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Case #4 - 1 

st

triad down 2 

nd

down

S1EX8

S1EX9

HOW TO USE THIS MATERIAL IN MANY WAYS

One way to really pull listeners in to an improvisation is to have a thematic idea that runs through the music

and works over various chords and progressions. I’d like to show you how to do this with the material we

have just viewed which will bleed into other areas that will be discussed later in this publication. I’m also

going to touch briefly on theoretical concepts presented later in the minor and dominant seventh chapters

within this section of the book.

We will look to create a line that is consistent and thematic and works over a II - V - I chord progression.

First of all, here is a short recap on how to harmonise a major scale in both three and four note systems.

HARMONISING a MAJOR SCALE

This theory may be a little basic for some, but it will give a grounding as to where we get II - V - I.

progressions from and will help those who have never looked into this aspect of key centres before.

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