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spastic · 09-19-2005, 09:18 PM

Learn to read chord charts, and learn them well. That's usually what most guitarists play in high school jazz bands.

I would suggest learning how to construct chords on the spot instead of trying to memorize a million difference voicings for chords. Develop a system that works for you. What I do a lot of the time when I see a chord that I'm not very familiar with is this:

6th and/or 5th string: root and/or 5th of the chord
4th and 3rd string: Chord tones such as 3rds, 7ths, or 6ths
2nd and 1st string: Extensions such as 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, or altered 5ths

Now after a while a lot of your voicings will start sounding the same and you'll want to try to vary your chords, but having a system like this will get you through a lot of different situations for quite some time.

09-19-2005, 09:18 PM	#8
spastic FreeMusicNo1 Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 3,420	Learn to read chord charts, and learn them well. That's usually what most guitarists play in high school jazz bands. I would suggest learning how to construct chords on the spot instead of trying to memorize a million difference voicings for chords. Develop a system that works for you. What I do a lot of the time when I see a chord that I'm not very familiar with is this: 6th and/or 5th string: root and/or 5th of the chord 4th and 3rd string: Chord tones such as 3rds, 7ths, or 6ths 2nd and 1st string: Extensions such as 9ths, 11ths, 13ths, or altered 5ths Now after a while a lot of your voicings will start sounding the same and you'll want to try to vary your chords, but having a system like this will get you through a lot of different situations for quite some time.