Jazz Guitar Chord Charts Series : Chords in Three Scales

This installment of the jazz guitar chord charts series is the next step in chordal playing. I will show you how to derive chords from common scales and appropriate fingerings for each.


With the major scale, melodic minor scale and harmonic minor scale we will get a total of 21 chords...
few... that's alot!
Don't worry though. I'll start simple and build from there. No mysticism or magic here. Just chords!
So the approach is the harmonization of a scale to get the chords it contains. We simply add "stacked thirds" to get four-note chords on each scale degree.

As you may or may not know, the chords above are almost all impossible to play on the guitar (in this format at least)...
)-:
They're called "closed" voicings, try them on the piano when you have a chance. On the guitar, we need a different "spacing" between the notes AND we want to keep the root of each chord on the two bottom strings.
I wanted you to understand the process behind the following chord shapes and that is why I posted these jazz guitar chord charts on the website... Sooooo : We will use the first "C major 7th" chord (upper-left corner above) play the same notes (ex: C E G B) but in a different order (ex: C G B E) keeping C in the bass.
Check this out :

Et voilà!
This C major 7th shape will be the reference point for now. For the record, we call this a drop-2 voicing.
A Quick Drop-2 Explanation : From a closed voicing, the second voice from the top is taken down an octave. Look at the spacing on the above C-G-B-E (on the right ...) The lowest (C) note was taken down an octave from its assorted closed voicing.
Let's play the drop-2 chords in three scales (major, melodic minor and harmonic minor) in the key of C.
Note:
-The "little triangle" means major 7th
-The "little circle" means diminished 7th
-The "dashed little circle" means minor 7th flat 5

This approach brings up two new chord shapes that were not part of the previous jazz guitar chord charts :
-major 7th with a raised 5th (spelled 1 3 #5 7)
-minor with a major 7th (spelled 1 b3 5 7)
They are both only "one finger away" from an chord that has already been discussed :

Good old major 7th ! (1 3 5 7)

Expanding on known chord shapes will be covered in other installments of the jazz guitar chord charts series.

...and another set of strings (with skip!)

Let's now proceed the same way with the bass on the 6th string. I will use the key of G to demonstrate another "spacing" between the notes of a chord. This one involves non-adjacent strings.

Et voilà again!!!
This one is the new point of reference and it's called drop-3 voicing. Notice the string-skip.
A Quick Drop-3 Explanation : From a closed voicing, the third voice from the top is taken down an octave. Look at the spacing on the above G-F#-B-D (on the right ...) The lowest (G) note was taken down an octave from its assorted closed voicing.
So let's play the drop-3 chords in the three scales (major, melodic minor and harmonic minor) but in the key of G.
Note:
-The "little triangle" means major 7th
-The "little circle" means diminished 7th
-The "dashed little circle" means minor 7th flat 5

As in the drop-2 (the key of C), we get two "new" drop-3 shapes : major 7th with raised 5th and minor with major 7th.

Jazz Guitar Chord Charts Series : Wrap-up

So we now have the two basic voicings to play "chords in a scale". They sound good and are easy to play. To take full advantage of this approach, I strongly suggest you go further than the written examples. You can cover more territory on your fretboard by ...

-1-
Use all the frets you have Going further up or down on the fretboard in the same key until you reach the nut (or the bridge!!!)

-2-
Use different set of strings Playing the same chords in the same order but varying the string sets. The above examples are all "four per string". Check this one out :

It could be qualified as a "six ... then two chords per string". Use your imagination and you'll find what works for you.
Remember also that this whole process is applicable starting from any root on the guitar neck! Take the time to learn other keys on your fretboard!