How to Help Your Guitarist in the Jazz Band

A Directors Guide
Having a guitarist in your jazz band can be a great asset to your group. However, many directors are not
sure of how to guide her or him. Hopefully this can be a quick tutorial for you so you better encourage and
help your young guitarists.

Chord Diagrams

Almost without exception, chord diagrams are written as if you put the guitar vertically right
next to the diagram: The strings are the vertical lines, with the lower strings on the left.
Strings are numbered from high to low, so the lowest string is called the 6th string.
The frets are the horizontal lines, pitch-wise: the lower frets are at the top of the diagram,
and the frets get higher as you look toward the bottom of the diagram.

Below is a typical chord diagram. In this case, the 1st finger is on the 6th string, 2nd finger is on the 4th string,
4th finger on the 3rd string and the 3rd finger is on the 2nd string. The fret indicator lets the player know what
fret the fingers should be put on.

Chord Shapes

A chord shape refers to a set combination of finger placements that can then be moved anywhere
on the guitar neck.
As the director, keep in mind that each fret is a half-step apart. The Bb7 above, for example, would
automatically become an A7 by moving to the 5th fret, or a B7 by moving up one fret to the 7th
fretor an F#7 by moving to the 2nd fret!

Many guitarists are unfamiliar with chord shapes needed to play in a jazz band, and have a background in
rock or blues chord shapes. Physically speaking, that is very helpful, as they will be used to moving their
fingers around. However, they need to be instructed on new shapes for playing in the jazz band.
Fundamentally, they probably are used to 5 or 6 string chords, but jazz playing is often best done using 3 or
4 string chords. It is very helpful to have 2 shapes per chord type: one shape that has the 5th string as the
root, and one shape that has the 6th string as the root.

Chord shapes with the 5th string as the root:

Dom. 7th chords

Minor 7th chords

Chord shapes with the 6th string as the root:

7th chords

Minor 7th chords

Diminished chord shapes

*Remember, due to how diminished chords are built, any note in the chord can
be considered the root.

Playing in the rhythm section

In most cases, the guitarist should play a down strum every beat, right along with the walking bass line. As
you probably know, the best example to listen to would be Freddie Green with the Basie Band. His playing
provided a solid background for the rest of the band to play on top of. He often only plays 2 or 3 audible
notes per chord, yet provides that chunk, chunk, chunk so necessary to play the Basie style.