3 Autumn Leaves Chord Progression

Studies
Learning the Autumn Leaves chord progression is an important part of learning jazz
guitar. Besides being one of the most commonly played standards at jam sessions, the
Autumn Leaves chord progression is a great study for major and minor ii V I chords.

90% of the Autumn Leaves chord progression alternates between major and minor ii-V-
I progressions.

The examples in this article only cover these two ii V I progressions. But you could play
through each example twice and then play the minor ii V I followed by the major ii V I
to get the B section which would give you three quarters of the Autumn Leaves chord
progression.

For a full and detailed analysis of Autumn Leaves, check out this in depth article that I
published.

To play through each of these Autumn Leaves chord progression studies you will need
to know the following techniques:

 Drop 2 and 3 Chords

 Dominant 7b9 Chords
 Shell Voicings
 Comping With Bass Lines
 Jazz Guitar Comping Rhythms

Having the Autumn Leaves chord progression memorized is also important.

Try playing through chords using whole notes rhythms at first and eventually quarter
notes while humming or whistling the melody to memorize the chords.

Many jazz standards modulate from the major to the relative minor and vice versa.

Because of this it is worth taking each of these studies into all 12 keys.

For further chordal study I recommend creating a melody arrangement using the chords
from the Autumn Leaves chord progression.

 
 Autumn Leaves Chord Progression

Autumn Leaves Chord Progression Study 1

As mentioned earlier, the first rhythm to explore when practicing the autumn leaves
chord progression or any set of new chords is the whole note rhythm.

Practicing using whole note rhythms ensures that there is enough time to switch
between each chord which is particularly useful if you are working on new jazz guitar
chords.
Take note of the voice leading in each chord too. Rather than jumping across the
fretboard, each of the chord moves to the nearest available chord which only requires
moving a few frets.

This example uses drop 2 chord inversions for the minor 7th and major chords and
dominant7b9 chords for the dominant 7ths.

Once you can fluently play this study, use the same chords on the same string set, but
start with a different C-7 voicing.

Doing this will ensure that you cover all the possible inversions using drop 2 chords and
dom7b9 chords on the top four strings.

You can also start with a C-7 higher up the neck and descend through inversions rather
than ascend, like in this example.

audio

Autumn Leaves Chord Progression Study 2

Learning to play walking bass lines is an important part of developing good comping
skills. This next autumn leaves chord progression study demonstrates the comping with
bass lines technique.
Drop 3 chord inversions are used in the last two bars to create movement and interest.
Try to create your own bass lines starting in different areas of the neck that go in
different directions.

audio

Autumn Leaves Chord Progression Study 3

Here is an etude that features modern jazz guitar voicings to finish off this autumn
leaves chord progression study.

The chords in this example are more advanced than the previous studies so they might
require more practice to play proficiently if you are new to jazz guitar.

Most of the chords is in this example feature clusters which are two intervals that are
close together usually resulting in a dissonant effect.

If modern jazz guitar comping is your thing and you want to expand on this example,
try experiment with inverted quartal chords and sus9 chords.

 
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I hope that you have enjoyed playing and working through each of these Autumn
Leaves chord progression studies.

Check out this link to a FREE Autumn Leaves backing track without piano to practice
these chords over.

What do you think of each of these studies? Share your thoughts in the comment section
below.

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