Understanding and knowing what the guide tones are will help you to solo, easily work out chord voicings and get you out of trouble when your solo is getting a bit crazy (not in a good way).
In this tutorial, I show you what they are and how to use them to create awesome sounding 3 note jazz chords that are super easy to play.
The guide tones are simply 3 and 7 of the chord.
So for example the guide tones for C Major 7 are E (the 3rd) and B (the 7th). If we were playing C7 it would be E and Bb. G minor 7 would have the notes of Bb (3rd) and F (7th).
3 Note Chords that Sound Great
Creating 3 notes chords that sound like jazz chords and not just the normal triad pop kind of sound is easy. Simply play the 3 and 7 of the chord (in any order) and add something else for colour.
For example for C7 you play the 3rd (E) and the 7th (Bb) and you could add the 9th. That will give you C9.You can just as easily use the 13th or #5 or #11. Another example is to take G7 (F & B) and add the sharp 5 (D#). For more on what you can add (extensions) check out our post on that.
Using the guide tones you can create awesome sounding 3 note chords
(A quick note : In the above 2 5 1 progression in G major, the #9 in the D7 chord is technically E#. I’ve just written it as an F natural to make it easier to read).
Check out the Video Tutorial below, subscribe to our mailing list and have fun!
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Using the Guide Tones to Solo
How to work out the 7th chords
Fun 2 5 1 Lick
If you have any questions on this tutorial, or anything in general, please get in contact with us and we will do our best to get back to you. We may even do a tutorial on your question. We are always looking for ideas of how we can best serve our amazing community.