Module 13: Chord melody: solo jazz guitarLesson 3advanced⏱ 75 min + 15 min daily for two weeks

Intros, endings and turnarounds for solo guitar

Learn the stock devices that frame a solo performance (I–vi–ii–V and pedal-point intros, diatonic and chromatic turnarounds, tag endings, the Basie ending and a rubato ending) and play each in at least three keys.

Why the first and last four bars matter most

A listener decides in the first four bars whether you know what you are doing, and remembers the last four longer than anything in between. In a band those bars are shared; alone, you supply them yourself, and an arrangement that starts with bar 1 of the melody and stops dead on the last chord sounds unfinished, however good the middle is. The devices in this lesson are the standard furniture of solo jazz guitar. None of them is original and none is meant to be; they are conventions that audiences and other musicians recognise, which is exactly why they work. What you bring is the voicing, the time and the choice of which one fits the tune.

Everything here is built from the drop-2 and drop-3 shapes of module 8, the shell-plus-tension shapes of lesson 4.4 and the I–vi–ii–V turnarounds you took through all keys in lesson 4.5. Each device is written out in two or three keys so that you can see that the shapes do not change, only their position; your job is to take each one through the remaining keys yourself.

The I–vi–ii–V intro

The commonest intro in jazz is a turnaround played twice: I–vi–ii–V, with the vi usually turned into a VI7 so that it pulls into the ii. Four bars at the tune's tempo, in the tune's key, with a top voice that moves as little as possible, and the band (or you) comes in on the melody's pickup. In C the chords are Cmaj7–A7–Dm7–G7. Here it is with the Charleston rhythm (lesson 5.2) and a top voice that sits on two or three notes; the second time round the VI7 becomes a 7b9 and the V a 13, which is the standard way to make the second pass lean harder into the tune.

\tempo 120
.
\ts 4 4
(3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).4{d ch "Cmaj7"} (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8 (5.6 5.4 6.3 5.2).4{d ch "A7"} (5.6 5.4 6.3 5.2).8 | (5.5 3.4 5.3 6.2).4{d ch "Dm7"} (5.5 3.4 5.3 6.2).8 (3.6 3.4 4.3 3.2).4{d ch "G7"} (3.6 3.4 4.3 3.2).8 | (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).4{d ch "Cmaj7"} (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).8 (5.6 5.4 6.3 6.1).4{d ch "A7b9"} (5.6 5.4 6.3 6.1).8 | (5.5 3.4 5.3 5.1).4{d ch "Dm7"} (5.5 3.4 5.3 5.1).8 (3.6 3.4 4.3 5.2).2{ch "G13"} | (8.5 10.4 9.3 10.2).2{ch "Fmaj7"} (10.6 10.4 11.3 10.2).2{ch "D7"} | (10.5 8.4 10.3 11.2).2{ch "Gm7"} (8.6 8.4 9.3 8.2).2{ch "C7"} | (8.5 10.4 9.3 10.2).2{ch "Fmaj7"} (10.6 10.4 11.3 11.1).2{ch "D7b9"} | (10.5 8.4 10.3 10.1).2{ch "Gm7"} (8.6 8.4 9.3 10.2).2{ch "C13"} | (1.5 3.4 2.3 3.2).2{ch "Bbmaj7"} (3.6 3.4 4.3 3.2).2{ch "G7"} | (3.5 1.4 3.3 4.2).2{ch "Cm7"} (1.6 1.4 2.3 1.2).2{ch "F7"} | (1.5 3.4 2.3 3.2).2{ch "Bbmaj7"} (3.6 3.4 4.3 4.1).2{ch "G7b9"} | (3.5 1.4 3.3 3.1).2{ch "Cm7"} (1.6 1.4 2.3 3.2).2{ch "F13"} |

Look at the bass in the C version: it sits on strings 5 and 6 and alternates between root-5 and root-6 shapes, the same low route you learned with shells in lesson 4.2. The top voice is what makes it sound like an intro rather than comping: it holds, then falls, then rises again to the 9th of the V chord, which is the note most melodies in C arrive from. The F version is the C shapes moved up five frets; the Bb version is the same shapes moved down two. Nothing else changes, which is why you should take this intro through the remaining nine keys yourself.

Two practical points. First, choose the register by the tune: if the melody starts high, play the intro in the upper position (the F version) so that the melody does not have to leap down; if it starts low, use the lower one. Second, the last chord of the intro should be the V, held or stabbed on beat 1 of the fourth bar, with the rest of the bar left empty for the melody's pickup. If the melody has no pickup, fill the bar with the Charleston figure as written.

The pedal-point intro

A pedal point is a bass note that stays put while the chords above it change. Over the 5th of the key it creates suspense that resolves the moment the tune starts, and it is the standard intro for ballads and for anything in a Latin feel. In C the pedal is on string 6, fret 3, and the chords above it are the I, ii and iii chords played on strings 4-3-2 with their 9ths. The engine flags the pedal note under the ii chord (it is not a chord tone of Dm9, which is the point), so it is listed in allow=.

\tempo 72
.
\ts 4 4
(3.6 2.4 4.3 3.2).2{ch "Cmaj9/G"} (3.6 3.4 5.3 5.2).2{ch "Dm9/G"} | (3.6 5.4 4.3 3.2).2{ch "Em7/G"} (3.6 3.4 5.3 5.2).2{ch "Dm9/G"} | (3.6 2.4 4.3 3.2).2{ch "Cmaj9/G"} (3.6 3.4 5.3 5.2).2{ch "Dm9/G"} | (3.6 3.4 4.3 5.2).1{ch "G13"} |

To move this to another key, move the pedal to the 5th of that key and the three-note shapes with it: in F the pedal is on string 6, fret 8, and in Bb on string 5, fret 8 (or the open 6th string if you prefer to use string 5 for the chords). A more active version repeats the pedal in quarter notes with the thumb while the chords change on beats 1 and 3, which turns the intro into a groove; the walking-bass independence from lesson 13.2 is exactly what that needs.

Turnarounds

A turnaround is the two bars at the end of a section that lead back to its beginning. Solo guitarists need several, because the same tune will come round four or five times and the ear tires of the same cadence. Here are three in C: the diatonic I–VI7–ii–V, the same with tritone substitutes on the dominants (Eb7 for A7, Db7 for G7, from lesson 4.5 and the harmony modules), and a constant-structure version in which every chord is the same drop-2 shape sliding down one fret at a time: iii–bIII7–ii–bII7–I.

\tempo 120
.
\ts 4 4
(3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).2{ch "Cmaj7"} (5.6 5.4 6.3 5.2).2{ch "A7"} | (5.5 3.4 5.3 6.2).2{ch "Dm7"} (3.6 3.4 4.3 3.2).2{ch "G7"} | (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).2{ch "Cmaj7"} (6.5 8.4 6.3 8.2).2{ch "Eb7"} | (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).2{ch "Dm7"} (4.5 6.4 4.3 6.2).2{ch "Db7"} | (7.5 9.4 7.3 8.2).2{ch "Em7"} (6.5 8.4 6.3 8.2).2{ch "Eb7"} | (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).2{ch "Dm7"} (4.5 6.4 4.3 6.2).2{ch "Db7"} | (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).1{ch "Cmaj7"} |

The constant-structure turnaround is the easiest to play and the most striking to hear, because the top voice descends chromatically with the bass. Use it sparingly: once per performance, usually going into the last chorus.

Tag endings

A tag repeats the last two bars of the tune (or a turnaround standing in for them) three times before the final chord. Standard practice is iii–VI7–ii–V, three times, then I; the third time, players often substitute the chromatic version so that the ending is signalled. Here the repeat marks play the turnaround three times; the chromatic descent that follows (bIIImaj7–ii–bIImaj7–I, all the same maj7 and m7 shapes) is the signal, and the C6/9 is the final chord.

\tempo 120
.
\ts 4 4
\ro (5.5 4.3 5.2 3.1).2{ch "Em7"} (5.6 5.4 6.3 5.2).2{ch "A7"} | \rc 3 (5.5 3.4 5.3 6.2).2{ch "Dm7"} (3.6 3.4 4.3 3.2).2{ch "G7"} | (6.5 8.4 7.3 8.2).2{ch "Ebmaj7"} (5.5 7.4 5.3 6.2).2{ch "Dm7"} | (4.5 6.4 5.3 6.2).2{ch "Dbmaj7"} (3.5 5.4 4.3 5.2).2{ch "Cmaj7"} | (3.5 2.4 2.3 3.2 3.1).1{ch "C6/9"} |

The tag is the moment the listener learns that the end is coming, so make the three repetitions audibly different: the first as written, the second with the Charleston rhythm, the third slowing down. In F the shapes move up five frets; in Bb, down two, exactly as with the intro.

The Basie ending

Count Basie's band ended hundreds of tunes with the same figure: the band hits the V chord, stops, and the piano plays three notes high up, #4–5–1, before the final chord. On the guitar the three notes go on strings 1 and 2, played with the fingers and a slight ritardando, and the final chord is a 6/9. The first of the three notes is the raised 4th of the key, deliberately outside the chord, which is why it is in allow= for each key.

\tempo 100
.
\ts 4 4
:4 (3.6 3.4 4.3 5.2){ch "G13"} r :8 7.2{ch "C6/9"} 8.2 :4 8.1 | (3.5 2.4 2.3 3.2 3.1).1 | :4 (3.5 3.3 5.2 5.1){ch "C13"} r :8 0.2{ch "F6/9"} 1.2 :4 1.1 | (1.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 1.2).1 | :4 (1.6 1.4 2.3 3.2){ch "F13"} r :8 5.2{ch "Bb6/9"} 6.2 :4 6.1 | (6.6 5.5 5.4 5.3 6.2).1 |

Play the three notes as a single gesture, slightly detached, and leave a hair of silence before the chord. The ending works at any tempo and in any style from swing to ballad, and everyone in the room will know it.

Rubato endings

For a ballad, the usual ending is to slow down through the last two bars and finish on a coloured I chord, often approached from the subdominant minor (the iv chord, the "amen" cadence with a borrowed minor) or from the bII7#11 a half step above. Here are both in C and then in F: IVmaj7 to iv6, then Imaj9 to bII9#11, resolving to Imaj9#11. The last chord has the #11 in it, the standard "lydian" final colour for solo guitar; let it ring until it dies.

\tempo 60
.
\ts 4 4
(1.6 2.4 2.3 1.2).2{ch "Fmaj7"} (1.6 3.4 1.3 3.2).2{ch "Fm6"} | (3.5 2.4 4.3 3.2).2{ch "Cmaj9"} (4.5 3.4 4.3 4.2 3.1).2{ch "Db9#11"} | (3.5 4.4 4.3 3.2).1{ch "Cmaj9#11"} | (6.6 7.4 7.3 6.2).2{ch "Bbmaj7"} (6.6 8.4 6.3 8.2).2{ch "Bbm6"} | (8.5 7.4 9.3 8.2).2{ch "Fmaj9"} (9.5 8.4 9.3 9.2 8.1).2{ch "Gb9#11"} | (8.5 9.4 9.3 8.2).1{ch "Fmaj9#11"} |

Notice that the Db9#11 and the Cmaj9#11 share the same middle fingers: only the bass and the top move, by one fret each. That is why the bII approach sounds so smooth, and it is the same tritone-substitution logic as the turnaround above, applied to the last chord of the night.

Putting a performance together

A solo performance of a standard typically runs: intro (4 bars, or a pedal intro for a ballad); the head, chord-melody style; one or two choruses of improvisation, often with walking bass under the second; the head again, or its last half; a tag; the ending. Decide these before you play, and practise the joins (the last bar of the intro into bar 1, the last chord of the head into the solo, the tag into the ending) more than anything else, because the joins are where solo performances fall apart. Lesson 13.4 builds a complete arrangement on this plan.

Exercises

1. Intro in twelve keys: the I–vi–ii–V intro through the cycle of fourths, Charleston rhythm, 100 bpm, choosing the low or high position by where the melody of a tune you know would start.
2. Pedal intro in six keys: C, F, Bb, Eb, G and D; thumb on the pedal, fingers on the chords, 72 bpm, then with the pedal repeated in quarter notes.
3. Turnarounds: the three C turnarounds in F, Bb and G. Then play a chorus of any tune you know and use a different one each time round.
4. Tag and Basie: the tag ending in C, F and Bb with repeat marks observed; the Basie ending in all twelve keys (it is only three notes and one chord, so there is no excuse).
5. Rubato endings: the two endings in C and F, then move them to Bb and Eb. Record yourself and listen to whether the ritardando is gradual or sudden.

Quiz