Repertoire & listening
The standards every jazz guitarist is expected to know, grouped by the skills they teach, plus the recordings that define the style.
The course never prints copyrighted melodies. Learn tunes from recordings (best), from a legally published fake book (the Hal Leonard Real Book volumes), or from iReal Pro chord charts. "Knowing a tune" means: melody from memory, chords from memory in the original key, the form (number of bars and sections), and the ability to start it at a session without a chart.
Stage 1 (Modules 4–7): first ten tunes
| Tune | Form / key | Why it is here |
|---|---|---|
| Autumn Leaves | 32-bar AABC, G minor / Bb major | the classic ii–V–I workout in a major key and its relative minor |
| Blue Bossa | 16 bars, C minor | minor ii–V–i plus a ii–V–I to Db: half-step modulation |
| Billie's Bounce / Now's the Time (Charlie Parker) | 12-bar blues in F | the jazz blues form; bebop heads over blues |
| Summertime | 16 bars, A minor (commonly) | minor tonality, slow tempo, lots of space |
| Take the "A" Train | 32-bar AABA, C | the II7 (D7#11) chord; Ellington swing |
| Satin Doll | 32-bar AABA, C | chains of ii–Vs that do not resolve |
| All of Me | 32-bar ABAC, C | secondary dominants (E7, A7, D7) |
| Fly Me to the Moon | 32-bar ABAC, C | the circle-of-fifths progression (vi ii V I IV viiø III7) |
| So What / Impressions | 32-bar AABA, D Dorian / Eb Dorian | modal playing, quartal voicings |
| Tune Up (Miles Davis) | 16 bars, D | three ii–V–Is a whole step apart |
Stage 2 (Modules 8–12): the working repertoire
- Rhythm changes: I Got Rhythm (Gershwin), Oleo, Anthropology, Rhythm-a-ning
- Standards: All the Things You Are, There Will Never Be Another You, Just Friends, Stella by Starlight, It Could Happen to You, Alone Together, Beautiful Love, Softly as in a Morning Sunrise, Night and Day, What Is This Thing Called Love, Have You Met Miss Jones, In a Sentimental Mood, Body and Soul, Misty, Days of Wine and Roses, On Green Dolphin Street, I'll Remember April, Cherokee, Confirmation, Solar, Four, Doxy
- Blues heads: Blues for Alice (bird blues), Straight No Chaser, Tenor Madness, Bag's Groove, Freddie Freeloader, Au Privave, Footprints (minor blues in 6/4), Mr P.C., Equinox
- Bossa nova: Girl from Ipanema, Corcovado, Wave, Desafinado, How Insensitive, Black Orpheus (Manhã de Carnaval)
- Ballads: My Funny Valentine, Round Midnight, In a Sentimental Mood, Darn That Dream, Lush Life (advanced), I Fall in Love Too Easily, Prelude to a Kiss
Stage 3 (Modules 13–15): advanced and modern
- Coltrane: Giant Steps, Countdown, Moment's Notice, 26-2, Naima
- Wayne Shorter: Footprints, Infant Eyes, Speak No Evil, Yes or No, Fall, E.S.P.
- Herbie Hancock / Chick Corea: Dolphin Dance, Maiden Voyage, Windows, Spain, Litha
- Monk: Well You Needn't, Evidence, Epistrophy, Ask Me Now, Monk's Dream
- Odd meters: Take Five, Blue Rondo à la Turk, Footprints (6/4), All Blues (6/8 feel), Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum, Four on Six (Wes Montgomery)
- Guitar repertoire: Four on Six, West Coast Blues, Road Song (Wes Montgomery); Nuages, Minor Swing (Django Reinhardt); Jordu as played by Joe Pass; Bright Size Life, James (Pat Metheny); Captain Marvel, Spain (as played by Al Di Meola/Chick Corea)
Guitarists to study, with one record each
| Era | Player | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| Swing | Charlie Christian | The Genius of the Electric Guitar |
| Swing | Django Reinhardt | Djangology (with Stéphane Grappelli) |
| Swing rhythm | Freddie Green | Count Basie, April in Paris |
| Bebop/cool | Tal Farlow, Jimmy Raney, Barney Kessel | Tal, Jimmy Raney A, The Poll Winners |
| Hard bop | Grant Green, Kenny Burrell | Idle Moments, Midnight Blue |
| The pivot | Wes Montgomery | The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery, Smokin' at the Half Note |
| Chord melody | Joe Pass | Virtuoso |
| Modern harmony | Jim Hall, Ed Bickert | Undercurrent (with Bill Evans), Ed Bickert / Don Thompson: At the Garden Party |
| Post-bop | George Benson, Pat Martino | Beyond the Blue Horizon, El Hombre |
| Contemporary | Pat Metheny, John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Mike Stern | Bright Size Life, Time on My Hands, Have a Little Faith, Upside Downside |
| 21st century | Kurt Rosenwinkel, Julian Lage, Gilad Hekselman, Peter Bernstein, Mary Halvorson, Lage Lund, Jonathan Kreisberg, Pasquale Grasso | The Next Step, Arclight, Ask for Chaos, Signs of Life, Meltframe, Terrible Animals, Wave Upon Wave, Solo Masterpieces |
Non-guitarists every jazz musician learns from
Louis Armstrong (Hot Fives and Sevens), Lester Young with Basie, Charlie Parker (Savoy and Dial sessions), Bud Powell (The Amazing Bud Powell), Clifford Brown (Study in Brown), Sonny Rollins (Saxophone Colossus), Miles Davis (Kind of Blue, Relaxin', Nefertiti), John Coltrane (Giant Steps, A Love Supreme), Bill Evans (Sunday at the Village Vanguard), Thelonious Monk (Monk's Dream), Herbie Hancock (Maiden Voyage), Wayne Shorter (Speak No Evil), Keith Jarrett (Standards Vol. 1), Brad Mehldau (Art of the Trio).
How to learn a tune (the method used from Module 12 on)
- Listen to three recordings; pick one as your reference.
- Sing the melody with the record until you have it from memory.
- Find the melody on the guitar by ear, in the record's key.
- Work out the bass notes by ear, then the chord qualities; compare with a chart only afterwards.
- Write the form on an index card: sections, bar counts, key centres.
- Play melody, then chords, then melody with bass notes, then improvise, with a metronome on 2 and 4.
- Play it in a second key a week later. Keep a list; review two old tunes every practice day.