Jazz Guitar Chords

If you love jazz, what likely speaks to your heart the most are all the colorful jazz guitar chords. The four and five note chords create a style rich in complex voicings that are instantly recognizable. If you are new to your study of jazz, you will quickly realize that the chords used to compose your favorite songs are much more intricate than the chords used in rock, folk, blues and country music. Therefore, you will need to know where to look to find helpful information. The following article will help you get up and running and will show you some of the most vital jazz guitar chords.

While jazz as an art form can make ample use of any chord that a guitarist can play, certain chords have what is known as the jazz sound. These chords build on more notes that typical triads and include sixth chords, seven chords, nine chords, add nine chords, plus eleven chords, and major and minor variations of all of these. Also included in the mix are diminished and dominant chords. If it sounds confusing, that's because it is confusing. Every guitar player feels a certain amount of intimidation when they first confront these chords. But don't worry, because the more you familiarize yourself with these new chord shapes, the more they will seem natural.

Here are some of the most popular chords used in jazz guitar in the key of C. The chord charts should be read as if you are facing your guitar neck and the neck is pointing straight up and down. The string on the left is the low E string, and the string on the right is the high E string. The strings marked with an dot indicate the fret where you need to finger the string to create the chord. Some of these chords are difficult to finger, so experiment with different combinations until you can cleanly finger all the chords. After you can play each chord cleanly, you will want to practice moving between them.

Jazz Chords in Key of C

The chords are all in first position, or fretted within the first four frets on the guitar, but they can be slid up the guitar neck creating different chords out of the same chord structure. The most important thing to become familiar with is the shape of these chords, as the shapes will remain similar no matter where you play them on the fretboard.

If you begin to practice with the chords above, you will get a feel for how jazz guitar chords are fingered and how they sound. Practice sliding these shapes up and down the neck of your guitar so you can hear how the chords sound in other keys.

Once you are comfortable playing the seven chords, you will want to expand your repertoire even more. Start by printing out a guitar chord chart, and then check out online jazz guitar lessons. Another excellent website online that all aspiring jazz guitar players should know about is Your Guide to Jazz Guitar. This excellent site has lessons, chord charts, tutorials, and much more. Now that you have the information you need, all that is required of you is to put in the time to practice.

• Bass Guitar Wallpaper
• Famous Bass Guitar Players
• Ibanez Electric Guitars

• Basic Guitar Chord Charts
• Printable Guitar Chord Charts
• How to Read Guitar Sheet Music
• Bass Guitar Note Charts
• Guitar Amplifier Kits

• Learn to Play Jazz Guitar
• Online Jazz Guitar Lessons
• Jazz Guitar Scales
• Jazz Guitar Lessons Free
• Gypsy Jazz Guitar