Jazz can be a tough style of music to play and takes years to master. Jazz uses improvisation (or improv for
short). This means the musician is freestyling and playing as they go, seeing what sounds good on the spot. It
takes years of practise to learn what sounds good together. With the addition of music theory, you can learn
not just what notes work well together but why they work together. This can help you compose melodies on the
spot. Jazz also usually polyphonic. This means that you have more melody playing over a harmony. Jazz uses
call and response - one instrument plays the "call" and the second instrument "responds" to it. Jazz music
uses brass instruments such as the saxophone and the trumpet. Guitar, bass and drums are other common
instruments in this genre. Examples of jazz artists include Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington.
All songs below come directly from the Ultimate Guitar website. Due to the nature of the chords used in jazz
music, you can hover your mouse over the chord diagrams and see what you should be playing. Some chords
used in jazz tend not to be used commonly outside that genre, for this reason I have chosen to include the
direct link to the website to see these chords as you play. If you decide to play more jazz music as you
progress with your guitar lessons, I would strongly suggest learning these chords.
Duke Ellington - It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing
Ella Fitzgerald - Blue Moon
Ella Fitzgerald - Summertime
Frank Sinatra - Fly Me to the Moon
Frank Sinatra - My Way
Frank Sinatra - New York, New York
Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World