Continuing his gentleman's guide to jazz (gulp) guitar, Billy Jenkins shows how you can successfully fiddle with even the simplest chords.

When a rock guitarist launches into a solo, he is probably using a certain system based on a blues scale. In his burst of inspiration he may accidentally hit a note that sounds 'wrong' to his ears, causing a momentary loss of concentration and a red flush from ear to ear.

Why is it, then, that a jazz guitarist can play the same runs but hit that accidental note and make it sound correct?

The answer is simple.

A. Ace (Rock guitarist) only knows certain notes and their inter-relation. B. Jazzer (jazz guitarist) knows all the notes and their inter-relation.

Have you ever picked up the guitar and played nothing but chromatic (semi-tone or fret by fret) scales?

Do it and the range of notes available to you is there to hear.

Most modern guitarists learn by way of riffs and chord shapes. They program themselves with set patterns that could possibly restrict them in later life. Last month I touched upon the thinking behind the so-called 'jazz chord' by suggesting it was not so much the complexity, but the HOW and the WHEN it was played that made the point. With an understanding of more chords comes a maturity and fluidity for the left hand. The two chords I described made light of shifting the whole shape from a semi-tone lower up to the correct position (F#7 to G7) or moving the shape two or more frets to capitalise on string resonance e.g. a power chord in E down two frets to D, then back to E.

This month I shall describe various extended chords deriving from three basic shapes – using an E barre, an A barre, and a C shape using the middle four strings. These shapes are mere starting points for widening of the ears, fingers, and mental tackle.

'E' Shapes

So called as it is a basic E chord with fingers swapped around to allow the first finger to be barred across all six strings. The tonic is indicated by the sixth string, so the photograph has it playing an F major chord.

A basic secondary school chord of course, but keeping your first finger wrapped across the fretboard, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th are free to do what they like, in particular a sus 4, and a major or minor 7th.

Any guitar chord book will give you the details, and I especially recommend the Guitar Handbook by Ralph Denyer, published by PAN (IBSN 0 330 26788 4), with a foreword by Andy Summers. It not only contains a realistic collection of chord shapes, but is a complete guide to guitar playing covering maintenance, repair, equipment, musical theory, customizing – the list is endless – and as Summers writes, in relation to the study of the guitar – "What we're climbing here is a mountain – and it never ends!"

One example I'll mention is the 13th chord which is played by moving the fourth finger and placing it on the third fret of the second string which will add a D or 6th to the existing F-1, C-5, letting an Eb-7 enter into things, an A which is the major 3rd, the D-6, and an F-8 on top.

The 13th is so called as it contains both a 6th and a 7th note of the scale making a grand total of 13!

Strumming four downstrokes to the bar, alternating on/off with the little finger you should get a nice and subtle blues vamp. Move the whole shape up to the sixth fret to give you Bb 13, continuing the on/off and throw in C13 on the eighth fret and you have a simple blues chord progression.

So already from one shape we have several variations which will sound all the better played with left hand feel and a delicate lifting of finger tension to control the length of resonance.

'Feel' is a very apt word, for actually sliding chord shapes from one to another certainly adds a piquant touch. They don't tell you that in amongst the mumbo jumbo of the chord windows.

Likewise sliding from a barred F7 up two frets to a G minor then an A minor, hitting the bottom three strings with your plectrum hand on the passing frets (F# and G#), makes a delicious turnabout as illustrated in the blues pattern shown.

'A' Shapes

These I find useful for quiet and delicate voicings, probably due to the fact that the sixth string is best left alone – but who am I to dictate taste?

Once again this is a basic first position chord, this time using A with the fingers swapped around so that the first finger becomes the barre – the tonic in this shape is on the fifth string.

The photograph shows a basic Bb major – from which once again with reference to a chord book a 6th, 7th and 13th both major and minor are but a digit or two away.

For finger picking, the bottom string is nice to use in conjunction with the 5th string. The right hand thumb simply alternates between the two starting with the tonic on the fifth string.

'C' Shapes!

Some chord books show you how to barre the basic C chord.

Some medical books show you how to break bones before resetting them.

Such is the stretch required for this preposterous shape, it is impossible to put much feel or vibrato onto the strings – not forgetting that left hand vibrato improves tone no end – so I prefer to use the good old basic C7 as my guide.

This really only involves the middle four strings so voice-wise it is quite versatile but sits comfortably midway between last month's 'power' chord and the delicacy of an 'A' shape barre chord.

Shown in the diagram is a C9 with the tonic sounded by the second finger, third fret, fifth string.

As with all these three basic shapes, this C9 can be played anywhere on the fretboard: played with the second finger on the eighth fret of the A string, the result is an F9.

From this C9 shape you can get an augmented 9, a minor 7, 6-9, major 9 or minor 6-9.

Used over a twelve bar blues sequence it is perfect for understanding the benefit of sliding up and down to a chord.

"One strum of this 9th when you're feeling all alone,
"Make it C9, F9 and G9 –
"For that Blues and Mellow tone...

Putting the Three Shapes Together

Written below is a 12 bar blues sequence utilising the so called 'E', 'A' and 'C' shapes.

The encircled letters refer to each type of position. The actual chord names are in larger print. Simply and sweetly strum four even downstrokes to each bar. If played exactly as prescribed it may not excite you much, but if you bear in mind the need for feel, voicing, intonation, and right hand discipline, what you have here is a basic framework from which to extemporise.

Having understood it as written, try substituting the 13ths with 9ths adding a 7th to the minor chords and playing a 9th or 13th instead of a 7th. Also try the 'funky' 7th illustrated in last month's article at bars five and six. Then master the whole thing in each of the twelve keys at your disposal. You'll be surprised how much attention to chords can help when you get to that big guitar break, zoom off up the neck on a tried and trusted sequence, only to find you've done the run a semitone out.

"What was you playing at?" they'll scream. To which you'll reply: "An arpeggio of an E7-flattened 5th-augmented 9th-raised 3rd-suspended 4th-with a diminished 6th-modulating towards a major 13th-with a flattened dominant 6th-resolving in a passing minor 3rd... but then you wouldn't understand."