eBook: JM-Chord-Lexicon

The word „Chord“ is utilized for a bunch of notes that are played all together on any instrument. Most of the time these are so called „major or minor triads“, a rootnote plus third and perfect fifth of any kind of scale, that sound together, on the guitar often with additionally added octavs. In Jazz most of the time there are chords out of 4, 5 or even 6 notes beeing utiized, often with additional 6st, 9th or 13th notes. These are the so called „extended chords“.

As mentioned in my articles on JM-playtechnique and also in my book „Gypsyjazz Guitar“, chords that are uitilized in Jazz-Manouche are heavily influenced by the playtechniques of guitar-maestro Django Reinhardt.

These voicings are special ways of playing his own chordvoicings that were originally developed by Django. And which have later on been copied (also in the USA) by many Jazzguitarrists like for example Charlie Christian and others and thus by that found their appereance in today´s Jazzplaying. These voicings are still beeing used in Jazz-Manouche today.

Some things in these voicings are very uncommon and the interested guitarrist has to overcome some used habits to be able to play really authentic GJ-Chords in many situations.

The Idea behind that is that Rhythmguitarplayers in Gypsy-Jazz would rather play bass-oriented (sometimes just because of lack of bassplayers) … but also because the high registers in a traditional Gypsybands normally are reserved for the Soloists (Violin, Guitar, Brass).

Thru that fact a clear distinguishing of low notes (Rhythm) and high notes (Solo) is possible. But this may just appear as another sideeffect resulting from Djangos playing, which still has been copied ever since by his legacy and abroad

Django Reinhardt couldn´t no more play „normal“ Barré-chords so he developed his own ways of playing 3-Finger-Chords (image top left), which are often reduced three-note-chords with root, third, fifth or additional sixt and ninth.  So THESE kind of chords have especiqlly been copied by the early Jazzmen like Charlie Christian and others and found their way into Jazz by that beeing again copied and used  by Jazzpianists and other Jazzmusicians later on.

Regrettably even today Django Reinhardt´s influence on Jazz and guitarplaying in general on todays guitar-techniques is still totally neglected in many books and teaching-materials!

Until mid 1940ies (when Django started playing Bebop-influenced Jazz) most of the Jazztunes coming to europe from USA were beeing played with Dominant7- or Minor7th-Chords (often utilized as barrés).

This initially was changed on the guitar with european (Gypsy-)Jazz by Django and his legacy and this is also one of the main differences between Mainstream-Jazz and Jazz-Manouche. In Gypsyjazz most of the time Dominant-6st or Minor-6st-chords are beeing subsituted for any usual Dominant- or minor7th-chords by most Gypsyplayers, according to his legacy.

For your convenience the chords are grouped into certain categories of Dominant-, minor- and special-chords:

Contents JM-Chord-Lexicon

• Dominant7 – Chords
• Dominant7 – extended Chords
• Dominant6 – Chords
• Dominant6/9 – Chords

Minor

• Minor 7 – Chords
• Minor 7 – extended Chords
• Minor 6 – Chords
• Minor 9 – Chords

Specials

• Disminished – Chords
• Special Chords