Jazz Improvisation - Guide Tones

[@Robert-ts2ef]

Your the best jazz piano teacher on the tube - thanks.

[@WalkThatBass]

Thanks, Robert. My pleasure.

[@Kazberhaf]

I am learning about guide tones and improvising on the sax, and I find watching your explanations on the piano so helpful because it looks so logical on the keyboard. You pack a lot of info in, and quickly, but thankfully I can pause, rewind, repeat etc. so thank you very much for your clear information, so appreciated.

[@WalkThatBass]

No problem. My pleasure. And yeah, piano is great for exactly that reason - you can see exactly what notes are being played. Good luck with your improv!!

[@donngoodside6885]

WTB...As a 'non-Piano Playing Guitar Person', Your Videos explains, and clarifys, everything I missed as a 'Child Music Student / Thank you for your Help... you are appreciated. dg

[@OnTheLeftHandSide]

Me too watching as 'non-Piano Playing Guitar Person', this is great.

[@nirdavidor3326]

after many years the picture now is clear and amazing ...amazing info sharing

[@WalkThatBass]

Thanks, mate. Glad it helped.

[@oerlex]

Your videos are so precise and clear. Thank you so much! I've learnt a lot as someone who just got into jazz for a year.

[@debbypajerowski5690]

You are an amazing teacher! Thank you

[@onenaja2745]

Unbelivable that good knowledge and teacher as you are Free. THANKs

[@billboy3076]

You are the Best on youtube . Thanks for sharing your knowledge and skills. Fantastic lesson. Be blessed

[@saltyduck9435]

great insight for me.....never heard of guide tones before....really helpful so thanks....I like your your teaching style...really clear

[@WalkThatBass]

Thanks, mate! Happy to help :)

[@danieltriana1937]

Such a great lesson!, thak you. Persons like you have a huge impact on others, can't image how much you have helped to improved other musicians. Saludos desde colombia

[@zeroblackstar]

Excellent explanation and practical demonstration, thank you very much

[@argopete]

Thank you - a mountain of information in an accessible time frame. A beginner I have been working through Autumn Leaves and this clarifies it.

[@socalninjarider]

You are a saint. Literally the most helpful video I've watched on Jazz improvisation ever. Thank you.

[@adriandiaz7261]

Excelent Explanation!!!! Thank you very much!!!!

[@bettyennin6335]

Interesting tutorial of guide tones. Greatly appreciated! God bless you!

[@Thiagogomes1950]

Dude, you're awesome with these explanations !!

[@milkdawgmcgee7498]

You're a wizard, Harry

[@onpatrolforthejuice]

this video just made my minor in jazz make so much more sense. Big thanks!

[@WalkThatBass]

No worries, mate. Glad it helped!

[@coloaten6682]

Thanks a lot for this video, it gave me a light bulb moment! Made complete sense. I now think of the guide tones as stepping stones between chords. I'll re-watch this video as I practice my improv. Awesome :)

[@sawmebabe]

Exactly

[@susanhaug9772]

You are a fantastic teacher - thank you!

[@WalkThatBass]

No worries, Susan. Thanks for the message :)

[@pindakaas42]

This kind of stuff is why I love youtube. Thanks so much for these videos.

[@Daniel-ox1sb]

Tears started welling up in my eyes when you did the exercise and I don't know why

[@ThiagoBragaMusic]

Great class!! Thank you!!

[@philippepierrelouis9956]

That was simply beautiful. Thank Sir I really needed that tutorials.

[@dchiphoppiano9177]

Thanx I can easily understand idea of guide tone.

[@mrdjangofreeman5560]

Brilliant, Nice explanation, thx

[@davesax11]

Excellent. Thanx!!

[@don4476]

Love your lessons. Great value. Tuning your piano would be nice.

[@tamboresdomundo8156]

Thanks for your nice videos! If you tune that piano they will be even better ; ) but they are really instructive anyway, thanks!

[@MrDOOlevrai]

Well with that explanation, the name given to those notes is perfect. And so is the video and your help.

[@WalkThatBass]

No worries, mate. Thanks for the comment :)

[@CantecePian]

You are an eye opener. Thank you!

[@antoncmusic]

This was very clear - thanks. Glad you referenced Autumn Leaves (Les Feuilles Mortes) as I was just noticing the use of guide tone connections there. It's a great song to begin improvising as the chord structure is quite simple, yet powerful.

[@ebolds4918]

Great explanation of guide tones!

[@ivanmectin9106]

amazing tutorial ! - :)

[@varosolo78]

You are indeed a great instructor

[@davidallsopp4030]

Excellent

[@NotLegato]

wow. i had once, without any knowledge of the progression, played it by hearing: A - Dm7 - G - C - F - B - E - E7... though it's not IDENTICAL, it's pretty damn close.

[@clubandbardjs]

Good stuff

[@ericmitchell9331]

Towards the end of the video, you mentioned that altered notes can also be used as guide tones, like the flat 5 of a half diminished or the 13th. In most lead sheets, the chords aren't always fully called out, for example, it might be noted as a G7, but it sounds a little boring. How do you know when to add the extended notes that can then be used as alternate guide tones?

[@pavelmihailovski8959]

Brilliant sir! well done

[@WalkThatBass]

Thank you, good sir!

[@Tntmnt]

Nonetheless, you're such an amazing teacher!!

[@benjaminmoseslieb9856]

Love your videos and explanations! Some sour notes in that piano tho!

[@BeatminorBeats]

Thanks for your effort making those videos! Very helpful! so guide tones is more important than root note for melody?

[@vanessachallis2159]

Very enlightening Anton and I am sure that this is going to be of great help. Can I just ask that when targeting the guide tones of a given chord progression, particularly when following a cycle of 5ths progression, does it matter if you mix and match the 3rd with the 7th when going from chord to chord? BTW - I must add that your videos are up there with the very best piano tutorials that I have found on KZbin! Thanks again :)

[@WalkThatBass]

+Vanessa Challis Hello Vanessa. You can target whichever guide tone you like. You can mix and match 3rds and 7ths. In fact, it works especially well in a cycle of 5ths progression if you alternate between the two. This way you get a nice, smooth, descending scale. For example: Am7 - target 3rd - C Dm7 - target 7th - C G7 - target 3rd - B CMaj7 - target 7th - B FMaj7 - target 3rd - A and so on. That way the targeted note either repeats or just descends one step. this can create a really harmonically strong and well structured melody. And thank you kindly for the compliment.

[@vanessachallis2159]

Thank you

[@nickrees4706]

Very helpful. Thank you!

[@WalkThatBass]

No worries, Nick :)

[@eecorr]

Thank you for this video! New sub 😊👍

[@Simon.Gilbert.Violin]

Question while we're on that topic... What becomes of the guide tones when you face a X6 chord? I am currently trying to decompose li'l darling from Neil Hefti where you have in the second half of the A part a Bb6, Bb-6 progression. In such a case, are the guide tones still based on the 7th and 3rd knowing that the 7th would "clash" on the 6th? That being asked, big thank you for your videos. I have been following you for quite some time now and still get back to them in order to grasp the concepts of improv over chords grids and kazz standard. Not always easy for a violinist coming from classical classes 😅 But, your explanations and videos are very clear, right to the point and very efficient to get some results. Thank you for all that work ! 🙏🏻

[@shanethomas6797]

In this case, I would refer to the end of the video when he talks about extensions. Ultimately the goal of playing to the guide tones is to play the notes that most identify the character of a chord. In the case of an X6 chord, it would be the 3rd and the 6th.

[@shanethomas6797]

Also, as a classical upright bassist, I feel your pain. Just know that X6 chords do not have a 7th unless stated. In which case it would usually be noted as a 7 chord of some sort with add6 at the end of the chord symbol. In jazz this chord is uncommon because a 13 chord would have the 6th voiced nearly an octave upwards from the 7th so there is less clashing. Hope this helps!

[@wuuukie]

Nice, did a cover of this song too! But with a loopstation

[@creamydistortion]

Maybe it's just my shitty computer but that piano sounds less than in-tune.... Still, sounds good.

[@WalkThatBass]

Yep, piano is definitely out of tune in this vid. Has since been tuned :)

[@letsplayharmonica]

I was about to say the same. It's out of tune. Which is very expected for a "tempered" instrument.

[@glockycashonly5287]

youre the man !

[@samuelgandin9953]

Dear Walk that Bass, I thank you for this video, which is awesome, rich in information and well structured as all the other numerous videos that you kindly take the time to prepare and offer to the public online. I have however doubts on the following points: the table which appears at 10:34, at the the top of the screen, shows that: - for GMaj7, the 7th is F. Should it not be F# rather? - for B7, the 3rd is D. Should it not be D# rather? - for Em7, the 3rd is G#. Should it not be G rather? - actually, following the circle of fifth, instead of F#m7b5, should we not have FMaj7? Thank you for your answers and keep on your good job. I am learning a lot from you! Regards, Samuel

[@logelogi7940]

Mycket bra, så vackert.

[@TheHologr4m]

Thank you for these videos :)

[@WalkThatBass]

+TheHologr4m No worries, Hologr4m

[@saadalhumaid8043]

Thank you

[@iloverumi]

great info... i didn't realize you could use the same guide tone twice in a row?

[@danielportugal2838]

this is a circle of fifths back words am I right?

[@jimmye3]

Hi , I saw that you wrote on autumn leaves on the Em7 a G# for the 3rd, is it a mistake? the third is G, no?

[@martinking2170]

You are right that the third in the Em7 chord is G. In the song, the Em7 is usually followed by an E7 chord, with the G moving up to a G#. In a way this completes the circle because the dominant seventh chord likes to resolve to a major or minor chord a perfect fifth below. So in this case E7 -> Am.

[@jimgresham5529]

You da bomb.....but that pie-zanna could sure use a chune-up !

[@bennytahn432]

What about half dim guide tones?

[@aleexlovesbossa]

Can anyone enlighten me with regards to the Autumn Leaves circle of fifths? I see that the B7 guide tones fit into the scale but B7 itself is not in G major - IIImin7 chord in the major scale should be Bmin7. What's going on here?

[@vuquangminh3033]

could you teach me the intro ?

[@anthonysilva5312]

Do you have any recommendations for left hand comping?

[@miguelabreumacedo]

Great videos! Just a side note, is the piano out of tune? It sounds strange to me. Edit: read a comment where you said it was indeed out of tune, sorry!

[@tysamurai6036]

I love these lessons! But I have to ask targeting these guide tones is the 3rd and 7th of the chord that’s being played. Which in jazz is fairly common. But what if a basic triad is played (C major). Can I target more than just the third? Can I create my own “7th of the chord” if there isn’t a seventh chord being played in the chord progression.

[@WalkThatBass]

You can most certainly target the 7th and create your own 7th chord. You could also target the 9th and create a Cadd9, or target the 6th and create a C6. The 7th and 9th will sound quite jazzy, while the 6th will sound quite pure and consonant.

[@philmckenna5709]

Very good question, and very helpful answer!

[@nic0003]

nice!

[@nic0003]

blue my mind haha.....its all starting to make sense now!

[@emanuelgarcia2041]

yo i thought that the 1 and the 5 could still be considered guide tones?

[@emmanuelwynkoop5332]

@walk that bass great video and thanks for your other videos as well, I seek some clarification please I'm concerned about what you said around 1:40, about "the root not being important", unless you have a bass player doing the roots how will you know which chord you are on just by the guide tones, how does the ear know that the guide tone is not the bass if you have rootless chords? unless one is very familiar with the melody and harmony and it is an advanced arrangement of the song with rootless chords I don't see how the root isn't important just as much as the guide tones in defining what the chord is actually is? especially if we are talking about abstract chords not part of a progression? you sure you wanted to be that harsh on the importance of the root note? thanks you again

[@WalkThatBass]

Sometimes the bass also doesn't play the root, so you have a completely rootless chord. The guide tones should be harmonically strong enough for you to follow the chord progression. If you just play the guide tones of one chord by itself, yes, that sounds hollow and like it's missing something, but in the context of a progression the guide tones are enough. Try playing a 251 using only guide tones, and you should hopefully hear that it is in fact a 251 progression. Even without the assistance of the root. Playing with the root note can create a stronger sense of movement, but it really is not necessary. As strange as it may sound, the root is superfluous.

[@emmanuelwynkoop5332]

@@WalkThatBass are you sure it's superfluous objectively I mean not just because you personally have an advanced ear and understanding of music so you don't need it, but most beginning musicians would still need to hear the bass in order to define the chords? I would like also to understand how when you hear just the guide tones how do you ensure the ear hears it as guide tones and not as the bass and fifth? thanks again!

[@WalkThatBass]

Everything in music is subjective. These are just rules that musicians have generally agreed upon. You're more than welcome to disagree. This is an art rather than a science. Beginners may indeed struggle to hear a chord progression using only guide tones. They will also struggle to hear a chord progression using 7th chords. This is why ear training is so important. We've likely just learned to hear chords in terms of their guide tones. I don't think it's an intrinsic law of music or anything like that. In the same way as we've learned to expect a G7 to be followed by a C chord. Or to hear chords as built in thirds. There's no iron law that states it must be so. We've just played those the V-I cadence so many times that we now expect to hear it. That means that it is subjective, but this doesn't mean that it's not real. I don't really want to get too philosophical, but the term 'objective' doesn't really make sense here - we perceive everything through our senses which are by definition subjective. If by 'objective' you mean 'most (jazz) musicians agree that the root doesn't matter' - then it is objective. If by 'objective' you mean 'it must be so and cannot be otherwise under any circumstances' - then it is certainly not that. But try it for yourself. Play a 251 in C using only guide tones. F C | F B | E B The FB creates a tritone which creates dissonance that wants to resolve. Play the same progression using root and 5th. D A | D G | C G It doesn't nearly have the same tension and resolution as when you used the guide tones. That's because it's missing that tritone interval. That is what gives the chord its quality. You can make an even stronger resolution by using the root at the end. F C | F B | E C The root can be useful, but it is not strictly necessary according to the currently accepted theoretical framework/paradigm in which we analyse music.

[@emmanuelwynkoop5332]

@@WalkThatBass thank you very much for the detailed explanation

[@Photologistic]

LOL, just because you don’t believe it doesn’t mean it’s not true.

[@Pleasure1964]

Thank you!

[@lapidar3381]

6:38 👌 😆

[@markbra]

Why dont you just play just root and fifth in the LH ?

[@sawmebabe]

I can see clearly now.

[@Markpianist1]

Yes, but if you can't improvise with your voice when off your instrument, you will never be able to improvise. Theory is nice but in the end you have to be able to sing lines. So get busy finding more simpler solos in pdf format via Wynton Kelly, Red Garland to name a few and learn to sing them while practicing scales on your instrument. However, I would recommend only trying to improvise step wise when singing and playing at first. Phrasing via not playing to long but having a target measure to stop will make you have more success.

[@ryandankanich9311]

There must be a piano tuner SOMEWHERE nearby, no? Might’ve been the best video around but I couldn’t get past 40 seconds

[@philmckenna5709]

Nah, he lives out in the bush. Takes the piano tuner 7 hours to get there in a single-engined Cessna 🦘🦘

[@Tntmnt]

I'm really confused about how you did that cycle of fifths exercise..

[@Rictoo]

Coming from a classical background, THIS. BLEW. MY. FUCKING. MIND. Thanks!!! EDIT: I wonder if this is an explanation for why black keys always sound better/colorful/magical. Maybe people usually play with white-note roots, and the guide tones for those are usually on black keys...? :O

[@WalkThatBass]

Glad to hear it. Yeah, this whole channel is kind of designed for people who have come from Classical and want to get into Jazz. Turns out, quite a lot of people learn classical but don't get taught many of these fundamental concepts (myself included before I transition over from Classical to Jazz).

[@WalkThatBass]

P.S. I've never thought about that before. That's an interesting thought...

[@Photologistic]

5:00 I will survive...

[@bullpup1337]

is it just me or is the piano slightly (-35) out of tune?

[@shayak_banerjee]

Nice video, but the piano was horrendously out of tune.

[@georgerikken]

Please ! Tune your piano . Its sounds ....

[@pindakaas42]

Great lesson, now I have to somehow learn scales on the guitar better, so I can actually put this to use... I think your piano wants to commit suicide though.