Jazz Guitar Upper Structures: How a Dominant Chord Borrows the Next Chord’s Sound
The altered, dominant-function sound on a jazz blues comes from one move: voice the target chord's upper structure a half-step above and slide it down. Here's the logic — and how George Benson used it.
Pull Triad Pairs Out of a Diminished ChordJazz Guitar Upper Structures: How to
A single diminished shape hides a whole family of triad pairs. Replace each diminished chord tone with the whole-step tension above it and major triads fall out — ready to chain into altered-dominant lines, as on Stella by Starlight.
From Swing to Odd Meters: How Two-Against-Three Unlocks 5/4 and Metric Modulation
Once you hear swing as two-against-three, odd meters stop being intimidating. The same polyrhythmic pulse lets you play Wes Montgomery tunes in 5/4 and pivot a 3/4 waltz into swinging 4/4 mid-solo.
Jazz Guitar Voice Leading: Soloing Through I’ll Be Seeing You With Guide Tones and the Wes Line
To solo with voice leading on I'll Be Seeing You, treat the Ebmaj7 as a Cm6, choose your fretboard position with the Wes Line, and move guide tones smoothly between chords. The first eight bars and second eight share the same voice-leading shape.
With Upper-Structure Triads by Harmonizing the MelodyHow to Solo
Upper-structure triads aren't random color — they come from harmonizing the melody first. Lock the tune's melody into a chord-melody, then play the triads that sit on top of each chord to build a solo that still sings.
Jazz Guitar Upper Structures: How Shell Voicings Become Rootless Upper-Structure Voicings
Upper structures aren't a separate subject — they grow out of shell voicings. Drop the root from a 1-3-7 shell, raise the guide tones into tensions, and you're already playing upper-structure, rootless voicings.
Jazz Guitar Upper Structures: How Inner Urge Reveals the Hidden Drop 2 Map
Joe Henderson's Inner Urge looks complex, but every chord is a Drop 2 upper-structure voicing in disguise. Decoding the map turns the tune into one of the easiest in the modern jazz canon.
Shell Voicings Jazz Guitar: The 11-Step Practice That Connects Voicings, Voice Leading, and Melody
Shell voicings are usually taught as 'root, 3rd, 7th — done.' That's the first percent. The real practice that turns shells into voice leading and chord-melody is an 11-step internalization process most players never encounter.
Jazz Guitar Upper Structures: Why the Altered Sound Is Just a Half-Step Triad
The altered scale terrifies a lot of advanced jazz guitarists because it looks like a different theory subject. It is not. It is a single upper-structure decision: play the minor triad a half-step above your dominant chord, and you have already produced the entire altered sound. Here is how to wire that into your II–V–I.
Upper Structure Triads: Stacking Eb and Gm Over Cm in Blue Bossa
There’s a moment in every advanced jazz guitarist’s development when a single chord stops looking like a single chord. A Cm7 is no longer just C–Eb–G–Bb on a page.
Jazz Guitar Upper Structures: Where Advanced Harmony Really Comes From
Upper structures, melodic minor modes, Bird Blues — advanced harmony isn't a separate world. It traces back to specific musicians and recordings. This guide explains where these concepts came from and how to study them the right way.
The Diminished Major 7th Chord Explained — Advanced Harmony for the Serious Jazz Guitarist
The Diminished Major 7th chord sounds exotic, but it shows up in the opening bars of Stella by Starlight, Someday My Prince Will Come, and How Insensitive. This post unpacks how to identify it, how it functions as a dominant upper structure, and why understanding it unlocks a large portion of the jazz standard repertoire.