Guide Tones and Voice Leading in Church Music With Triad Cycles on Guitar
In church music built on 1-4-5 progressions without seventh chords, guide tone voice leading does not directly apply. Triad cycles offer an equivalent structural framework that creates smooth, connected motion across the same changes. This post explains what Junewon Choi demonstrated at the April 4 VLJG Office Hour.
How to Adapt a Familiar Jazz Melody to Harmonic Minor Sound on Guitar
Adapting a familiar jazz melody to harmonic minor sound requires identifying specific scale degrees and substituting them with their harmonic minor equivalents — replacing the major sixth with a flat sixth and the major third with a minor third. This post explains the one-to-one note mapping method Junewon Choi described at the April 4 VLJG Office Hour.
Sparse Jazz Guitar Comping With Shell Voicings: How to Comp Yourself
Creating rhythmically engaging sparse jazz guitar comping requires stripping chords down to their guide tones — the third and seventh of each chord — using shell voicings as the source material. This post explains how shell voicings generate both solo lines and sparse accompaniment, and how to build the sound Junewon Choi demonstrated at the April 4 VLJG Office Hour.
Why the Wes Line Feels Forced Before It Feels Natural
When the Wes Line from the Functional Diagonal Approach (FDA) feels mechanical rather than musical, it is a signal that the ear has not yet internalized the structure. This post explains why that gap is normal, what Junewon Choi teaches about bridging technical vocabulary and personal sound, and what to practice next.
The Road You Thought Was Wrong Was Yours All Along — A Weekend Reflection on Identity in Jazz
Modern or traditional? The question feels technical — but it isn't. It's an identity question. This post explores what it really means to find your own sound in jazz, through the stories of Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, and the quiet courage of playing what genuinely resonates with you.
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.
Tonic vs. Non-Tonic in the FDA: Getting the Chord Function Right
Knowing whether a chord is tonic or non-tonic in the FDA determines which diagonal line you use — and getting that wrong means the whole system breaks down. This post clarifies the G minor 7 and E-flat major 7 relationship in the key of B-flat and explains how to apply tonic and non-tonic assignments consistently around the circle of fifths.
How Down Strokes Create Swing — The Intermediate Player's Guide to Groove
Alternate picking is efficient — but it works against jazz swing. This post explains why consistent down strokes are the foundation of authentic groove in the Wes Montgomery tradition, and gives you a simple protocol to rebuild your technique from the ground up.
Playing Wes Line and Django Line Over Fast 2-5s: Blues for Alice
Fast 2-5 progressions in bebop tunes like Blues for Alice move quickly — but the FDA reduces that complexity to the same half-step voice leading motion you already know, played along the diagonal structures. This post shows how Charlie Parker's melody already contains the answer.
Secondary Dominants and Upper Structure Chords Inside the FDA
Secondary dominants follow a specific rule — circle-of-fifths motion resolving to a diatonic chord — and within the FDA, their upper structure chords are simply West Line or Django Line structures sitting a half step above the resolution point. This post explains how every secondary dominant fits into the same binary framework you already know.
How to Transfer a Jazz Line from the Wes Line to the Django Line
When you find a line that works on the West Line, how do you play the same phrase on the Django Line? This post examines how Wes Montgomery extended lines across diagonal structures and what that means for your own fretboard vocabulary.
How to Play Like Wes Montgomery — A Beginner's Guide to Thumb Picking
Wes Montgomery didn't choose the thumb — circumstances did. This post breaks down the rest stroke and down stroke fundamentals at the heart of his iconic tone, and explains why beginners should start here before anything else.
Play Like You Mean It: Cultivating Sincerity as a Musician
Whether you play to pay the rent or to unwind after a long week, breaking through a musical plateau requires one thing: sincerity. In an age of digital overload and endless scale books, learn why deeply mastering a single standard is infinitely more valuable than playing a hundred songs poorly.
Voice Leading on Complex Tunes: How to Get Information from the Chord Melody
Voice leading is not just a theory concept — it is the practical foundation for building solos on complex jazz tunes like Stella by Starlight. This post explains the 12-step chord-melody process that extracts improvisation material directly from the tune itself.
Ditch the Scales: Voicing-Centric Improvisation and Upper Structures
Still trying to calculate modes on the fly while soloing? It's time to stop over-analyzing. Discover why advanced jazz guitarists rely on functional voicing connections and Upper Structure Triads instead of rigid scale blocks to create fluid, spontaneous melodic lines.
Beyond Blues: The Power of Genre Transcription and Wes Montgomery Lines
You know your II-V-I progressions, but your solos still sound like pentatonic blues. The problem isn't what you're playing, but how you navigate the fretboard. Discover why vertical scale blocks are holding you back, and how learning the diagonal "Wes Lines" can finally make you sound like an authentic jazz guitarist.
How to Create Dominant Function Using Django and Wes Lines
Learn to move beyond standard diminished chords and use true dominant functions to push harmony forward. Discover how applying standard Django and Wes Montgomery lines creates powerful tension and resolution.
Why Major and Minor Are Often the Same in 2-5-1 Progressions
Uncover why legendary players treat major and minor chords interchangeably in their improvisations. By focusing on upper structures and voice leading, you can vastly simplify how you navigate 2-5-1 progressions.
Breaking Free from Scale Blocks: A Beginner's Guide to Shell Voicings
If your mind goes blank the moment a jazz standard begins, it’s not a lack of talent—it’s how you are viewing the fretboard. Discover why abandoning linear scale blocks and embracing the structural clarity of "Shell Voicings" is the ultimate secret to fluent, confident jazz improvisation.