What if I told you jazz guitar chords could be simplified? That you don’t need to struggle or have a PhD in music theory to understand how chords work?
Now on the surface, chords are one of the most overwhelming parts of learning jazz guitar.
Tricky finger patterns that feel unnatural to your hands. Chord symbols you’ve never seen before – with symbols and numbers you’ve never had to deal with.
And just looking at a chord chart for the first time. There are so many chords for just one song!
It can seem impossible. But don’t worry – like I tell my new students, there’s a lot to learn. But there’s also not that much once you know what you’re doing.
I’ll show you a simplified, systematic approach to learning guitar chords that won’t make your head spin.
You’ll have an easy to understand process that makes jazz guitar chords easy. There’s no “dumbing down” the chords here. And there’s no “beginner chords” that aren’t the real deal.
What we’re going to do in this article is break down jazz guitar chords into a simplified system.
You’ll build a personal chord vocabulary step-by-step, without endless memorization. Let’s dive in.
Guitar Chords Simplified: Why it Works
I get that jazz guitar chords seem complicated. Especially at first.
I’ve had more than one student come to me for help with this. Learning all those chords was just too overwhelming for them to do on their own.
One of the big problems is you’re often buried in chord lists. You’ve seen them by now. Huge charts of chords you need to learn before you can even get started.
This is one of my big problems with some popular jazz guitar methods. Players get overwhelmed with stuff to memorize before they even get started.
So a lot of times people quit before they even get a chance to learn the basics. And the sad part about this is that it really isn’t that bad.
You just have to learn jazz guitar chords in a simplified way.
Simplifying guitar chords doesn’t mean dumbing things down. Or playing “beginner versions” of chords until you’re good enough to get to the real ones.
It means making the whole process of learning jazz guitar chords simpler. And easier to understand.
When you focus on a system that builds from the ground up, you can feel confident in your jazz chord abilities. And that’s what lets you make the leap to becoming an actual jazz guitar player.
It’s important to start with just a few essential shapes and build from there. One step at a time.
Throughout college and my early career, I was on a mission to improve my chord vocabulary. I ended up learning several complicated systems for playing chords.
It was a lot to keep track of – especially when I was playing. Trying to pick the “just right” chord for the situation, remember the song, and listen to the other players all at once is kind of a lot for your brain to handle.
But over the years, I pieced them together to make something a little more streamlined. The system I use now is a lot easier to remember.
And more importantly, it’s easier for you to learn. That’s what I’m going to share with you here.
Guitar Chords Simplified: The Foundation
You can learn jazz guitar chords in a simplified way. To do this, you need to focus on a small number of chord shapes that can be reused, and moved around the guitar neck.
For this system, I use 5 “string specific” shapes. If you’re familiar with the CAGED system, this is basically the same thing.
But the big difference is in how I have students think about it.
Focusing on string numbers can help you get to your new chord shapes faster – with less thought. I’m always looking for the smallest number of loops to go through to get to our next chord.
And focusing on strung numbers seems to work pretty well for most people.
Using these shapes makes learning and visualizing the chords on the fretboard easier. It works because it lets you see the fretboard more clearly.
And simplifies the process of moving from chord to chord.
There are also just a few patterns you have to learn. Instead of learning dozens of chord shapes, you only need to know 5.
And with a little knowledge of how to change structures, you can make any chord you need. We’ll dive into that in the next section.
Here’s an example of how a G major 7th chord would look up and down the fretboard with this system:
Learning One Chord Quality at a Time
Another important part of this approach is learning one chord quality at a time. This is one of the simplest ways that learning guitar chords is simplified.
Don’t learn all of your major 7, dominant 7, minor 7, minor 7b5, and diminished 7th chords all at once. That’s a recipe for getting overwhelmed.
Instead, start with just your major 7th chords. And then we’ll build from there.
Learning guitar chords can be simplified when you don’t try to do too much at once. And that’s a big piece of this approach. Doing just a little bit, but learning it really well.
The great thing about this approach is that once you know your major 7th shapes, you have the basics. Some of the real old school jazz guitar teachers I’ve met only give out diagrams of the major 7th chords.
Because from there, it’s easy to change a note or two and create any chord you want. If you know how to do it.
Here’s how each of these changes looks visually on the fretboard:
6th String Chord Shapes
5th String Chord Shapes
4th String Chord Shapes
3rd String Chord Shapes
2nd String Chord Shapes
When you work on one change at a time, everything gets easier. You are effectively teaching yourself the new chord shapes, and learning a ton about how chords are put together.
Learning new guitar chords is simplified because you’re not learning a whole new shape. You’re changing a shape you already know – and that’s always a little easier to do.
Smooth Transitions Between Chords
One of the good things about learning guitar chords in a simplified way is smooth chord changes.
Since each chord shape is attached to a specific string, it’s easy to move from chord to chord without moving your hand too much.
With this system, your next chord shape is never more than 2 frets away. And often it’s closer than that. Most of the reason we end up shifting all over the place to hit different chords is because we don’t have enough shapes under our fingers.
Check out this ii V I progression, for example:
The roots for each chord are on the exact same fret. This means you can keep your hand in place – just changing your finger patterns to match the chord you need.
Changing chords can be small, mechanical movements – which makes life easier. You just have to know the right shapes to pull it off.
By always looking for the closest possible chord, you’ll almost automatically have smoother chord changes. You just need to work on the right chord shapes.
And you’ll gain a deeper knowledge of the guitar fretboard along the way.
Building a Jazz Repertoire with Simplified Chords
No one wants to spend all their time practicing chords.
And you probably didn’t start learning jazz so you could practice chord exercises all day until you’re “ready” to start playing songs. I know I didn’t.
I started learning jazz so I could play in the jazz band at school.
And that’s the goal with learning jazz guitar chords in a simplified way:
To get you playing real songs as quickly as possible.
You’ll be able to start building your chord vocabulary on day one – and as soon as you can hack through the shapes, you can start playing songs.
Think about this:
- As soon as you can play dominant 7th chords, you can start playing the blues
- Add in minor 7ths, and you’ve got the more complicated blues forms
- By the time you’ve got major 7ths and minor 7b5 chords, you can play just about anything
It’s a pretty short road to being able to play something real. And tiny steps from there to expand what you’re able to do. There’s no reason you have to spend hours learning complicated chord formulas before you can play.
And once you have these basics down, the sky’s the limit. You can learn a little theory here and there – and apply it to what you already know.
Learning how to add extensions and alterations to your chords will explode your chord vocabulary.
Finding out how to connect your chords in different ways will give you more interesting options for accompaniment.
But the foundation is and always will be simple. Just 5 simple chord shapes that you can mold to whatever you need them to be.
Jazz Guitar Chords Simplified
Learning your jazz guitar chords in a simplified way doesn’t mean you’re just playing easy chords.
It means you’re simplifying the process of learning and understanding jazz guitar chords. And a simplified process helps you learn faster, and spend less of your time thinking about how to do it.
Focusing on a system that’s based on strings is going to make life easier. You’ll find your chord locations faster – and learn the neck along the way.
(And without any extra “master the fretboard” exercises!)
You’re also learning one chord quality at a time and really getting it under your fingers. This will cut down on the overwhelming amount of chords it seems like you need to learn.
And you’ll finally realize that there really isn’t that much you have to learn. There’s just plenty of stuff to practice and get better at.
Start working on this approach today – before you know it, you’ll be able to play chords through any jazz standard with confidence.
Jazz Guitar Survival Guide
Get quick answers to your jazz guitar questions with Jazz Guitar Survival Guide. This no-fluff handbook shows you how to build chords, solo over ii V I progressions, and play essential jazz guitar arpeggios.
And it does it all without burying you in music theory explanations. It’s perfect for practice sessions and rehearsals – when you need an answer fast, so you can get back to playing.