Shell chords just might be the most important thing for new jazz guitar players to learn. Sometimes I’ll have a new student that needs to learn jazz guitar fast. And shell chords are the first thing they learn.
And for a good reason. Shell chords just sound good. They’re easy to learn, and they’ll be useful to you forever. Even if you don’t go any farther in learning jazz guitar chords.
When I first learned shell chords, it was like a lightbulb went off in my head. They were so much easier than the big, clunky chords I’d been playing so far.
It was like I was instantly faster at changing chords. And my playing sounded cleaner, too.
Let me walk you through 5 big reasons you should be learning shell chords – and putting them to work in your jazz guitar playing. If you don’t know these chords yet… you need to!
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Easy to Learn
I first learned about shell chords at a summer jazz camp.
After my audition, the guitar instructor told me the chords I was using were “kind of clunky.” And then he wrote out a couple of shell chord shapes for me.
I’d always thought of myself as “pretty good” at chords. So this stung a little bit. Still, I was there to learn – so I decided to jump in headfirst.
I was actually able to learn the shapes in about 10 minutes back in my dorm room…
… and use them for the rest of the camp – playing in the top groups.
I went on to teach at that same camp as I got older. First as an assistant to my own guitar instructor – and eventually as a guitar instructor myself.
And shell chords continue to be a quick and easy way for people to start playing jazz guitar chords.
Finger Friendly
I hate seeing a list of “easy jazz guitar chords” that ends up having big stretches in the chords. Like these ones:
They might be easy for an experienced jazz guitar player – but it’s not easy at all for someone just getting their feet wet.
And I get it. It’s easy to overlook some of these things when you’ve been playing long enough. So it’s not too surprising that some difficult shapes find their way into the “easy chords” lessons.
But the great thing about shell chords is that they actually are easy to play. Even for complete beginners. I’ve even had students who jumped from 0 to jazz guitar right away. They were able to skip some of the basics and go straight to jazz.
And they’re flexible. If there’s something that seems stretchy, you can always use a different finger to get the job done – no big deal.
Over and over I find that these chords are a great entry point for students. You can get into jazz guitar without having to learn tons of chord shapes or twist your fingers into pretzels.
Faster Chord Changes with Shell Chords
One of the great things about shell chords is they can make you faster. Simpler chord shapes are just easier to change.
When you don’t have as many moving pieces, it’s a lot easier to move your fingers from one chord to the next. That much is obvious.
But you can also double up on this by alternating between shell chords that have the root on alternating strings. Ths can really cut down on how much you have to move your hand to reach the next chord.
My favorite for this is using one chord with the root on the 6th string, and the next chord with the root on the 5th string.
In many common progressions this will let you either keep your hand where it is, or move just a couple of frets to reach your next chord.
Understand Chord Construction
When you look at the structure of shell chords, you can start to get a deeper understanding of chord construction. And I’m talking about how it works on the fretboard, not in the theory classroom.
Since the finger patterns are pretty easy, you can focus more on the intervals. Or chord tones – I tend to use both terms.
Looking at the chord tones, you can see how changing the 3rd or the 7th effects how the chord sounds. It starts to become easy to change your chord shape to fit different chord symbols.
And as a bonus, you’ll start to understand how each note in the chord actually functions.
One of my favorite examples is the 6 chord – like G6 or C6.
In a 6 chord, you are lowering the 7th by 2 frets to create a structure of 1, 3, and 6. The 6 is doing the job of the 7. It’s replacing the 7 to give you a different “major” color.
This is a point that a lot of people get mixed up. Even people who should know better – like music teachers and band directors. Some people think you can make a 6 chord by adding a 6 to a dominant 7 chord. But that gives you something else entirely.
And it just won’t sound right.
This is the kind of thing that is easily cleared up when you have shell chords under your fingers. You can see the real guts of the chord, without getting tangled up in music theory.
Shell Chords Give You Room to Grow
At first, the most important thing about shell chords is how fast you can start using them. But as you get better, they’re a gateway to a bigger chord vocabulary.
The shapes of these shell chords give you a template for more skills you can add later:
- Rootless voicings
- Guide tones
- Alterations
- Extensions
When I was in college and beyond, I developed shell chords into a system. That system let me easily play the chords to any song just by reading it. This was super helpful for everything from professional big bands to duo gigs in a tiny bar.
I could dial my chords up or down, depending on what I was playing. And who I was playing with.
Small group jazz gig? I could add extensions and alterations to create more interesting sounds. It was easy to play little melodies with my chords and accompany soloists.
Big Band playing Count Basie songs? I could play the basic chord shapes all night without even thinking about it. And always be playing the right thing for the song.
Duo gig with a saxophone player at a golf course? No problem. I could use these chords to walk bass lines and play chords at the same time. It had a great effect for filling out the sound.
With some practice, you’ll be able to do this too.
It’s easier to practice when you have good resources. Click here to get your Shell Chords cheat sheet today!
Wrapping it up:
Shell chords are a great technique to have under your fingers.
- They’re finger friendly
- Shell chords are easy to learn
- They can help you make faster chord changes
- You’ll gain a better understanding of chord construction
- They give you room to grow and expand your skills
Not only are these chord shapes great for dipping your toes into jazz guitar, they’ll be a helpful skill for as long as you’re playing. I still use these every time I play – you’ll never outgrow shell chords.
So take some time and learn these valuable chord shapes, if you don’t know them already.
If you want more detail on using shell chords, check out my ebook Jazz Guitar Survival Guide. Inside you’ll find the complete system I built around shell chords.
I use this system any time I need to help someone learn jazz guitar fast. Grab your copy today!