How to get started with Jazz Guitar

How to play the most common jazz chord progression

At the core of many jazz tunes is a series of three chords commonly referred to as a II-V-I (pronounced “two-five-one"). 

Each roman numeral represents a different chord. Roman numerals are a neat communication system because they generalize information that you can apply to any key. 

In the key of C major...

• II - V - I = Dm7 - G7 - C▵7
• II = Dm7 because it's the second chord in the key of C major. (Just trust us and accept this as a fact if you haven’t learned about scales and diatonic chords yet.)
• V = G7 is the fifth chord in the key of C major.
• I = C▵7 because it's the home (or root) chord in our key. 

Here’s how that looks on the fretboard when the root note of our I chord is on the low E string. 

Let's play:‍

• Play the three notes a few times and memorize the order: II-V-I.
• Play the three chord shapes you just learned in the same order.
• That's it! You now know a II-V-I progression in the key of C major

5th-string root shell voicings for a II-V-I

If you play the chord shapes you just learned and only know how to build them from the low E string, you’ll be sliding around the guitar like crazy. 

• To fix that, we’ll show you the same group of chords, just starting the root on the 5th string.
• This way, you can mix and match II-V-Is that start on the 6th string and the 5th string.

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Learn a jazz standard:
“Solar” by Miles Davis

• This jazz standard was released in 1954. 
• It’s associated with iconic jazz trumpeter and composer Miles Davis. 
• An early version of the tune was written by jazz guitarist Chuck Wayne.

This type of evolving nature of songs, borrowing from one another, and the fact that different people recorded the same tune explains why lead sheets of jazz standards sometimes come in different versions.

• This song is unique in that it contains multiple II-V-I chord progressions in different keys.
• Luckily the II - V - I progression is easy to shift around once you memorize your chord shapes.

The following II-V-Is are all in Solar. One after the other, the same three chord cluster, just different root notes (and therefore different frets).

• II - V - I in F major = Gm7 - C7 - F▵7
• II - V - I in Eb major = Fm7 - Bb7 - Eb▵7
• II - V - I in Db major = Ebm7 - Ab7 - Db▵7

How to play "Solar"

Step 1: Play the bass notes.

• Before you try to play this song using chords, figure out the order of the root notes on the guitar fretboard.
• Play only those notes as if they were a bass line: C - G - C - F- Bb - Eb - Ab - Db - D - G 

Step 2. Add in the chords.

While this song contains two chords we haven't covered today, the majority of it involves the II-V-I progression shifted to different keys.

Here are the two new chord shapes you'll need to know for this song:

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Here's the full chord progression. Take your time and start off at a snail's tempo.

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Remember, the II-V-I's below all occur in Solar. One after the other. The same three chord cluster, just different root notes (and therefore different frets). See? Jazz isn't so hard!

• II - V - I in F major = Gm7 - C7 - F▵7
• II - V - I in Eb major = Fm7 - Bb7 - Eb▵7
• II - V - I in Db major = Ebm7 - Ab7 - Db▵7

Step 3. Get it up to speed.

Try playing the chords along with the video. It'll help you figure out how long every chord lasts. Feel free to make use of the slowdown playback function on YouTube.

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What’s next?

There are different routes you can take from here. You could:

• learn the melody of the song.
• learn the chords to a new song.
• learn what a minor II-V-I looks like. (The one you learned today was a major II-V-I.)
• learn a scale so you can improvise over the chords.

While it's relatively easy to get a few jazz chords under your fingers, jazz guitar can get overwhelming if you don't know where to start learning or what to practice.

If you're looking to become a jazz guitarist, check out a free 14-day trial to our Jazz Learning Pathway. In this 3-month program, you'll learn everything you need to solo like an advanced jazz guitarist, and you'll know exactly what to work on at every step of the way.

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Author: Julia Mahncke

Julia Mahncke is a journalist and musician based in Pittsburgh, PA. Holding a degree in musicology from the University of Bonn and having studied guitar at the University of Oregon, Julia is a skilled guitarist with a knack for communicating musical concepts in a straightforward manner.

She has written, recorded, and performed music as a solo artist, as part of a duo, and as the lead guitarist for the band Meeping. With hundreds of shows under her belt, Julia plays bass in various projects, enjoys participating in jam sessions in Pittsburgh, and remains active as a singer-songwriter.