Jazz Guitar Songs for Beginners at WorkshopLive

SONGS: GUITAR: BEGINNER JAZZ
This course teaches you some of the most famous Jazz standards that are examined by melody and chords. Learn to play 'Satin Doll', 'Sweet Georgia Brown', 'Summertime' and other Jazz classics.
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COURSE	LESSON	TEACHER	DESCRIPTION
Songs: Major Scales	Sweet Georgia Brown: Melody	Tom Dempsey	For me, the first exposure I had to our next tune was as a kid going to see the Harlem Globetrotters play basketball. This was their theme song. I would also hear this tune being played by the great Slam Stewart when he would come to visit our elementary school and play concerts. Man, I was so fortunate. Sweet Georgia Brown is a staple of any jazz musician's repetoire. It was written by Ben Bernie, Maceo Pinkard and Kenneth Casey and has been performed by everyone from Louis Armstrong to Ella Fitzgerald to Oscar Peterson. You should definitely check out the Oscar Peterson Trio recording 'Live at the Jazz Philharmonic' with Herb Ellis on guitar and the great Ray Brown on bass. Here we will work on getting the melody under our fingers, taking it phrase by phrase until we have it down. So let's get started.
Songs: Major Scales	How High the Moon: Melody	Tom Dempsey	In this lesson we will begin our study of the great standard How High The Moon, which is from the Broadway show entitled Two For The Show. This song was written by Morgan Lewis with the lyrics written by Nancy Hamilton. Over the years, many great jazz musicians have performed and recorded this tune. One of the most famous versions was recorded by Ella Fitzgerald in 1960 during a live concert in Berlin. The guitarist on that date, none other than the great Jim Hall!!! Make sure you check out that recording. But for now let's start by becoming familiar with the melody to How High The Moon.
Songs: Major Scales	Satin Doll: Melody	Tom Dempsey	In this lesson we are going to begin our study of jazz standards by looking at the great Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn tune Satin Doll. The lyrics to this tune were written by the prolific songwriter Johnny Mercer. Duke and Billy Strayhorn collaborated on a large body of work throughout their lives. This tune is one of their most famous. Here we will begin by checking out the melody to this tune. In the lesson that follows we will take a look at the chords to comp for this tune and I'll show you a little chord melody arrangement. But before we do that, we have to get the sound of this tune in our ears and under our fingers. So let's get started.
Songs: Major Scales I	Honeysuckle Rose: Melody	Tom Dempsey	In this lesson, we will begin our exploration of the tune Honeysuckle Rose. This tune was written by Thomas Waller who was better known as Fats Waller the great piano player with the lyrics written by Andy Razaf. This tune was written for the Broadway Musical Ain't Misbehavin' in the late 1920s. Honeysuckle Rose has been a favorite among singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan as well as band leaders like Count Basie, Louis Jordan, and Benny Goodman. One of the great guitar versions was recorded by Django Reinhardt. Make sure you check that version out. This is a very straight-ahead standard that will make you tap your feet for sure. So let's go check it out.
Songs: Major Scales II	Our Love Is Here to Stay: Melody	David Saenger	In this lesson we'll be taking a look at the melody of the great jazz standard, Our Love Is Here To Stay. The music was written by the legendary jazz composer George Gershwin and the lyrics were written by his brother Ira Gershwin. This song was written in 1937 for a movie entitled The Goldwyn Follies. This was the last song composed by George Gershwin before his death in the summer of 1937. The song can be taken as a ballad or an uptempo tune. This song has been performed by countless jazz great greats including: Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Bill Evans and Dexter Gordon. To hear a great guitar rendition of the song, check out Jimmy Bruno's version. I highly recommend it. Let's check out the melody to Our Love is Here to Stay.
Songs: Major Scales II	They Can't Take That Away From Me: Melody	Tom Dempsey	In this lesson, I'm going to teach you the melody to the great George and Ira Gershwin standard called They Can't Take That Away From Me. This tune has been recorded by countless jazz musicians including Joe Pass, Ella Fitzgerald, and the great Louis Armstrong. In this lesson, I'll show you each individual section of the melody, and at the end we'll put them all together and work on playing the tune together. This standard is one that's a big part of the repertoire, so let's go check it out.
Songs: Major Scales II	I Can't Get Started: Melody	Tom Dempsey	In this lesson, we're going to take a look at the melody of the tune I Can't Get Started, which was written by Vernon Duke, with words by Ira Gershwin. It's been performed by such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughn, and Wes Montgomery. This standard is a great ballad that should be part of any jazz guitarist's repertoire. I'll teach you the melody to I Can't Get Started by showing you each section of the tune. At the end of the lesson we'll play the entire melody together. So let's go check it out.
Songs: Major Scales II	All of You: Melody	Tom Dempsey	In this lesson, I'm going to teach you the melody to the great Cole Porter standard entitled All of You. The way I'll do this is begin by showing you the entire melody, then breaking it down into sections, working on each one so we can play it at the very end of this lesson. This tune is a very important part of the jazz repertoire, made famous by one of the great jazz trumpet players named Miles Davis. So let's go check out this tune.
Songs: Relative Minor	Summertime: Melody	Tom Dempsey	This next tune that we will look at is 'Summertime.' This tune is a staple of any jazz musician's repertoire and is one of the most famous standards written by George Gershwin. A wide variety of musicians have played this tune in a wide variety of settings. Some of the famous recordings were done by Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, George Benson, and Wes Montgomery. Make sure you check out those recordings. This is a relatively shorter tune, so you should be able to get this under your fingers relatively easily. So let's begin our study of Summertime by checking out the melody.
Songs: Relative Minor	Alone Together: Melody	Tom Dempsey	For this lesson, we will begin our study of the great standard, Alone Together, which was written by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz. Over the years, this tune has become popular with many guitar players, especially Jim Hall, John Abercrombie, John Scofield, and Mike Stern to name a few. Definitely check out their respective versions of this tune. We'll see how this tune has some interesting twists in the harmony as well as in the form. We'll also hear how the use of repetition and motivic development can create a lyrical and interesting melody. This is one of my favorite standards as well. Hopefully it will become one of yours. Let's go check it out.
Songs: Relative Minor	Body and Soul: Melody	Tom Dempsey	The next tune that we will look at is one of the quintessential ballads of the jazz repertoire, Body and Soul. Written by Johnny Green with the lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, and Frank Eyton this tune has been performed and recorded by countless musicians. Two of the most famous recordings were done by Coleman Hawkins and Lady Day herself, Billie Holiday, who gave us the great vocal rendition. Man, these versions send chills up my spine. Make sure you check them out. In this lesson we will be focused on playing the beautiful melody to this tune, so let's get started.
Songs: Relative Minor	Softly As In a Morning Sunrise: Melody	Tom Dempsey	Here we will begin to learn Softly As in a Morning Sunrise, by taking a look at the melody. This tune was written by Sigmund Romberg and has become a very popular standard among jazz musicians. It has been performed and recorded by Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, and John Coltrane to name a few. It is also a popular standard among guitar players like Jim Hall, John Abercrombie, and Mike Stern. Once again, we will see here how the basic motif of the tune is developed into an entire composition. This is a very important tune to learn, so let's get started.
Songs: Relative Minor	What Is This Thing Called Love: Melody	Tom Dempsey	In this lesson we will take a look at the melody to the great Cole Porter standard What Is This Thing Called Love from the musical Wake Up And Dream. When it was written in 1929, it was intended to be a ballad. Most jazz musicians of the 20th century play this tune as a medium to medium fast standard. This tune has been performed and recorded by countless jazz musicians including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Sonny Rollins, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughan. Some of the great jazz guitar recordings of this tune were done by Grant Green, George VanEpps, and Kenny Burrell. Do your research and check those recordings out. But for now let's work on learning the melody to this tune.
Songs: Basic Seventh Chords	Satin Doll: Chords	Tom Dempsey	Now that we have an understanding of the melody to Satin Doll, let's try to tackle the chords. In this lesson I am going to show you one possible set of chord voicings that you can use to play Satin Doll. It is important to have a variety of chords at your disposal because in jazz we need to vary our accompaniment from chorus to chorus. Being a strong accompanist is a very important skill to acquire seeing as that will be your role in an ensemble for a good portion of the time. Make sure you are thorough in learning these chords. It will not only serve you well for this tune but for a variety of other tunes as well. Let's get started.
Songs: Seventh Chord Arpeggios	Summertime: Chords	Tom Dempsey	Okay, we have the melody for Summertime in our ears and under our fingers. Now we are going to spend some time working on learning the chords for Summertime. Like with many jazz tunes, there are some different yet widely accepted ways to play the chords for this tune. In this lesson, I'll show you two different ways to play the chords. You should learn both ways because these will serve as the basis of how to come up with different accompaniment versions in your own playing. As you become conversant with the sound of these chords you'll be able to know what chords are being played and you'll be able to react accordingly by playing the right changes. Cool. Let's get started.
Songs: Seventh Chord Arpeggios	Honeysuckle Rose: Chords	Tom Dempsey	Here, we will work on learning the chords for Honeysuckle Rose. We'll see how there aren't a lot different changes but the chords do tend to change relatively frequently. This will be good work on playing and hearing your ii-V and ii-V-I progressions, which are omnipresent in jazz tunes, especially the standards. As we have done in previous lessons, these chords will also be used in the chord melody lesson, so it is important to be thorough here. Cool? Let's go check out the changes.
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