Lenny's guide tones

Pages 1 - 2 (Reference) Lesson

Pages 3 - end (exemples and worksheets)

Dominant chord forms : Every of these chord forms can be seen as a Bb7 with the third on bass
or as a E7 with the seventh on bass. Try to visualise both and relate to their roots.
Bb7 / E7 Bb7#9 / E13 Bb9 / E7b13 Bb7b9 / E7
1

6 5 4
6 6 6 6
5 5 5 5

Bb7 / E7 Bb13 / E7#9 Bb7b13 / E9 Bb7 / E7b9

5

8 7 6
7 7 7 7
6 6 6 6

Bb7 / E7 Bb13 / E7#9 Bb7b13 / E9 Bb7 / E7b9

9

5 4 3
5 5 5 5
4 4 4 4
Minor chord forms :These are the forms Lenny is using the more often for minor chords.
Em7 Em11 Em7 Em9
13

7 12 7 12 4 11
5 5 12 12 7 7 12 12 5 9 12 4
5 10 7 7 12 12 5 10 10 5
10 3
Major chord forms : These are the forms Lenny is using the more often for major chords
Bbmaj7 Bb69 Bbmaj13 Bbadd9
16

7 14 5 10 12 5
7 7 12 12 5 5 10 10 12 5 8 10
5 12 5 5 10 10 12 5 5 13
5 10

1/5
Half diminished chord forms : Most of the time Lenny is using minor chord forms for half diminished chord. The two last chord forms outline the b5.
Em7(b5)
19

7 12 3
5 5 12 12 5 8
5 10 5 10
10
Dominant forms + double stop : This is a very personal voicing ideas from Lenny
based on dominant forms I thought it would be interesting to include this in the lesson
Bb13 Bb7(#5) Bb7 Bb7(b5) Bb11 Bb7

23

6 6 6 6 6 6
8 7 6 5 4 3
6 6 6 6 6 6
5 5 5 5 5 5

E7 E7(#9) E9 E7(b9) E7

26

7 7 7 7 7
9 8 7 6 5
6 6 6 6 6
5 5 5 5 5
You can build different minor 11 and 69 voicings around the pentatonic scale. Sometime unusual voicing from Lenny come from this idea.

Bb69 / Gm11
29

3 6 8 11 13
3 5 7 10 12 3 5 7 10 12
3 5 8 10 12 3 5 8 10 12 3 5 8 10
3 5 8 10 13 3 5 8 10
3 6 8 10
Root based voicings : Lenny is mixing up guide tones voicing with root based voicing in most of his
arrangements. I will not cover this here but here's the mains root based voicing positions he is using
Em7 E7 Emaj7 Em7(b5)

34

3 8 3 4 3
4 7 7 12 1 7 7 13 4 8 8 13 3 7 7 12
2 5 9 12 2 6 9 12 2 6 9 13 2 5 8 12
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 13
12 12 12 12

2/5
Exemples and worksheets : To get the most out of this lesson examine every voicings here and relate to their roots. Then complete the chord names.
Most of those exemples are taken directly from some of my Lenny's transcriptions.
Turnaround in F F D G C F A D G C F
38

10 10 8 8 7 9 10 7 8 5
10 10 9 8 7 10 10 8 8 5
10 9 8 7 6 10 9 8 7 5

A Ab G C F A D G C F A D G C
43

4 4 2 3 2
9 8 7 6 7 5 5 4 3 5 5 3 3 3
10 9 8 8 7 5 4 3 2 5 5 4 3 2
10 9 8 7 6 4 8 4 3 3
5

F A D G C F A D G C F
48

5 4 3 2
2 10 10 8 8 7 5 5 3 3 2
2 11 10 9 8 7 5 4 3 2 2
10 9 8 7 7

II - V - I in Bb C F Bb C F Bb C F Bb C F Bb
53

8 7 6
8 7 5 7 6 5 8 7 5 8 8 5
8 7 5 8 7 6 8 7 5 8 7 5
8 6 5 6 6 5 7 6 5

C F Bb C F Bb C F Bb C F Bb C F Bb
58

7 7 6
8 8 5 8 7 7 5 8
8 7 8 8 12 10 8 7 8 8 6 5 8 11 10
8 5 8 12 10 6 6 5 6 8 12 13
11 10 11 10

3/5
 Minor II - V - I in Dm E A D E A D E A D E A D
63

3 5 2 4 4 5 5 3 2 6 5 5
5 5 3 5 5 3 5 5 3 6 5 5
5 4 3 5 4 4 4 3 5 4 5

Minor II - V - I in Am
68

5
7 6 5 6 5 6 5 4 7 6 5
7 6 5 7 6 5 7 6 5 7 6 5
6 5 8 5 5 5 5 3 7 5 5
7

II - V - I in D
73

7 7 5
7 6 4 4 5 6 7
5 5 4 5 5 4 5 5 7 7 10 9
5 4 4 5 4 5 7 10 9
9 8
Georgia on my mind chord grid : Georgia is the perfect exemple of how Lenny is using guide tone based chord forms
to create a complete arrangement try to complete the chords names and visualise them according to their roots. Have fun!
F
78

7 3 5 9 9 7 5
7 5 5 7 9 7 6
6 5 4 8 8 6 5

83

5 4 3 3
5 4 4 3 7
10 10 8 8 5 4 3 3 7
10 9 8 7 3 6

4/5
 ......Full chord form.......
88

6 5
6 7
3 5 9 9 7 5 8 6
5 5 7 9 7 6 10 10 9 8
5 4 8 8 6 5 10 9 10
8

93

7 5 5 5 3 2 0 2 0 2 0
7 6 6 5 5 3 0 3 0 3 0
6 5 5 4 4 3 2 3 2 3 2

98

0
2 2 5 (5) 10 10 8 7
3 3 5 (5) 10 10 9 8
3 5 (5) 10 9 8 7
3

103

7 3 5 9 9 7 5
7 5 5 7 9 7 6 10 10
6 5 4 8 8 6 5 10 9

108

8
8 7 9
9 8 7
8 7
8

5/5