Jazz Standard Study Guide

Autumn Leaves (Gm) Expanded Version

Written By: Matthew Warnock
Published By: Guitar for Life LLC
Copyright 2019 Guitar for Life LLC

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 Table of Contents

Introduction
Harmonic Analysis
Transcription Exercise
Blank Chord Chart
Guide Tones for Comping
Extended Chords With Root
Extended Chords Without Root
Walking Bassline
Single Note Ornaments
Pentatonic Scales for Soloing
Arpeggios for Soloing
Study 1 – Bill Evans Solo
Study 2 – 4th Chords
Transcription Answer
Expanded Guide Material
Extended Arpeggios
Syncopation Challenge
John Coltrane Lines
Closed Position Chords
Solo Guitar Study
Blank Music Paper
About the Author

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 Introduction
Welcome to the Autumn Leaves (Gm) study guide.

Great to have you here!

When learning any jazz standard, you need to have an understanding of
four main elements:

Ø Melody
Ø Form
Ø Soloing
Ø Comping

Because of copyright issues, this eBook leaves out the melody and
focuses on the other three elements.

By studying form, soloing techniques, and comping patterns, you give
yourself everything you need to jam this tune on guitar.

From there, you can add the melody, learning it by ear or from a lead
sheet such as you find in the Real Book.

Make sure to work each section in this eBook to get the most out of your
studies.

It’s no use being able to rip a solo over a tune if you can’t comp the
chords, or you can comp great chords but get lost in the form.

It’s the marriage of these three devices, form-soloing-comping, that
provide the skills needed to jam this tune with confidence.

So, grab your guitar, turn up your amp, and learn how to play one of the
most popular jazz guitar songs, Autumn Leaves.

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 Guide Tones for Comping
To begin your chord studies over this tune, you learn the two most
important notes in any chord, the 3rd and 7th.

Guide tones are built with the following interval patterns:


• 7-3
• 3-7

I’ve also snuck in a few Gm6 guide tones for variety and to explore that
m6 color in your comping.

Though small, these shapes outline the sound of any chord, and they’re
easy to play, a win-win in the woodshed.

Here are pointers to get the most out of these guide tone shapes into
your studies.


• Learn 4 bars at a time, memorize these shapes.
• Connect 4 bar phrases when ready to form 16-bar phrases.
• Play the entire study no rhythms.
• Add in rhythms over the backing track.
• Change the picking patterns.
• Sing the top note of each chord as you play it.
• Sing the bottom note of each chord as you play it.
• Mix these shapes with other chord shapes in your playing.


Now that you know how to practice these guide tones, time to take them
to the fretboard over Autumn Leaves.


Audio Example 1

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 Scales for Soloing
Moving on, you now work on adding scales and modes to your soloing
over Autumn Leaves.

Scales are easier to apply than arpeggios, as one scale can cover multiple
chords.

But the risk you run with scales is that they sound too much like
“technique” and not enough like music in your lines.

Because of this, as soon as you learn any scale, mix it in with guide
tones, chords, and arpeggios along with ornaments.

That way you can use these scales in your solos and not sound like an
exercise in your lines and phrases.

Scale Chart

To begin, here are chord charts with the scales for each chord written
underneath the staff.

Start by going over these charts to get a feel for where the scales land
over each of the three Autumn Leaves progressions.

From there, move to the next section where you learn fingerings for
each scale in the song.

Come back to these charts as a reference as needed when soloing with
scales over Autumn Leaves.

The first scale you learn is G Aeolian over the ii-V-I-IV progression.

You’re using G Aeolian here, instead of Bb major, because both modes
contain the same notes and starting on G is more efficient.

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By this I mean that as you progress through this chapter, you’re able to
start on a G root note for any mode you play.

This allows you to outline the chord changes and stay in one or two
spots on the fretboard at the same time.

Start by learning this first scale and adding it to your solos over the
backing track before digging into the minor ii-V-I below.

Over the minor ii-V-I you have three options to explore when soloing
with scales.

The first is to continue playing the G Aeolian from the major ii-V-I-IV
changes.

Then, you can zoom in on the D7alt chord by playing G harmonic minor,
bringing out a D7b9,b13 sound in the process.

Finally, over Gm7 you can expand your soloing colors by exploring
melodic minor over that chord.

Try each of these options and see which ones are comfortable to your
ears and fingers and start with those scales in your solos.

From there, explore the other modes over times as you expand your
soloing chops and vocabulary over Autumn Leaves.

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When soloing over the turnaround phrase you use two modes of G to
outline those changes, Dorian and Phrygian.

Because Gm7 and C7 come from F major, you can use the G Dorian mode
over those chords.

Same notes as the F major scale and you don’t have to move your hand
on the fretboard away from the other modes you used in this chapter.

Then, Fm7 and Bb7 come from Eb major, and the Eb major scale has the
same notes as G Phrygian.

Again, you outline the chords and don’t have to jump around the
fretboard in the process. A practice room win-win!

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 Scale Fingerings

Now that you know where to use these scales over Autumn Leaves, here
are the fingerings to use with each scale.

Start by adding one scale at a time to your solos and comping or leaving
space in the other bars.

From there, add in the next scale, and the next, until you build up to
soloing over the entire song with just these scales.

When that’s comfortable, add in arpeggios, guide tones, ornaments, and
chords to take your soloing to the next level.

Have fun with these scale shapes, sing along to get them into your ears
more quickly, and get them onto the tune as soon as you can.

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 About the Author
I grew up listening to classic rock and blues, and I still love those styles
of music. But, it’s soloing I really love, and that’s what drew me to jazz.

My love of jazz has taken me from small town Canada around the globe.

I studied at three of the top jazz programs in the world, starting with
McGill University, then Western Michigan, and finishing with a
Doctorate from the University of Illinois (UIUC).

I’ve taught over 6000 private jazz guitar lessons, and my students range
from beginners, to Professors at NYU, and everything in between.

I’ve also taught jazz guitar, popular music, and music business at
universities in Canada, the US, the UK, Brazil, and Nepal.

I’ve played over 2500 gigs in 8 countries and shared the stage with
Randy Brecker, Stefon Harris, and Slide Hampton.

Some of my favorite gigs were at:

• Lincoln Center
• International Association for Jazz Education Conference
• NuJazz Festival (Brazil)
• Savassi Jazz Festival (Brazil)
• International Jazz Day Festival (Nepal)

Jazz has been in my life for 20 years, and every day I’m glad I found this
great music. Because of this, I want to share this love of jazz and guitar
with you. You never know where it’ll lead you.

For the best free jazz guitar lessons on the web, visit
mattwarnockguitar.com

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