Felipe Vargas Magdaleno

Lecturer or Music – Guitar

University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire
vargaslf@uwec.edu

Shell Voicings (Freddie Green’s Voicings)

Shell Voicings, or Freddie Green’s Voicings, are chord voicings that contain the root, third, and seventh of the
chord, with no fifth. In some cases, the root may be omitted as well. These sparser voicings are often used by
blues and jazz players in busier arrangements, or in ensembles where there are many players as shell voicings
take up less room in a dense arrangement and allow more space for other players and for soloing.
On the guitar, Shell Voicings result in 3-notes chords that are easy to learn. Below you will find 10 chord
shapes, 5 containing the chord root on the 6th string (Root 6 Shapes), and 5 containing the chord root on the
5th string (Root 5 Shapes).

Root 6 Shapes

Root 5 Shapes
 Shell Voicings Transpositions
After learning these 10 shapes you should be able to transpose them to any key. In order to do that you must
know the notes on the guitar fretboard, especially on the 6th (low E) and 5th (A) strings. Below is a fretboard
map to help you apply these shapes to different keys.

Shell Voicings Equivalents

The table below shows most of the chords that you will encounter as a jazz guitarist. Since Shell Voicings only
have the Root, 3rd, and 7th, they can be used over chords of different qualities (e.g. the Minor 6 shell voicing
can be used over a Diminished 7 chord) and extensions.

Shell Voicings Equivalents

Major 7 Dominant 7 Minor 7 Major 6 Minor 6
Major 7 Dominant 7 Minor 7 Major 6 Minor 6
C△7 C7 C-7 C6 C-6
Cmaj7 Cmin7 Cmin6
CM7 Cm7 Cm6

Major 9 Dominant 9 Minor 9 Major 6/9 Minor 7

Cmaj9 C9 C-9 C6/9 C-7
Cmin9 Cmin7
Cm9 Cm7

Major #11 Dominant 13 Minor 11 Major Diminished 7

Cmaj#11 C13 C-11 C C°
Cmin11 Cdim7
Cm11

Dominant b13 or Minor 7(b5)

Altered Dominant C-7b5
(b9, #9, b5, #5) Cm7(b5)
C7alt CØ
C7 (b9, #9, b5, #5)
 Applying Shell Voicings
Now that you learned the shell voicings try applying them on Autumn Leaves. For a better voice leading effect,
avoid shifting positions too much. Try to stay in the same position of the guitar neck as much as possible. To
achieve that, mix the Root 6 and Root 5 voicings.
 Drop 2 and Drop 3 Voicings
Drop 2 and Drop 3 voicings are very common in jazz guitar. Different from the Shell Voicings, the Drop 2 and
Drop 3 voicings include the 5th of the chord. On the guitar, in some cases, the 5th will be omitted to allow for
a chord extension (9th, 11th, or 13th). Here are some examples of the most common Drop 2 and Drop 3
Voicings on root position.

Root 6 Shapes (Drop 3)

Root 5 Shapes (Drop 2)

 Tools for Improvisation: Scales, Arpeggios and Lines
To learn jazz improvisation we have to study and practice scales, arpeggios, and lines over chord progressions
in order to be able to create our lines. In the following pages you will find some examples of scales, arpeggios,
and lines that will help you build up your improvisation vocabulary.
Scales
There are many scales that can be used for improvisation, however, the most common scales are based in the
diatonic major and minor scales. In the examples below you will learn a major scale across seven positions
that will cover the entire guitar fretboard. These scale shapes also correspond to different greek modes, and
learning them will have several applications in improvisation.
Arpeggios
Learning arpeggios is an important step towards building your improvisation vocabulary and creating your
lines and licks. An arpeggio is, by definition, the notes of a chord played in succession, ascending or
descending. Therefore, by learning and memorizing arpeggios you will be able to target the chord tones of the
chords you are improvising over. On the next pages, you will find 10 arpeggios (5 on root 6, and 5 on root 5) of
the most common chord qualities – major 7th, dominant 7th, minor 7th, minor 7th (b5), and diminished 7th.
ii-V-I Lines
The ii–V–I progression is a common cadential chord progression used in a wide variety of music genres,
including jazz. The ii-V-I chord progressions can be based either on major (ii-V-I) or minor keys (iim7-V-i). Since
these chord progressions are very common in jazz, it is important to learn how to improvise over them. One
way to learn how to improvise over these chord progressions is by learning lines. On the next pages, you will
find 2 licks over a 2 bars ii-V-I, and 2 licks over a 4 bars ii-V-I in the key of G major, and 2 licks over a 2 bars
ii7(b5)-V-i, and 2 licks over a 4 bars ii7(b5)-V-i in the key of E minor.
Scales/Modes
Arpeggios (Root 6 and Root 5)
ii-V-I Lines
iim7(b5)-V-i Lines