6 Steps Towards Mastering Coltrane's Giant Steps

from Jack Grassel's column in Just Jazz Guitar Magazine

"The six finger principle": This scale type melody exercise is to be played in the second position only. The goal is to run a line through the changes without changing position. The only way to play in all keys without moving the hand is to regard a position as six frets: the first finger plays the notes in frets 1 and 2, second finger the notes in fret 3, third finger the notes in fret 4, fourth finger the notes in frets 5 and 6.

The notes below are in the key of C without line direction changed when the chord changes. The famous changes are written above the melody.

The direction, beginning, end, and rhythmic content of your improvised line should not be determined by the phrasing and shape of the tune. Outlining chords with scales and arpeggios is not improvising. The improvised line should be free from the confines of the tune while fitting the tune harmonically.

Miles Davis said: "I play against the band." He also said: "Play what nobody else is playing." and then said: "If you can't play something that helps the music, don' t play anything."

To be a strong player in an ensemble, you need to know what every player in the band is playing at all times: the notes played, the octaves they are being played in, the rhythms of those notes, and what dynamic they are played with. If you are reading a chart while doing that, your effectiveness in the ensemble is reduced. However, I feel it is possible to read music so well that you can also pay attention to these additional musical parameters but few people read music that well.

This tune has been a measure musicianship for over thirty years. It's especially challenging (and fun) for guitarists who are in the habit of moving the left hand to a different position each time the chord changes. There are three tonal centers which are an unusual Major Third apart: G, B, Eb. The "II-V-I" progressions used here result in the G Major chord being preceded by the Am and D7, creating an Am-D7-G Maj7 sequence. Likewise, the other two become: C#m7-F#7-B Maj7 and Fm7-Bb7-Eb Maj7. Giant Steps is made up of these three chord sequences.

I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to make music with two ex-Wes Montgomery keyboardists who lived here for many years. I learned a lot from playing and listening to them.

Once Buddy Montgomery told me as I pulled out my Real Book and put it on my music stand: "Jack, if you have to read music for this tune, that means you don't know it. If you don't know it, you shouldn't be playing it in public."

I didn't dare take a music stand or any written music to gigs with them. They taught me to play the music in the air, not on the paper. Thanks guys!

On those gigs I never knew what key they would play a tune in until they started playing it ! No one told me the key. No one counted off the tune. Buddy and Melvin were able to play every song in their repertoire in all twelve keys.

To master Giant Steps and other tunes, you need to write out the changes in all twelve keys and practice them and memorize them.

Gian Steps chart

Click images to see larger view

This process will help you reach that goal:

  1. Play this exercise as written without accidentals.
  2. Memorize which notes are changed in each key. Am7-D7-G Maj7: raise the F to F#. C#m7-F#7-B Maj7: raise the F, C, G, D, and A. Fm7-Bb7-Eb7: lower the B, E, and A.
  3. Without the guitar, recognize and say the name of each note on the staff. Recognize which notes must be raised or lowered according to the key signatures.
  4. Play slowly with the guitar.
  5. To establish your own unique style of melody line construction, write your own exercises similar to mine with the chord changes above, on this and other tunes you are working with.
  6. Improvise through these changes in each of the 12 positions using the six finger principle..

E Maj.7 - G7 | C Maj.7 - Eb7 | Ab Maj.7 | Dm7 - G7 | C Maj.7 - Eb7 | Ab Maj.7 - B7 | E Maj.7 | Bbm7 - Eb7 | Ab Maj.7| Dm7 - G7 | C Maj.7 | F#m7 - B7 | E Maj.7 | Bbm7 - Eb7 | AbMaj.7 | F#m7 - B7||

A Maj.7 - C7 | F Maj.7 - Ab7 | Db7 | Gm7 - C7 | F Maj.7 - Ab7 | Db Maj.7 - E7 | A Maj.7 | Ebm7 - Ab7 | Db Maj.7 | Gm7 - C7 | F Maj.7 | Bm7 - E7 | A Maj.7 | Ebm7 - Ab7 | Db Maj.7 | Bm7-E7 ||

D Maj.7 - F7 | Bb Maj.7 - C# Maj.7 | F# Maj.7 | Cm7 - F7 | Bb Maj.7 - C# Maj.7 | F# Maj.7 - A7 | D Maj.7 | G#m7 - C#7 | F# Maj.7 | Cm7 - F7 | Bb Maj.7 | Em7 - A7 | D Maj.7 | G#m7 - C#7 | F# Maj.7 | Em7-A7 ||

E Maj.7 - Bb7 | EbMaj.7 - F#7 | B Maj.7 | Fm7 - Bb7 | Eb Maj.7 - F#7 | B Maj.7 - D7 | G Maj.7 | C#m7 - F#7 | B Maj.7 | Fm7 - Bb7 | Eb Maj.7 | Am7 - D7 | G Maj.7 | C#m7 - F#7 | B Maj.7 | Am7 - -D7 ||

G Maj.7 - Eb7 | Ab Maj.7 - B7 | EMaj.7 |Bbm7 - Eb7 | Ab Maj.7 - B7 | E Maj.7 - G7 | C Maj.7 | F#m7 - B7 | E Maj.7 | Bbm7 - Eb7 | Ab Maj.7 | Dm7 - G7 | C Maj.7 | F#m7 - B7 | E Maj.7 | Dm7 - G7 ||

C Maj.7 - Ab7 | Db Maj.7 - E7 | A Maj.7 | Ebm7 - Ab7 | Db Maj.7 - E7 | A Maj.7 - C7 | F Maj.7 | Bm7 - E7 | A Maj.7 | Ebm7 - Ab7 | Db Maj.7 | Gm7 - C7 - F Maj.7 | Bm7 - E7 | A Maj.7 | Gm7 - C7 ||

F Maj.7 - Db7 |Gb Maj.7 A7 |D Maj.7 |Abm7 Db7 |Gb Maj.7 A7 |D Maj.7 F7 |Bb Maj.7 |Em7 A7 |D Maj.7 | Abm7 Db7 |Gb Maj.7 |Cm7 F7 |Bb Maj.7 |Em7 A7 |D Maj.7 |Cm7 F7||

Bb Maj.7 - F#7 | B Maj.7 - D7 | G Maj.7 | C#m7 - F#7 | B Maj.7 - D7 | G Maj.7 - Bb7 | Eb Maj.7 | Am7 - D7 | G Maj.7 | C#m7 - F#7 | B Maj.7 | Fm7 Bb7 | Eb Maj.7 | Am7 - D7 | G Maj.7 |Fm7 - Bb7 |l

Ab Maj,7 - B7 | E Maj.7 - G7 | C Maj.7 | F#m7 - B7 | E Maj.7 - G7 | C Maj.7 - Eb7 | Ab Maj.7 | Dm7 - G7 | C Maj.7 | F#m7 - B7 | E Maj.7 | Bbm7 - Eb7 | Ab Maj.7 | Dm7 - G7 | C Maj.7 | Bbm7 - Eb7 ||

C# Maj.7 - E7 | A Maj.7 - C7 | F Maj.7 | Bm7 - E7 | A Maj.7 - C7 | F Maj.7 - Ab7 | Db Maj.7 | Gm7 - C7 | F Maj.7 | Bm7 - E7 | A Maj.7 | Ebm7 - Ab7 | Db Maj.7 |Gm7 - C7 | F Maj.7 | Ebm7 - Ab7 ||

Gb Maj.7 - A7 | D Maj.7 - F7 | Bb Maj.7 | Em7 - A7 | D Maj.7 - F7 | Bb Maj.7 - C#7 | F# Maj.7 | Cm7 - F7 | Bb Maj.7 | Em7 - A7 | D Maj.7 | Abm7 - Db7 | Gb Maj.7 | Cm7 - F7 | Bb Maj.7 | Abm7 - Db7 ||

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SUPPORT: Our shopping cart carries a great book by George Benson which is devoted to improvising melody lines over these GIANT STEPS changes. It's called "JAZZ ETUDES OVER CLASSIC CHORD CHANGES". These are the exercises George wrote for himself to master this tune. Go to the top of this page to the left side of the tool bar. Click on "Books and CDs". Then click on "Improvisation Books".

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