Mickey Baker

Mickey Baker http://www.thumbpicker.com/mickeybaker/index.
htm
Advanced Guitar Study Group

Using The Classic
"Mickey Baker's Complete Course in Jazz Guitar -

Book 1"
Presented by
Michael Joyce and the Texas Fingerstyle Guitar Association
Lessons (Note New Revisions)
In 1955 Mickey Baker, an aspiring guitarist and guitar teacher, published a guitar course called
"Mickey Baker's Complete Course in Jazz Guitar-A Modern Method in How-to-Play Jazz and Hot
Guitar." This critically acclaimed course has become a classic as an introduction to colorful chords
and the rudiments of improvisation. It is 52 lessons written in 64 pages. The course is written for the
guitarist that has a basic knowledge of the common chords, such as C, F, G, D, C7, G7, D7, A min, E
min, D min, etc.
As the course was written in the early '50's, Mickey assumed that the guitarist would be playing as a
sideman in an ensemble with horns, saxophones, clarinets, and rhythm, and he asks the student to
transpose everything to the orchestra keys: Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, and G. In the first lesson and many
others later on, Mickey tells the student to buy a music writing book and write everything in it for
retaining for future reference. I've interpreted this to be an invitation from the publisher to write out
lesson plans, notes, and arrangements. I've done just that, using a music writing editor called TablEdit,
creating more than 1500 TablEdit files (TEF's) divided among the lessons. These TEF's not only give
us the standard notation staves and tablature staves for fingering, they also give us a playback
capability using the MIDI capabilities of the computer.
I'm sure that Mickey never envisioned a tool such as TablEdit to write the lesson assignments and
1 of 3 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
Mickey Baker http://www.thumbpicker.com/mickeybaker/index.htm
arrangements. It is a wonderful way to go through this course. Using TE to "loop" an exercise, we

instantly have someone to play along with us, and not laugh at our mistakes.
Mickey wrote the course assuming that the guitarist was a plectrum or "flat pick" guitarist. I've been a
fingerstyle guitarist all of my life, so it's only natural that I've edited the lessons to include a fingerstyle
guitarist's approach, along with anything that Mickey wrote concerning using a flat pick. Where we
students are asked to create original material from the exercises in the lessons, I've given my personal
work as student participation, and I invite any and all students to send me theirs to include with the
lessons. I've also included additional notes and exercises that I've gathered over the years. I've also
written review lessons and added appendices that cover topics that were not included or emphasized
in the original course, such as modern comping and Latin rhythms.
The lessons initially will be released one lesson per week for 52 weeks. My role is as a fellow
student and hub for the distribution. You are only asked to buy Mickey's course, which is still
in print, and retails for US $8.95. Where you buy it is your personal choice. Another
requirement is that you have TablEdit, in one of its three forms: at a minimum, TEFview, which is
freeware and allows the user to read, printout, and listen to a MIDI playback of the exercise; the
shareware version of TablEdit, which will allow you to create a TablEdit Format (TEF) file up to 16
measures; or the fully functional program.
As "students" you're on your own to put as much into it as you desire. I've done all the transposing for
you. All you have to do is play along. Later in the course, short original solos are created. Since most
are much less than 16 measures, they can be created using the Shareware version of TablEdit.
You can take the TEF's of the exercises in the "orchestra keys" versions, and transpose to guitar
friendly keys, which would be D, A, and E (C, G, and F are already done.) In the lessons where you
are asked to create something original, you have the option of sending your work to me, in any form-
TE, Guitar Pro, Power Tab, scanned handwritten manuscripts, etc. I'll take your work and put it into
the "Mickey Baker Stylesheet" and the next week include it as an appendix. If you decide to share
your lesson assignments, you'll be asked if you wish to be anonymous or receive credit for what
you've done, and your wishes will be respected. By many students sharing their work, we greatly
increase our resources, creating more musical ideas.
Here's a simple and relatively painless way to learn how to use a few new chord shapes, chord
substitution philosophies, and be able to take an improvised solo during a blues chorus, vamp chorus,
or bridge. Along the way, I have no doubt that your skills with TablEdit, and seldom used keys like
Bb and Eb will greatly improve just from the assimilation. I can be sure of that, because I know how
much I've improved as a musician during this project.
Please contact me at [email protected] with your comments, and shared lesson assignments.
Above all else, let's have fun while learning!
2 of 3 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
Mickey Baker http://www.thumbpicker.com/mickeybaker/index.htm
3 of 3 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
Mickey Baker http://www.thumbpicker.com/mickeybaker/Lessons.htm
Home
Lessons
Quick Selection
1(REV) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 Review 24 25 26 27 28 29
30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39
40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49
Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix
50 51 52 Review
1 2 3 4 5 6
Table of Contents
Part 1- Chording
Lesson 1 (Revised) Chord Diagrams with additional exercises to learn the notes of the
fretboard
Lesson 2 Chord Exercises (Group A Chords) and setting up TablEdit for the course
Lesson 3 New Chord Exercises and more TablEdit hints
Lesson 4 New Chords with Standard Chord Exercises with hints for tweaking the MIDI
playback of TablEdit
Lesson 5 Review and Practice, Learning how to Transpose using TablEdit
Lesson 6 Melody and Chord Progressions, Bonus Exercises using common "Turn Around's"
Lesson 7 Review and Practice, Converting Rhythm Chords to Melody Chords
1 of 4 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
Lesson 8 Arpeggio and String Bass Styles, Right Hand Techniques
Lesson 9 Chord Construction in keys of C, Db, and Eb Major (Group B Chords)
Lesson 10 Harmonic Structure of Chords and Mickey's Laws of Substitution
Lesson 11 Chord Progressing
Lesson 12 Harmonic Devices, More on Chord Substitutions
Lesson 13 Vamps
Lesson 14 Vamps and Fill-ins, New Chord Forms 27, 28, and 29
Lesson 15 Working with Bridges, How to make a Chord Chart using TablEdit
Lesson 16 Last Lesson in Chord Progressions, V - I, V - i, III7 - VI7 - II7 - V7, and ii - V - I
Lesson 17 Review and Practice, Starting the Standards' Portfolio
Lesson 18 Introductions, Chords with two or more names (Maj6/Maj9, dim7/V7b9)
Lesson 19 Chords with Two Names (Maj6/Min7, Maj7/Min9, Tri-tone complement), New Chord
Forms 30, 31, 32, and 33
Lesson 20 Intro's in G Major
Lesson 21 Bop Blues Progressions in G Major, The 12-bar Blues structure
Lesson 22 Endings in G Major
Lesson 23 8 and 16 Bar Sequences, Substitutions for common chord progressions
REVIEW Review of Part 1- Chording (not originally in the course.)
Part 2- Soloing
Lesson 24 Time Values and Exercises, Major Scales from Classical Guitar Studies
Lesson 25 Wrist Development, right hand techniques for both plectrum and fingerstyle guitarists
Lesson 26 Scales and Exercises, Minor Scales from Classical Guitar Studies, Blues Scales
Lesson 27 Scale Runs in F and Db Position
Lesson 28 Minor 7th Runs
Lesson 29 Dominant 7th and 9th Runs
Lesson 30 Diminished Runs
2 of 4 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
Lesson 31 Blues Patterns (our first real solos)
Lesson 32 Review and Practice, Analysis of Lesson 31's exercises
Lesson 33 Review and Practice, Creation of Blues Solos based on Lesson 31
Lesson 34 Major, Minor, and Dominant Runs
Lesson 35 Run connections in G Major
Lesson 36 Blues Solo
Lesson 37 Bounce Blues in G Major
Lesson 38 Riffs in G Major (Groups "E" and "B")
Lesson 39 Back to Vamps, Solos for the Vamp Progressions of Lessons 13 and 14
Lesson 40 Bridge Solos for the Bridge Progressions of Lesson 15
Lesson 41 Review and Practice, Transposition of Lesson 38's riffs to all the orchestra keys
Lesson 42 Review and Practice, Transposition of Lesson 40's Bridges to F, Ab, and Bb
Lesson 43 Rhythm Changes
Lesson 44 Review and Practice, Create Rhythm Changes based on the Bridges of Lesson
40/Lesson 15 and Transpose to F, G, Ab, and C.
Lesson 45 Solo Sketches (based on the 8-bar sequences of Lesson 23), Transpose to the other 6
keys
Lesson 46 More Solo Sketches (based on the 16-bar sequences of Lesson 23)
Lesson 47 Riffs in Bb Major (Group "G"), Transpose the Groups E and B Riffs to Group G
Lesson 48 Groove Riffs
Lesson 49 Review and Practice, Create two new Groove Riffs and transpose to all the orchestra
keys
Lesson 50 Building around the melody, "Dark Eyes"
Lesson 51 Building around the melody, "Dark Eyes" (Continued)
Lesson 52 Solo Patterns
REVIEW Review of Part 2- Soloing (not originally in the course)
Appendices (not originally in the course)
3 of 4 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
Appendix 1 Arranging for Small Groups, Bass Riffs transposed from our Groups E, B, and G
Riffs
Appendix 2 Chord Comping Revisited, some additional ideas for our rhythm work
Appendix 3 Melody Chords Revisited, Finding Old Friends in New Places
Appendix 4 Latin Rhythms
Appendix 5 Arranging for Solo Guitar from Sheet Music by guest instructor Larry Kuhns
Appendix 6 Exercises from "Mickey Baker's Complete Course in Jazz Guitar, Book 2"
4 of 4 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
Lesson 1 http://www.thumbpicker.com/mickeybaker/Lesson-1/lesson_1.htm
Lesson 1
Home
Lesson 1 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 1
Lesson 1 is a chord familiarization lesson. Mickey lists the first 26 chord forms and asks us to try to
finger each one as written and to get accustomed to his way of diagramming and naming chords. I’ve
written a discussion of each of Mickey’s 33 forms (7 are given in later lessons), plus some closely
related chords that I think will not burden the student too much by including. Additionally, in the 2nd
MIDI module, I’ve shown some variations that are reasonably common, including some infamous
Merle Travis chords that fit in with this course. If the chords in Lesson 1 are totally new, get
comfortable finding them on the keyboard. After one is comfortable with all of Mickey’s forms, say
at around Lesson 20, come back and read the discussion and play with the additional chords. If
you’ve used many of these chords, then you might enjoy reading the discussion now.
The fingerings I show are Mickey’s. Some folks are extremely proud of their ways of making chords,
and far be it for me to criticize what works for them. I’d suggest that you at least try Mickey’s
fingerings once before discarding them for a custom fingering. For the most part they are logical and
represent the easiest way to get to the next chord. The one chord form I suggest you don’t try to alter
is Chord 29 (which won’t be introduced until Lesson 14.) It is a “handful” and rivals any chord Merle
Travis is notorious for using! I’ve gotten pretty comfortable with Mickey’s fingering and 99% of the
time this form resolves into a Maj6 form. If you use Mickey’s fingering, it’s a simple one finger string
jump. If anyone comes up with an alternate fingering for this chord, please let me know so I can try it
out.
But if you want to do something REALLY worthwhile….
If we were studying Piano, we would know where all the notes are on the piano keyboard after the
first lesson. But we guitarists are notorious for not knowing the notes beyond the first or open
position. I have a simple little exercise that will teach all the notes in two weeks or less. Just do this
exercise once a day for two weeks and sometime about the end of the 1st week, you’re know every
note on every fret of your guitar for the rest of your life. Hard to beat a deal like that, wouldn’t you
say?
The premise is simple: starting on the 6th string, we find all the E’s, including open and 12th fret. We
go through all the strings and then in reverse. Next we find all the F’s. We continue with this until we
get to D#/Eb, then we go back. The first time we do this, it’ll take maybe 15 minutes. After a week,
maybe 3! Please use Notes of the fretboard.tef as a guide.
If you already know (or think you know) where all the notes are, try the exercise Find The Notes.tef
by trying to play in time with it once as a fun test.
Discussion of Mickey’s Chord Forms

I believe that it is easiest to break the chords into groups. The groups I’ve chosen are:
1 of 7 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
Group A: Where the root of the tonic chord is on the 6th string.
Group B: Where the root of the tonic chord is on the 5th string.
Group C: Melody chord forms
Group D: Additional “bonus chords” I’ve chosen as related and useful additions to Mickey’s
original selection.
Just in case the term “tonic chord” is new to the reader, it’s the main chord of any key. For example, a
C Major chord is the tonic chord in the key of C. An A minor chord is the tonic chord of the key of A
minor.
Chord Form Group A (1 through 14): Chords in Group A will have the tonic or root of the
key on the 6th string plus their associated chords near that position.
Chord Form 1: This is a common 6-string Major triad. Typically Major triads omit the word or
abbreviation, but when it is included it is most commonly capitalized. This particular chord form can
also be fingered by using the left thumb on the bass string. If one is comfortable using the barre by the
1st finger, one is encouraged to use that fingering. The given example is a G Major Chord, and the
chord root is found on either the 1st, 4th, or 6th strings. In the key of G, a G Maj is a “I” chord with
the Roman numeral upper case, signifying a Major or Augmented chord.
Chord Form 2: This chord form is a Major 7. The chord root is found on the 6th string, 7th on the 4th
string, 3rd on the 3rd string, and 5th on the 2nd string. Although out of the scope of Mickey Baker's
original book, the VARIATION staff of Lesson 1.tef gives some common voicing's of the same chord
in the same position. Note that by using open strings, still additional forms are possible. I have only
included movable chord forms. The examples shown are G Maj7 chords. Note that the root is on the
6th string. Major 7th chords have a number of commonly used designations. Maj7 is probably the most
common; however, Ma7 (Mickey Baker's favorite designation), triangle 7, and a 7 with a - through it
are also found.
Chord Form 3: This is a “Major 6” chord, a major triad with the 6th note added. If one shuffles the
notes, so that the lowest note is the 6th, this chord is called a minor 7th. In fact, some musicologists say
that there is no such thing as a “Maj6” chord, but is rather a 1st inversion minor 7th chord. In most
publications a Maj6 chord is written as just the letter and a 6, e.g., C6, A6, Eb6. Mickey uses “Ma6”,
which is seldom seen in other publications. Throughout this course I’ve used the term “Maj6”.
Chord Form 4: This is a minor 7 chord form. Mickey Baker's preferred form uses 5 strings. More
common today are variations that use three or four strings as shown as examples 3 and 4 in this form's
VARIATION staff. The examples are all A minor 7th chords, with the root on either the 1st or 6th
string. Note the use of the lower case m. Additional common designations are mi7 (Mickey Baker's
favorite), and m7. In the key of G, an A min of any flavor is a “ii” chord. The lower case Roman
numeral indicates a minor (or diminished) chord.
Chord Form 5: This chord is a minor 6 chord form. It can be used and thought of as a dominant 9
chord, missing the root. By moving the finger from the 6th string to the same fret on the 5th string, it
becomes a dominant 9 chord with a root, but the chord is a fourth higher. For example a G min6 is
2 of 7 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
also a C9. By playing with the order of the notes (mostly by making the 6th the root), a minor 6 is also
a minor7b5. Example: A min6 (A, C, E, F#) is also an F# min7b5 (F#, A, C, E). Minor 6 chords are
most commonly written min6, but mi6 (Mickey Baker's favorite), and m6 are also found.
Chord Form 6: This Chord form is a dominant 13 with a flattened 5th, and a flattened 9th added.
Mickey has chosen this chord form for his most colored dominant chord and his "work horse Group A
dominant chord". Dominant chords are often called the “V” chord (upper case Roman numeral.)
Many variations of these color additions are found in musical scores, such as "-" signs meaning flat or
"b". Mickey Baker uses "#" and "b" and in multi-colored chords, he adds the lower color first. The
chord shown is a D13b5b9 chord with the b5 on the 6th string, b9 on the 5th string, 7th on the 3rd
string, 3rd on the 2nd string, and 13th on the 1st string. The root is missing. This makes this chord
particularly difficult to remember its name. An inspection of the chord form tells us that the chord is
very similar to a Dominant 7th chord and can actually be called a dominant Ab7#9 chord with the root
on the 6th string. The relationship of D to Ab is 6 frets or an augmented 4th/Diminished 5 interval. In
modern harmony, chords that are a diminished 5 away from the desired chord can be substituted,
usually with few limitations. That is to say, any D dominant form can be substituted for any Ab
dominant form. A trick to remember that a D13b5b9 resolves to a G Maj something is that a Ab7
resolves to a G, one fret lower.
One additional comment is that Mickey Baker shows the 4th string as being either not played or
deaden. It actually can be played by barring the position that the 1st finger is located. That would give
the chord an additional 3rd. Modern chord theory tells us that we should avoid doubling the color
notes (3rd, 7th, 9th, 11th, 13th) and if doubling is necessary, try only to double the 1st (root) or 5th
(unless the 5th is #'ed or b'ed). Fingerstyle guitarists have the ability to select what strings they want in
block chords that pick players do not have with the same facility.
This chord is a double-first cousin, so to speak, of Mickey’s Form 11. Actually, Form 11 can be
considered as the melody chord variation of Form 6.
Chord Form 7: This chord form is a Major 7th form and a close relative to forms 1 and 2. Note that it
appears to be similar in fingering to a 13b5b9 chord with the 4th finger anchored to the strings on the
same fret, but the rest of the fingers move lower by one fret. Although Mickey Baker uses a G Maj7
form, it probably should be practiced at about the 8th fret (a C Maj7) until the fingers become
accustomed to the shape of the chord form. A more common chord form variations is shown on the
VARIATION staff of Lesson 1.tef. This form doubles the 5th instead of the 3rd.
Chord Form 8: This form can be thought of as a 1st inversion (the third of the chord as the lowest
note) G Maj7 or a 2nd inversion E min9 (the fifth in the bass and missing the root). This chord can be
played along with Chord Form Bonus 8A as either G Maj7 to G Maj6 or E min9 to E min7. The
variation staff of Lesson 1.tef shows that if the 2nd finger is moved to the 5th fret then the chord is a
root position E min9.
Chord Form 9: This form, an A13b9, looks very much like a common diminished 7th chord. The root
of the chord is always one fret lower than the note on the 6th string. By playing a 1/2 barre with the
1st finger, the chord can "move" to a 7b9 (in this particular example, an A7b9) just by lifting the
fourth finger (which, by the way, turns the form into Mickey's Chord Form 26.) If we move the note
on the 6th string one fret lower, our chord is a 13th. As you can see, this form is very useful. An
interesting variation is by moving the note on the 6th string to the 1st string.
3 of 7 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
Chord Form 10: This chord is missing both the root and the fifth. The first variation shows the
location of those two notes and also can be used where a 6-string 13 chord is needed.
Chord Form 11: This is another form for a 13b9 chord. This form is used quite a bit in conjunction
with Chord form 10 and Chord Form Bonus 10A, such as A min9 to D13 to D13b9 or A min9 to
D13b9. As I mentioned in the discussion of Chord Form 6, this form is a double-first cousin to that
form.
Chord Form 12: This chord form, like all Maj6 forms is also a min7 form for its relative minor: G
Maj6 is an E min7. This will be covered in a later lesson. The example in the Variations shows a 6th
string version of this chord. The bass note must be played by the thumb. When this chord is used as a
min7 chord, it frequently resolves or moves to a min6 form shown as Chord Form Bonus 12A
Chord Form 13: This chord form is interesting because it is an "ambiguous" chord when thought of as
Mickey Baker uses it. It uses the 11th of the chord (which is an octave and a fourth) and does not use
a third. The third is a very important note because it is what determines if the chord is a Major or a
Minor chord. Because of this some arrangers and musicologists think of this chord as a "7th sus4", that
is a 7th with the 4th suspended. This form has the fourth or 11th actually on the 4th string. By moving
the 4th down 1 fret we have a D7 chord. If we move the 4th down 2 frets we have a D min7 chord.
This chord can also be thought of as a minor11 form with the root on the 6th string, 3rd on the fourth
string, 7th on the 3rd string, and 11th on the 2nd string. In the example shown, it would be an A
min11. A min resolves to a D dominant chord, so it is really up to the user to give it the name he
chooses. For ease of instruction, this form will be called a D11 in these studies as Mickey does.
Chord Form 14: This Chord Form is the "original ambiguous" chord form, because it can be thought
of as either a D7b5 or an Ab7b5 and it has the four notes of each: D-F#-Ab-C and Ab-C-Ebb (which
is D)-Gb (which is F#). Note that D and Ab are a b5 apart. The 6th string will either be the root or the
b5. This phenomenon is very useful and opens the door for a whole new philosophy of chord
substitutions. That is to say, a dominant form can freely substitute for its b5 cousin.
Chord Form Group B (15 through 26): Chords in Group B will have the tonic or root of the
key on the 5th string plus their associated chords near that position.
Chord Form 15: This Chord form is a common barred Major triad. Mickey Baker doesn't give a note
for the 1st string, but always remember that if it can be played on the 6th string, can be played on the
1st string. The root is on the 5th string.
Chord Form 16: This chord form is related to Chord form 15 in the same manner that Chord form 2 is
related to Chord form 1. It's a Major 7 form. Like 15, 16 can be played with a full barre.
Chord Form 17: This chord is a Major 6 with the root, third, sixth, and a double of the third. It really
is a 1st inversion minor triad. If one has the finger stretching ability, the chord form shown on the
variation module of Lesson 1.tef is a richer sounding chord having the root, fifth, sixth, and third. This
chord can also be thought of as a minor 7 chord. For the purposes of this course, Mickey's form works
great.
Chord Form 18: This chord form is a minor 7 chord. Note Mickey's fingering. He uses the 1st finger to
deaden the fourth string so that his strum doesn't sound that string. A full barre can also be used to
finger this chord. I think that it's useful to practice both fingerings. See the full six-string variation of
this chord form. This chord's root is on the 5th string and is related to forms 15, 16, 17, and 19, and
4 of 7 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
forms 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are related with a sixth string root.
Chord Form 19: This chord is a minor 6 form and is related to Chord forms 15, 16, 17, and 18. As we
mentioned discussing Chord form 5, all minor 6 forms can be called by three different names: Minor 6,
minor 7b5, and dominant 9 (without a root). This particular example can be either a D min6, a B min
7b5, or a G9. Additionally, a useful variation of this chord is shown. The note on the 3rd string can be
doubled on the 1st string. This is particularly useful when playing chord melodies. A close harmony
4-string version of this chord is also shown in the variation module.
Chord Form 20: This chord form is actually a variation of Chord Form 18. Note that now the 7th of
the minor chord is on the first string. A close harmony 4-string version of this chord is also shown in
the variation module.
Chord Form 21: This chord form is the highly colored dominant chord of this group and it is Mickey's
"work horse" Group B dominant chord form. Another way of fingering it is with a full barre, and the
2, 3, and 4 fingers on the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st string. This finger facilitates certain chord progression
within this dominant harmony. Note the variation with the bass note on the 4th string. The chord now
needs a new name as it is a G7#5b9#11 (but it sounds like a C#9!!).
Chord Form 22: Mickey refers to this chord as a "Major 9" chord, but that is an error. It is a "6/9"
chord with the 1st, 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 5th of the chord. It makes a beautiful chord to end a tune on.
This chord used with a true major 9 gives the same effect but with a little more color as a Major 7
going to a "Major 6" chord. Note that this chord has a lot of "fourths" in it. So that makes it very easy
to play with the root on either the 5th string or the 6 string. See the variation for the same C 6/9 chord,
but the root is on the 6th string. Refer to Chord Form Bonus 22A for the true Major 9 chord.
Chord Form 23: This chord form is a close relative to Chord form 21. In fact, a 23 to 21 chord
progression is very common in Jazz. Using the optional fingering I discussed in 21, makes that
progression too easy. Both forms are frequently played without the 6th string note. Remember these
two as there are several others that are also related.
Chord Form 24: Chord form 24 only has the b5, 3rd, and 7th of the chord. If one has nimble fingers
or plays this chord high on the fretboard, the variation shown can be used and adds a root. The second
variation gives a version that is easy to finger and has a root. I think of this variation to remember the
root (on the 4th string) when I’m using Mickey’s form. By far my favorite variation is the third
variation. One must use a P I M A pinch by skipping the 2nd string between the M and A fingers. That
may take a little practice, but it’s a technique well worth the time. Note how simple this chord
becomes with this technique. Additionally, one can play notes on the 2nd string, particularly on the
same fret as the 2nd and 3rd fingers, or 1 higher. Then it becomes a 13b5 chord, a particular favorite
by one of my heroes, Laurindo Almeida.
Chord Form 25: Here is another relative to Forms 21 and 23. This is the simple dominant 7. Note that
the fingering is the same as what Mickey wants for Form 18, only the form starts on the 6th string.
There are lots of dominant 7 variations. More times than not I use a full 1st finger barre, requiring just
two fingers.
Chord Form 26: Mickey refers to this form as a "diminished", but it is really a diminished 7 or what
musicologists call a "doubly diminished chord." It receives that name because it comprises two
diminished 5th intervals in it. Additionally, it also comprises three minor third intervals and it divides a
5 of 7 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
chromatic scale into 4 parts. Therefore, in this chord, any note can be the root and it has 4 names. As
this chord shown is marked as a G# dim7, it can also be called a B dim7, a D dim7, and an F dim7. It
is also a "double first cousin to Chord Form 9.
Group C: Melody Chords: These chords are very useful when harmonizing a melody as a chord
solo.
Chord Form 27: This form is a four note dominant 7 and is a very useful melody chord for
harmonizing melodies. The root is on the fourth string.
Chord Form 28: This is another Major 6 chord with the root on either the 2nd string or the 5th string.
Merle Travis played this form as a 6-string chord (see the variation module), and oddly enough did not
use his well known thumb to help. Refer to the chord diagram for Merle's fingering.
Chord Form 29: This is probably Mickey's most unusual chord form and I have to admit I've never
seen it used by any other guitarist before Mickey. The root is found on the 2nd string. Note that this
chord easily resolves into a Chord Form 3 Maj6, in this case a G13 to a C6, by moving the 2nd finger
from the 5th string to the 6th string. It’s not nearly as difficult to learn to use as the intimidating
diagram might suggest.
Chord Form 30: Mickey refers to this form as an "11" chord when most folks refer to it as a
suspended 4 chord (sus 4). Note that a suspended chord is neither Major nor minor and can process to
either. Frequently this chord resolves or progresses to a Chord Form 27. And from time to time (Such
as in the Bossa Nova Standard "One Note Samba") it progresses from 27 to 29 but one fret lower. No
matter what the terminology one uses, this is a very useful melody chord. The root is on the 4th string.
Refer to our discussion of Chord Form 13 for additional information.
Chord Form 31: This is a melody Chord Form and the root is also on the 4th string.
Chord Form 32: Here is another close relative to Chord Forms 21, 23, and 26. It is a melody chord
and the root is on the 1st string.
Chord Form 33: Still another close relative to Chord Forms 21, 23, 26, and 32. It is a melody chord
and the root is on the 1st string. It's a lot closer to 21 than the others and can be thought of as a little
less colorful.
Group D: Bonus Chords I've added that are close relatives to Mickey's original forms, and very
useful:
Chord Form Bonus 8A: If one fingers Chord form 8 with the 1st finger as a 2/3 barre, then by lifting
the 4th finger they get this Maj6/min7 form. It has just a little less color and can be used either as a
substitute for Form 8, or a progression from 8 to this 8A. The root can be on the 4th string if the chord
is used as a Maj6, or the 2nd string if it is used as a min7 form.
Chord Form Bonus 10A: This Chord form is a natural progression to Chord Form 10 and is used in all
jazz forms, especially in melody chord progressions. The root is on the 1st string where the 1st finger is
making the barre. Of course, the root doesn't sound.
Chord Form Bonus 12A: This chord form is a very useful melody chord form, and often more as a
6 of 7 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
direct substitute for a dominant 7 chord, as a dominant 9. If used as a min6, the root is on the 4th
string. As a dominant 9, the root is the blocked noted on the 3rd string formed by the barre.
Chord Form Bonus 22A: Here is a true Major 9 chord form. The variation shows a six-string version.
Note that if you just use the highest four strings the chord looks like Chord form 12.
Chord Form Bonus 28A: This is a fuller form of Chord Form 31, but on "the other side of the barre".
Very common and very useful, the root is found on the 5th string. Often chords will progress from
28A to 28. Refer to the variation.
Chord Form Bonus 28B: This is the Major triad foundation from where 28 and 28A are built. It is a
common chord, but many folks consider it to be very difficult to learn to finger. I'm sure that's why
Mickey didn't include it in his chord base. The root is also found on the 5th string. Refer to the
variation.
Chord Form Bonus 31A: This chord form is actually a variation of the Bonus Chord form 12A, and
everything that can be said about 12A, applies here. This is an extremely common melody chord form
and often is seen progressing from Chord form 31.
Don't you think that's enough for one lesson? Good luck and remember to have fun!
7 of 7 4/24/2009 12:03 PM
Lesson 2
Home
Lesson 2 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 2
Now we are going to start putting chords together and going up and down the fingerboard. The idea
here is to get comfortable making the chords and playing them in time. This is where TablEdit is a
great benefit.
First of all, let’s set up TablEdit to so that all the features we’ll use will be available. If you are using
TEFview, some of the following may not apply.
Set up Options:
From the Files Drop Down Menu, select Options, then General.
Make sure that there is a check in “Notation” and “Tablature”. We need to see both.
In the “Display” tab, check:

Automatic Rests
Reading Guides
Chords as Diagrams
Into the tablature, vertically
Effects in Notation
1 of 7 4/24/2009 12:05 PM
In the “Printing” tab, check everything below Adjust to except thick lines (unless you are nearly blind
and need them)
In the “Preferences” tab, change fingers to PIMAC and Upward Note Stem default to >B1 (which is
default)
2 of 7 4/24/2009 12:05 PM
In the “Screen” tab, Check:

Notes
Dynamics
Special Effects
Tools
Dynamics [v]
Duration Errors
3 of 7 4/24/2009 12:05 PM
In the “Advanced” tab, as a minimum, check:

Simulate Human playing
Rollover Help
Extend bends/slides
Inclined Beams in Notation
Save/Load Configuration with files
Rewind when playback completed
4 of 7 4/24/2009 12:05 PM
In the “Multitrack” tab, check Module Labels.
Now your TablEdit has been synchronized with the version that was used to create these TEF’s we’ll
be using.
5 of 7 4/24/2009 12:05 PM
From the “Midi” Drop Down menu, if we check “Repeat”, then the TEF continually loops. Note that
we can start the midi playback by tapping on the Space Bar. And another tap stops the playback. If
we loop the playback, we can listen to all modules, and then on a subsequent playback (while actually
playing) we can click on one of the green stripes mentioned earlier and silence that module. This is
useful after listening once or twice, we can silence one part and play along with our guitars.
Lesson 2 only has TEF’s with one module. Later, we will have TEF’s with at least two modules each.
Let’s briefly discuss what the six exercises are and what Mickey is teaching us:
Part 1: This exercise shows the main substitutions for a Tonic (I) chord, and the Sub-tonic (IV), when
the roots of these chords appear on the 6th string. Note the diagrams go from a Triad major chord to a
Major 7 to a Major 6 and return to the Major 7. There is always a sense of movement but the
foundation remains for those two measures. Mickey starts with a G chord and goes up to a Eb. If
your guitar restricts you from going that high on the fretboard, just take it up to D. We’ll find other
locations for Eb later!
Also note that we can actually start at F and then go to F#/Gb. Note that if you want to play those
chords in F, you’ll have an open string on Form 3 (Maj6). Find a fingering that is comfortable for
you. I personally make this chord just like the Form 2 F Maj7, and lift my 3rd finger so that the D
string rings open. That makes an F Maj7 to F Maj6 one of the easiest chord progressions in the world!
Part 2: This exercise is similar to Part 1, but we don’t have the Form 1. The same applies to adding F
and F#/Gb as in Part 1.
Part 3: This exercise uses chord forms 4 and 5. These chords can be used as a substitute for V7, ii, iii,
and iv and are commonly found when forms 1, 2, and 3 are used because they are close by. These
chords are very important substitutes and are probably the most used chord forms in this book.
When you’re playing this exercise, vary your right hand. Play the chords with a thumb strum, and
then with a P I M A pinch. Note that each chord uses 5 strings, so vary the strings you pinch, such as
6, 3, 2, 1 then 6, 4, 3, 2, then 6, 4, 3, 1. The last “pinch” might seem a little unusual or even take a
little practice to do, but it’s an important pinch that gives a nice texture to chords.
Then do the same thing with just a three finger pinch, not only P I M, but also P I A.
Part 4: This exercise is a combination of parts 2 and 3. Forms 4 and 5 are used as a substitute for the
V7 chord. Listen to it and see if you can hear that I – V7 chord progression.
Part 5: This exercise is similar to Part 3 but with the addition of Form 6, the V13b5b9. Form 6, as we
talked about in the Chord Discussion of Lesson 1, is the most colorful of Mickey’s V7 chord
substitutes for Group A. It will almost always resolve to a Form 1, 2, or 3 chord form. Note that it
looks it may be a relative to a Form 1 chord, but actually it is closer to a form 5 chord. We’ll discuss
this in a later lesson. I just remember that the form this resolves to is 1 fret lower.
Part 6: I thought of this exercise as being the dessert with a cherry on it. We have a real chord
progression that we can use as a “turnaround” at the end of a phrase or the last two measures of a
tune. Our first key is G and notice that the bass line goes G to Bb to A to Ab, a nice modern sounding
6 of 7 4/24/2009 12:05 PM
chromatic line.
Good luck and have fun!
7 of 7 4/24/2009 12:05 PM
Lesson 3 http://www.thumbpicker.com/mickeybaker/Lesson-3/Lesson_3.htm
Lesson 3
Home
Lesson 3 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 3
Lesson 3 gives us our first chord substitutions along with a comparison to what it’s substituting. Also,
it’s our first lesson with some of the new keys, like F, Bb, and Ab. Mickey shows two lines: the old
“Standard”, and the “New”, showing the chords that will substitute for the old familiar chords. In
TablEdit I've entered each one of these staves in its own MIDI module, panning one to the left side
and the other to the right. If you listen using headphones Standard will be in one ear and New in the
other. By playing them together we can hear how the new chords fit against the old harmony, not
really changing it, but rather coloring it with brighter colored chords.
What I recommend is first to listen to both parts of each exercise. Often Mickey takes a popular tune
and uses the harmony to it. For example, in a later lesson, Mickey uses the harmony to “How High
The Moon” in one instance. For those of you familiar with that tune, undoubtedly you'll agree that it's
an interesting chord progression and really easy to spot. See if a tune comes to mind when listening to
the harmony Mickey has given us in any of the lessons.
We can mute the “Standard” module. The easiest and fastest way to do this is:
Note that there is a 1 and a 2, each in their own box in the upper right hand corner of the TE window.
These boxes select the active “MIDI” module to edit. Note there is a little green belt at the top of the
little box. Click on the green belt in Box 1. The belt should change color to red. That means that
module is muted. A second click on the belt will return it to green.
Location of the MIDI Module Selection Boxes

With module 2 active, let’s listen to it for a couple of times. If a simple little melody comes to mind,
try whistling it with TE’s MIDI playback (that’s a wonderful technique to develop and we all can do
it.) Now let’s try to play along with it. If it’s too fast, slow it down a bit. I made all those modules in
the early lessons “ ¼ = 120” (which means 120 quarter notes in 60 seconds). In the upper left hand
corner of the TE window, click on the yellow Speaker Icon. A window will appear with a “Tempo”
control in the upper left hand corner. Change this number to something less than 120 until you find a
1 of 3 4/24/2009 12:06 PM
speed that’s comfortable. As you get comfortable, keep raising the tempo until you are comfortable
with 120.
Location of the Tempo Control
Let me take this opportunity to talk a little bit about the rhythm I selected and used throughout the
course. Mickey just uses a “/” for each beat in his book. My favorite rhythm guitarist of all time was
Freddie Green, from the old Count Basie Orchestra (www.freddiegreen.com is a wonderful site with
lots of ideas.) Freddie was as solid as the Atomic Time Standard at the US Naval Observatory. He
has influenced rhythm guitarists since the ‘30’s. His basic 4/4 rhythm had two dynamics. On beats 1
and 3 his chord sustain was a little longer, but maybe a little less stronger than beats 2 and 4. Beats 2
and 4 were very staccato and a little more accented. Listen to Chet Atkins’ thumblick arrangements,
especially the slower and medium tempo tunes (practically any tune from the Down Home album is a
great example.) You’ll hear that same phrasing in Chet’s thumb.
I, just as Mickey, have left it up to you as to how you want to do the right hand part. Mickey, I’m
sure, never dreamed that finger style pickers would be using his course; therefore, he assumed that the
flat or straight pick would do the strumming. We as finger-stylists have a number of options, including
Mickey’s, at our disposal. We can imitate the flat pick style with our thumbs, or, as we did in Lesson
2, we can use the P I M A or a three finger pinch to produce a number of variations to that block or
chunk style. That gives us fingerstyle players versatility that the pick guys can only dream of.
For those of us that use bare thumbs, at times we may want to hold our I finger with our thumbs, and
use it like a pick.
Quite a bit of the phrasing comes from the left hand. It’s important to listen to each exercise first to
get the feel of the tempo. On beats 2 and 4 we’ll release the pressure of our left hand immediately
after we’ve picked the chord on those beats. This phrasing comes naturally after a very short time.
I invite you to experiment with your own right hand patterns. In a later lesson (8), Mickey talks about
varying the right hand with arpeggios and string bass, and I’ve given more examples that I’ve
discovered over the years.
At the end of the week on this lesson, reflect on the introduction to new keys. Didn’t hurt much, did
2 of 3 4/24/2009 12:06 PM
it? In fact, you probably haven’t given it too much of a thought. Be honest!
Lessons 3 and 4 are the heart and soul of this course and everything we do in the future will have its
roots in these two important lessons.
Just keep it FUN!
3 of 3 4/24/2009 12:06 PM
Lesson 4
Home
Lesson 4 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 4
When you compare Mickey’s written lessons to the TEF's, you’ll see that I’ve removed all the repeat
symbols. For example, Mickey writes 6 measures with repeats for Exercise #1, and I show all 12
measures. I think that repeats sometimes cause problems in reading. To help the guitarist as much as
possible, let's sacrifice a little more paper in the printer. This modus operandi is continued throughout
the course and I only show repeats, if they are of the entire exercise.
Another advantage to eliminating repeats is that it’s easier to do “Looping” to practice along with the
midi.
Starting in Lesson 3 we have a "partner" playing the example with us. For the MIDI playback in TE, I
have given both parts, or modules the sound of an acoustic steel string guitar. My motives were
simple, I just didn't want to detract from the actual lesson. You may decide that Acoustic Steel String
Guitar is not a sound you either wish to imitate or play along with. Here's how you can "customize"
that voice in each exercise:
In the main TablEdit window, DOUBLE LEFT CLICK on the desired MIDI module box. Refer to the
illustration and note that I've highlighted the MIDI Module 1 "Standard" box.
1 of 4 4/24/2009 12:06 PM
Selection of MIDI Voice
Left click on the Down Arrow of the Voice selection box. Note I've highlighted it and emphasized the
"Down Arrow".
A list of instruments will appear. Chances are we'll use one of the guitar voices. Click on the desired
voice. If one wishes a 12-string guitar, click in the Double strings box just above the MIDI Voice Box.
Then either click on the Apply button (this allows us to do more editing of these functions), or the OK
button (this accepts our selection and closes the window.)
If we selected "Apply" and wish to change the 2nd module, left click on the Right Navigation Arrow
in the upper right hand corner of the window.
For the Chords and Rhythm Section of this course, we probably can accept the Acoustic Steel String
Guitar voice without too many complaints. But when we start in the solo section, we may wish to
make the solo guitar voice an electric guitar voice for contrast, and a more realistic sound as the vast
majority of us play electric guitars.
You now are as much of an expert in TablEdit's MIDI modules as this course requires. For additional
information, please consult the Help Files which also have a tutorial.
As I mentioned in Lesson 3’s notes, Lessons 3 and 4 are the heart and soul of every lesson to follow.
Spend as much time as possible with these two lessons and you’ll benefit in future lessons.
2 of 4 4/24/2009 12:06 PM
Note we’re still working with Group A chords. That is, chords where the root of the key or the tonic
note is found on the 6th string, such as G, F, Ab, and Bb.
Let’s start thinking in terms of the famous (or “infamous”) numbering system, using Roman
Numerals. There are many variations on this system in the musical world, and what I will be referring
to in this course is a custom version where I've taken some of the best features of several systems to
make one system that is easy to follow and easy to transition to another, such as "The Nashville
System."
I've chosen Mickey’s example 3 from this lesson. G is the tonic or root chord so it’s going to be “I”,
with G Maj7 and G Maj6 as I Maj7, and I Maj6 (or more commonly “I6”.) The G7 would be I7. C is
IV, and C minor would be lower case “iv”. In G, a D minor, as C minor, doesn’t naturally occur (F
isn't in the G scale, it's F#), and D Major is the dominant or V. But as we’re substituting D minor
colored chords for G7 (which also doesn’t naturally occur in a G major scale), we can call the D minor
chords “v7 and v6”. The G# dim is a “#i dim7” (remember diminished and minor take lower case.)
The Bb min7 would be “biii7”, A min7 would be ii7, and the D13b5b9 would be a V13b5b9. If we
can begin to think in these Roman numerals, then we can do our transpositions in our heads, or on the
fly. Here's a little test: we're in the key of Db Major, and we see #i dim7. What chord would we
play? I'll bet everyone taking this course immediately said "D dim7". But keep it a secret!
One additional comment: Note that in Group A chords, Mickey uses the V13b5b9 chord as his
“workhorse” most colored dominant chord form. The form looks very much like a barred “F” form
with a couple of blues notes added, don’t you think? An easy way for me to remember where this
chord is located is to remember that it is a Group A chord and will normally resolve to a Group A
tonic chord, such as D13b5b9 to G Maj7. The 6th string note will ALWAYS be one fret higher than
the tonic… in this example 4th fret to 3rd fret.
Continuing our analysis of Example 3, note that starting with the C min7 in measure 4, the bass line is
a chromatic descent - 8th fret to 7th, to 6th, to 5th, to 4th, to 3rd.
Example 1 gives us substitutions for I and IV, V7, V7 to I, and ii, iii, and vi chords.
Example 2 gives us six (including the standard) turn-arounds. Let's discuss turn-arounds a little. A
turn-around is a way to end a "musical phrase." This term seems to have come from Blues musicians,
but is now practically universal. Most classical musicians call it a "cadence" and they have adjectives
to describe various cadences. For example a I - IV - I turn-around is known as the "Amen Cadence"
as it is used in religious music at the end when the congregation sings "AMEN" (I'm sure the next time
you hear Chet Atkins' version of the Nine Pound Hammer, you'll sing ".....when the wheels won't roll.
Amen." Chet plays a "I - IV - I" turn around between the verses.) Wikipedia has a lot of interesting
information about the classical definition of cadence. Turn-around is a much friendlier and easier to
understand term and that's what I'll use in discussions in this course.
Turn-around also describes the last two measures of a common 12 bar blues tune. Measure 11 is a I
chord and Measure 12 is a V7 chord to build interest in returning to the I chord of Measure 1. That's
the turn-around, returning to Measure 1. It also can just be two measures of a I chord. Often in other
musical forms we end an 8, 16, or 32 measure phrase with two measures of the I chord. We can
freely substitute any one of the 6 turn-arounds shown. All of us know tunes in the key of G. Try
playing one of these and at each turn around point, substitute one of the six turnarounds Mickey gives
3 of 4 4/24/2009 12:06 PM
us. Don't be shy or timid about using the standard forms as well as the new ones. If you know 2 tunes
in G, I'm willing to bet that inserting the turn-arounds in the 2nd one came easier than the first.
Additionally, in a tune with several measures of the same harmony, such as tonic or "I" harmony, we
can use a turn-around as a substitute to kill the boredom of the repeated chord. Turn-arounds are an
incredibly important tool for us and I encourage you to look for turn-arounds in any of the tunes you'll
work on in the future.
Example 4 sounds to me like about 50% of all tunes that came from the 20's and 30's. When I first
heard it I started whistling the great old Harold Arlen standard "Between The Devil and the Deep Blue
Sea." It also fits a bunch of Gershwin tunes and Rodgers and Hart classics, too.
Example 5 is the very first 12-bar blues chord progression Mickey gives us. All of us know a blues
tune that we can play in the key of G, so hum it or sing it while playing this progression. More than
likely you’ll want to use a different strum than our “Plain Jane Vanilla” lick. Use your imagination
and perhaps you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how fresh your Blues tune becomes. This turn-around is
one you'll want to use time and again. By the way, why don't we substitute some of the 6
turn-arounds of Example 2 in Measures 11 and 12 of this example?
As this course continues, you're going to find yourself inventing your own turn-arounds, just because
it's fun to do! Don't forget to share them with us.
The blues are an important part of modern music not only in the western world, but in all parts of the
world. It’s not uncommon to hear a sitarist in India playing a Raga and inserting a blues note here or
there that 100 years ago would have been unheard of. Commit this exercise to memory and compare
it with the other blues progressions we’ll study later on. A suggestion is to make a folder where you
are storing your course files and dedicate that folder to Blues progressions. If your experience with
the Blues is minimal, analyze the standard chord progression , using I, IV, and V (sometimes a ii is
thrown in as well), how many measures of each, and the obligatory turn-around in the last two
measures. This is the mother-lode of popular music for the last 100 years. When you and your friends
get together and "jam", listen to the comments like "Where did you get that GREAT chord
progression?"
Just keep it FUN!
4 of 4 4/24/2009 12:06 PM
Lesson 5
Home
Lesson 5 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 5
This is the first lesson where the student is asked to transpose the exercise to some of the orchestra
keys that Mickey wants. This time, Lesson 5’s task is to transpose the exercises of Lesson 4 which
were in the key of G and we are asked to transpose each to F, Ab, and Bb. You’ll notice that the
prime example or the example in the key that Mickey has shown in the lesson has chord diagrams. All
of the examples were in G from Lesson 4. These transposed lessons will just have chord names. If
one has practiced Lesson 4, for at least a week, then it shouldn’t be a chore to find the chords by
name and music notation without the diagrams. I’ve followed this practice all through this course.
Therefore, I believe Lesson 5 is a “Milestone” lesson. It will be where most students begin to lose
their fear of those terrible orchestra keys, like Ab and Bb.
For many taking this course, this lesson will be the first time that student has played in the keys of Ab
and Bb, and maybe even F without a capo. But due to the philosophy of using moveable chords, it
shortly becomes apparent that there is really very little difference in playing in any key from any other
as long as we follow this philosophy. Also, many may have very little experience reading standard
notation staves. I believe this is a very import skill and if we work on it just a little at every practice
session, we soon become comfortable with standard notation. Start by learning the Key Signatures
and where they are, such as F uses a Bb, Bb uses Bb and Eb, and Ab uses Bb, Eb, Ab, and Db.
Another exercise that will benefit the student is to write in the Roman Numerals for the chords in the
keys as we discussed in Lesson 4. For example, in F, an F Maj7 chord is a IMaj7, and an F Maj6 is a
I6 or IMaj6, and a C13b5b9 is a V13b5b9. You’ll see that once you write this out for one key, the
Roman Numerals remain the same in all the keys. This will help you learn transcribing and develop an
ability to transpose “on the fly”.
Toward the end of the week and you’re comfortable “chunking” the chords in keys like Ab and Bb,
let’s practice our new found skills by doing what Jazz Drummer Buddy Rich used to call “High Head
Arrangements”. Transpose each exercise in your head to the key of our old friend, A Major--as you're
playing along. By the time you got to Exercise 5, I'll wager you felt like you've been doing this all
your life. Some folks actually have!
If you want to practice your TablEdit skills, try transposing the Ab TEF's to A Maj. A couple of
transposing tips: First, save the Ab TEF as an A TEF before attempting anything. Using Example 1
also as our transposing example, we would save "Lesson5-Part 1-Ab.tef" as "Lesson 5-Part 1- A.tef".
With your cursor in the first measure, move it to over the key signatures and do a left click. Refer to
the illustration where I've circled the key signature.
1 of 3 4/24/2009 12:08 PM
Location of the Key Signature
This will bring up the Key Signature window (refer to the next illustration.) Here we need to input
two choices:
1. How many measures do we want of A Major? In our example we want all 12 to be in that key.
Make sure the "From Measure" is "1", and the "To Measure" is "12". If we click on the little blue
arrows to the right of those selections, it will select the extremes of the TEF. In our case we only need
to click on the "To Measure" blue arrow. You can also manually type in those numbers. A quick tip
is to highlight the measures we wish to change keys in BEFORE calling up the Key Signature Window
and the To and From windows will give these numbers.
Key Signature Window
2. What key signature do we want? Just click on the little up arrow and the Key signatures will
scroll to the desired signature, in this example, A with 3 sharps. Refer to the Key Signature Window
illustration to see where I've highlighted the "up arrow". As you probably have guessed, the up arrow
moves us in the direction of sharps, and the down arrow moves us toward flats. The names in the
2 of 3 4/24/2009 12:08 PM
Mode section of the Key Signature Window change with each click of the up/down arrows, so we
really don't have to worry about them.
Back in Measure one of each module, do a “control a” command and the entire module will
highlight. Now do an “+” command (on my computers it’s an upper case “=”), and voila, the score's
module moves one fret higher and is now in A Maj (just for that module.) Repeat those steps in
module 2. All you have to do is to manually change the chords from Ab chords to A chords. You
can do that by clicking on each text string, and manually editing it. Refer to the next illustration
which depicts the "editing box" around the text after I clicked on it. In this example, we need to erase
the flat symbol.
Text Editing Box
Want to know if you’ve made an error? Close your eyes and listen to the midi playback. By now,
with your newly trained ear, any error will stand out like a drum solo. If you had typed a "-" instead
of a "+", the module would have lowered by one fret. The "+" and "–" are great and useful tools in
TablEdit as undoubtedly you’re thinking right now. A tip I try to follow is to minimize the editing, I
try to stay within the letter name, that is Ab to A is similar in effort as Bb to A (one is up 1 fret and the
other is down one fret.) But with Ab's text editing, we only have to erase the "b" to make it A. You'll
find Db to D, and Eb to E use the same logic as I just described.
There you have the secret to transposing in about 2 minutes! TablEdit, like most computer programs,
has several ways to transpose and edit text, but for our purposes here, these two are, in my opinion,
the easiest and fastest ways to do either.
If you want to send me your extra work, I’ll add it to the online archive. If I receive 50 different
participants' works of the same exercise, I'll give each credit in the Notes page of the TEF. Make sure
you tell me if you want to be anonymous or want to “sign” your masterpiece.
Just keep it FUN!
3 of 3 4/24/2009 12:08 PM
Lesson 6
Home
Lesson 6 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 6
This lesson deals with creating short introductions using melody chords, most of whom are in Group C
we discussed in Lesson 1. This will be a little more meaningful if you do a little outside work. That is,
find some jazz groups’ recordings, especially from the late 40’s until recently, and listen to them for
the introductions. Sometimes the intro’s are from the ending measures of the tune, and quite often
they are just a pretty chord progression that leads into the tune. Often, albums by jazz vocals have
the most beautiful instrumental intro. One in particular is Julie London’s “Cry Me a River”, with jazz
guitar genius Barney Kessel creating a haunting lead-in. One doesn't have to limit themselves to Jazz
recordings. Listen to Chet Atkins with Homer and Jethro in their early recordings of Mainstreet
Breakdown, Gallopin' Guitar, just to name two. We immediately identify "How High the Moon" from
Les Paul's unforgettable intro.
I've transcribed another great Barney Kessel intro that you'll find in this lesson's TEF's. It's Barney's
recording with the Great Guitars Live in 1974 of "Undecided". Barney just uses two of Mickey's
melody chord forms, 23 and 32, different fingerings of a V13 chord- V13 to bVI13 (in the key of F.)
Mickey’s intro’s can be described as nothing more than pretty chord progressions. Try to determine
the relationship of the chords to the keys. For example, Intro 1 is /ii-ii-V-V/ii-ii-V-V/I-I-V-V/I…….
This will help in your understanding of how these were created, in case you are ever called upon to
create an intro. Once you have a structure, it’s a relatively simple matter to stuff it with chords so that
the upper notes make a pleasing and interesting melody. Something that dawned on me is that these
intro's are largely built out of "turn-arounds". Exercise 2 is a 2-measure turn-around that is repeated.
Exercise 3 comprises 3 turn-arounds. The remaining intro's are based on chord progressions.
These “Group C Melody Chords” are chords that are mainly using notes from the 1st four strings of
the guitar. If you are playing with a larger group, and with lots of rhythm instruments like a bass and a
piano, you can use these melody chords to add and to cut through the “low end mud”. One "trick" to
building your bag of chords is to take a melody chord and try to play the note that was originally on
the 1st string on the 6th string. It doesn't always work out, but if you discover 1 new form that way,
it's 1 more than you had. And it also works in reverse- a rhythm chord can be converted to a melody
chord by moving the 6th string note to the 1st string.
I've written 6 "Bonus" exercises that are commonly used turn-arounds and that you'll immediately
recognize. All of these exercises except for 4 and 6 are 4 measures, but are really 2 measures and a
repeat. Any of the two measure segments can be used as a tonic turn-around. Please note that I've
given chord diagrams without names and below the TAB staff I show the chord in the Roman
Numeral system. If you have the opportunity, please comment on this either by email to me or in the
Forum on the website. Does it help? hurt? Not quite ready for it? pretty much old hat?
Bonus Exercise 1- Tonic to a #i dim7 used as a passing chord to a ii11 to a V7b5. Note that Mickey
would call the Form 13 a V11 chord, but it can also be thought of as a ii11, ii7sus4, or a V7sus4. I
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:08 PM
chose to group it with ii chords because we can then say it's following the circle of 4ths. Please call it
whatever is most comfortable for you.
Bonus Exercise 2- This progression was made famous during the Bossa Nova craze of the 1960's in
Jobim's "The One-Note Samba". The iii7 chord is sub'ing for the Tonic. I'm still using the 4/4 "chunk"
rhythm, instead of the more familiar Bossa Nova rhythm one normally associates with this
progression.
Bonus Exercise 3- This progression shows that using Form 13 and 14 chords, we can rotate through
the cycle of 4ths.
Bonus Exercise 4- In this progression we are modifying one of the first progressions that Mickey gave
us. Instead of using the super colored chord, a V13b5b9, we are using Form 14, a V7b5. We also are
not playing the 1st string on the Form 4 minor7 chords. A variation of this exercise that you might
want to try is to play a G Maj7 on the first two beats instead of the B min7.
Bonus Exercise 5- This progression is re-visiting "The One-Note Samba", but an octave higher.
Bonus Exercise 6- Here is another well known progression based on the old standard "Moon Glow".
Rather than make two exercises, I'm giving two different locations on the guitar in this one exercise.
To play the actual Moon Glow turn-around, in the second measure of each phrase, play one beat of
the ii11 chord, 1/2 beat of the bIII7 chord, and a 1/2 beat tied to two beats of the iii7 chord.
Try experimenting with the chords and if you come up with something that you like, send it to me and
I'll add it as a bonus exercise.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:08 PM
Lesson 7
Home
Lesson 7 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 7
Lesson 7 is taking our intro’s from Lesson 6 in the Key of G and transposing them to neighboring keys of F, Ab, and Bb. This exercise helps us
to learn the melody chords from Group C of Lesson 1 that correspond to the rhythm chords of Group A.
Have you started to notice that sometimes rhythm chords can be used as melody chords? A form such as 4 (minor7) or 5 (minor6) can be played
using just the upper 4 notes. If you're playing with a low register soloing instrument, like a tenor sax, you may want to use your melody chords
as rhythm chords to build a contrast with the low notes of the soloist. Let's look at some examples both of chords from Mickey's Group A, but
also some common chords we may be familiar with from our previous experience.
Converting Rhythm Chords to Melody Chords

Measure 1 of our example shows two of our study's most used tonic forms, the Major 7 and Major 6. Note that our new melody form for a G
Maj7 can be further modified. We can move the note on the 1st string, one fret lower, in this case a B minor triad. If you play a B minor and
your bass player plays a G note, your audience hears a G Maj7. That B minor form has two F#'s. Let's move the lower one on the 4th string up
one fret to a G. Now we have a classic G Maj7 chord with all the notes in order: G - B - D - F#. This is an extremely useful form as we'll be
using it in our study of improvising single note solos in the 2nd part of this course.
Additional G Maj7 Forms

Returning to the first illustration, the Major 6 forms both are very common and we used this melody form in Lesson 6's exercises.
Measure 2 shows the Minor 7 and Minor 6 forms. As Mickey gave these forms as 5-note forms, I've included them. But I'm sure that as
fingerstyle guitarists, we have been playing them as 4-note forms as rhythm chords, often omitting the note on the 1st string.
Measure 3 first shows a diminished 7 chord as Mickey's Form 26 and the corresponding melody diminished chord from Lesson 6's exercise.
Actually the melody form of the diminished 7 form is probably more common in beginning and intermediate guitar courses than the rhythm
version. The 2nd set is based on Mickey's Forms 8 and 31. These forms can also be used as a minor 9 chord (without the root.)
Measure 4 uses two old friends: a dominant 7 form and a minor 6 form. Perhaps the melody forms are equally well known.
What strikes me the most about analyzing these chord forms is that it's not so much learning something new, but expanding on what we already
are comfortable with.
Since I’ve written the transpositions out and about the only work you have to do is play them in each key, take Mickey’s suggestion of
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:09 PM
re-working the intro’s. Instead of strumming through the chord, play it as an arpeggio, or as a string bass. String bass is Mickey's term for the
infamous boom-chuck strum. As fingerstyle guitarists, we have a vast number of arpeggios that we’re familiar with, and are waiting to be called
into service. Try adapting your favorite intro’s with your favorite arpeggio. For example, look at Intro 2. It’s a natural for the “Merle Travis”
gallop that he used on the tune “Walkin’ The Strings”. And let's not forget Chet Atkins often played these progressions with a P I M I arpeggio
for a slightly different feel.
One clear advantage we finger-stylists have is that we have the capability of playing a true "block chord" like a pianist, harpist, and an orchestra,
if we think of an orchestra as complex musical instrument. A flatpicker with his single pick must strum through the chord. Although he can
approach playing a block chord, his strums are really fast arpeggios. Take advantage of this gift and practice your exercises by using not only a
P I M A pinch, but a P I M and a P I A ("skip a string, skip a finger") pinches.
In Lesson 6 I gave 6 bonus exercises also in the key of G. If someone needs an additional project, feel free to transpose these exercises to F,
Ab, and Bb, and all of the exercises to our old guitar friendly key of A Major just as we did in Lesson 5.
When you’ve created something you’d like to share, send it to me, and I’ll get it ready to send out in the next distribution. Don’t forget to let me
know if you want public credit for your work.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:09 PM
Lesson 8
Home
Lesson 8 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 8
If any lesson of this course was "tailor-made" for a fingerstyle guitarist, it's Lesson 8. Lesson 7
suggested we try different right hand approaches to our intro’s, and Lesson 8 is now giving us some
examples. Mickey introduces a new term, string bass, that he uses to describe playing a bass note and
then a chord for two beats. He gives several arpeggio examples, and also asks for us to create some
new ones.
Classical guitar instructors have used the famous "120 Studies for the Right Hand" by the early 19th
Century virtuoso guitarist, Mauro Giuliani, since its first printing. He uses a C and a G7 chord and
puts the right hand into practically any conceivable pattern. A number of contemporaries of Maestro
Giuliani's wrote countless exercises from the right hand and many survive to this day. Look for works
by Sor, Aguado, Carcassi (who made exercises seem like beautiful music), and Carulli.
A few years back, I wrote a series of 20 warm-up exercises that reflect a little more modern sound
(hopefully making them seem like less work and more fun.) I culled some of Mauro's most important
patterns, added a few new ones, and used them with a more modern sounding chord progression that
I'd gleaned from a Jerry Reed composition. In the TEF, I show repeats as a suggestion for isolating
sections of the exercise. The TEF doesn't actually repeat any segment. Also, this TEF has additional
notes imbedded, discussing each exercise.
In the TEF “Lesson 8 – Student Ideas – G.tef”, I’ve created 9 new examples from Mickey's suggested
chord progression, using all kinds of fingerstyle ideas from the classical training of Laurindo Almeida
and Mauro Giuliani through Chet and Merle. What I discovered was that the more I did this, the
easier it became. That isn’t always the case, but this time it was. Note that the left hand uses the
same chords, but the right hand is doing something different. To my way of thinking, this is
justification for being a fingerstyle guitarist.
One of the exercises in the Student Ideas is dedicated to Laurindo Almeida. When Laurindo played a
tremolo, he played it as a triplet with the P and A fingers picking together. I've never looked at it as
an either-or method, but rather another tool in our tool box. As an equal opportunity exercise writer,
I've included a standard PAMI tremolo in the 20 Warm-Up Exercises.
I’ve left additional measures for you to try some ideas of your own. When you’ve created something
you’d like to share, send it to me in any form. I’ll put it into TablEdit using the stylesheet we’ve
created for this course and I’ll forward it in the very next lesson.
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 12:10 PM
Lesson 9
Home
Lesson 9 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 9
We're all experts now with Group A chords and we've lost our fear of the "Terrible Flat's", so it must
be time to work on Group B chords. As a review, Group B chords have the I or Tonic or the IV or
Sub-dominant notes (the roots of the I and IV chords) on the 5th string.
We've also started using the Roman numerals as chord names. We have learned that the names of
notes of the scale. We already know 1/2 of them so why not learn the rest? Let me give you some
foolproof tricks to memorizing them:
I = Tonic (see how tough this is?)
ii = Super-tonic (because it's just above the tonic)
iii = Mediant (because it's the middle note of the Tonic triad)
IV = Sub-dominant (because it's just below the dominant, but you knew that one already, right?)
V = Dominant (another one you already knew)
vi = Sub-mediant (a toughie: because it's the middle note of the Sub-dominant triad. Or if you
prefer, if the mediant is a 3rd above the tonic, then the sub-mediant is a third below.)
vii = Leading Tone (because it leads to the tonic).
Those names of notes remain the same in the minor scales with one variant. When the natural minor
is used, such as A natural minor, the 7th is a whole tone below the tonic. Instead of calling it a leading
tone, it is called a "Sub-tonic."
Let's continue with our review. Mickey has tailored this course for the "horn keys", that is, keys that
are commonly used in arrangements with horns and woodwinds. They equate to the notes of an Ab
Major Scale: Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, and G. With the Group A chords, we've worked with the keys of
F, G, Ab, and Bb. For those of us that are a little more adventurous, we also practiced in the key of A,
and discovered that we could actually use Group A chords for the key of C. With Group B chords,
we will concentrate on the keys of C, Db, and Eb. We soon discover that Bb is comfortable with
Group B chords, in addition to D and E, and maybe with a little effort, F. We could actually use the
keys of E in Group A or A in Group B, but we would have to modify several of our chords. So for
now, let's hold off from attempting those keys in the opposite group.
What changes with Group B chords? The chord philosophy remains the same I Maj7 and I Maj6
chords still substitute for the I chord, ii7 and ii6 still substitute for the V7 (as well as a ii, iii, and vi). In
Group B, Mickey's all purpose highly colored dominant chord is a V7#5b9 chord.
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:11 PM
As we learned with a Group A F Maj6 chord and its open 4th string D, Mickey doesn't have a problem
using open strings in chords. Refer to Measure 1 of the "score" here. In Form 17, the Group B Major
6 form, a Bb Maj6 will have an open 4th (D) and open 3rd (G) string. Next to that chord is a slight
modification for the Bb Maj6 that makes the I Maj7 to I Maj6 progression a real snap.
Bb Maj6 Variation
Instead of playing the open D, we now play the F on the 3rd fret, 4th string, which is the 5th of the
chord. The combination of the F and G notes together make an interval of a Major 2nd, which is very
pleasing and modern sounding. Measure 2 shows how to use this chord with Form 16 to get our Maj7
to Maj6 progression. We just lift our 2nd finger. I've included a TEF of the above example in this
lesson's TEF download for those of us that like to hear examples as well as look at them.
Lesson 9 should remind you of Lesson 2, and in fact, now is a good time to compare Lesson 2 with
Lesson 9. Seldom in an arrangement will we play all Group A chords, or all Group B chords, but
rather we'll chose which chord from which group is the most logical, or gives us a nice chord
movement or bass line.
Mickey uses chord Form 22 in Exercise 6. He has misnamed this chord. It is really what is called a
6/9 chord: a major triad with the 6th and 9th notes from the root. This chord is a workhorse because
it is very popular as an ending chord in many forms of modern music. Also, it is used quite a bit in the
charming Jazz that comes from Brazil, Bossa Nova.
In the next few lessons we'll explore some new keys like Db, Eb, plus old friends like C and F. We'll
also have an opportunity to work out our exercises in the keys of D and E.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:11 PM
Lesson 10
Home
Lesson 10 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 10
Mickey doesn't give us any exercises for the hands in Lesson 10, but instead we're going to exercise our brains.
I'm going to expand a bit on what Mickey talks about in Lesson 10. He talks about philosophies of three chord
types, major triads used as tonic (I) and subtonic (IV) chords, minor chords used in several roles (ii, iii, vi, and subs
for V), and lastly dominant chords (V). I've renamed what he's given as Mickey's Laws of Chord Substitution.
Download the four short exercises and follow along with TablEdit playing the exercises.
Mickey's first law of substitution: Any chord mode built from a major triad can substitute for that major triad.
That is to say, a C Maj7, C6, C 6/9, C Maj9 can all be a substitution for a C triad.
Exercise 1 - Major Triad Substitutions
Exercise 1 depicts Mickey's chord substitution for Group B chords. In Measure 2, I've rewritten the chords to put
the E note on the 4th string so that the real change to the chords is the highest note. Notice that it appears to be a
scale: C to B to A to B. We can also think of these substitutions as a triad harmony + a second or counter
melody. A counter melody is sometimes also called "counterpoint." The counterpoint generally works better if it
is going in a direction contrary to the primary melody.
A good question is why not just memorized the Maj7 and Maj6 exercises and just use them? Lots of guitarists
have done just that. However, with the knowledge of using a countermelody with the major triad, you can take
ANY major chord form anywhere on the neck of the guitar and add the 7 and the 6. You just need to find the root
or its octave (8). Mickey's subs are a great and easy way to take moveable chord forms and play in any key. But
the guitar with the possibilities of using open strings, gives us many unique chord forms that we'll want to use in
our leads or solo work. For this stage in our chording education, let's continue with Group A and Group B subs,
but understand that there is a voice that is moving in those forms and we can use that with other chord forms not
mentioned in this course.
Mickey's second law of chord substitution: Minor and Dominant triads can be treated as we did the Major
triad. In fact, I believe that using the counter melody with a minor triad is probably more common in popular
music than with any other substitution. An example of this is the old favorite "Gentle On My Mind", basically a I
- ii - V chord progression. To build interest in the ii chord, the composer has a counterpoint starting on the root
1 of 3 4/24/2009 12:12 PM
note of the minor triad and descending chromatically or one fret per chord. Refer to Exercise 2:
Exercise 2 - Minor Triad Substitutions using Counterpoint Ideas
In Measure 1, we have Mickey's Forms 4 and 5 in a typical substitution for a minor or dominant chord. Note that
the counterpoint is on the 4th string and the other notes remain unchanged. Let's rewrite the basic chord so that
we'll have an old friend, an A minor chord built in the 5th position. Refer to Measure 2 of this exercise. Our root
is on the 4th string and we have an octave of the root on the first string. The counter melody is a descending
chromatic scale. With your cursor anywhere in this measure, listen to the midi playback by typing the <F10>
key. If you're like me lots of examples come to mind, such as the intro to one of the most popular songs of the
20th century, the Beatles' "Michelle".
Measure 3 is a slight variation of Measure 2, but instead of starting on the root note, we start on the next note
above the root. With A minor, it's a B note. Playing Measure 3 one probably says that it has a more jazzy sound.
Using this philosophy of starting a chord with the next higher note, Chet Atkins created the bridge to his famous
composition "Trambone". He also used it in one of the variations of the pop tune "Side by Side". Perhaps we're
stretching a bit Mickey's original intent for Lesson 10, but I see a connection and it isn't a difficult concept to
understand.
Mickey's third law of chord substitution: "With dominant chords there is no limit to what can be done."
Exercise 3 shows three (out of countless many) possibilities. All of the following examples can be played by
holding a chord and just moving one finger in the first two measures or two fingers in the 3rd measure:
Exercise 3 - Dominant Substitutions
2 of 3 4/24/2009 12:12 PM
Measure 1 depicts Mickey's Form 32 going to Form 33 going to a common G7 chord form. Note the counter
melody of E to Eb (D#) to D. Measure 2 has a G9 going to a common diminished 7 form used as a G7b9 and to
the G7 we heard in Measure 1. That counter melody is A to Ab (G#) to G. Measure 3 can be thought of as
Measure 1 superimposed over Measure 2 with a dual counter melody- A and E to Ab and Eb to G and D.
Mickey tells us that any of the dominant forms can be substituted. I believe the true secret is to use order, and of
course, good taste. Chromatic scales both ascending and descending are very common and never seem to lose
their freshness.
Art Borgeson suggests an exercise of playing a chromatic scale against minor and dominant chords. I've written
Lesson 10 - Exercise 4 based on Art's suggestion. Note that some of the chords when isolated sound really
dissonant, but when played in the exercise with all the chords we can hear the dissonance resolve and the exercise
has an over all pleasing sound. We're using an A min7 chord form and an old friend, an E7 chord form in the open
position and pedals that we discovered a few lessons back.
This week, experiment and if you come up with something you'd like to share, send it to me with instructions as to
whether you'd like recognition for your work.
Just keep it FUN!
3 of 3 4/24/2009 12:12 PM
Lesson 11
Home
Lesson 11 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 11
Mickey doesn't give a write up to Lesson 11. Lesson 11 comprises 4 exercises in the key of C.
Except for the 1st part, each exercise has a standard chord module plus two modules, one based on
Group A chords and one based on Group B chords. Part 1 also does that, but starts with Group B
chords and then repeats the example using Group A in the same module.
Once we start creating our own arrangements, we'll borrow from both groups as logical choices.
Mickey wants us to listen to how the chord groups sound against the standard.
Mickey has shown us that we build interest in a tune with chord substitutions. Lesson 11 is showing
us that we can build additional interest by playing the same type of chord but from a different group...
almost a "2 for the price of 1" offer.
When we arrange a tune, to keep the interest, we vary things.TablEdit makes it so simple to write an
arrangement with three or four or any number of passes by allowing us to stack modules. We then
can copy from Module 1 to 2 or 2 to 3, etc. and we can vary that next module while noting what we
had done before. Then it's a simple "cut and paste" from the added modules to the module that will be
our arrangement.
Due to the physical limitations of our guitars, some with cutaways, some with necks attached at the
12th fret and some attached at the 14th fret, we realistically can't play all keys in both groups without
moving some of the forms either up or down 12 frets. If we're trying to give a nice chromatic descent,
going from 1st position to open position and then jumping to the 11th position breaks the mood of that
progression. Therefore, I think it's more realistic to decide what keys use what groups the best for the
individual player. From here on to the end of the course, I'll give as many theoretical possibilities as
Mickey provides, but it's up to you to decide where your cut off is. For me, it's somewhere around the
11th fret.
With all that swimming in your head, let's return to Lesson 11. Note with 3 MIDI modules I have the
standard chord module in the middle, and the new ones to each side. First listen to the entire TEF.
Then try just muting the Standard module. If the subs are universal, then they all ought to sound
musical. Note when a G13b5b9 and a G7#5b9 are played together as subs for a G7. There are a few
more, but I'll leave them up to you to find.
Oh, by the way, just so you don't believe Mickey hung us out to dry in this lesson, he discusses Lesson
11 in his notes for Lesson 12.
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 12:14 PM
Lesson 12
Home
Lesson 12 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 12
A brief description of Lesson 12 is Lesson 11 transposed to all the orchestra keys. Perhaps you're
starting to wonder "why do orchestras prefer those flat keys so much?" Perhaps a bit out of the scope
of this course, I think an explanation is worth the extra activity. The short answer is "hundreds of
years of tradition unhampered by progress." Most of the horns (sometimes called the brass) and
woodwinds are known as "Bb instruments", and a few are known as "Eb instruments". When the
performer of a Bb instrument reads and plays a C note, the note the horn produces is a Bb. In guitar
terms, all notes on a Bb instrument sound two frets lower than they read. Let's say we have a small
group of guitar, bass, tenor sax, clarinet, and drums and we want to arrange a tune with parts for all.
We'll probably write an overall score in the key we wish to play the tune, let's say "F". When we
make individual parts for each player, the guitarist and bassist will have parts that are written in F, but
the sax and clarinet parts will be written in the key of G (two frets higher in guitar terms.) The first
time I went through Mickey's course I questioned the need for "Db" and "Ab" until I learned that to
get those tonalities, horn players play in Eb and Bb (much easier keys for the average performer to
read.) As a little musical trivia, a concert pianist once told me that her least favorite key was Db
Major. A few weeks later, a self-taught pianist that played entirely by ear said that his favorite key
has always been C# with so much being on the black keys.
In questioning musicians with much more experience than I have, the answer I get as to why is they
just don't make C horns and woodwinds, more times than not, is "we've always done it that way."
If we arrange a piece in one of the traditional guitar keys like A or E, horn players have to read in the
keys of B or F# (5 and 6 sharps).
Let's return to Lesson 12.
Mickey notes that often minor chords a 5th higher or a 4th lower substitute for dominant chords.
Although Mickey avoids these titles, many Jazz theorists refer to this as a "ii - V" progression. That's a
helpful concept to me and I include it with hope that it's going to be helpful to you, too. Our first
assignment is to make a chart showing all the dominant chords (V) and their minor substitutes (ii).
Dominant C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Bb B

Minor G#/Ab A#/Bb C#/Db D#/Eb
G min A min B min C min D min E min F min F# min
Sub min min min min
Mickey just tells us that a minor chord can sub for a dominant, but he doesn't tell us why. It's
sufficient to note that any of the "flavors" of G minor can substitute for a C7. If you're new to these
forms, then stop right here and maybe return to this lesson in a few months to allow yourself to
become comfortable with a chord philosophy that works.
The G minor flavors include, but are not limited to, G min, G min7, G min6, G min9, G min11, G
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:15 PM
min7b5. It seems to me that what's important is that we substitute with order and taste as we
discussed in Lesson 10.
A C7 comprises C - E - G - Bb . If we add a D to that we have a C9. Notice that the 5th, 7th, and
9th are the notes of G min: G - Bb - D. If your bass player plays a C, the melody instrument plays an
E, and you strum a G minor chord, your audience will hear a C9.
Let's add a 7th to our G min which is F: G - Bb - D - F. Remember it's going to progress to a C7 (C -
E - G - Bb). Let's insert a chord between the G min7 and the C7. This chord will be identical to the G
min7, except we'll change the 5th from a D to a C: G - Bb - C - F. Now let's juggle the notes using C
as our start note: C - F - G - Bb. This new chord is a hybrid of the G min and the C7 and makes a
softer resolution or transition from G min7 to C7. Many musicians call this chord a C7 sus(pended) 4,
sometimes written C7+4. The F is the fourth note and it is suspended above the 3rd. The 3rd is the
color note that tells us if the chord is going to be major, minor, augmented, and diminished (the last
two need more data, though!). Mickey gives us a couple of forms that can be used as this 7sus4
chord. He calls them "11" (Forms 13 and 30).
Another way of looking at a G min as a sub for C7 is that it is not really a sub at all, but just the upper
notes of the C13. When we use a min6 chord, it becomes even more like the dominant because the 6
of the minor is the 3rd of the dominant! I'm sure that there are a number of folks that first saw
Mickey's form 5 and said "oh, I know that chord, it's C9 with the 5th in the bass."
Now if you're just "itching" for an assignment:
Try transposing these exercises to the missing guitar friendly keys: D, A, and E. As always, if you
send me your work to share with others, I'll put it in a special distribution and add it to the lesson.
Don't forget to tell me if you want credit for your work.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:15 PM
Lesson 13
Home
Lesson 13 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 13
Mickey's introducing us to "Vamps", saying that they are an important part of "jump" and novelty
tunes. If you're like me, I still have to ask "What's a vamp?"
The best, shortest, and most concrete definition I could find is a vamp is a short sequence of repeating
chords. Let's analyze the "Standard" that Mickey is using for his lesson on vamps.
C - G dim7 - D min - G7- and a repeat: That sure looks like one of our old friends, the turn-around.
This sort of explodes any fixed notion that turn-arounds were just for the last two bars of a musical
section.
C - C7 - F - F min: A I - IV (or as we recently learned, a tonic to sub-dominant) progression for a little

2-measure variety.
C - G dim7 - D min - G7: A repeat of the initial turn-around.
There you have it, 8 bars essentially created from a simple turn-around. Using this formula, I'm
certain that any of us could write a vamp based on our favorite turn-around(s).
About our exercises: This lesson is transposed into all of Mickey's orchestra keys. Guess what? Most
of us can't play them all in all keys on 99% of the guitars we may play. All of the exercises in the key
of C are the "prime" or restating Mickey's example with chord diagrams. What I have done is
transpose all four exercises in all keys. If it was just futile to attempt to actually play the exercise with
the suggested chord forms, I wrote a modified exercise with chord forms from the SAME
PHILOSOPHY. If an exercise just had, say, one chord that was too difficult to reach, then I just
modified the one chord in the exercise. That is to say, read through every exercise and look for any
changes. You may even want to use TablEdit's chord diagram capabilities to add a few diagrams.
And just because I can't reach a chord on my guitar, doesn't mean necessarily that you can't, so try
everything.
I continue to write the exercises using the "Chunk" (swing) rhythm. Mickey advises us that the String
Bass (Boom Chick) and Arpeggio rhythms work especially good with vamps for a fuller sound. That
gives us an excuse to review Lesson 8 and practice the vamps with our favorite rhythms.
Try transposing these exercises to the missing guitar friendly keys: D, A, and E. As always, if you
send me your work to share with others, I'll put it in a special distribution and add it to the lesson.
Don't forget to tell me if you want credit for your work.
And if you just can't get enough!!!: Take your favorite turn-around in any group of chords from this
course, or previous knowledge, and write your own vamp. Here's one of mine based on an
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:15 PM
improvisation I transcribed of a Bossa Nova many years ago:
C - Eb7 - D min7 - C#7 - C - Eb7 - D min7 - C#7 - C - C7 - F - F# dim7 - C - Eb7 - D min7 - C#7
Make a TEF out of it, and "pretend" it's the standard. Now play any of Mickey's variations against it.
And if you want worldwide fame as only the Internet can provide: If you have a better or more
useful definition of "Vamp", sent it to me. I'll edit this page by adding it and credit. Remember that if
it comes from a copyrighted source, please send that reference so we can footnote it.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:15 PM
Lesson 14
Home
Lesson 14 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 14
Mickey's introduced us to "Vamps" in Lesson 13 and with all of those exercises using Group B chords, we must be
feeling a little "vamped out!" OK, let's play some vamps using our new old friends, Group A chords.
Mickey knows that a challenge stimulates interest, so he gives us four new chord forms: 27, 28, 29, and 30. In
Lesson 1 I showed them and discussed each one at that time. Here's some additional info or review:
Form 27: This is a movable form of one of the most common chord forms in beginning guitar instruction manuals,
an open position D7. By the addition of a fingered note on the 4th string we can move this form up and down the
fretboard. If need be, we can extend our first finger to the 5th string as well for an additional bass note.
Form 28: This chord form gives us an additional Maj6 chord form. As an interesting bit of trivia, fingerstyle
guitar giant Chet Atkins was said in an interview that this chord seemed to give him more problems to jump into
than most other forms. Some guitarists are able to finger a common C chord, and use the 2nd finger as a 2-string
barre to convert it to a C Maj6. Also, the adjacent note on the 6th string can be played as an additional bass note.
Note that this chord is really is a 1st inversion A minor triad as it only has three different notes and is missing the G
or 5th to make it a 4-note Major 6 chord. We noted that on our Form 17, also a 3-note Major 6. But don't worry,
we hardly miss the 5th!
Form 29: Mickey's course introduced me to this interesting and unique 13 chord form. I had a little bit of
difficulty with it, and with a little practicing it alone and in Mickey's exercises, it became much more comfortable.
Note that this chord form is a 1st inversion, or the lowest note is the 3rd of the chord. That makes this form a
natural as a transition chord in a I - IV progression. For example, let's play G - G7 - C - C min (from our vamps of
Lesson 13). Let's substitute: G Maj7 - G13 - C Maj6 - C# dim7. If we use a full barre for all the chords, it
becomes a really easy and great sounding progression. Note the chord diagrams in this illustration are not quite
Mickey's fingerings, but they work so nicely:
I - IV Progression
In Measure 1, we play a Form 2 G Maj7 chord. But let's alter our fingering just a little. In fact, this is a very
common fingering and if you use your 4th finger on the 5th fret, 5th string (a D note), we have a 6-string version of
a Major 7 chord. For Beat 3 of that measure, we slide the barre to the 7th fret. Finding the other notes isn't so bad
1 of 3 4/24/2009 12:17 PM
as we "cheated" with our barre as an anchor.
To make the C Maj6 (the IV chord in G), all we have to do is just move the 2nd finger from the 5th string to the
6th string. At Beat 3 of Measure 2, we slide everything up 1 fret and we can either leave our 4th finger on the
third string or note it with the third finger. Once again, having the anchor notes makes this so easy. I've made a
TEF of this exercise and you can download it with this lesson's TEF's.
Form 30: Mickey gives this form in the open position, but like Form 27, it is movable as well and many times it
resolves into a Form 27 chord or from one. It also frequently resolves into Form 12. The next illustration gives
those examples:
Some Common Progressions with Form 30

Mickey calls Form 30 an "11" chord, and that works great for this course. More often than not, it will be thought
of as 7 sus4 chord. Sus is the abbreviation for suspended. The 4th note from the root is "suspended" above,
waiting to resolve to the 3rd of the chord. To review, the 3rd of the chord is the note that gives the chord its
flavor, major or minor. So a 7sus4 is neither major nor minor and can resolve to either. Now you can understand
why Mickey probably chose to call this important form an "11". From time to time you'll also see this chord
referred to as a minor11 chord.
Measure 1 of the Form 30 illustration shows an E11 (or E7sus4) resolving to an E7 chord, which is a Form 27.
Measure 2 flip-flops these forms with an E7 (Form 27) going to an Eb11 (or Eb7sus4). If this seems familiar, we
studied it as part of the "Moon Glow Progression" in an earlier lesson. Measure 3 gives our now familiar Form 30
resolving into an E min7 chord.
About our exercises:
With knowledge comes responsibilities. Mickey is no longer asking us to spend a week in a "prime" key and then
the next week transposing. With our experience both with chords and transposing, we're getting new exercises
(and in this case, new chords) and we're also expected to transpose them to as many keys as possible. This time
Mickey freely admits that we won't be able to play all exercises in all keys. Using the limitations of my guitar and
maybe some slight modifications as I did in previous lessons, I've included all the playable TEF's. I encourage you
to experiment to see if additional keys can be played on your guitar. You be the judge.
Try transposing as many of these exercises as possible to the missing guitar friendly keys: D, A, and E. As always,
if you send me your work to share with others, I'll put it in a special distribution and add it to the lesson. Don't
forget to tell me if you want credit for your work.
2 of 3 4/24/2009 12:17 PM
And if you just can't get enough!!!:
Try your hand at writing another Vamp using Group A chords and possibly our new forms. Make a TEF out of it
as we did in Lesson 13. And of course, if you want to share, send it to me. I've included one original vamp I wrote
as "practicing what I preached". Probably the most remarkable attribute of this TEF is that I resisted the urge to
give it a name like "Sheeza Vamp". By now you should be able to name the chords so I only gave Chord
Diagrams. Let's analyze what we have:
Measures 1 and 2: Our turnaround that represents our recurring chord progression. Note that I'm not including the
1st string on those chord forms we normally use the 1st string on. More on this later.
Measures 3 and 4: Repeat of Measures 1 and 2.
Measures 5 and 6: Our obligatory I - IV progression. Note this is a slight modification of the Form 29 G13 chord
example from the beginning of these notes.
Measures 7 and 8: Repeat of Measures 1 and 2 with a slight modification: this time we included the 1st string in
Measure 8.
Measures 9 through 16: This is a repeat of Measures 1 through 6 with Measures 15 and 16 being a I - V - I
progression.
Measure 16: Note the F#7 as the last chord that's a lead in to take us to ...... THE BRIDGE. And that, as they use
to say on television, is a scene from a coming attraction.
Just keep it FUN!
3 of 3 4/24/2009 12:17 PM
Lesson 15
Home
Lesson 15 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 15
Lesson 15 introduces us to Bridges. One of the most common musical forms typically comprises 32 measures
divided into 4 parts. Dividing 32 by 4 results in equal parts of 8 measures each. Also, the first part is usually
repeated as the second part, and maybe very slightly different, such as the first time it ends on a V7 chord and the
second time on the I chord. To built interest, a third part is added that is a contrast from the first two parts. The
final part, is a repeat of the first ending on a I chord. To describe how music is divided, the parts are usually given
letters. A-A-B-A describes the four parts where the first part is repeated, and A1-A2-B-A2 is often used to show
that same form with the slight differences we discussed. The Section B is referred to as the “bridge” or “release.”
Sometimes it may be called the "chorus", but that term can also mean the rest of the tune after an introduction. By
far, the most common name is Bridge as Mickey uses. This contrasting section may be in a new key or may be a
repeat of a section of lyrics.
Mickey gives us three common "Standard" chord progressions found in hundreds of well known tunes. The first
bridge is found in the Nat King Cole standard "Straighten Up and Fly Right", "Five Foot Two", Benny Goodman's
"Seven Come Eleven", George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm", and maybe 25% of all tunes from the 1930's. Jazz
musicians borrowed the chord progression to "I Got Rhythm" as a standard to improvise on. By calling these
improvisations "Rhythm Changes", they don't have to pay royalties to George's heirs. The next time you watch
"The Flintstones", listen to the harmony of the theme song. It's a rhythm change. Rhythm Changes account for a
large quantity of music from the last 60 or so years.
The second bridge is found in Duke Ellington's "Satin Doll" and "It Don't Mean A Thing if It Ain't Got that Swing"
(just to name two of the Duke's best loved pieces), "On The Sunny Side Of The Street", and hundreds more.
The third bridge is a variation of the first and often used in "Rhythm Changes" as a slight variation. Additionally,
the third chord can be a ii7 instead of a II7 (in our examples a D min instead of a D7.
Using our Vamps as the A section, and one of these bridges as the B section, we now have the ability to create
dozens of harmonic structures for our original melodies. Thousands of tunes have been written from this formula
just in the last century.
Throughout Mickey's course, he recommends having a notebook to store our ideas. Since we've been using our
computers as our notebooks, I'd like to suggest that we make a folder and call it "Bridges". Using fakebooks, or
collections of sheet music, go through it, searching for new bridge ideas. What I've found in doing this, is that often
the basic progressions from Mickey's common bridges are used, but just masqueraded with a simple substitution, or
perhaps a key change and the last measure of the bridge takes us back to the original key. I'd also guess that maybe
50% of the tunes we call standards don't have a bridge. When we discover new bridges or interesting chord
progressions to save in our cyber-notebook, we can use TablEdit to create a chord chart. Here's how:
1. Create a "NEW" TEF by clicking on the "NEW" icon.
1 of 5 4/24/2009 12:19 PM
"NEW" Icon
2. In the New Tablature window, select "Standard Guitar" and edit the Default Comments as desired. When
creating chord charts, one can use any instrument (we'll see later why). I always use Standard Guitar out of
habit. You can use whatever you wish.
New Tablature Window

3. We will have only 1 MIDI module open in the upper right hand corner. Click on the 1 and in the MIDI
module click on the box next to Rhythm Track, and then OK:
2 of 5 4/24/2009 12:19 PM
Select "Rhythm Track"

4. Select the Display Page from the File>Options... drop down menu. Uncheck the Automatic Rests box, then
click on OK:
Display Page from the Options Menu

5. Using the Text Editor of TablEdit, we can write the chord progression. In the example below I've used
Mickey's second bridge, and instead of a key, I've used the Roman numeral numbering system. I've selected
"Above Notation", and using the "-" and "+" keys, I've moved the chord notation to just above the line.
These are all techniques we've learned in previous lessons.
3 of 5 4/24/2009 12:19 PM
Chord Entry
6. We have the option of either leaving the TAB staff for future notes, or removing it. We can do that by
selecting from the Files>Options... drop down menu Multitrack and then unchecking the box under
Tablature, and clicking OK. If we remove it now and later on, we want to reinstate it, it's just a check in the
box away!:
Multitrack Page from the Options Menu

That's all there is to it. We can now print it out, if desired. Don't forget to select Automatic Rests when finished
with making Chord Charts as it's a handy tool for standard scores. I'm sure that it seems like a lot of steps, but after
doing it once, it'll be second nature. We've all used Chord Charts since our earliest experiences with the guitar. I'm
sure you'll agree that Chord Charts are very handy. Using TablEdit, instead of getting criticism of our penmanship,
we get pats on the back for the great looking, easy to read score.
Here's how a Printout might appear:
4 of 5 4/24/2009 12:19 PM
Sample Printout Of Our Chord Chart

For those of you wanting a little bit more: Transpose the three bridges into the guitar friendly A, D, and E keys.
If you'd like to share them, please send them to me.
And for true gluttons for more projects: Take one of Mickey's bridge examples and use it with the vamps you
created in Lessons 13 and 14. Create a 32 bar harmony with the A1-A2-B-A2 form we discussed. The vamp I
created in Lesson 14 in G is found in this lesson's TEF's with Mickey's first bridge. And of course, if you'd like to
share your work, send it to me as well.
Just keep it FUN!
5 of 5 4/24/2009 12:19 PM
Lesson 16
Home
Lesson 16 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 16
Lesson 16 is about connecting the chord forms to get chord progressions that fit in any tune. Mickey divides the progressions into 3 parts:
Dominant to dominant
Dominant to minor
Dominant to major.
This is a subject that can be as easy just playing Mickey's exercises and learning by rote, or we might want to delve a little deeper into "why?"
Using Mickey's point of view, these can all be thought of as V to I (i) progressions. One can ask "I understand 'dominant to minor or to major' as
a V to I or i, but how can we analyze dominant to dominant as V to I?" A series of dominant progressions, such as the first bridge example we
studied in Lesson 15 is usually written as III7 - VI7 - II7 - V7. A circle of fourths of dominant chords is often called "barbershop harmony" due
to the harmonies of tunes sung in 4-part harmony and a capella by Barbershop Quartets. But, a circle of fourths of major triads doesn't naturally
exist for more than two chords in any scale. Musicologists say that this really is a series of key changes or modulations. Let's put this
progression in the Key of G (or should we say "start out" in the Key of G?) B7 to E7 to A7 to D7. B7 is the V7 chord in E Major and E
Harmonic and Melodic Minor. E7 is the V7 in A Major and A Harmonic and Melodic Minor. A7 is the V7 in D and D Harmonic and Melodic
Minor. D7 is the V7 to G and we've returned to the original key.
So from this brief discussion we might conclude that Mickey puts a big importance on a V - I or i progression.
Analyzing any of these three, we find that all have a fourth type of progression, a minor to major. Practically all of his dominant measures have
this progression in it. In a major scale this occurs naturally in the ii - V progression. In the Key of C, that's a D minor to G as triads or D min7 to
G7 as 4-note chords. By moving the C or the 7th of the D min7 down a half step to B, we have a D min6. If we analyze the notes of that D
min6, we discover that they are the 3 (B), 5 (D), 7(F), and 9(A) of a G9 (G, B, D, F, A) chord. If we know what note is the 7th of a minor 7
form, we can move it lower one fret and have an instant ii - V chord progression. Let's look at a score, starting with Mickey's chord forms and
add a few more.
OK, so I'm stretching the definition of a "few"!! All of the forms are in D minor, either a 7 or 6. All of these forms are common and found in
compositions that we may be familiar with. First, take your guitar and play them all or download the ii7 - ii6.tef and play the MIDI of the TEF.
We can hear that each pair is the D min7 to D min6 or D min7 to G9, but due to the bass note and the juggling of the voices, each has its own
personality. Note that in each pair, we've just moved the C(7) to B(6). We have at least one example of this movement on each of the six
strings.
About the exercises: Note that each exercise has 7 MIDI modules. Since there are so many examples of substitutions, some of the
substitutions "clash" in the MIDI playback if all are played at once. What I recommend is that you just mute all of the modules except for the
standard and the one module you're interested in. None of the examples clash with the standard, but each has a special sound. As you play
through the exercises that Mickey wrote, also note the number of progressions where the chords change by a single note. Review Lesson 10
where we touched on this concept.
The TEF in C is the prime and has the chord diagrams. By now you are probably seeing the diagrams in your sleep, so you probably really don't
need the diagrams even in the prime exercises.
If you're just itching for some more: Transpose the examples to D, A, and E.
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:20 PM
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:20 PM
Lesson 17
Home
Lesson 17 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 17
We're in for a real treat with Lesson 17. We get to put into use our previous 16 lessons of training by
writing accompaniments to songs we know. Here's what Mickey says: "Get four or five sheet music's
(popular tunes) or any kind of songs that you like. Study the chord connections, then take your new
chords and apply them to these songs."
In 1955, Mickey used a sheet of manuscript paper and handwrote each arrangement. He also could
have taken a standard sheet of paper and drew a straight line with tick marks to divide the line into
measures, and wrote the chord changes in the appropriate measures. I'm certain that every guitarist
reading this page has made chord charts that way. In fact, it is still an important and useful way to
show changes that in Lesson 15's Notes, I give a simple way to do this in TablEdit.
Once Mickey finished his score, he called his bass player, his drummer, and his melody instrumentalist
and they played the tune. That's all Mickey asks of us and if that's what you want to do, great!
Since we have TablEdit as our editor and also to give a MIDI playback, we can use this tool to help us
remove the abstract of a paper operation depicting sound, and hear what our orchestration sounds like
before we actually play it with our instruments. This gives us a flexibility and usefulness of our scores
that was beyond the wildest imagination of any guitarist in 1955.
To help you with Mickey's assignment, I've arranged 7 examples, one in each of the orchestra keys. I
used the keys in which the songs were originally published. Rather than just having a single module of
rhythm guitar for each tune, I've created a four-part musical score. In addition to the guitar part, I
chose a clarinet to play the melody line, and I added a simple bass line and brush style percussion. I
didn't improvise very much on the melody. Listen to how Mickey's chords give a fresh sound to these
tunes. As all of the chords now are new "old friends", I didn't write the names of the chords or give
chord diagrams.
As just setting up a score can seem like about 75% of the work in an arrangement, to help you with
that chore, I've made a template called Clarinet Template in C.tef It has four modules:
Melody (MIDI voice is a clarinet) - Enter the melody in the Clarinet Module just as if it were a
guitar module. The module has already selected the clarinet voice and put the staff in the
correct octave.
Rhythm Guitar (steel string acoustic guitar voice) - You're already an expert in this module from
the previous 16 lessons!
Bass (acoustic bass voice) - For some folks that have never played bass, the thought of creating
a bass line is very intimidating. You can just use the bass line from the piano score if you don't
have a lot of experience writing bass parts. Or use roots and fifths of the standard chords the
score calls out. One trick that you can use is to write the bass line on a guitar tablature staff as
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:21 PM
if you were using your guitar as a bass. Make sure you create it to be on strings 6 through 3.
Then copy (or cut) just those strings. On the bass tablature staff, put your cursor in the first
position of the 1st string (which on a standard tuned bass is a G) and paste. You now have a
simple bass part.
Percussion (brush set voice) - I've written a simple general purpose percussion part can be used
without very much manipulation in hundreds of tunes.
Mickey doesn't give any limitations as to the type of tunes we use. He says to use use songs we like.
Let's modify that a little by pretending someone has come to you and asks you to arrange a tune for
their group. Then arbitrarily select a tune that not necessarily is your favorite. That makes it a little
easier to remember that our objective is to write chord substitutions. It's important to not over task
oneself on his/her first efforts. My suggestion is to start out simply and not concentrate on the right
hand strums, or times other than 4/4. You may favor a different melody instrument. In addition to
clarinets, violins, xylophones, flutes, and perhaps saxophones seem to work (blend) easier with a small
combo, rather than a solo trombone or trumpet.
Save the template under the name of the tune as your first step in generating the arrangement. That
ensures you won't corrupt your template.
The template is set up for the key of C and in 4/4 time. Rather than transpose the tune, accept the key
in which it was written, as I did in the examples. In my examples, I only used tunes in the orchestra
keys, but you certainly should feel free to use any key you desire. In Lesson 5 we learned how to
change key signatures, so a review of that lesson might help.
It's going to be like practically everything: the hardest one you'll ever do will be the first. By the way,
if you're like Mickey and have musical friends to come over and actually play your arrangements,
don't forget that the clarinet is one of the "Bb instruments". We discussed this in an earlier lesson.
No problem. Just make a copy of the TEF and transpose it up two frets (a whole step.) Then you can
print out just the clarinet part and everyone will be in the right key...... maybe!
Please send me any of your arrangements you'd like to share and I'll be sure to add them to Lesson
17. Now you'll see why Lesson 17 is one of my top three favorite lessons in this course. Since putting
this lesson into TablEdit almost two years ago, I always think of it when I arrange a tune. I'm
believing you will, too.
Ideas for those true gluttons who can't get enough! You can transpose your arrangements and my
examples to all the other keys, orchestra and guitar friendlies'. Additionally, take my examples and try
some different substitutions, tempos, and strums.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:21 PM
Lesson 18
Home
Lesson 18 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 18
The last 6 lessons of the chord section have Mickey taking the ideas from the beginning and
expanding them and creating new sounds and feelings. Lesson 18 deals with Intro's, a subject we
began to work with in Lesson 6 and 7 when we were learning how to use Melody Chords, or chords
from Group C. Now that we've had practically all the chord forms of this course, the intros can be
expanded.
Let's analyze each exercise.
Exercise 1: The chords are: D min7 - C dim7 - C Maj6 - C dim7 - D min7 - G13b9 - G Maj6 -
G7#5b9. I believe that if we rename this progression, it'll seem more like the familiar Circle of
Fourths that we are all familiar with. Note the part D min7 - C dim7 - C Maj6 - C dim7 - D min7.
We're holding the C note on the 8th fret and essentially moving the other notes up by a fret at a time,
two frets, and back down until we arrive at the D min7 again. We can think of this entire section as D
min7 harmony. Instead of continuously playing a D min7, we move out of it and back into it in
parallel. We all agree that D min7 progresses to a G13b9, but what about G13b9 going to a G Maj6?
Guess what? It isn't! The chord form Mickey uses indeed has the notes of a G Maj6, but it also has
the notes of a C Maj9 (C- E - G - B - D). The G is in the bass, and our bass player can play the root
for us. Doesn't G13b9 going to C Maj9 make more sense? Now, our intro goes to the V chord as a
lead-in, G7#5b9.
Additionally with that G Maj6 form used as a C Maj9, we can move our 2nd finger from the G on the
6th string to the C on the 5th string. Now we have a chord with the 1, 3, 7, and 9.
Here's a table showing what Maj6 chord will sub for a Maj9:
Ab A Bb B Db D Eb
GMaj6 C Maj6 E Maj6 F Maj6 F# Maj6
Maj6 Maj6 Maj6 Maj6 Maj6 Maj6 Maj6
Db D Eb Gb G Ab Bb
C Maj9 E Maj9 F Maj9 A Maj9 B Maj9
Maj9 Maj9 Maj9 Maj9 Maj9 Maj9 Maj9
The Maj6 to Maj9 Connection

Exercise 2: The chords are: G Maj6 - F Maj6 - D Min7 - G13b9 and a repeat of the entire phrase.
Remember we're in the Key of C. If we apply the "6 to 9" rule we just learned, the phrase now is "C
Maj9 - F Maj6 - D Min7 - G13b9". Hopefully, a little light just came on, with a smile, and an "oh,
yeah!"
Exercise 3: The chords are: D min7 - F min7 - E min7 - Eb min7 - D min7 - G7#9 - Ab dim7 - C
Maj9 - G7#5b9. Note as in Exercise 1 we have a progression that starts and ends with a D min7 and
chromatic parallel movement. That's just to avoid the boredom of a lot of just D min7's. The G7#9
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:23 PM
looks like a Db13b9, doesn't it? In fact, if we make a 6-string G7 barred chord on the 3rd fret and add
the A#/Bb note, It would look very much like a chord we play in "down and dirty" blues, wouldn't you
say? In dominant harmony we can almost always substitute a chord with a name that is 6 frets away.
And almost all dominant forms can have two names 6 frets apart, like our example G7#9/Db13b9. If
one has a b5 or a b9, the other will usually have either a #5 or a #9. It's a little bit much to discuss at
this lesson, but we'll get back to it in the Review Lesson.
The chord Mickey's calling an "Ab dim" or dim7 is actually used here as a G7b9. All dim7 chords can
be thought of as dominant 7b9 chords without roots for the chord one fret lower:
Ab Bb Db
G dim7 A dim7 B dim7 C dim7 D dim7 Eb dim7 E dim7 F dim7 F# dim7
dim7 dim7 dim7
Gb7b9 G7b9 Ab7b9 A7b9 Bb7b9 B7b9 C7b9 Db7b9 D7b9 Eb7b9 E7b9 F7b9
The Dim7 to Dom7b9 Connection

Continuing with the progression in Exercise 3, the chord Mickey is calling a Ma9 or Maj9, we've
noted before is really a 6/9 chord. If we take a C Maj9 that is fingered like a G6 and then go to C6/9,
it makes a useful substitute, similar to a Maj7 to Maj6 substitute.
Therefore, our progression should be called: D min7 - F min7 - E min7 - Eb min7 - D min7 - G7#9 -
G7b9 - C 6/9 - G7#5b9.
Exercise 4: The chords are: C Maj6 - C Maj6 - D min7 - G13b9 - A11 - C Maj6 - E min7 - Eb min7 -
D min7 - G13b9. The G13b9 progressing to an A11 seems funny, doesn't it? That's because it's a
sharing form with A11, but in this case it is really used as a C 6/9 (A is 6, E is 3, G is 5, D is 9). From
what we've learned in this lesson, the rest of the exercise should be easy to explain.
About the TEF's: I have retained Mickey's names except for what he calls a "ma9" form. That's
clearly an error. The rest are forms with more than one name, which strangely enough leads us into
next week's lesson!
If you want some more work: you can transpose the exercises to the Keys of D, A, and E.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:23 PM
Lesson 19
Home
Lesson 19 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 19
Lesson 19 could very well be called "chord ambiguity" as we discover that familiar chord forms can have more
than one name. We touched on this in Lesson 18 with the Maj6/Maj9 and Dim7/7b9 forms. In this lesson,
Mickey gives us the Maj6/Min7, Maj7/Min9 and the 7#5/9b5 ambiguities. And if that weren't enough, he gives us
the final three chord forms of the course. And he does this without giving us a single exercise to play on our
guitars. Sounds like a lot, huh? Let me add a few more ambiguities.
Chord Form 31: This form shouldn't be a stranger to anyone who has come this far in the course. In an earlier
lesson we learned Chord Form 8 and mentioned that rhythm chords can often be converted to melody chords by
moving the note from the 6th string to the same fret on the 1st string. We can think of Form 31 as the melody
conversion of Form 8. By now we all take for granted that the Maj7 to Maj6 is our bread and butter chord
progression for substitutions. A closely related Maj6 form that Mickey doesn't use, but I find to be invaluable is
shown in the illustration:
Form 31 and Variations

We have two new ways of playing that Maj7 to Maj6 chord movement.
Chord Form 32: Again, we have a chord form discussed in a previous lesson on how dominant 7 chords progress
and the substitutions for them. Using the same logic as with Chord Form 31, we can also convert this chord to a
rhythm chord form. Note that when we convert this form, we have a form very similar to another old friend,
Chord Form 23. Do you think that Mickey may have just arbitrarily selected those chord form numbers or it was a
calculated decision? (32 vs. 23):
1 of 5 4/24/2009 12:25 PM

In the 2nd measure of Form 32 and Variations, we can easily compare 32 with 23. Other than the bass note, which
of course can easily be added to 32, the difference is the note on the 1st string of each form. In Form 32, it is a G
in the example, or the root of the G13 chord. The other notes are a 3 (B), 7 (F), and a 13 (E). In Form 23, we
have the same notes including the root, but on the 6th string, but this form has a 9 (A). In classical music theory, a
13 chord has 7 notes. On a standard 6-string guitar we can't get more than 6 at any one time, and 4 is more the
norm for us fingerstyle guitarists using 4 fingers of the right hand. Music theorists say that a 4-note 13 chord
optimally should have a 3, 7, 9, and 13. Our bass player can play the root and the 5. Form 32 is a melody form
and from time to time, we need a 13 chord with the root on the 1st string. This form does that for us, but it does
sacrifice the 9.
Chord Form 33: Still another chord form we discussed in a previous lesson is Chord Form 33. It's also a melody
chord form, and we can also get a note on the 6th string as we did with 31 and 32. In fact, when we do that we
have a chord form that looks and sounds very much like Chord Form 21, the V7#5b9. Actually, Form 33, 32, 23,
21, and 25 are closely related and our choice of which to use may be dictated by either the melody note we wish
to use, or by the key we're in. For example, in the Key of C minor (relative minor to Eb) the V chord is a G. Since
C Minor has an Eb, a G7#5 or G7#5b9 might sound a little more appropriate than a G13.
2 of 5 4/24/2009 12:25 PM

Chord Name Ambiguities: Mickey points out that sometimes chords can have two or more different names.
This sometimes happens because we are not using all the possible notes to a chord (for a variety of reasons), such
as omitting a root or 5. A point that Mickey doesn't mention is that the chord form has the SAME sound. We
derive the name of the chord form by several different ways, such as what note our bass player is playing, from
what chord did we come from, or to what chord are we going.
Maj6/Min7 Connection: Mickey's given G Maj6/E min7 as the example, and he asks us to write out these
ambiguities like we did in Lesson 18. In fact, we can expand our table from Lesson 18 to do this:
G# Bb
E min7 F min7 F# min7 G min7 A min7 B min7 C min7 C# min7 D min7 D# min7
min7 min7
Ab Bb Db
G Maj6 A Maj6 B Maj6 C Maj6 D Maj6 Eb Maj6 E Maj6 F Maj6 F# Maj6
Maj6 Maj6 Maj6
Db Eb Gb
C Maj9 D Maj9 E Maj9 F Maj9 G Maj9 Ab Maj9 A Maj9 Bb Maj9 B Maj9
Maj9 Maj9 Maj9
Maj6/Min7/Maj9 Connection
One additional and very important point is that this now gives us some additonal substitutions. For example, we
have a measure of F harmony. We can substitute a C Maj6, A min7, D min7, or Bb Maj9 in addition to any chord
that has an F Major name. Sounds like a major overload, doesn't it? But in practice, it's not so bad. One secret is
to take the notes of a Major Triad, e.g., C comprising C, E, and G. C Maj9 - E min7 - G Maj6. Here are several
examples:
Some F Substitutions
Maj7/Min9: Our example is a G Maj7/E min9. A "min9" has 5 notes, right? If our bass player plays the root
"E", and we play a G Maj7, our audience hears a full E min9. Here's a table showing the relationships
chromatically:
G# Bb
E min9 F min9 F# min9 G min9 A min9 B min9 C min9 C# min9 D min9 D# min9
min9 min9
3 of 5 4/24/2009 12:25 PM
Ab Bb Db
G Maj7 A Maj7 B Maj7 C Maj7 D Maj7 Eb Maj7 E Maj7 F Maj7 F# Maj7
Maj7 Maj7 Maj7
Maj7/Min9 Connection
We're starting to feel "overload", right? There's a trick to this: the Maj7/Min9 is the same relationship as the
Maj6/Min7, we just change the 7/9 for 6/7.
7#5/9b5: This ambiguity could be the subject of an entire book on harmonic relationships. The theory revolves
around the special relationship that notes 3 and 7 have in a dominant 7 chord. This interval has a special name,
the "tri-tone". It was called for hundreds of years the "Devil's Interval" because primitive ears couldn't tolerate the
dissonance. Notes 3 and 7 are 6 halftones or as we guitarists like to think, 6 frets apart. If we invert this interval,
it's still 6 halftones apart. It is the only such interval that occurs naturally in a major scale. In practice, what this
means is if we take the 3 and 7 from one dominant 7 chord, invert it, and construct another dominant 7 chord
around this inverted interval, the new chord will be a substitute for the original. Now that's some pretty heady
stuff, wouldn't you say? Here's a table with those relationships:
E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A A#/Bb B C C#/Db D D#/Eb

A#/Bb B C C#/Db D D#/Eb E F F#/Gb G G#/Ab A
Tri-tone Complement Connection

Actually, we do it all the time without thinking about it. In the Blues, we often play a C#9 - C9 - B9 - E chord
progression. Go to C in the table and see that the complementary note is F#. If we substitute that for the C chord
and play a C#9 - F#9 - B9 - E, we'd just say "that's from the Cycle of Fourths."
Using the Tri-tone Connection to get other names for chord forms, let's use the table as the basis and remember
pairs. Some examples are:
7#5/9b5: G7#5/Db9b5 (minus root), Db7#5/G9b5 (minus root)
7b5/7b5: G7b5/Db7b5, Db7b5/G7b5
7/7b5b9: G7/Db7b5b9 (minus root), Db7/G7b5b9 (minus root)
7b9/7b9: G7b9 (minus root)/Db7b9 (minus root), Db7b9 (minus root)/G7b9 (minus root)
7#5#9/13: G7#5#9 (minus root)/Db13 (minus root and 5), Db7#5#9 (minus root)/G13 (minus root and 5).
Now that truly is overwhelming! A simple alternative is to determine what the complement is for a certain
dominant chord, and then try all that we can think of! We can get a lot of interest just from substituting a simple
dominant7 for its complement dominant7.
Advice from a Pro: Well known and well loved guitarist from the Dallas area, Bob Armstrong writes us: "One
reason this is so important is the changes in most tunes are cycle of 4th changes a majority of the time. For
example, look at the music to some of the tunes you play (preferable a fake book or sheet of music where chord
symbols are given). The minor substitute chord is almost always followed by a cycle of 4th change. E.g., Dm7 to
G7 (or G9, or G13, etc.) Often times--but not always, probably not even the majority of the time--the minor sub is
shown in sheet music preceding the 7th chord.
"Run the D major scale up to the 4th note. That note will be a G. A cycle of 4th change following G would be
some form of C (4th note in the G scale). It does not have to be a major or 7th chord. Going from C to F min or to
F dim. would be a cycle of 4th change.
4 of 5 4/24/2009 12:25 PM
"Learn the cycle of 4ths well, and you will be a greatly improved musician if you do not know that cycle already.
Here is a mnemonic for learning these intervals:
"B-E-A-D G-C-F Bb-Eb-Ab-Db and F# or Gb. If you run the Gb scale to the 4th note, that will be a B (starting
over). My mnemonic is pretty corny, but it goes like this: "Two sets of beads make a "Good Chord Finder."
(G-C-F). Sorry, but you'll just have to use straight memory on the F#. Better yet is to develop such a feel for this
concept that you won't have to "think" in order to do this.
"An added benefit of this knowledge is also very helpful in learning a new tune. Instead of memorizing a sequence
of chords, you will be following a concept a good portion of the time."
About the TEF's: If your head is swimming and just want to learn the chords by rote as Mickey originally
intended, then just go directly to the Lesson 19 TEF's, parts 1 through 4 and a bonus TEF.
Bonus TEF's: Per "Practicing What I Preach" and fulfilling a promise to you to add standards with rhythm parts,
I've added two bonus TEF's in the same style as Lesson 17: Clarinet melody, Rhythm guitar, Bass, and percussion.
All The Things You Are in Ab: This tune is often voted as one of the top 10 beloved melodies of the 20th
century. Here I break with the standard I started in Lesson 17 by giving two complete passes. The first "chorus"
is straight with the same Swing style "Chunk" rhythm we've used throughout this course. The 2nd chorus features
a Brazilian rhythm (this song is so popular in Brazil that many Brazilians believe it is an original Brazilian
melody!) I've used melody chords for the most part and used a Brazilian rhythm. Also, this is the first TEF in the
course where the MIDI voice is a nylon strung guitar.
Deed I Do in Bb: This tune will be featured in several upcoming lessons in other keys. This is an introduction to
this great tune.
If you just can't get enough of this: Continue writing rhythm guitar parts for your favorite tunes, as we started in
Lesson 17. Also, you can transpose them to all the orchestra keys and to D, A, and E. If you'd like to share your
creations with me, please send them to me and I'll put them on the website.
Just keep it FUN! Two aspirin and a nap help, also!
5 of 5 4/24/2009 12:25 PM
Lesson 20
Home
Lesson 20 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 20
Lesson 20 is a continuation of Lesson 18, Introductions. As Lesson 18 used C as the prime key,
Lesson 20 uses G as the prime key. Lesson 20 also uses a few of the chord forms that have several
names. There are no surprises here and we can continue to digest Lesson 19's huge data base.
As you play through these examples, note the highest note of each chord, and the simple melody these
notes produce. In my personal analyses, I've come to the conclusion that the secret to creating a good
intro is to have a good and simple melody, maybe just a descending scale, and then harmonize it.
Mickey doesn't provide any written notes to this effect and perhaps he intended us to discover this
secret on our own. I'd be interested in hearing any conclusions that you may assess.
About the TEF's: I've transposed the prime examples to all keys. But realistically speaking, I can't
play all of them as a transposition of what Mickey originally intended. Previously, when G has been
the prime key and Group A chords have been in use, he's asked us to transcribe to F, Ab, and Bb (just
a C prime and Group B chords are C, Db, and Eb). I've gotten around this fretboard limitation by
either dropping or raising by an octave the problematic passages, or changing the forms to a different
group. I've notated which files could be transposed directly and which ones I had to "manipulate".
Keep that in mind when you play the versions in C, Db, and Eb. You may find that you can play
some of these on your guitars in keys that I can't.
Bonus TEF's: Continuing Mickey's advice, I've included several additional tunes with the rhythm
guitar parts added per our previous lessons. This time I've tried to pick tunes with interesting
harmonies, providing a little more of a challenge:
A Foggy Day In London Town: This Gershwin classic is played in practically a different way by
each group that performs it. This is a slightly up tempo, or as Mickey might say, in "jump" or "bounce
tempo." I've improvised just a little on the melody unlike most of the previous standards. I
discovered that this tune can be harmonized a number of different ways and remain faithful to
Mickey's philosophy. Why don't you try to come up with some different progressions.
Georgia On My Mind: Note that in the usual iii7 - biii7 - ii7 - V progression Mickey has given us,
I've slightly modified it to "iii7 - bIII7 - ii7 - V." In C, this means I've used an Eb7 instead of an Eb
min7. It just sounded a little more bluesy. Experiment and see what you think.
Stardust: This classic is one of the most recorded tunes of all time and well worth the effort to learn
its complex chord progressions. The published key is C, but as a change I put it into G. Lots of
possibilities exist here for the rhythm guitarist, so please just consider this one of many.
Thanks For The Memories: This well known classic, associated with Bob Hope since 1938, has a
very interesting chord progression. I wrote an intro similar to those of Lesson 20. As the 2nd chorus
has a built-in ending, I've included two passes, and to add a little variety, I've included a clarinet,
trombone, violin, and flute sharing the melody. From an arranger's point of view (well, at least this
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:26 PM
arranger), this tune represents the biggest challenge of this group of tunes. I was able to maintain the
ascending feel to the harmony, my arranging goal.
If you're hungry for more: You can transpose these exercises to the keys of D, A, and E. As an
ongoing project, continue writing rhythm guitar parts for your favorite tunes. Also, you can transpose
them plus the bonus tunes to all the orchestra keys and to D, A, and E. If you'd like to share your
creations with me, please send them to me and I'll put them on the website's Lesson 17.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:26 PM
Lesson 21
Home
Lesson 21 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 21
This lesson is entitled Bop Blues Progressions in G Major. For some folks, the terms Bop and Blues might need defining.
Let's start with "Blues". The classic blues is built on a 12-measure harmonic structure:
12-Bar Blues Harmonic Structure

The first 4 measures are tonic harmony, often all as a Dominant 7 type chord for the tonic., Often Measure 2 is a IV chord or common
substitutes, returning to I in Measure 3. Most of the time, Measure 4 is a I7 chord that leads to two measures of a sub-dominant (IV) chord.
This can also be a dominant 7 variety of the IV chord or any substitute for the IV. There are two measures of tonic harmony leading to a
measure of V7, then a measure of IV(7), and at Measure 11 we return to the Tonic. Typically, in Measure 12 we have a turn around ending on
the V7 chord to lead us back into Measure 1. In Jazz and modern Blues, Measures 7 through 10 are often changed to chord progressions based
on the Circle of 4th's, such as VI7 - II7 - V7.
Bop, sometimes also called Be-Bop or Re-Bop, refers to a type of jazz that became popular in the early 1940's. The style borrowed harmonies of
the famous swing era, but featured improvised melodies based on the chords rather than improvising around a melody. Also, the tunes tended to
be up tempo.
Keeping these ideas in mind, we can formulate a definition of "Bop Blues Progression", as an up tempo Blues, heavy with chord substitutions.
Later, we'll write improvisations for these based on the chord progressions.
The Blues are such an important part of popular music, whether it is completely faithful to the idiom, or has borrowed elements to use in other
musical idioms. Way back in Lesson 4, Mickey gave us our first Blues progression. I suggested that you create a Blues Progressions Workbook
Folder. Let's add to it, starting with analyzing Mickey's three variations plus the bonus variations by comparing them to the classic 12-Bar Blues
Harmonic Structure:
Exercise 1: Mickey uses our new Form 32, a G-13 as the tonic for the first three measures. Measure 4 has a Form 33 G7#5 as the I7 chord
leading to the IV subs. Mickey uses a G min7 to sub for the C or IV chord in Measure 5. Measure 6 is divided starting with a G min6 sub for the
IV and an F# Maj7 as a passing chord that leads to a G Maj7, the I chord in Measure 7's first beat. Mickey then walks chromatically up and then
down using min7 chords until Measure 9. There he changes the harmonic structure a little by substituting a ii chord for the V. This is a very
common substitution in modern blues along with II chords. Measure 10 has V harmony instead of the IV harmony. Measure 11 resolves to the
tonic G Maj6, and Measure 12's turn around is a D13b9, the V chord for G. Note Mickey's rhythm, a distinct departure from our "Chunk" style.
I believe that Db and Eb are not practical as written, or at least on my guitars, but I include them so that you can make up your own mind (or
maybe contribute a playable alternative?? [hint, hint])
Exercise 2: This progression is very similar to Exercise 1. At Measure 7, where Mickey doesn't change chords on each beat, but rather uses a
variation of a progression we've come to know from our earlier exercises, by playing the descending min7 chords by playing two different forms
of each one. Measure 9 is the same as in Exercise 1, but Measure 10 uses a Form 30, 10, and 33 to sub for the V harmony. Measure 11 has a
Form 32 G13 as a sub for the tonic, and Measure 12 has the same turn around as Exercise 1. C and Db are not practical as written, in my
opinion. What do you think?
Exercise 3: This is my favorite of Mickey's Blues harmonies and in the future I've used it as a background for lessons on blues improvising.
Measure 1 starts on a I Maj7 and then goes to a Form 29 G13. This leads to the 2nd measure where Mickey is using IV harmony with a IV Maj6
to a #iv dim7. Measure 3 starts with what Mickey's calling a D Maj6. Per Lessons 18 and 19 we learned this is really a G Maj9. The last 1/2 of
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:28 PM
that measure he uses a C Maj6 as a passing chord to go to Measure 4's I7 harmony, a G13, then a G9b5. Measures 5 and 6 are Forms 32 used as
a IV7. Measure 7 is a repeat of Measure 3. Measure 8 has a B min7 going to a Bb min7 leading to Measure 9, another ii7 chord instead of a V.
Measure 10 subs a V for the IV (D13b9). Measure 11 resolves to the I Maj6, and Measure 12's turnaround is a repeat of Measure 10. A lot of
movement here, but I'm willing to bet that when you start creating your own Blues progressions, you'll borrow from this Exercise 3... Like I
do!!!!
Bonus Exercise 4: This is a repeat of Exercise 5 from Lessons 4 and 5. Note since these are just Group A chords only, I haven't transposed
them to C, Db, or Eb.
Bonus Exercise 5: This is my attempt at creating a Bop Blues Progression using some of my favorite progressions I've stolen from several
exercises. The great guitarist, composer, and arranger, Laurindo Almeida used to say "If you steal from one, it's plagiarism, but if you steal from
more than one, it's research!" As you can hear, I've researched this one heavily! I've just created one in G as an example. In Measure 4, I start
with a G13b9, and for the 2nd chord, I just lift my little finger. To give it a name, I guess we should continue with the Circle of Fourth's and call
it G something like G7b5b9. I'm absolutely sure, though, that you'll call it a C#7. Note the "new" form in Measure 6. It's actually an old friend,
a Form 9. But I've moved the 6th string note to the 1st string as we've talked about on other chords.
If you're hungry for more:
You can transpose these exercises to the keys of D, A, and E.
Write a Bonus 4 's progressions using corresponding Group B chords (much easier than it may seem!) in C, Db and Eb.
Create your own custom "Bop Blues Progressions" and transpose them to all keys.
As an ongoing project, continue writing rhythm guitar parts for your favorite tunes, as we started in Lesson 17. Also, you can transpose
them to all the orchestra keys and to D, A, and E.
As always, if you'd like to share your creations with me, please send them to me and I'll put them on the website's appropriate lesson.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:28 PM
Lesson 22
Home
Lesson 22 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 22
As we come to the end of the harmony section of this course about the only part we haven't touched on is
"Endings". Lesson 22 gives us five examples of endings with Group A chords and five with Group B chords.
Mickey doesn't say anything about this lesson such as try to create your own endings. I think that he would really
be pleased if we did. So let's analyze what Mickey's arranged to get ideas for creating our own endings:
Exercise 1: Mickey's using a forward arpeggio against the chord progression G Maj7 - F Maj7 - Bb Maj7 - Ab
Maj7 - G Maj7. You may be wondering how did Mickey come up with this progression? It doesn't seem to follow
any Circle of Fourths or any progression we've studied. In Lesson 19 we talked about the "Tri-tone Connection".
Using that as our guide, we have G to F to Bb sub for E to Ab sub for D to G or G - F - E - D - G, or harmonizing a
descending G Blues scale from I to V. That's my best guess. How about yours?
Exercise 2: We have a A min7 - D13b5b9 - G Maj7 progression, ii - V - I.
Exercise 3: We have a G Maj7 - Bb Maj7 - Ab Maj7 - F# Maj7 - G Maj7. I'm going to use the same logic as
Exercise 1: G to Bb subbing for E, Ab subbing for D, F# subbing for C to G, or G - E - D - C - G, another phrase
of Parallel Harmony.
Exercise 4: We have A min7 - D13 - D13b5b9 - G Maj7 progression, ii - V - I again.
Exercise 5: We have G Maj6 to C# dim7 to C Maj6 to D13b5b9 to G Maj7. Although this seems pretty obvious,
my best guess it that it really revolves around a descending chromatic scale of B to Bb to A to Ab to G. Putting
those notes in the bass, we have:
Revoicing Exercise 5
You decide: Is my analysis correct or have I just written another ending?
Exercise 6: This exercise is based on a D min to F min to C Maj7 progression. I believe that F min is a substitute
for a G11b9 which would be a ii - V - I progression.\
Exercise 7: D min7 to F min7 to C Maj7. F min7 can be thought of as a G11#5b9 without a root. Again, ii - V -
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:29 PM
I.
Exercise 8: We have D min7 to G7 to C6/9 to C Maj7. Mickey consistently calls 6/9 chords as "ma9". ii - V - I.
Exercise 9: D min9 to G13b9 to C 6/9 (marked in error). Our old friend, ii - V - I.
Exercise 10: D min9 to G7#5b9 to C 6/9 (marked in error) to C Maj7. Also a ii - V - I.
From our analysis, it's pretty safe to conclude that a ii - V - I progression, or a descending scale of practically any
flavor can make a Mickey Baker style ending.
About the TEF's: I only transposed the TEF's to keys where it was within reason to be able to play them on any
guitar. Several actually are playable in all keys.
For the overly ambitious: Try to transpose as many of the exercises to D, A, and E. Don't forget to continue
writing rhythm guitar parts for favorite songs as we started in Lesson 17.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:29 PM
Lesson 23
Home
Lesson 23 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 23
Lesson 23 is the last lesson Mickey has devoted to rhythm guitar, chord substitutions, strums, and
harmony theory. This is Mickey's biggest lesson to date, comprising 11 exercises. The exercises are
chord substitutions of common 8-bar and 16-bar harmonies. Not only is this lesson important as a
rhythm guitar lesson, but in Lessons 45 and 46, we'll write solos against them. That makes this lesson
very important, not to mention an awful lot of work, surpassed only by the amount of fun it is. After
rereading what I just wrote, I'll sure there are some that believe I must have been a used Chariot
dealer in a previous life. But I stand by it. It's justification for the taking the course and we can think
of it as a final exam.
If I might be a little more critical than I have a right to be, I believe that those of us taking this course
with TablEdit are so much more fortunate than previous students going through the course. For the
sake of publishing size, these lessons, especially Exercises 8 through 11 are extremely hard to read,
especially when comparing the "new" to the "standard".
With all those caveats, let's have fun with this exercise. Mickey's taken chord progressions from some
of the most famous standards and used them as the basis for his exercises. See how many you can
find, taking into account that many tunes share harmony structure with others. Just to get you started,
one I discovered was "How High The Moon". Bump the tempo up to about 1/4=180 for each
exercise, and listen to the exercises. Then listen to a collection of Django Reinhardt & Stephane
Grappelli with Le Hot Club de Paris. You'll be amazed at the "research" Mickey must have done.
As you download and read the TEF's of each exercise, you'll note that there are three modules for
each exercise:
Standard (in the center of your speakers)
New (Mickey's original variation to the left in your speakers)
Bonus (A variation I created to the right in your speakers).
The additional Bonus module is an attempt to create another example of the exercise by using chords
from the other group, or sometimes, another substitution that differs from Mickey's original exercise,
but is in the spirit and from our previous study. Some of the exercises sound great with all three
modules playing in the MIDI playback, and a few sound better when either the new or the bonus is
isolated and played with the standard or alone. What the bonus modules give us is 154 exercises
instead of 77. By adding them to each exercise, I've helped with the download.
If 77 exercises aren't enough for you: What I'd like to do is encourage you to attempt to create even
more modules for each exercise. Also, we can transpose them to the guitar friendly keys of D, A, and
E. And also, don't forget to arrange rhythm parts for some more tunes as we started in Lesson 17. By
now we should have a pretty fair amount of standards we've written rhythm parts for. As you're
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:30 PM
probably expecting, I'm offering to post any original creations that you may wish to share.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:30 PM
Another great use for melody chords is to http://www.thumbpicker.com/mickeybaker/Lesson-23A-Review%20...
Chord Review Lesson

Home
This Lesson's TEF's
Notes to Chord Review Lesson

Lesson 23 is Mickey's last lesson on chords and rhythm guitar work. We have chordal ideas and
rhythm guitar techniques that I dare say will influence us for the rest of our musical lives. For me, a
long time fan of Mickey's course, the chord lessons seem like an encyclopedia. I've returned to them
over the years for review, and I've always learned something new or been able to look at a problem
from a different angle. If we were college students asked to write a term paper, we might start our
research with our encyclopedia, but we would most certainly add additional sources. With your new
found skills with colorful chords, you now can approach more advanced studies, such as Joe Pass' or
Ted Greene's, with an ease that might not have been there 6 months ago.
Perhaps now is a good time to stop and reflect on what we've learned and maybe look at it from a
different angle.
Lesson 1: Mickey introduces us to the basic chord forms. I've divided them into four groups: A, B,
C, and D. I've included an exercise to learn the all the notes of the fretboard. If a student can only
learn one lesson in this course, by far the most important to me is learning the notes of the fretboard.
Lesson 2: Basic exercises of Group A chord forms (where the tonic is located on the 6th string).
Lesson 3: Basic substitutions of standard chords with Group A chord forms.
Lesson 4: More substitutions of standard chords with Group A chord forms (1 through 6). We are
introduced to the concept of a "turnaround" and how useful they are in all forms of music. The last
exercise is our first 12-bar Blues progression.
Lesson 5: Our first lesson in transposition to the keys of F, Ab, and Bb.
Lesson 6: We are introduced to melody chords, Group C, and our exercises are in the form of
"Intro's".
Lesson 7: Transpositions of Lesson 6 to F, Ab, and Bb. We also are asked to create new intro's by
rearranging the chords in the given examples.
Lesson 8: Right hand ideas.
Lesson 9: Basic exercises of Group B chord forms (where the tonic is located on the 5th string).
Lesson 10: This lesson is the first of two on the theory of substitutions:
1. Any major chord can be substituted for any major triad of the same name. For example, C
Maj9, C 6/9, C Maj7, CMaj6 can all sub for a C. Every once in a while we may want to sub a C
triad when the sheet music has given us a colored chord.
1 of 6 4/24/2009 12:31 PM
2. Any minor chord can be substituted for any minor triad of the same name. For example, C
min9, C min11, C min7, C min6 can all sub for a C minor. Every once in a while we may want
to sub a C minor triad when the sheet music has given us a colored chord.
3. Any dominant chord can be substituted for any dominant triad of the same name. For example,
C7, C7b9, C7#9, C7b5, C7#5, C7#5b9, C9, C9b5, C9#5, C11, C13, C13b5, C13b9, C13#9,
C13b5b9 can all sub for a C dominant triad, and that's about 1/2 the list. Every once in a while
we may want to sub a C triad when the sheet music has given us a colored chord.
4. Any colored chord that is the "tritone" (#4/b5) from the dominant can be substituted for any
dominant chord with any amount of color of the same name. For example, C#7, C# Maj7,
C#7b9, C#7#9, C#7b5, C#7#5, C#7#5b9, C#9, C# Maj9, C#9b5, C#9#5, C#11, C#13,
C#13b5, C#13b9, C#13#9, C#13b5b9 can all sub for a G dominant chord of any color, and
that's also about 1/2 the list.
5. A minor chord of any color can substitute for a dominant chord up a perfect 4th (some folks call
this minor chord the "dominant minor"). Examples are G min7, G min6, G min9, G min11, G
min7b5 all can substitute for any C dominant chord.
6. A minor chord can substitute for a tonic chord down a major 3rd. Examples are E min7 for C
(freely), but E min6 almost never, B min 7 for G, A min7 for F, etc.
7. A relative minor can substitute for its tonic chord and vice versa: A min subs for C and C subs
for A min.
Actually, numbers 6 and 7 aren't really substitutions but either a re-naming or a partial of one of the
chords. For our example for number 6, E min7 (which has the notes E, G, B, D) is really the top 4
notes of a C Maj9 chord (C, E, G, B, D). In fact, if you play an E min7, and your bass player plays a
C note, the audience hears a C Maj9. In our example for number 7, an A min7 (notes A, C, E, G) is
also a C Maj6 chord (C, E, G, A), so an A minor triad substituting for C triad (or vice versa) is actually
a partial of one (either A min7 or C6) substituting for a partial of the other (either C6 or A min7)
Lesson 11: This lesson gives a comparison of chord substitutions for Group A and Group B chord
forms.
Lesson 12: Here we are asked to write out the relationship of "ii to V" for each of the 12 dominant7
chords. Then we are to transpose Lesson 11 to the other orchestra keys: Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, and Bb.
Lesson 13: We are introduced to Vamps, which we defined as repeating chord progressions like those
used in jump and novelty tunes. We are asked to transpose the exercises to all the keys.
Lesson 14: This is a continuation of Vamps, but we return to mostly Group A chord forms and we are
also given four new forms, 27, 28, 29, and 30.
Lesson 15: We are introduced to Bridges which we are given three examples in both Group A and
Group B forms. We also are to transpose them to all keys.
Lesson 16: Here we have the last lesson in chord substitutions with Mickey giving us six examples of
subs for three types of progressions: G7 to C7, G7 to C min, and G7 to C.
2 of 6 4/24/2009 12:31 PM
Lesson 17: This is our "final exam" lesson where we are asked to write substitute harmonies for a few
of our favorite tunes. More importantly, though, Mickey advises us to continue with this lesson, by
reharmonizing favorite tunes and standards every week through and beyond our study of this course.
Lesson 18: More Intro's as we started in Lesson 6.
Lesson 19: This is the second lesson of the theory of chords having two or more names:
1. The relative minor7 is also the tonic Major6.
2. The relative minor9 is also the tonic Major7 (but missing the root.)
3. Practically all dominant chords have a second name that is a tritone away: G7#5 is also a
Db9b5 (root omitted); G7b5 is also a Db7b5; F#7#5b9 is also a C9b5 (root omitted); F#7#5#9
(not in Mickey's list) is a C13b5 (root omitted); C13b5b9 is an F#7#9 (you always thought that
C13b5b9 looked more like an F#7 type chord than a C, didn't you?), C9 is also an F#7#5b9#11
(also not in Mickey's list).
Lesson 20: This lesson is a continuance of Lesson 18's Intro's.
Lesson 21: We are given three Bop Blues progressions and discuss the meaning of Bop and the
harmonic structure of a Blues in modern music.
Lesson 22: This lesson brings us Group A and Group B endings. After reviewing that lesson, guest
professional guitarist Bob Armstrong said that he often uses colorful chords in endings similar to
Mickey's. Often, Bob combines alternating artificial harmonics with picked notes to make a harp-like
ending chord much like Chet Atkins and Lenny Breau used. Here is a sample with a very colorful C
Maj7#9b5 chord:
Lenny Breau Style Chiming Ending in C

Lesson 23: Mickey gives us 11 exercises that will be used later as rhythm platforms for our soloing
lessons. This is our biggest lesson up to date with 77 individual TEF's in the orchestra keys.
Chord Review: Mickey gave ideas for interesting chord substitutions for rhythm guitar, chord solo
intro's, and ending's. Although we, as a study group, may have added a few chords, or modified some
3 of 6 4/24/2009 12:31 PM
to meet our particular needs, the 33 chord forms of Mickey's course constitute the foundation of our
chord library. In Lesson 1 I gave some alternative chord forms, and from time to time in these lessons
I've mentioned some of these alternatives. Perhaps now I should reveal that many of these
alternatives are from Mickey's 2nd volume to this course.
A great use for melody chords that Mickey only skims the surface during intro's and endings is to,
well....... harmonize a melody! Isn't that a novel idea? One rule of thumb about when to use chord
solos is to remember your environment. If you're playing with an ensemble, don't play chords on top
of their chords. If you're actually playing solo with no accompaniment, then you'll want to add more
chords to get a fuller sound. With a small group of rhythm instruments and maybe one melody
instrument, add the chords to enhance the sound. If you're playing with friends to have a good time,
remember that they may love your guitar playing, but a little sitting around listening to your chord solo
goes a long ways! Listen to a lot of different artists and look for patterns in their arrangements. We
all have to learn and develop good taste and for some of us it's a lifelong, never ending education.
Three fingerstyle guitarists and one "hybrid" are especially noted for chord solos: George Van Eps,
Laurindo Almeida, Charlie Byrd, and Joe Pass. From now until the end of the course I'll be attaching
pertinent examples and exercises from various guitarists, especially fingerstyle guitarists. Here are
two exercises I got from the playing of fingerstyle guitarist Charlie Byrd. They both use common
melody chords, many of which are from Mickey’s selection.
The first exercise takes a descending G scale, starting at the 12th fret and the 1st four strings, and is
harmonized with chords from the “Circle of 4th’s until we are on the open position at strings 3, 4, 5,
and 6. Each chord is a naturally occurring 7th chord in the key of G, and is close spaced. Far be it to
improve on Charlie's original idea, but in the spirit of Mickey's course (that is, using min7 and min6
chords as subs for min and dominant 7 chords), in the 2nd half of this exercise I added the 6 chord.
Majors will have Major 7 and Major 6, minors will have minor 7 and minor 6. The vii7 chord is
unique. It is a diminished triad with its 7th. This chord is referred to by guitarists generally as a
"minor 7b5", but most musicologists and pianists refer to it as a "1/2 diminished 7". When we lower
the 7th of this chord to the 6, we get our old friend, the common diminished 7 chord that is also known
as a "doubly diminished chord" (because it is made of 2 intervals of a diminished 5th.) Dominant 7th's
are preceded by diminished 7th's as well. In that case the diminished 7 is actually a 7b9 without a root.
In listening to the 2nd half the first time, it occurred to me that here are some extra ideas that we can
isolate from this exercise and use in many of Mickey's. Especially note the min7 to min6 chords.
Isolate those measures and then play a dominant 7 chord (of any additional color): B min7 to B min6
to E7, or E min7 to E min6 to A7. Note that in most cases it's just a 1 finger movement.
Once we move to the lower 4 strings of the guitar, some of the fingerings are a challenge, and granted,
we're going to have very little use for them in our musical arrangements. I left them in to show the
movement of the 7 to the 6 of each form. The forms are not impossible to play, but are a little difficult
to get into. To facilitate getting into these chords, I changed the fingerings of some more commonly
occurring forms. It's your reference and your exercise, so I invite you to modify this exercise in any
way you desire.
The 2nd exercise is also in G, and it uses the open D string as a “pedal” and triads from the key are
played on the first three strings against this pedal or fixed bass note. Try adding some chromatic
chords to this exercise, like a C# between the C and D or a Bb min between the A min and B min. I'll
4 of 6 4/24/2009 12:31 PM
bet you'll finds some sounds you really like!
The 2nd half of this exercise uses minor and diminished triads substituting for the forms we used in the
first half. I've also included some chromatically occurring chords. In practice, if you're like me, you'll
mix these two parts to form still another way of playing this scale.
A note regarding pedals: Any note can be a pedal, but frequently it is the tonic or dominant note of
key we're using. For example in G, it is frequently G or D. Using that philosophy we guitarists using
standard tuning can use the open G string as a pedal in G or C (our chords would be 2 notes instead of
three), the open D in G or D, the open A in D or A, and the open E in A or E.
If you're bored and want some extra work, try playing Charlie's exercise 2 in other keys with other
pedals. There's a pattern and once you do one or two, you'll discover this pattern for yourself.
Both of these exercises seem simple, but are the basis for countless improvisations not only on the
guitar, but piano, vibes, harp, and other poly-tonal instruments.
Tips from Professional Guitarists:
Joe Pass: Joe gives us a bunch of two-measure turnarounds that can be used in C.
Bob Armstrong: Bob, a world class guitarist that is equally at home on the piano, performs in the
Dallas, TX area. Bob is a respected member of the Texas Fingerstyle Guitar Association and
unselfishly teaches other TFGA members. I'm proud to admit that I´m one of Bob´s biggest fans. Bob
stresses the importance of the Circle of 4th's. Here are his ideas on a version of "'Deed I Do", this
time in the key of C with an extended ending. Bob tells me that this ending may be a bit "over the
top", but he wanted to demonstrate a number of possibilities for the Circle of 4th's. Another of his
ideas is The Birth Of The Blues. Bob gives us 2 variations on the first 8 measures. The variations use
the same notes and fingering, but the rhythm is varied just a tiny bit for a completely different feel.
Bob ends with a Circle of 4ths turnaround and suggests that we finish the tune with some of our own
original ideas.
Bonus Exercises:
Exercise 1: Ron Haft sends us an exercise he developed by playing the triad to Maj7 to Maj6 to
Dominant 7 in each chord then progressing to the next chord in the circle of 4ths.
Exercise 2: This exercise comprises more than 100 "ii - V - I" cadences in the key of C. It was
inspired by Lesson 16. This exercise can be modified by changing the C measures to C min or C7
with substitutes. It is not meant to be a complete anthology, but rather an example of how we are
limited only by our imagination in the use of chords. Listen to and compare the cadences with the
most color. In my ears it is sometimes very difficult to discern the differences. My suggestion is to go
through this TEF and pick out the 20 or so favorites and transpose them to all the keys.
Exercise 3: Here are a min7 - min6, min9 - min7, min11 - min7 progressions based on D minor from
the 12th fret to open position. These can be used as substitutes for ii, iii, vi, and ii - V.
Exercise 4: Here are Maj7 - Maj6 and Maj9 - 6/9 progression based on C Major from the 12th fret to
open position. These can be used as substitutes for I and IV chords.
5 of 6 4/24/2009 12:31 PM
Exercise 5: This is a table of progressions similar to Lesson 16. While working on Lesson 16, I
realized that Mickey had left off a number progressions of his chord forms. I generated this table as
an addition to that table. There should be no surprises here.
Epilogue: There's a lot of information in this lesson, but for those that have been working steadily
throughout the course, it should just be mostly a friendly review. I'm not going to suggest additional
material as this is a handful that we'll all be digesting for years after completing this course.
As always, have fun with it!
6 of 6 4/24/2009 12:31 PM
Lesson 24
Home
Lesson 24 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 24
Lesson 24 is the start of Part 2 - Soloing. As there are many aspects to soloing on the guitar and also
probably the #1 weakness of most guitarists, Mickey starts at a very low level and builds from there.
The objectives are to give one the skills to create single line leads. Mickey was writing from a straight
or flat pick guitarist's perspective. Those of us that play fingerstyle view some of these exercises in a
different manner. In Lessons 24 through 30, I've tried to show a variety of right hand techniques,
including the flat pick way, and no attempt has been made to persuade the student to adopt my or any
other guitarist's approach to the right hand.
Pick players predominantly try to play down strokes to notes on the beat and up strokes on notes off
the beat. Mickey adheres to that principle as well. Fingerstylists have a number of different
techniques. Some guitarists that use thumb picks treat them as a straight or flat pick. A common
technique that actually originated during the Renaissance for lute players is to use the thumb or P (for
the Spanish word "pulgar" - thumb) as a down stroke, and the index finger (or another finger or
alternation of fingers) for the up stroke as the Pick guitarists would do. Classically trained guitarists of
today prefer to alternate between their index or I finger and their M finger as a general rule. They
argue that use of the thumb always has a natural accent in the P I P I sequences. Some fingerstylists
play very fast scales with three fingers, such as P M I or A M I. An argument against that technique is
it is difficult to avoid a triplet type of accent. The counter argument is that the passage is so fast that
the listeners doesn't feel the accent but rather the speed. And it's safe to say that from time to time we
may want to take advantage of the natural accenting that these fingering present.
Probably the most accurate statement is that every technique is a compromise and each player must
decide for himself which presents the least compromise in his general philosophy of playing.
About the Exercises: Mickey's exercises are basically scales and right hand picking patterns in
various timing schemes. Exercises 3 and 4 are Mickey's first in 3/4 time. Note the different
fingerings I've given for the right hand. Select one that is closer to your personal preferences and
practice it.
About the Bonus Exercises: Scales are an important part of single line work. Classical guitarists are
generally taught fingerings that were advocated by the most famous classical guitarist of the 20th
century, Andres Segovia. Segovia published a well known work "Diatonic Major and Minor Scales"
by Columbia Music Co., and I hardily recommend the publication.
Bonus TEF: This exercise is based on a Major scale played in one position on the fretboard and is
two octaves, tonic to tonic.
Bonus - Major Scale Fingering 1: This fingering can be used for major scales from the lowest Tonic
to the highest of the keys of C, Db, D, and Eb.
Bonus - Major Scale Fingering 2: This fingering is unique to the key of E Major, from the lowest E
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:33 PM
to the highest.
Bonus - Major Scale Fingering 3: This fingering is unique to the key of F Major, from the lowest F
to the highest.
Bonus - Major Scale Fingering 4: This fingering can be used for major scales from the lowest Tonic
to the highest of the keys of F#, G, Ab, A, Bb, and B. I'm not going to fool you and tell you they're
easy. Fact is, especially A, Bb, and B, they are a handful! Practice slowly (as if I had to say that!)
Those of you that own guitars with 20 or more frets may wish to add C (for 20 fretter's), Db (21 frets),
D (22 frets), etc. If you do, please write about your experiences and I'll share them with all.
Bonus - Scales from Chord Forms: This exercise was given by Art Borgeson and helps to hear
chromatic tones against chord harmonies. Art's example takes the first few chords from Autumn
Leaves and plays a chromatic scale against them. You can take your favorite tunes and do a similar
exercise.
For those of you on a musical high: Don't forget to continue writing rhythm guitar parts for
standards as in Lesson 17.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:33 PM
Lesson 25
Home
Lesson 25 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 25
Lesson 25 continues with the right hand development we started in Lesson 24. Lesson 24 has a
number of scales that we can continue to work on not only in Lesson 25 but throughout our study. As
the new workload from Lesson 24 was extensive, I'm not adding any additional exercises. If any of
you are like me, you'll find Lesson 24's Bonus Scale Fingering 4 (F# through B), a year's study in
itself!
As one student to another talking about the course over a cup of coffee, I have to say that this is my
least favorite of all the lessons in this course. I understand the need for it, but it's a little like my
mother saying "eat those peas and carrots; they're good for you" when I really wanted to dig into the
fried chicken.
All of the notes about picking preferences I gave you in Lesson 24 also apply to Lesson 25 and the
remaining lessons. By now you probably have made a decision as to how you want to use your right
hand and I'm not going to dwell on this. In fact, this is the last lesson I've given different right hand
examples.
Don't forget to continue building your Standards notebook (that, by now is really a portfolio), and
please share with us what you create.
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 12:34 PM
Lesson 26
Home
Lesson 26 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 26
Lesson 26 introduces us to minor scales. If you're the sort that accepts without question, then perhaps
you can skip what I've written and just go to Mickey's exercises to learn them by rote. There's a lot to
learn about minor scales, and Mickey's course really skims the surface. Unlike the major scales we
studied in Lesson 24, we actually can have three different varieties of minor scales. They are:
Natural Minor - This is the simplest form of minor scale. If we play a major scale, but start and
stop on the 6th note of that scale (for example, a C major scale, but start and stop on the note
A), this is referred to as an A natural minor scale or sometimes, A Aeolian Mode. In our
example, A minor is referred to as the relative minor of C major and vice versa. The minor key
shares the key signature of its relative major key.
Harmonic Minor - This minor scale comes from our musical need to have a leading tone as a 7th
note in a minor scale. Playing a natural minor scale starting and stopping on the tonic note, the
music has a modal quality without this sense of finality or ending. By raising the 7th (called
subtonic in natural minors) a half step or one fret (now called the leading tone as in major keys),
we have that "pull" to the tonic. Continuing the use of A minor, we would play a G# instead of
a G. This makes our dominant a major chord. Our V - i has more of a sense of finality than the
v - i of the natural minor. The harmonic minor uses the same key signature as the corresponding
natural minor, but we write the raised 7th note as an accidental in our standard notation.
Melodic Minor - This minor scale evolved from the harmonic minor scale. The interval between
the 6th and raised 7th in the harmonic minor is an augmented 2nd or 3-fret distance. This gives
the music a distinctive middle eastern flavor. Right now would be a good time to play through
Mickey's Exercise 8 of this lesson to hear that. To get away from that sound, on ascending
passages, we can raise the 6th note by a half step or one fret. But on descending passages we
use the natural minor scale. The melodic minor uses the same key signature as its corresponding
natural minor, and the raised 6th and 7th notes are written as accidentals.
One term that comes up in conversations about scales is "modal". In theory, all scales are "modes", as
we mentioned that A minor is the Aeolian Mode derived from the C Major Scale. It's beyond the
scope of this course at this time to go into modal music. But I want you to be aware that sometimes
you are going to hear music played that sounds like it's a Minor key with some strange chord changes.
It's a good bet it's either modal, or from an avant garde composer!
Is your head swimming? Mine is and I wrote this! Those are the classical definitions, but in practical
terms the distinction between the three minors is often blurred, especially between natural and
melodic.
Somewhere between major and minor scales there are the ubiquitous Blues scales that are unique.
Surprisingly, nowhere in this course does Mickey mention Blues scales as such. Later lessons will
give us some riffs that are clearly taken from Blues scales, but just not defined as such. Most folks
1 of 3 4/24/2009 12:35 PM
like to treat Blues scales as either major scales with minor notes added or vice versa. Since we can
play Blues scales against either minor or major keys, I think it's just easier to think of them as being
unique. Typically, a Blues will use the key signature for the corresponding major key and add the blue
notes as accidental, but this isn't a hard and fast rule.
The simplest blues scale can be compared to a major scale with a lowered 3rd and a lowered 7th. Or
if we're of a minor sort, it can be compared to a natural minor scale with a raised 6. In that basic scale
the b3 takes the place of the 2 and 3, and the b7 takes the place of the 6 and 7. We can expand it by
adding a lowered 5th as a passing tone, and returning the original 3rd and sometimes even the original
7th. I give three positions worth of basic scales as bonuses plus one exercise using parts of all three.
Try adding all the passing tones and you'll soon see that the scale loses its Blues sound and becomes
for all intents and purposes a mostly chromatic scale. No matter how you wish to refer to them, if
they aren't already on your list of closest friends, they soon will be!
About the Exercises: Mickey gives us open position A Harmonic Minor and A Melodic Minor
scales. Mickey's harmonic minor varies from tradition because Mickey used the natural minor as the
descending scale. See what I mean about blurring the distinction?! Also, there are some more "wrist
development" exercises intended for the straight pickers, but I've given additional fingering for those
of us that are finger stylists. There aren't any surprises for those of us coming from Lessons 24 and
25.
About the Bonus Exercises:
Bonus A Natural Minor Exercise: This is an open position A natural minor scale that you can use to
hear the differences versus Mickey's harmonic and melodic minor exercises.
Bonus - Minor Scale Fingering 1: This exercise is borrowed from the classical guitarist's training,
giving fingerings for the corresponding melodic minor scales for C, C#, D, and D# minor from lowest
tonic to highest tonic on the standard 19-fret fretboard.
Bonus - Minor Scale Fingering 2: This is unique to the series fingering pattern for E melodic minor
following the lowest tonic to highest tonic.
Bonus - Minor Scale Fingering 3: This fingering pattern is for F, F#, G, G#, and A melodic minor
following the lowest tonic to highest tonic.
Bonus - Minor Scale Fingering 4: This is the fingering pattern for the remaining Bb and B melodic
minor following the lowest tonic to highest tonic.
Bonus - G Blues Scale Fingering 1: This fingering pattern can be related to a barred G Maj or min
chord.
Bonus - D Blues Scale Fingering 2: This fingering pattern can be related to a barred D Maj or min
chord.
Bonus - Bb Blues Scale Fingering 3: This fingering pattern can be related to a barred Bb Maj or min
chord. Pay particular attention to the variation as it's the basis for Lesson 47.
Bonus - E Blues Scale Exercise: This exercise uses fingering patterns for the E Blues Scale from the
12th to Open Positions. While you're playing through this exercise, imagine a distorted amplifier, a
2 of 3 4/24/2009 12:35 PM
few slurs and bends, and you'll realize that you're in the gold mine that has generated hundreds of
millions of dollars for rock guitarists in the last 50 years!
Don't forget to continue building your Standards notebook and please share with us what you create.
Just keep it FUN!
3 of 3 4/24/2009 12:35 PM
Lesson 27
Home
Lesson 27 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 27
Mickey calls Lesson 27's exercises "Scale Runs". Another word for them is "arpeggio". We guitarists
are very familiar with that word as it generally is used to describe holding a chord form with the left
hand while the right hand plays a pattern from the notes of the chord. In fact, if we can remember all
the way back to Lesson 8, we took some of Mickey's turnarounds and added all sorts of picking
patterns to them and we called them arpeggios. The scale run arpeggios Mickey introduces to us in
Lesson 27 are more as a nonguitarist such as a horn player or saxophonist, would think of them. That
is, these are all the notes of the chord generally in either an ascending or descending order.
About the exercises....
Note that starting in these exercises and continuing until the end of the course, I've added rhythm
modules with rhythm guitar, generally playing rhythm using Mickey's chord philosophy. Hopefully,
this adds a little fun to otherwise pedantic exercises, and makes the exercises seem a little more
musical. You should hear the lead guitar in one speaker and the rhythm guitar in the other.
Exercise 13 is based on a common chord form most of us call the "F form". There is going to be a
tendency to brush down and back up with the straight pick, thumbpick, or a bare thumb, but that's not
what it's all about. We are to play each note as if it were a scale, as we did in Lessons 24, 25, and 26-
up/down, PIPI, or IMIM, or your particular right hand scale technique. It's pretty tough to do the
descending/ascending arpeggios for the plectrum guitarists that use the up/down picking, or the folks
that use PIPI (though granted it's easier than with a plectrum, but that is what Mickey wants. For the
folks using the classical technique of IMIM, it's no big deal, is it? Well, not much. I'd have a
conscience pang if I didn't admit that I really had to fight the natural tendency to go PIMA and
AMIP. We fingerstylists play chords that are "legato", where previous notes continue to ring while
we're generating new ones, and we do it quite naturally with no real effort. In fact, the word
"arpeggio" is an Italian word that means "harp like", another instrument noted for legato scales and
arpeggios. But Mickey expects us to make the notes of our arpeggios just as we did when we were
playing any of the scales.... just like our buddies, the horn players, clarinetists, Saxophonists, etc., all
do when they play arpeggios... one note at at time, and generally each note only gets its note value of
duration.
Mickey starts this exercise with an F chord form, but I've added our old buddy, the E form. But
notice I've changed the fingering just a bit to make it easier to go to the F chord form. Try it, you may
like it! I can't take credit for this fingering. Chet Atkins and John Knowles in the "Get Started On
Guitar" instructional video suggest that fingering philosophy as a smooth, minimum effort transition
technique when playing parallel harmony from the open to 1st position. If you don't believe Chet and
John, go from an A to Bb using both traditional fingering and this technique. Of course, there are
going to be some of us that say since we learned Mickey's Form 16 Maj7 form, it's rare when we play
a barred Bb triad.
Exercise 14 is based on what most of us think of as an open "C form" that is made into a barre chord.
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:35 PM
This exercise is a little tougher than 13 as many folks seem to have problems with grabbing this form.
Note that we only have three exercises in this lesson so we can spend extra time on this. I didn't put
the picking directions on this or the last exercise as it makes the TEF really hard to read. Besides, by
now, it should be second nature. But don't cheat! Continue with the pattern we started in Exercise
13. Mickey starts this exercise with a Db form, but I added a C form with the open 3rd string. Just for
the purposes of this exercise, let's finger the notes of our old friend the C chord as if it were the barre
chord at Db and higher. This will make sliding to the Db about 400% easier. At least, it does for me!
Bonus Exercise 1 is based on an open "G form". Mickey didn't give it. My reason for adding it is
that many folks have difficulty creating solos on the bass strings. By starting at the beginning, maybe
we can get around that little hurdle. It's not any tougher than the other two, is it? Be honest now!
Bonus Exercise 2: Since Lesson 2 we have been using a Maj7 to Maj6 chord progression, so why
not a Bonus Exercise using that as well? From the first measure, I'm absolutely positive you're going
to refer to this as the Mr. Sandman exercise and it will be the one you'll practice the most.
To break up the monotony of just practicing these exercises, let's not forget to continue building our
Standards portfolio we started at Lesson 17. Please share with us what you create.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:35 PM
Lesson 28
Home
Lesson 28 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 28
Lesson 28 is a continuation of Mickey's "Scale Runs". Lesson 27 called those exercises as "Major
Scale Runs", and so it follows that Lesson 28 would have "Minor 7th Runs". As you may be thinking
from your recent experiences with chord substitutions, the line between major and minor is a blurred
line. Sometimes a Major 6 is called a minor 7th and vice versa. And a minor 7th is the top four notes
of a Major 9th chord. My suggestion is that we needed names for them and that's what Mickey
chose.
Note that on these initial soloing exercises, Mickey doesn't really overload us, as might be argued
about previous lessons such as 23. I take that as a show of how important he feels these are and to
spend more time on each individual lesson. Also, Mickey gives the picking patterns that he started us
on in Lesson 24. I didn't notate that in the TEF's, but don't take that as an indication being
superfluous. Continue, as you decided, what works for your particular style. I've added a 2nd module
with rhythm to give these exercises a more musical feel.
Exercise 15 is starts with a Bb min7 chord form in first position. As it is also useful, I actually started
this exercise with an A min7 in the open position. This exercise is for the 1st through 3rd strings.
Exercise 16 gets a bonus E min7 in the open position and then as Mickey wrote. This exercise is for
the 4th through 2nd strings.
Exercise 17 also gets a bonus D min7 in the open position. Actually this lesson is an adaptation of
Exercise 16, also using the 4th through 2nd strings.
Exercise 18 gets a bonus A min7 before going as Mickey intended. This exercise is for the 5th
through 3rd strings. It can be combined with Exercise 15 to make a 5th through 1st string exercise, if
you're interested.
Bonus Exercise: It seemed to me that the 6th string was being ignored, so I wrote this bonus exercise
to feature practice on the 6th through 4th strings. It starts with an E min7 which is the lowest four
note chord that can be made on a standard tuned guitar.
To break up the monotony of just practicing these exercises, let's not forget to continue building our
Standards portfolio we started at Lesson 17. Please share with us what you create.
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 12:36 PM
Lesson 29
Home
Lesson 29 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 29
Next on our list of possible runs, Lesson 29 gives us Dominant 7 & 9 arpeggios. As in the previous
lessons on scale runs, we aren't too overburdened with exercises to memorize. These runs appear in
practically every tune that has been recorded by anyone improvising since the 1930's and maybe
before then as well. I've maintained the same modus operandi for these exercises as in the previous
scale run exercises: Lead to the left, Rhythm to the Right.
Exercise 19 is the only exercise that uses the dominant 9 forms and it does so on strings 3, 2, and 1.
Exercise 20 actually is a continuation of Exercise 19, but with the 4 notes per chord, it becomes a
dominant 7 exercise. This exercise is on the 4th through 2nd strings.
Exercise 21 is like Exercise 20, only on strings 5, 4, and 3.
Exercise 22 is also closely related to Exercise 20, including the strings, but instead of starting on the 1
of the chord, it starts on the 7 and skips to the 3.
Exercise 23 combines Exercises 19, 20, and 22 for an extended one measure per chord form. This
exercise is for the 4th through 1st strings. Mickey calls it a dominant 7 form, but it really should be a
dominant 7b9 form and parts of it will be found in the upcoming lesson on diminished chords (which
we learned are sometimes used as 7b9 chords.)
Bonus Exercise: Here's an exercise that is similar in philosophy to Exercise 19, but it uses the 4th
through 2nd strings. I discovered this form many years ago when I was transcribing the hot mandolin
licks of Jethro Burns so that I could use them on the guitar. If I remember correctly, Mickey even
uses a version of this form in a later lesson. I don't think you'll be too stressed with the addition of this
run!
Continuing Nag: Let's not forget to continue building our Standards notebook we started at Lesson
17. In fact, if you're like me, you never pick up a collection of tunes without mentally adding the new
chords, right? Sure you do! Please share with us what you create.
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 12:37 PM
Lesson 30
Home
Lesson 30 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 30
This is our last lesson on arpeggios and it's all about diminished scale runs. There are five exercises and
they pretty much speak for themselves. Remember that diminished chords are made of minor thirds, and
produce two tri-tones (diminished fifths). That means that diminished runs will be used as dominant
substitutes besides as the connecting runs for passing chords. My best description of diminished arpeggios
is that they always seem to want to go somewhere, that is, resolve to something.
Exercise 24 is on the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st strings.
Exercise 25 is on the 4th, 3rd, and 2nd strings.
Exercise 26 an extended exercise on the 4th, 3rd, 2nd, and 1st strings.
Exercise 27 was originally an ascending G diminished chord that starts at the G on the 6th string and ends
up at the D on the 1st string. As you only have three diminished 7 chords before they repeat, I give two
more. I changed the name to Ascending Diminished 7. I love this exercise as it reminds me of the organ
background music in silent movies indicating a chase!
Exercise 28 was also originally the descending G diminished chord that correlates to Exercise 27. I added
the two additional scales and changed the name to Descending Diminished 7.
Bonus Exercise, Tri-tonic Runs: Our frequent guest contributor, Bob Armstrong, sends this bonus
exercise. Here's Bob's explanation as to how to use this run:
"Tri-tonic substitutions maybe are more of a lick, and not at all an arpeggio. Or perhaps this is a lick which
consists of a series of short arpeggios. The tri-tonic sub can be played over any major chord, or over any
dominant 7th (or 9th, 11th, or 13th) chord.
"The 'mechanics' are as follows: The 1, 3, and 5 notes are played. Let's use the key of C, so the C, E, and
G notes are played single- string going up. The flat of the G comes next (which is the b5 of C), followed by
Bb, followed by Db, then the Db is flatted which makes it a C from which you play the one, three, and five
notes of the C scale again, but an octave higher than the original one, three and five you played to start this
series. This works because the exact center of the C scale is the F#/Gb (and by this, I mean that there are
seven chromatic notes counting up from C to F# and seven chromatic notes counting down from C an
octave higher down to F#).
Here's Bob's Tri-tonic lick applied to a V - I chord progression in C:
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:38 PM
Bob Armstrong's Tri-tonic Substitution Lick
"Each three note segment can be added to, that is, instead of just a triad, you can use a Major 6, Dominant
7, Major 7, etc. Also, with a slower tempo, I like to add both the 6 and dom. 7th notes to each segment.
Or, play the 1,3,5,6, and Maj 7 tone over the 1 chord.
"On a fast tune (e.g., 240 beats per min), I give three notes per unit and two units per measure. My count
is 'one and two, three and four' for each measure. On a four-note-per unit job (8 notes to the measure), my
count is 'one and two and three and four and.' When you use the five-note units (e.g., 1, 3, 5, 6, maj.7), the
count is 'one and two and three, four' (no note on 'four.')
"I don't pretend to have exhausted all the possibilities of tri-tonic subs."
Thanks, Bob, for that great idea. I've included it as a very short TEF forced against a Mickey Baker V - I
chord progression in C with a rhythm guitar for an idea of how it might sound. If any of you create your
own tri-tonic run, please send it and I'll add it to the Lesson.
Deja vu: Let's continue building our Standards notebook we started at Lesson 17. In fact, if you're like
me, you never pick up a collection of tunes without mentally adding the new chords, right? Sure you do!
Putting my actions where my mouth is, I've added a 1944 vintage tune that sure sounds great with Mickey's
substitutions, "I'll Walk Alone". This time I've done something a little new. I've added the names of the
common chords from the sheet music so that you can try your hand at some different changes if you like.
Please share with us what you create.
As always, just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:38 PM
Lesson 31
Home
Lesson 31 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 31
After seven weeks of scales and arpeggios, we're all dying for a change, aren't we? Sure we are! And I'm sure that Mickey must have known
that as now we get to put some of our scales and arpeggios to use. Mickey chose that ubiquitous of musical forms, our old friend the Blues, for
this.
Mickey says that the majority of the Blues are played in the keys of Ab, Bb, C, F, and G. When I read that I thought "where does he get this
data from?" Then I put it into 1955 combo and big band perspective. We all know that in the raw, "get down and get dirty" guitar and mouth
harp blues that put Chicago, Memphis, and Kansas City on the musical map, our guitar friendly keys of E and A and even B get the lion's share
of use. These blues are smooth, cool jazz blues that borrows the 12-bar harmony.
Lesson 32 analyzes this lesson so we don't have to go into the "head" part of the lesson now. We can just play and learn. Let me describe what
I've done for these lessons. As the rhythm part, I've taken the three "Bop Blues Progressions" from Lesson 21 and matched them 1 with Blues
No. 1, 2 with Blues No. 2, and 3 with Blues No. 3. And as an additional bonus I've written a original Blues backup using Mickey's philosophy
and going back to our "chunk" rhythm. By changing the substitutions and the rhythm style we add new life to these simple melodies.
Extra Credit (yeah sure!): Take Mickey's melodies and without changing the order of notes, change the rhythm. For example, in Measure 1
of Blues No. 1, instead of the original, try these suggestions:
Changing the Rhythm of the Melody

Use your imagination and your developing ear to help you. Another method is to memorize the original melody and let your "mind's orchestra"
improvise on it. Then write down what you're hearing. Sounds difficult, but it gets easier every time to do it.
Another idea is to take one of your favorite blues progressions and play it against these melodies.
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 12:39 PM
Lesson 32
Home
Lesson 32 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 32
Lesson 32 gives us a breather! No exercises to learn, just learn Mickey's analysis of each Blues.
Wow! Whoa! Just a second! Mickey asks us to now study the three Blues from Lesson 31 in all
keys. So now we need to work on Db and Eb. After seven months of working with these keys, that's
no big deal!
Mickey tells us that Lesson 31 is the most important one in the soloing section because all the
succeeding lessons are based on this one. That's quite an endorsement.
Blues #1- Mickey tells us what we learned in Lesson 21: sometimes Measures 9 and 10 of a Blues is
the V7 going to the IV7. Note that you can force either chord progression, V7 - IV7 or ii7 to V7,
against the melody and it works.
Blues #2- Mickey's just reviewing the Harmony Lesson we learned in Lessons 19 and 20. That is, a
iii7 can freely substitute for a I Maj7. In fact, it's the upper 4 notes to a I Maj9 chord. Mickey also
states that ii7 to iv7 runs work great against V super altered chords, like V13b5b9 and V7#5b9. Just
so we don't get lost in the Roman numerals, let's relate that to everyone's favorite key, C: runs of D
min7 going to F min7 work against our super colored V chords like G13b5b9 and G7#5b9. Why? A
D min7 comprises the notes D, F, A, C. As we may remember from our earlier harmony lessons, these
notes are the top 4 notes of a G11 chord. An F min7 comprises F, Ab, C, Eb. F and C we covered in
D min7. The Ab is a b9 in a G dominant chord, and Eb (which is also a D#) is a #5.
ii7 to iv7 to I Maj7

Click on this link to hear this as a MIDI sound file with rhythm guitar: ii7 to iv7 to I Maj7 . If you
have problems with your audio program listening to a MIDI file, a free download of a great simple
1 of 3 4/24/2009 12:40 PM
audio and video program (it works great with Flash video formats as a bonus) is available at
www.gomplayer.com.
In fact, play an F min7 chord, but with a G in the bass and then just lift that 1/2 barre on the 1st fret.
That gives us a G11b9 going to a G13.
G11b9 to G13 to C Maj6

Let's listen to it: G11b9 - G13 - C Maj6 . Sound familiar? If not, buy yourself a CD of the greatest
hits of Les Paul and Mary Ford.
These tricks work in any style of music.
Blues #3- Mickey introduces us to a "riff run" by saying that it is, but without telling us what it is. A
riff is a catchy little phrase that can be made of most anything: scales, arpeggios, blue notes, and can
be forced against any harmony in the key. Some guitarists have made a career out of just playing riffs,
while others say that it hurts your creativity and we should avoid them. Fact is, all guitarists, including
us, use riffs regularly, just as you hear repeating elements in the great composers like Gershwin,
Ellington, Rodgers, Porter, and Berlin. In just a few lessons, Mickey will give us a number of riff runs
to memorize and use and will ask us to create our own. I'm going to recommend that you go on a Riff
Expedition and find your favorite riffs by your favorite professional guitarists and transcribe them for
your use in later lessons. In the coming lessons I'll try to share some of my favorite riffs.
Oh by the way- why don't we use this opportunity to write chord substitutions for five of our favorite
tunes. Here's five of mine:
1. Here's That Rainy Day
2. I Love You for Sentimental Reasons
3. Limehouse Blues (which really isn't a Blues at all!)
4. Mood Indigo
5. Lover (Wasn't this originally in 3/4 time?)
2 of 3 4/24/2009 12:40 PM
Just keep it FUN!
3 of 3 4/24/2009 12:40 PM
Lesson 33
Home
Lesson 33 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 33
After almost eight months of diligent study, it's time to start having the fun we were all promised!
Lesson 33 has us taking the three Blues solos from Lesson 31, and writing three additional 12-bar
solos, just by rearranging the runs and arpeggios. We are to do them first in G and then transpose
them to all the other keys.
Here's what I've done for you: I created my personal solos and I transposed them to all keys except
Db. For your transposing practice, take the TEF's in C and transpose them to Db.
The easiest way I can think of to use TablEdit to create your solo is to use the three "Prime"
examples. Make another Lead Guitar Module (let's call it "Your Lead"). Then we copy the 1st 12
measures of my example which are the same as Mickey's Lesson 31. Now you have 36 measures or 3
Blues Choruses to write. I can almost hear some of you saying "Oh no, what'll I do next?"
First of all, don't panic. Mickey "tosses us a bone." He says "take the same runs and change them
around in as many ways as you can." You can use my examples to help give you some additional
ideas, such as taking them and adding or subtracting notes, inverting them, just any trick you can think
of. And if, as Mike Nelson of "Seahunt" used to say, "Suddenly" you have a completely original idea
(or original for this lesson) try it!
Let me help! I've created three Prime Worksheet TEF's with space for your solos, Mickey's solos
repeated in their staves, and my solos. Create your own from Mickey's and my ideas, and then delete
my and Mickey's modules. You then will have your own original! In fact, before you erase my and
Mickey's examples, play the TEF and listen to it. It should sound like three part harmony and have an
interesting swing to it! Don't just listen to the TablEdit MIDI, but rather, call some of your buddies
over and play it as a guitar trio!
I remember creating these TEF's and I was actually disappointed to finish the lesson, I was having so
much fun. So what did I do? I took my Prime's in G and wrote an up tempo Rhythm part per our old
friends the Freddie Green "Chunk" rhythms. And the results came alive. So what I'd like you to do is
after writing your original breaks, play them against the Bonus TEF backgrounds. You're going to
surprise yourself and your spouses/parents are going to be suspicious of that fatuous smile you now
have!
For extra work (as if we need it!), we can not only transpose these to orchestra keys, but to guitar
friendly keys as well. Also, let's not forget to continue building our Standards notebook we started at
Lesson 17. Even if we manage only 1 a week, that's 52 in a year. Please share with us what you
create.
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 12:41 PM
Lesson 34
Home
Lesson 34 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 34
Are you still grinning from all the fun we had in Lesson 33? It's a great lesson and along with Lesson
17 and several lessons to come, it's definitely in the top 5 most enjoyable lessons.
Lesson 34 gives us some new runs, major, minor, and dominant. Let's take 'em apart:
Run 1: This run is a Major 7 run for strings 3, 2, and 1. Mickey starts with G Maj7. Yeah, you
guessed it! I added F, F#, and E to the runs and also a little rhythm guitar to let you hear how this run
will sound in use. Note that there is a "typo" in the first measure. Mickey has a high B, but it should
be an A. Make sure to get some white out and edit your book.
Run 2: This run is a brother to Run 1, but is on strings 4, 3, and 2. I've added a C and a B to the runs,
plus the rhythm guitar. Note that starting at the 5th fret (F Maj7 run) are the exact same notes as the
F Maj7 run in Run 1. Now for about 2/3's of our keys, we have a 2nd location to get the same notes.
Handy, don't you think?
Run 3: This is the first of the 2 minor runs. Note we need strings 4, 3, 2, and 1. Also note the extra
forms I added.
Run 4: Mickey calls Run 4 a minor run, but we can give it double duty as a dominant run as well. Or
we can consider it to be a ii - V run. I've given you the minor chords which would be the "ii" and you
tell me what are the V names?
Run 5: This run, a dominant and called a 7#9, is a great one measure run that can be used as a V run
anywhere. Note this is the first time Mickey has used the terminology of a V7#9.
Run 6: This run, also a dominant run, can also be used as a diminished 7 run. Mickey shows the
opening 1/8 note triplet as being picked, but I do that all as a series of pulloff's. I didn't show that as
I'm trying to be as true to Mickey's original runs. Why don't you try it both ways and make up your
own mind?
So there you have it, two major runs, two minor runs, three dominant runs, and a diminished run.
Eight runs for the price of six!
Bonus Material: Bob Armstrong sends a group of arpeggios that he got from the playing of guitarist
Johnny Smith. These runs are so versatile that by changing just one or two notes, the flavor changes
between Major 6 to dominant chord. Bob says that they are useful in many ways, not just as runs.
For example, they can be used to migrate from a lower position to a much higher position. Rather
than make a separate exercise for each one, I've put them into one TEF so that you can listen to the
subtle differences. I added a Mickey Baker style rhythm guitar to them, as well. Bob invites us to
experiment with them and come up with our own variations. I did just that and the last run in the
exercise is my variation. If you send me yours, I'll add it to the lesson.
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:42 PM
Our work load is starting to increase and I know that some of you are still finishing Lesson 33.
Personally, I'm also still trying to get comfortable with the B Major and Minor Scales! Maybe you are,
too! If you need a break, why not harmonize another standard or two? I've done just that and here's
my harmonization to "Long Ago and Far Away." This tune has a particularly beautiful harmonic
structure to go with its lovely melody. It's easy to see how it is a standard.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:42 PM
Lesson 35
Home
Lesson 35 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 35
Lesson 35 is our last lesson in runs and what Mickey shows us is how to connect the runs we learned
in Lesson 34 plus the runs from Lessons 28 through 30. We have four double staves of runs, but a
closer inspection shows that Mickey is giving us two different phrasings of the same runs. That means
we have a total of 8 exercises. Above each double staff, Mickey shows us the harmony, which we all
recognize immediately as V7 - I or Dominant to Tonic. If I may be so bold as to hazard a guess as to
why this lesson was written this way, my guess is that the publisher's editors modified Mickey's
original lesson plan to save space. That equates to maintaining 64 pages. With our "notebooks" we
can expand the lesson to make it easier to understand.
I've divided the staves and given each its own rhythm guitar part . That is to say, now we have eight
separate exercises that correspond to each staff for each key.
A second mystery about this lesson is why Mickey didn't have us transpose each exercise to all the
orchestra keys? Even in a later lesson, he doesn't ask for it. Don't worry, I did that for you! Mickey'll
be so proud of us!
Let's discuss the exercises:
Exercises 1 and 2: In Lesson 32Mickey gave us a powerful trick of using the ii7 to iv7 chords as a
substitute for V7 harmony. He returns to it in these two exercises and strangely enough, he doesn't
mention it. In fact, he only briefly mentions it once again in a future lesson. Maybe you're saying "I
remember our discussing it but I'm still not sure how could that work?" I know I did the first time I
saw that. Here's another explanation with a little different way of looking at it than we used in Lesson
32. From our lessons in chord substitution, we learned that an A min chord, such as A min7, A min6,
A min9, etc., can substitute for a D7. We can also remember that as a ii chord freely subs for a V
chord. Let's stack the A min chord with a C min chord. A min has A - C - E, and C min has C - Eb -
G. Stacking them we get A - C - E/Eb - G. A - C - E - G is A min7 and A - C - Eb - G is A min7b5
(yes, I know, it's also a C min6 and most of an F9 chord, but for the time being let's just call it by it's A
min names). That's a lot of heady stuff and Mickey wants to keep the theory to a minimum. A couple
of ways to remember this is a ii7 to ii7b5 subs for V7. Another way is to use this little chart for those
of us that just prefer to remember chord names:
Db7 or Gb7 or
For V7 D7 G7 C7 F7 Bb7 Eb7 Ab7 B7 E7 A7
C#7 F#7
G
A min - D min - C min - Eb min - Bb min - Eb min - Ab min - Db min - F# min - B min - E min -
Use min-Bb
C min F min Eb min Gb min Db min Gb min Cb min Fb min A min D min G min
min
Exercises 3 and 4: These exercises combine a Minor 7 run with a 7#9 run for the dominant.
Exercises 5 and 6: These exercises use a Minor 7 run alone as the dominant substitute.
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:48 PM
Exercises 7 and 8: These exercises use a dominant 7 run for the dominant.
Note: Starting with this lesson, the lead will use "ragged eights", or a triplet 1/4 on the beat and a
triplet 1/8 off the beat. In our previous exercises, we've mostly been playing "straight eights", where
each 1/8 note has the same duration. Most modern solos incorporate ragged eights, so let's get started
training our ears and fingers to use them.
With the extra transpositions, I'd say we have a week's worth without any additional exercises. But, if
you just can't get enough, why not harmonize another standard or two?
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:48 PM
Lesson 36
Home
Lesson 36 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 36
Mickey's giving us the Blues....(as Forrest Gump might say) AGAIN! This time we're using all the
runs we've studied so far with the connections of Lesson 35. It's two full 12-bar choruses. I've added
a rhythm guitar part that I adapted from one of the Bop Blues Progressions we studied in Lesson 21. I
don't think you'll have any problems recognizing it as a close relative to some of your old friends.
To get the Bounce Rhythm Mickey called for, I raised the tempo to 1/4=160, and ragged the eights.
Mickey wants us to transpose it to all orchestra keys except C. I'm sure the reason for this is that the
Key of C would take us either to the Open Position or the 12th position. At 12th position, well, it's
just too high for a good percentage of our guitars. In the Open Position, we'd have to modify our
fingering. So...... after you get comfortable with the fingerings per the lesson, you might want to try
this solo from the Open Position that I've included as a Bonus TEF.
How are we coming along with our Standards Notebook? As a Bonus TEF I'm adding an old favorite,
All of Me, adapted from a guitar duet with rhythm that Larry Kuhns and I arranged years ago. As a
change of pace I thought you might like to hear another lead instrument rather than the clarinet.
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 12:49 PM
Lesson 37
Home
Lesson 37 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 37
Charlie Byrd said that "The Blues are the mother-lode of music." I think that it would be difficult to
argue against that statement. Certainly, from a music educator's point of view, especially when the
music educator is Mickey Baker, Charlie receives no arguments over that. In our studies of the Blues,
we learned that the Blues is a versatile form that can be very simple harmonically with Tonic (I),
Sub-Dominant (IV), and Dominant (V). From there we can substitute to our hearts' content. In fact,
some of the progressive jazz blues from the 1950's are so substituted that we really have to listen
analytically just to recognize the genre. Even if the Blues weren't such an important part of Jazz and
popular music, it makes a great learning vehicle due to the general structure.
Lesson 37 is the last lesson in this course specifically about the Blues, this time Mickey's chosen a
"Bounce Blues". Mickey gives a formal introduction to "Riff Runs". In Lesson 31, the first on Blues
solos, Blues #3 had a riff as the turn around, but Mickey acknowledged it by saying that he'd rather
discuss riffs in a future lesson. A riff is a musical phrase that can be played against any chords in a
tune. Some folks also refer to riffs as licks, although "licks" can have other meanings. Mickey
further defines a riff as something we play when we don't have the time to put in one of our chord
runs.
Lesson 37 is another lesson that is just so much fun, you don't realize it's work! I found myself
wanting to do more and was disappointed when the lesson was over. Although it's four full choruses,
Mickey takes us by the hand, giving out measures one or two at a time to help us get our musical feet
wet. Also, Mickey just asks us to transpose this lesson to F, Ab, Bb, and C. Continuing with my
practice of sharing what I did, I've also transposed my efforts to those keys. The Prime TEF has not
only my work in a module called "Mike's Lead", but a separate module that you can easily add yours
("Your Lead").
I continued using a slightly modified Bop Blues progression from Lesson 21 as the rhythm. To
illustrate how dependent a tune is on the rhythm section, I've done five Bonus TEF's where I've used
an original Blues progression with the "Chunk" rhythm we've used throughout the course. Compare
one of the original TEF's with the Bonus in the same key. Although the solo is identical, it takes on a
whole new flavor, like a totally different tune, wouldn't you say?
Let's discuss the Bounce Blues:
Measure 8: Note that the 5th note in the G# dim run is a G#. I've carefully inserted a sharp sign
there. In this instance the G# dim is acting as a G7b9 chord going to a ii chord in Measure 9.
Measure 13 is the first measure we are to add our original thoughts as a G Major run.
Measure 15 wants another G Major run.
Measure 20 asks for a G# dim7 run, like we discussed in Measure 8.
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:50 PM
Measure 28 also needs a G# dim7 run. After this lesson, we'll all be comfortable with dim7 runs,
won't we?
Measure 29 and 30 asks for a C7 and a C9. We could think of Measures 28, 29, and 30 as a three
measure insert, but since the harmony is I7 - IV7(9), I prefer to think of it as two phrases. Please use
whatever works for you.
Measures 37 through 40 asks for a 4-bar Blues idea. As I started this lesson with a quote from
Charlie Byrd about the Blues, it's only fair, and perhaps anticipated, that I've inserted a Blues riff from
the unamplified Blues of Charlie's Spanish Guitar. It's a great riff that I'll also add as a Bonus Riff in
Lesson 38.The harmony here is all tonic (I), so Charlie's Riff in G works great. You'll be able to use
this riff as a foundation for creating your own.
Measures 45 through 48 are divided into three separate ideas, ii7 - V7#9 - I (as a 2-measure
turnaround).
Asking folks to come up with their original ideas is very stressful and I won't add to the work load.
Remember that the more examples we have, the more individual ideas we are able to generate, so
please share your work with all of us by sending it in.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:50 PM
Lesson 38
Home
Lesson 38 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 38
One doesn't have to exercise too much of his/her intuitive powers to guess that Lesson 38 is our first
study of riffs. Mickey has given us two sneak previews of riffs to whet our appetites. This lesson
gives us 12 Riff Runs, divided into two groups. Remember from our study of chords, we divided them
into Group A with the Tonic note on the 6th string, and Group B with the Tonic note on the 5th
string? Mickey's done the the same thing with our Riff Runs without giving them actual names. Let's
help him by calling Riff's 1 through 6 as Group E Riffs because the Tonic is found on the E string.
The Tonic note will be on the 1st string. As these examples are in G, that means they will pull to the
G on the 1st string, 3rd fret. Riff's 7 through 12 form Group B riffs (not to be confused with Group B
chords), which has the tonic note on the 2nd string, or in G, the 2nd string, 8th fret. And as a preview
of coming attractions, we'll receive a Group G in about 9 lessons in the future.
In Lesson 24, I said that Mickey relies heavily on Blues Scales without actually saying "I'm using a
Blues scale here." As you play through these riffs, you'll find they are loaded with notes and scales
passages from the Blues scales.
About the exercises:
As you probably guessed, I've created TEF's of all of these riffs. In addition, I created a TEF with all
12 riffs, one after the other. Although I just put G Major harmony against, it's interesting to make
changes. For example, instead of G Maj7/G Maj6, play C Maj7/C Maj6, or A min7/D dominant
anything. Amazing, isn't it? The riffs seem to fit against any of the key of G's harmony. For another
exercise, erase the rhythm part I've given you and play any one of the Blues progressions in G that
you've been collecting in the Blues Progressions Folder we all started in Lesson 5. It's like Mickey's
given us 4 additional Blues choruses. Guess what? I've done just that. Bonus TEF's include taking
each of the riffs (which are each four measure phrases) and repeating them twice to get 12 measures.
For the rhythm I've taken the G Progressive Bop Blues chord progression we used in Lesson 37. Do
you know what this form of composition is called? No? OK, remember this lesson and at the end of
the course come back and answer this question!
Those bonus "riff blues" are never going to be on Eric Clapton's next album "Mr. Clapton Meets Mr.
Baker" (just joking, Eric!), but they do give an interesting example of how you can force riffs against
any harmony in the key you're playing. These were fun to do, and I recommend that you put your
favorite blues progression (s) in place of the one I used. Change the tempo, add a bass and drum part,
and you have the start of a jam session. A second point I'd like to make is the technique of creating by
building on a simple idea. All composers and certainly all jazz musicians exploit this concept.
Lesson 39 will take these riffs and force them against the Vamp progressions we studied back in
Lessons13 and 14.
In addition to Mickey's riffs, I've added a Bonus Riff that I gave you in Lesson 37. This riff is from
Charlie Byrd and it's particularly useful as it uses more of the Blues scale from Tonic to Tonic. Using
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:51 PM
it and Mickey's riffs will help us create our own original riffs. I also created a "Charlie's Riff Blues" as
I did with the other riffs.
How are we coming along with our Standards Portfolios? Here's another from my portfolio, the
classic Neal Hefti standard from the orchestra of Count Basie, "Cute".
Just keep it FUN! (Like I had to say that this time, huh?!?!)
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:51 PM
Lesson 39
Home
Lesson 39 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 39
It's time to put those riffs from Lesson 38 into use. Mickey's written six 8-bar solos for the Vamp
Chord Progressions from Lesson 14. If you need to review Vamps, go to Lesson 13 (Group B Chords)
and Lesson 14 (Group A).
No. 1: This solo correlates to Lesson 14's exercise No.1.
No. 2: This solo correlates to Lesson 14's exercise No. 2.
No. 3: This solo returns to Lesson 14's exercise No. 1.
No. 6: This solo returns to Lesson 14's exercise No. 3.
Mickey asks us to transpose all six exercises to the orchestra keys and memorize each riff so that we
can hum it while strumming the exercises from Lesson 14. We don't have to do that because we're
using TablEdit as the partner in our duo. And I've transposed them for you. I know that originally
Lesson 14 (and 13, as well) was pretty dry, and at the time it was a little tough to see the relevance of
the progressions. But with these riffs those exercises really come alive.
Standards: The Standards Portfolio we've each been accumulating should be coming along very
nicely and perhaps we have some that use chord progressions like our Lesson 13 and Lesson 14
vamps. We can repeat the chorus and substitute one of these solos as the melody solo. Be sure and
share it with us when you create one. If you're a little foggy on to do, let me share one with you,
George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm". I've done two choruses, with 16 measures of solos from Mickey's
riffs from exercises 1 and 3. That harmony fits I Got Rhythm if we change the last two beats of
Measure 7 and Measure 8 to a straight I - V - I cadence, instead of the vi - ii - V turnaround. But note
I didn't have to modify the solo as the riff fits against both cadences. Also, I accepted exercises No. 1
and No. 3 without any changes as an example of how to get started "rolling your own". But I'm sure
that you'll want to make some small changes so that the riffs connect a little smoother and give the
tune your personal touch. Try adding some additional choruses and put your favorite riffs in them.
Next week's lesson is on Bridge Solos for the Bridges we learned in Lesson 15. In addition to
Mickey's exercises, we'll add a Bridge Solo to our I Got Rhythm project.
Here's another standard to add, Rodgers' and Hart's super famous "Thou Swell".
For some additional fun: Why not transpose these exercises to the guitar friendly keys of D, A, and
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:51 PM
E.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:51 PM
Lesson 40
Home
Lesson 40 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 40
We continue creating solos for our earlier chord progression studies. This time in Lesson 40 we return
to Bridges. As a review, let's go back to Lesson 15 and play through the three exercises that we
transposed to the key of G. If this is the first time you've reviewed this lesson, I'm sure it'll seem like
an old friend. Remember your first time with this lesson and now how comfortable you are with it.
We've come a long ways in a short period, haven't we?
Mickey suggests that we also revisit Lesson 29 which gave us Dominant Runs. The runs and riffs that
Mickey uses in Lesson 40 are either taken directly or modified from those runs.
No. 1 and No. 2 are solos for Mickey's Lesson 15, Exercise 1.
No, 3 and No. 4 are solos for Mickey's Lesson 15, Exercise 2.
No. 5 and No. 6 are solos for Mickey's Lesson 15, Exercise 3.
Did you notice in Lesson 39 in your book that Mickey has stopped giving us fingerings for the runs
and riffs? He continues that in Lesson 40 and through to the end of the book. His philosophy is that if
you are having a hard time finding the fingerings, you aren't ready for the lesson and should go back to
Lesson 24 and start over. Even if we have the fingerings nailed down, going back to earlier lessons is
a wonderful practice for several reasons. No matter how many times we review a lesson, we always
find things we missed earlier. Also, it acts a a gauge to show us just how much we are progressing.
Bonus: In Lesson 39, we started a project where we added Mickey's riffs to I Got Rhythm. As I
promised, here is a continuation, with one of Mickey's Bridges transposed to Bb and added. By the
way, did you notice that I gave the Guitar Solo a new MIDI voice, Electric Guitar (Jazz)? How's your
project coming along? Can you share it with us?
Being a good improviser is being a good composer. Listen to solos of your favorite musicians and
you'll notice at least two different philosophies. One is to add as many notes as possible and play
them at a blistering pace. The listener is momentarily stunned by the effect. For the lack of a formal
name, I refer to this as "Flash Point". The second philosophy is to create a counter melody that
maintains the interest that the original melody imparted. In some ways this is more difficult and let me
say from personal experience, it's a lifelong learning experience. We all can benefit by going back to
our Standards Portfolios and analyze the standards by the great composers, Rodgers, Gershwin,
Porter, Berlin, Kern, Jobim, etc. Note how they take a simple phrase and build around it, such as
repeating it up a 2nd or a 3rd. Look at the standard notation, not as musical notes, but rather as art.
You'll see repeating rhythmic patterns and waves. This theme and development is present in all music
since we began archiving sound with paper and pen. As a personal note, one of my favorite jazz
musicians, certainly in my top five list, is Johann Sebastian Bach. He was a master improviser and he
1 of 2 4/24/2009 12:52 PM
expected folks would improvise during performances of his works. His music seldom has extremely
colorful chords, probably a Minor 7b5 (such as a vii7 chord in a Major scale) is about the limit. A
study of his solo Violin Sonatas and Cello Suites reveals all the tricks that Mickey has been giving us
using scales and arpeggios. Bach didn't have the Blues in his day, but, just as Gershwin embraced the
Blues, I'd like to think that Bach would have, too.
Don't forget to add some tunes to your standards portfolio. Here's an example of a guitar duet that
Mike Emblem and I put together of the wonderful old standard by Harold Arlen "Let's Fall In Love."
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 12:52 PM
Lesson 41
Home
Lesson 41 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 41
Back in Lesson 38, Riff Runs, I'm sure that you had in the back of your minds, "I'll bet we're going to
have to transpose these runs to all the orchestras keys!" And if you did, then Lesson 41 is where your
premonition comes to life.... well, sort of! I've done all that for you so now it's up to you to practice
them in all the keys.
As we discovered, the riff runs were divided into two positions. The prime key is G so with G notes
on the 1st string, 3rd fret and 2nd string, 8th fret define our positions. With the tonic on the first
string, we'll place our 1st finger on it. This allows us to easily find the G riffs between the 3rd and 6th
frets. Back in Lesson 38, we arbitrarily started calling this the Group E riffs because they occur on
the high E string.
The Group B riffs give us a 2nd position for the key of G, but this time we'll place our 2nd finger on
the G note on the 2nd string, 8th fret. That means our 1st finger will find notes on the 7th fret and our
natural reach will be between the 7th and 10th frets.
This lesson has a total of 84 TEF's, the largest amount of TEF's in any lesson until now. Just getting
familiar with all of these TEF's will consume most of your week. In fact, Mickey says that he wants
us to dedicate two whole months to Lessons 38, 39, 40, 41, and next week's 42. I'm going to continue
to release a lesson a week, but I would suggest you go at your own pace. There are no bonus TEF's
and I'll sure understand if you don't get to work on your standards portfolio.
In Lesson 38, I gave you some different ways to approach those riffs, such as our "Riff Blues", and
putting all the riffs in a single TEF. We can do those, too with these transposed riffs. Perhaps you
aren't interested in all of the Riff Blues, but I'll bet that a few are interesting to you. You may want to
transpose them to all the keys, or as many keys as the riffs allow. For those of us that have been
transposing since Mickey's first lessons, then this shouldn't be much of a job.
Oh yeah, we can also transpose this riffs to the guitar friendly keys of A, D, and E.
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 12:54 PM
Lesson 42
Home
Lesson 42 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 42
Lesson 42 returns to Bridges from Lesson 40. Here are our tasks:
Transpose each of the exercises of Lesson 40 to the keys of F, Ab, and Bb
Write two additional bridges for each chord progression
Transpose them to the keys of F, Ab, and Bb.
Mickey analyzes the Bridges by mentioning that he's used minor runs for dominant chords, such as A
minor7 run for a D7. Just like we've been doing all along substituting the ii7 for the V7 chords. Read
what Mickey says, but I don't think it will come as any big surprise to any of us.
When we write our new bridges, Mickey wants us to use the same runs, but change them around,
change the phrasing, etc. I've written two bridges for each of the six exercises and those are named as
Extra in the TEF titles. These are just my attempts and you may use them in any way that will help
you create your own. I transposed them to the three other keys as well.
I've also repeated the Prime Exercises in G from Lesson 40 so that you don't have to look them up
again. The TEF titles for Mickey's originals comprise the exercise number from Lesson 40, the chord
progression exercise number from Lesson 15, and then the key. That's probably a little more
confusing than it should be, but once you work with them, it'll become clear. Yeah, sure!
Since you have all kinds of creative work, I've not added any additional Bonus TEF's. This lesson is a
lot more fun after you do the first example than you're going to think it is. Good luck and if you have
some that you're really happy how they turned out, why don't you send them to me to share with all?
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 12:59 PM
Lesson 43
Home
Lesson 43 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 43
Rhythm Changes. Interesting name, but what does it mean? If you're new to Jazz, chances are
Rhythm Changes sounds like "Brain Surgery - 101", especially if Mickey's Course is your
introduction. Mickey doesn't give any history nor does he elaborate on it, as if he believed that
everyone knows exactly what it is.
Let me give you just a little history in a short paragraph, and you can be a surgeon, too. And you
thought this was just a Jazz guitar course? In the 1930's, George Gershwin wrote one of his best
known and best loved melodies, "I Got Rhythm". This tune, published in Bb, became popular, and
musicians, especially Jazz musicians, all made sure it was in their repertoire. And George, and later
his estate, reaped the royalties. Then Bebop evolved. A big part of that musical period was to
improvise on well known hits, often with new melodies. To get around the royalty issue (read that as
"avoid paying royalties and publish something that will allow them to collect their own royalties), Jazz
groups utilized the harmony from "I Got Rhythm", and improvised their own melodies that had no
resemblance of the original. Just as the 12-bar Blues harmonic structure is a must know for Jazz
musicians, probably the second most commonly used harmonic structure is "Rhythm Changes". As
Mickey points out, when a group of musicians get together, they almost always play Rhythm Changes
in Bb. Probably the best known of the Rhythm Changes in the world is the "Theme from The
Flintstones". My personal favorites are "Straighten Up and Fly Right" (actually done in Ab by the Nat
Cole Trio, probably for Nat's vocal range), and Charley Christian's gem with the Benny Goodman
Orchestra, "Seven Come Eleven".
Let's compare "I Got Rhythm" with some different views of Rhythm Changes I've collected over the
years. "I Got Rhythm" actually is 34 measures with a two-measure "tag" at the end where the lyrics
repeat "who could ask for anything more." Generally, in Rhythm Changes that tag is ignored and the
tune just becomes 32 measures. To help us see these differences I've created a Bonus TEF "I Got
Rhythm Variations - Bb.tef". This TEF has nine modules. Note that I've only "enabled" Modules 1
and 2. This is to get you started comparing each module with the melody module, or perhaps two
harmony modules by only activating the desired modules. Here's a description of each of the modules:
1. Melody- A clarinet MIDI voice to play the unornamented original melody of I Got Rhythm. To
be compatible with "Rhythm Changes" progressions, I've edited out the tag. That is to say, it's
only 32 measures.
2. Sheet Music- This module has a guitar accompaniment that is based on chords taken from the
published sheet music. For a minimum of distraction, I've used our generic "Chunk" rhythm in
this and other modules unless noted. Note I used the chord suggestions from the chord diagrams
printed over the lead sheet. Actually, if you find the suggested chord a little further up the
neck, this isn't so boring (as Mickey describes typical standards' accompaniments.) Compare it
with Joe Pass' suggestions in modules 5 and 6.
1 of 3 4/24/2009 1:00 PM
3. Sheet (Modified)- This module is based on Module 2 with simple substitutions (Maj7 for Maj,
etc.).
4. Mickey's Chords- This module uses Mickey's chords from the chord chart in Lesson 43. I've
attempted to phrase it as I've interpreted Mickey's rhythm in the chart.
5. Joe Pass' Chords1- This module (the 1st of 2) gives chords for Rhythm Changes suggested by
Joe Pass. Note in both of Joe's examples how Joe is using some pretty basic chords, triads,
simple dominant 7's, etc. It has a really interesting progression. I wanted to include this to
show that sometimes "simple is enough".
6. Joe Pass' Chords2- The 2nd of 2 Joe Pass' examples.
7. Group A Chords- Here's a module where I've used Group A chords wherever possible, and
have given several variations within the 32 measures. It was modified and used as the harmony
for the I Got Rhythm versions where I added the Mickey riffs and later Mickey's bridge solo.
8. Group B Chords- I created this module with just Group B chords, but using the same
philosophy as Module 7 did with the Group A chords. This also has several variations within
the 32 measures.
9. Variations- I tried to use as many of the chords from Mickey's course that we haven't used in
any of the other modules.
From our beginning lessons in the course, we've been talked about the importance of the "turnaround"
and by now we all have our favorites. I Got Rhythm harmony can be simplified by describing it as 32
measures (minus the tag measures) divided into 4 groups of 8 measures: A, A, B, A.
The A section is a 2-measure Bb turnaround, another 2-measure (although not necessarily the
same) Bb turnaround, two measures comprising I -I7 - IV - iv, and a final 2-measure Bb
turnaround.
Repeat that A section or create another A section using the same philosophy.
The B section is an 8-measure bridge based on III7 - VI7 - II7 - V7 (all dominant forms). All
applicable substitutions for dominant chords apply.
Repeat that A section.
Oh yeah, if you can't live without the "tag measures", change the last two beats of Measure 32
to a VI7 chord, and then add a 2-measure turnaround based on II7 - V7 - I.
Guess what? Review Lessons 14 and 15 and the TEF's we created as harmony TEF's. Transpose
them to Bb. If I could speak French, I'd say "Voila" - you have your very own Rhythm Changes.
About the Exercises:
Mickey gives us his Rhythm Changes exercise in two separate parts rather than a two-staff score. As
a side board, to me, it makes this lesson a lot more difficult to understand. I'm sure Mickey's editors
did this to save on paper which means "cost cuts". Fortunately, we have TablEdit and to paraphrase
Mel Brooks' famous line from "Blazing Saddles", "we don't need no stinkin' cost cuts."
2 of 3 4/24/2009 1:00 PM
Here are the files I've created:
Mickey's Suggested Rhythm Changes Harmony - Bb: This TEF recreates Mickey's favorite
Rhythm Changes chord chart.
Rhythm Changes Worksheet - Bb: This TEF has two modules and comprises 257 measures with
three repeats to allow the student to insert 4 different riffs in each location per Mickey:
Mickey's chord chart
The solo with blank measures for the student to fill in.
Rhythm Changes Student Submission - Bb: This TEF has my creations. In addition, I've changed
the rhythm to the 1st repeat to show how important the rhythm really is.
Bonus - I Got Rhythm Variations - Bb: This is the TEF we used in the discussion of what
constitutes a Rhythm Changes.
Bonus - I Got Rhythm: Just for fun, I've included a solo guitar arrangement of "I Got Rhythm" that I
made 35 years ago after being inspired by guitarist Laurindo Almeida. This arrangement is in the Key
of D.
There is an error in Mickey's Solo Score. Over Measure 58, we have a Bridge callout. The callout
should be above Measure 50
Brain surgery 101?!?!?!
Just keep it FUN!
3 of 3 4/24/2009 1:00 PM
Lesson 44
Home
Lesson 44 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 44
Lesson 44 gives us our opportunity to create Rhythm Changes using the riffs, runs, and scales we've
studied until now. This lesson is going to be quite intimating until you sink your teeth into it, but then
it'll be pure fun, and an opportunity to see how we've all been progressing.
Our task is to take all of the Bridges we worked on in Lesson 40 (six of them) and create six Rhythm
Changes around them. In the A part of the tunes he wants us to use the Lesson 39 riffs. When we
finish, we are to transpose them to the keys of F, G, Ab, and C.
Lots of work! But I've made it somewhat easier for you because you can take my Student Examples
and juggle the riffs. Since we are working around six previous bridges, those become our constant. If
I may suggest, go to Lesson 39 and find your riffs that are transposed to Bb. You'll need to put six
riffs per Rhythm Changes (24 measures divided by 4). Since we only have 12 riffs, that means we'll
be recycling quite a bit. With your copy and paste skills, you'll knock this exercise out in a lot less
time than you originally thought.
Note that in the last couple of versions, I took some of Mickey's riffs and dropped them an octave.
Instead of playing them on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd strings, we play them on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th (and
sometimes, the 6th) strings. Also notice that except for the notes on the 5th string, they finger
identically to the original fingerings. Think of this as a sneak preview of coming attractions.
As there is quite a bit of work writing in this lesson, I won't give any extra or Bonus exercises. What
we will have when we finish this exercise is a group of solos that go beyond the boundaries of Rhythm
Changes and you'll be able to adapt many of this solos just by writing new rhythm parts. Remember
we can force most of Mickey's riffs against practically any of the harmonies in a key. Mickey eludes
to this by saying "...you gain a wider musical knowledge." When you have some spare time, play
theses solos against other vamps you may try as A parts. I guess we could say metaphorically that our
perceived suitcase of knowledge just became a storage depot.
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 1:00 PM
Lesson 45
Home
Lesson 45 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 45
Yogi Berra is famous for his saying "Deja vu all over again." About six months ago we worked on a
set of 7 8-bar and 4 16-bar sequences that provide some of the most famous chord progressions in
use. At that time I promised that we'd see them again and I'm here to keep that promise! Lesson 45
gives us solos for the 7 8-bar sequences, utilizing runs, riffs, and scales. And after analyzing each, we
are to create two more 8-bar solos for each one.
I've created the TEF's with the rhythm parts from Lesson 23, and added my student contributions to
make each TEF 24 measures long. Just erase the last 16 measures of the Prime Exercises and write in
your ideas. After you do one, you'll be as much of an expert in creating these TEF's as any of us.
Did I forget to mention that Mickey wants us to transpose the Prime's to the other orchestra keys? It
almost goes without saying, doesn't it? If you are a glutton for this stuff, you can add the guitar keys
of D, A, and E.
Once again, there is quite a bit of work for a week, so I won't add to the burden of additional
exercises. Please share any of your creations that you are proud of!
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 1:00 PM
Lesson 46
Home
Lesson 46 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 46
Lesson 46 is the continuance of the solos for the chord sequences of Lesson 23. This time we're
working on Exercises 8, 9, 10, and 11 which are 16-bars each. As in Lesson 45, we are to write 2 new
solos for each exercise.
Yep, you guessed it: transpose the Prime's to the other orchestra keys. If you get through this faster
than you thought, think about adding the guitar keys of D, A, and E.
Throughout this course I've mentioned when Mickey's used harmonies that are familiar. Exercise 9
uses the chord progression of "How High The Moon". As a fun project as my 2nd 16 measures, I
transcribed one of Chet Atkins' solos from his recording from the RCA LP "Yestergroovin'". Chet
has copied some of Les Paul's famous licks from his original recording. So I copied Chet.
Once again, there is quite a bit of work for a week, so I won't add to the burden of additional
exercises. Please share any of your creations that you are proud of!
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 1:01 PM
Lesson 47
Home
Lesson 47 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 47
Lesson 47 is all about a new position for riffs. This position has the tonic note on the 3rd string. Following our riff naming
protocol introduced in Lesson 38, let's call these riffs "Group G" riffs. We'll use these riffs for Ab, Bb, C, Db and Eb (and A, D,
and E as well). Mickey gives us six riffs, bringing our total to 18. In addition, Mickey wants us to transpose all 12 of the Group
E and B riffs to Group G. I'm surprised that Mickey didn't ask us to transpose these "Group G" riffs to both Group E and Group
B. In fact, just as a lark (but not written and included here), the Group G riffs all play as a theoretical "Group D", and most as a
"Group A" (Tonics on the 4th and 5th strings). Well, guess what? In the upcoming Appendices I have included a section on
how to use these Group G (and Group D) riffs in writing bass parts in your group arrangements.
Are we getting lost between all the groups? I hope not.
In 1955, all that transposing of keys and positions was a lot of manual work. But with TablEdit it's a cinch! I've done all the
position transposing of all the riffs for you. But it's a skill you're going to need, so let's do one together. Let me show you how
easy it is.
Step 1 Go to Lesson 41 (Transposition of Riffs) and select the TEF "Lesson 41 - Riff #1 - Bb.tef". Actually, we can use any
TEF, but since our target is Bb, let's use a Bb TEF.
Step 2 Highlight strings 1 through 3 in all measures. See the Figure "Step2. Highlight Strings 1 through 3".
Step 2. Highlight Strings 1 through 3

Step 3 Transpose the position to strings 3 through 5 by left clicking the Down Position Shift icon two times. See the Figure
"Step 3. Location of the Down Position Shift Icon" for the location of the icon.
Step 3. Location of the Down Position Shift Icon

Step 4 Refer to Figure Step 4 to see how your TEF should look after Step 3. Note that the musical notes in the standard
notation haven't changed, but the position on the fretboard has.
1 of 3 4/24/2009 1:02 PM
Step 4. How the TEF should look after Step 3.

Step 5 We need to drop this an octave or 12 frets. The easy way to do this is to look at the first note (15) and subtract 12
from it. Then type the "-" key (the minus key) 12 times. When that note changes to "3", we're there! See the Figure for how
the TEF looks after this operation.
Step 5. The TEF Transposed an Octave

Step 6 Note from the Figure in Step 5 that the Grace Note highlighted in the 4th measure did not survive the move without
injury. Type <alt g> and select "Hammer/Pull-off" and Position 4 (the grace note hammers from the 4th fret to the 5th of the
5th string). Then left click on the "OK Button". Refer to the Figure "Step 6. Repairing the Grace Note".
2 of 3 4/24/2009 1:02 PM
Step 6. Repairing the Grace Note

Step 7 As a final clean-up, let's change the stems to get them pointing up. Put the cursor on any string in an nonused
position and type <ctrl a>. All the measures are highlighted and now we can type "a" to have the stems pointing up. Let's
rename our TEF and save it. Figure "Step 7. Our Finalized TEF" shows the finished TEF.
Step 7. Our Finalized TEF

Note that our TEF is identical in notes, but an octave lower than the starting TEF. Also, note that the notes fall between frets 3
and 6. Grace notes don't transpose very well in any method of transposition, so be on guard for that and make manual changes.
The relationship between the starting TEF's grace note and its host note and the transposed TEF's will always maintain the same
relationship. This also goes for mordents, trills, etc. from the <alt g> menu.
Wasn't so bad was it? There's several other ways of doing the same thing including a menu feature called "Transpose". But for
me, this method creates the least amount of work, including proofreading, to get the job done.
Bonus TEF's: I've included a Bonus TEF with all 18 riffs side by side in Bb as a one-TEF reference. Throughout the solo
section of the course Mickey encourages us to write and modify our own riffs, with his riffs as a starting point. So I've also
duplicated the Bonus TEF called "All Riffs Slightly Modified". There on a number of Mickey's riffs, I've made minor changes.
I also included a module with the original riffs so that you can see what I've modified and maybe it will give you some ideas for
your own riffs. Make sure you mute the original riff module to hear the changes.
Once again, there is quite a bit of work for a week (128 TEF's!), so with the exception of the two bonus TEF's, I won't add to the
burden with additional exercises. Please share any of your creations that you are proud of!
Just keep it FUN!
3 of 3 4/24/2009 1:02 PM
Lesson 48
Home
Lesson 48 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 48
Lessons 48 and 49 are devoted to the "Groove Riff". I don't hear so many Groove Riffs among most
groups I get to hear live these days. But still they are a lot of fun. In fact, these two lessons (which
should have really been combined into one) are in my top five favorite list of this course.
Basically, a Groove Riff is a 4-bar simple riff that is repeated three times to get a 12-bar theme. The
harmony can be either a Vamp or, most likely, a Blues progression. I tried to come up with a 12-bar
vamp and all my efforts ended up sounding like Mickey's Bop Blues Progressions we studied in
Lesson 21. Mickey gives us a sample Groove Riff that I've just added one of the Blues progressions
that I slightly modified. I think of Groove Riffs like I do turnarounds used, for example in Rhythm
Changes. That is, we take a short phrase and develop it into a tune.
What I'd like you to do, is to take Mickey's Groove Riff and re-harmonize it with some of your
favorite Blues progressions or any Vamp that you can get to fit 12 measures. Note how the character
of the tune depends on the total.
I've added two bonus "Groove Riffs" as additional examples:
Bags' Groove is a groove by Milt "Bags" Jackson of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Milt's instrument is a
vibraphone and the rapid intervals are much easier to play on the vibes or a piano than on the guitar,
so I've left the MIDI instrument as the vibes. Note that Milt plays this in F.
Trane's Blues is a groove by the great John Coltrane. It's in Bb and it fits well on the guitar in the 3rd
position, like the Lesson 47 riffs.
With the workload of the last few weeks, especially last week, we're probably ready for a lesson that
is more fun than stress. Enjoy, and make sure you use any extra time filling your Standards
portfolios. Please share any of your creations that you are proud of!
Oh by the way, remember the 12 "Riff Blues" we created in Lesson 38 and I asked if anyone knows
what they are? Now you do!
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 1:03 PM
Lesson 49
Home
Lesson 49 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 49
Lessons 49 just continues with the Groove Riffs' we talked about and played in Lesson 48. Here's our
tasks:
Transpose Mickey's Groove from Lesson 48 to the keys of Ab, C, Db, and Eb.
Write two original Groove's in Bb with two improvised choruses sandwiched between the
Groove (each Groove will be 48 measures.)
Transpose your Groove's to Ab, C, Db, and Eb.
Here's what I've done for you: I've transposed Mickey's Groove to those keys and the TEF's including
the Bb TEF are in this Lesson's TEF. I've also written two Grooves as Student Participation to maybe
give you some additional ideas. They are called "Mikie's Groove One" and "Mikie's Groove Two".
Mikie's Groove One uses just the riffs from the G group we studied in Lesson 47. Mikie's Groove Two
uses all original ideas, which admittedly have some of Mickey's riffs but reworked. Note that Mickey
pretty much stayed in the 3rd position while creating his Groove's. I did, too in Mikie's Groove One,
but in Mikie's Groove Two, I move around a little bit.
I have to say that of all the original tasks Mickey has asked us to create, this one was the most fun. I
really was disappointed to finish! It is such a simple but great concept. I hope that you enjoy "rollin'
your own" as much as I did.
Enjoy, and don't forget your Standards portfolios which should be starting to be pretty fat. Please
share any of your creations, both Grooves and Standards, that you are proud of!
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 1:03 PM
Lesson 50
Home
Lesson 50 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 50
Mickey has an interesting approach to teaching Modern or Jazz Guitar. Generally, most books start
with building around melodies and then end by improvisation of an entirely new melody. Mickey’s last
three lessons are about building around melodies. Mickey's "Grand Finale" of the last six lessons give
us an opportunity to use all the treasure from previous lessons. For that reason, if for no other, they
give us a since of accomplishment, not to mention, a great deal of fun.
Before we get into this lesson, we need to correct our Volume One book. There are a number of
errors in this lesson, more in this lesson than all the others combined. First, Mickey asks us to
transpose this lesson to the keys of C minor (a relative of Eb Major), Eb minor (a relative of Gb
Major), and F minor (a relative of Ab Major). Throughout the course Mickey has used the same seven
Major keys: Ab, Bb, C, Db, Eb, F, and G. The relative minors for these keys in that order are F minor,
G minor, A minor, Bb minor, C minor, D minor, and E minor. What I believe has happened is that he
has been so used to writing Eb (major) that it carried over to Eb minor. I believe he really wants us to
use E minor, the relative to G Major.
Mickey also has errors in the melody and chords. The D minor that is over Measure 5 should be over
Ms. 4. Measure 12 and 13 has “C” notes that should be “A” notes. Mickey also uses this tune as part
of Lesson 51, and there he correctly places the chord symbol and that Ms. 12 is accurate.
I recommend using a correction fluid like "white out" that was quite common before computerized
word processing. If you're reluctant to make corrections in your book, you can always photocopy
those pages and make changes to the photocopies. No matter what way you may prefer to add the
corrections, what's important is that you have an accurate lesson.
Interestingly, Dark Eyes was originally in 3/4 meter. Mickey has chosen to play it in 4/4, following a
practice very common during the Big Band/Swing era of changing meter. Mickey says that there are
only three chords: D minor (i Chord), G minor (iv Chord), and A7 (V7 Chord). Since we’ve
substituted all through the course, why not continue? In the rhythm guitar part, I’ve substituted per
Mickey’s philosophy. Actually, I like it better than the plain vanilla chords. If you don't agree, write
your own and send them to me and I'll include them.
In addition to transposing Dark Eyes to C minor, E minor, and F minor, Mickey asks us to take his
first 16 bars, and then write three additional choruses. I've included what I did as an example. If you
have some that you're willing to share, send them to me and I'll add them to the lesson.
I've included two bonus TEF's in this lesson. The first bonus tune is, surprise-surprise, Dark Eyes,
Chet Atkins' version taken from a video from the mid 1950's I discovered in www.youtube.com. Chet
Atkins never made any claims to being a Jazz guitarist, but was a master at playing around a melody.
This version is a great work to analyze as it has many techniques that can be applied to almost any
arrangement, especially for us fingerstyle players. Chet chose E minor. He plays the first chorus as a
rubato intro with harp-like ascending arpeggios. Since Chet is taking so many liberties with the timing,
1 of 2 4/24/2009 1:04 PM
it could have been transcribed as either 4/4 or 3/4, or 1/4 for that matter! For continuity, I chose 3/4
as that is the original meter, and also Chet's 2nd chorus is in 3/4. Chet plays the remaining choruses in
4/4, including a chorus of his signature stride piano-like phrasing. If you can possibly watch the video,
do so. You'll notice that Chet uses his Bigsby Vibrato quite a bit. Although very common among rock
guitarists, very few Jazz guitarists use this technique or even have one on their guitars. The bass and
rhythm guitar parts weren't transcribed, but rather arranged by me. The original rhythm guitarist used
triads, but since this is Mickey's course, I've used the same rhythm guitar part as I did in Mickey's
lesson.
The second bonus tune was inspired by a recording by Chet Atkins as well. Chet recorded "Vilia",
from the opera "The Merry Widow" by Franz Lehar, in the Key of D. I discovered that Chet's entire
arrangement could be transposed and played in the Key of C with practically no or very little
re-arranging. That was my starting point. Chet originally played two choruses, but I added a third that
uses techniques I learned from this course. I changed some chords and chord voicings in the first
chorus, rephrased the last chorus, and used some suggestions by my good friend, Paul Doty. Besides
being a tune that is fun to play, it isn't heard very often these days, giving it an air of freshness.
Counting this lesson, we only have three more in the course, so don't slack off on your Standards
portfolios. The last ten lessons have been very intensive and most of us understandably haven't
concentrated on our Standards portfolio project. The more we do, the easier they become. Add it to
your list of daily "must do" chores: make bed, brush teeth, wash dishes, arrange at least one
Standard. By the way, if you send them to me, I'll add them to the collection. Nothing could be a
better learning library than having 50 different versions of the same tune, except for maybe 51.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 1:04 PM
Lesson 51
Home
Lesson 51 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 51
Lesson 51 is a continuance of Lesson 50, Dark Eyes, but using a different position on the fretboard for
the keys of A Minor (relative to C Major), Bb Minor (relative to Db Major), F Minor (relative to Ab
Major), and G Minor (relative to Bb Major). Just as in Lesson 50, I created a Mickey-style rhythm
guitar part for this lesson. I invite you to rewrite it and send it to me and I'll share it with all.
As mentioned in Lesson 50, Dark Eyes traditionally is played in 3/4 time. During the 1930's and
1940's, it became a standard practice to convert 3/4 and 6/8 tunes to 2/4 and 4/4. Mickey has
continued with this tradition, and really has to stand in line to take 4/4 credit for Dark Eyes.
The two Dark Eyes Lessons are easy to overlook, but don't! They are an awful lot of fun and it is so
easy to put something down on paper, and later on strings, that you can be proud of.
Counting this lesson, we only have two more in the course, so don't slack off on your Standards
portfolios. If you send them to me, I'll add them to the collection.
Just keep it FUN!
1 of 1 4/24/2009 1:04 PM
Lesson 52
Home
Lesson 52 TEF's
Notes to Lesson 52
Lesson 52 is the last lesson in Mickey's extraordinary course. Note that in Lesson 50, I mentioned
that most courses start with improvising around the melody and go from there. Mickey waited until
the end of the course. He tells us why: to him, it's the most difficult aspect of the course. In many
instances one is actually competing with the composer, creating a melody that is interesting and
modern that will be accepted by the listener.
The principle method of improvisation until the Bebop Era was improvising around the melody. This
method has become so commonplace that many folks don't consider it improvisation or "Jazz". In
other styles of music, such as traditional country music in the US, it's thought of as a variation, much
as classical music has long entertained "Theme and Variations" as a legitimate composing technique.
I believe that we can learn a lot by listening to early recordings. At the Red Hot Jazz website, there
are literally thousands of recordings from the 1920's. Two well known guitarists of that era are Eddie
Lang and Lonnie Johnson. Additional guitarists to look for are Carl Kress and Dick McDonough.
These guitarists are of the pre-electric guitar era, and their instruments are mic'ed acoustic guitars,
often archtop models. Many of the guitarists of this era were originally tenor banjoists and when
banjos fell out of favor, they changed to standard and tenor guitars. Although single string soloing
was common, especially by Lang and Johnson, there were a number of strummed chord solos similar
to tenor banjo solos. I'm always struck by the precision of the great players. There are lots of ideas
for building around melodies and I hardily recommend this wonderful website.
Let's return to Lesson 52. Mickey's final six lessons are one per each major key except Ab. Each
exercise is four measures long. He gives a simple melody. Beneath it he gives us a four-measure
example of creating a melody around the melody. He asks us to create two additional solos, which
I've done as student participation. That brings each exercise to 12 measures. I've added a rhythm
guitar part. Note in the book Mickey once again gives us Plain-Jane chords. After 51 measures, how
could I accept that? I substituted per Mickey's philosophy.
This means that each exercise is a TEF with three modules. Since the first module is the example's
melody, I've muted it. Of course, feel free to unmute it and use it in any way to help you. After we
finish, we are to transpose each example to the other orchestra keys. I've done that with my
examples.
This is it for my nagging about your Standards portfolios. I hope that you have forgiven me for that
and that you will continue to fill it, all during your musical career like good little boys and girls!! As
this course continues to live online, there is no reason why you can't send me any of your work to
include. As a living course, I also hope you'll use it as a reference and return to it often.
About the future: I am adding Appendices that will touch on some features not covered or glossed
over in the 52 lessons, such as comping with both 3-note chord accompaniment and melody chords,
Latin rhythms, and arranging. Plus you can write an appendix on any aspect of the course that you
1 of 2 4/24/2009 1:05 PM
feel needs amplifying and we'll include it. Some of you are true experts in facets of the music world,
like setting up and working on the equipment. That's a necessary discipline as well.
Just keep it FUN!
2 of 2 4/24/2009 1:05 PM
Soloing Review Lesson http://www.thumbpicker.com/mickeybaker/Lesson-52A-Review%2...
Soloing Review Lesson

Home
This Lesson's TEF's
Notes to Soloing Review Lesson

Lesson 52 is Mickey's last lesson on soloing and the last lesson of Book 1. We have now have at least
a perception of soloing, not to mention the chordal ideas and rhythm guitar techniques that we picked
up in the first half of the course. Hopefully, I've given you some ideas on how to transcribe so that
your learning process continues. Our skills with TablEdit have improved and we think nothing about
bringing up a new TEF and creating an arrangement, either for solo guitar, or a group.
Let's review the lessons with a short description of where we went with each one:
Lesson 24: The roots of improvisation with picking exercises, and major scales, including major
scales from the classical guitarist's study program.
Lesson 25: Additional picking exercises
Lesson 26: Minor scales with picking exercises similar to Lessons 24 and 25, including melodic minor
scales from the classical guitarist's study program. As a bonus, we discussed how minor scales are
formed and the three most used: Natural, Harmonic, and Melodic.
Lesson 27: Runs (arpeggios) using Major triads.
Lesson 28: Runs using Minor 7th chords
Lesson 29: Runs using Dominant 7th and 9th chords
Lesson 30: Run using Diminished chords, which we learn can be used with Dominant and passing
chords
Lesson 31: Three simple Blues Solos based on the runs and scales of Lessons 24 through 30
Lesson 32: Analysis of Lesson 31 and task of transposing that lesson to the six other orchestra keys
Lesson 33: Using Lesson 31's three blues as the basis, we write three solos for each of the three
blues.
Lesson 34: Additional runs based on Major 7th, Minor 7th, and Dominant chords
Lesson 35: How to connect the runs we learned with lead in notes and transition notes
Lesson 36: A two chorus Blues Solo that we are to transpose to all the keys except C
Lesson 37: Mickey's Bounce Blues: Mickey gives us the frame of a four-chorus up tempo blues. We
are to fill in the blanks using runs from the chords Mickey has notated. Then we are to transpose it to
all the keys except Db and Eb. This is the last lesson per se on the Blues, but it never leaves us.
1 of 3 4/24/2009 1:06 PM
Lesson 38: Mickey gives us 12 "Riffs" in two positions. I've divided these riffs in to two groups: "E"
(which has the tonic note on the 1st string) and "B" (which has the tonic on the 2nd string).
Lesson 39: Using the Vamp Chord Progressions we studied in Lessons 13 and 14, Mickey gives us
solos using the Riffs of Lesson 38. Then we transpose the entire lesson to the other orchestra keys.
Lesson 40: Using the Bridges Chord Progressions of Lesson 15, Mickey gives us six solos in the key
of G.
Lesson 41: We transpose all the Riffs of Lesson 38 to the other six orchestra keys
Lesson 42: We create two additional solos for each Bridge progression. We transpose all the Bridges'
solos of Lesson 40 to the keys of F, Ab, Bb, and C.
Lesson 43: We learn all about Rhythm Changes, one of the best known chord progressions in modern
music. Mickey gives us a two chorus Rhythm Changes and we must write four examples where we fill
in the blanks.
Lesson 44: We are to create six original Rhythm Changes using the six bridges of Lesson 40. Then
we transpose them to all keys except Db and Eb.
Lesson 45: Mickey gives us seven solos for the eight-bar sequences of Lesson 23. Then we are to
write two more solos for each sequence and transpose them to all the keys.
Lesson 46: Mickey gives us four solos for the 16-bar sequences of Lesson 23. Then we are to write
two more solos for each sequence and transpose them to all the keys.
Lesson 47: We receive six new Riffs from the "G" group (tonic located on the 3rd string) in the key
of Bb. Then we are to transpose all our Groups E and B Riffs to this position. Then we transpose
these 18 Riffs to Ab, C, Db, and Eb.
Lesson 48: Mickey introduces us to the musical form called Groove Riffs which is a sneaky way of
reintroducing the Blues.
Lesson 49: We transpose Lesson 48 to the other six keys. Then we are to create two new Groove
Riffs and transpose them as well to the other keys.
Lesson 50: The last three lessons deal with the art of improvising around melodies so as to not lose
the essence of the melody. Mickey has chosen Dark Eyes in D minor. We then must write a
four-chorus version of Dark Eyes and transpose both ours and Mickey's to the keys of C min, E min
and F min.
Lesson 51: This lesson is a continuance of Lesson 50. Mickey gives us Dark Eyes in A minor. We
then must write a four-chorus version of Dark Eyes and transpose both our and Mickey's to the keys
of G min, Bb min and F min.
Lesson 52: The last lesson is about using repeating patterns as the foundation for building our
improvisations around melodies. We are to create two original patterns for the six examples and then
transpose all to the other keys.
Bonus TEF's: When I began this project in early 2006, I had no master plan nor ambition other than
2 of 3 4/24/2009 1:06 PM
to put an old friend into TEF's. I also decided that during this time any original arrangements I made
would include Mickey's jazz philosophy. I've included all of those TEF's that I haven't previously used
elsewhere in this course here for your study, use, and encouragement. Some of these arrangements
are based on transcriptions of recordings by great guitarists, and I have modified them by the tricks
we've learned in Mickey's course. Most of these have notes with my thoughts on various aspects of
the tune. Basically, if I can do this, so can you, maybe a lot better!
Epilogue: This project has been the most rewarding musical experience of my life and I'm truly
happy to have been able to share it with you. Each lesson was really a lot of fun, some more than
others. Since beginning this project I have listened to many different guitarists. I hear elements of
Mickey's lessons in most, including guitarists that we don't necessarily think of as "jazz guitarists." I
don't wish to imply that they are all students of Mickey's, but rather Mickey's course is based on the
foundation of guitar artistry.
Hopefully, the course will grow and students will continue to send their original creations of the
lessons' requirements. When a lesson is appended or revised, I'll note it on the Table of Contents
page.
Over the coming months I'll be adding Appendices, either penned by me or guest authors. The
subjects are about points lightly touched upon by Mickey, a natural evolution of style, Latin rhythms,
and creating arrangements for small groups or solo guitar. If you have any subjects that you either
have written about or wish to know more about, write me, and I'll investigate making an appendix of
it. With that, let's change the concept of this "Epilogue" to a "Prologue".
Are we having fun yet!!
3 of 3 4/24/2009 1:06 PM

Mickey Baker

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Mickey Baker

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Mickey Baker

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Mickey Baker http://www.thumbpicker.com/mickeybaker/index.

Advanced Guitar Study Group

"Mickey Baker's Complete Course in Jazz Guitar -

Michael Joyce and the Texas Fingerstyle Guitar Association

Lessons (Note New Revisions)

arrangements. It is a wonderful way to go through this course. Using TE to "loop" an exercise, we

Above all else, let's have fun while learning!

Lesson 3 New Chord Exercises and more TablEdit hints

Lesson 5 Review and Practice, Learning how to Transpose using TablEdit

Lesson 7 Review and Practice, Converting Rhythm Chords to Melody Chords

Lesson 8 Arpeggio and String Bass Styles, Right Hand Techniques

Lesson 9 Chord Construction in keys of C, Db, and Eb Major (Group B Chords)

Lesson 10 Harmonic Structure of Chords and Mickey's Laws of Substitution

Lesson 11 Chord Progressing

Lesson 12 Harmonic Devices, More on Chord Substitutions

Lesson 17 Review and Practice, Starting the Standards' Portfolio

Lesson 18 Introductions, Chords with two or more names (Maj6/Maj9, dim7/V7b9)

Lesson 20 Intro's in G Major

Lesson 21 Bop Blues Progressions in G Major, The 12-bar Blues structure

Lesson 22 Endings in G Major

Lesson 23 8 and 16 Bar Sequences, Substitutions for common chord progressions

REVIEW Review of Part 1- Chording (not originally in the course.)

Lesson 27 Scale Runs in F and Db Position

Lesson 28 Minor 7th Runs

Lesson 29 Dominant 7th and 9th Runs

Lesson 30 Diminished Runs

Lesson 31 Blues Patterns (our first real solos)

Lesson 32 Review and Practice, Analysis of Lesson 31's exercises

Lesson 33 Review and Practice, Creation of Blues Solos based on Lesson 31

Lesson 34 Major, Minor, and Dominant Runs

Lesson 35 Run connections in G Major

Lesson 36 Blues Solo

Lesson 37 Bounce Blues in G Major

Lesson 38 Riffs in G Major (Groups "E" and "B")

Lesson 40 Bridge Solos for the Bridge Progressions of Lesson 15

Lesson 43 Rhythm Changes

Lesson 48 Groove Riffs

Lesson 50 Building around the melody, "Dark Eyes"

Lesson 51 Building around the melody, "Dark Eyes" (Continued)

Lesson 52 Solo Patterns

REVIEW Review of Part 2- Soloing (not originally in the course)

Appendices (not originally in the course)

Appendix 3 Melody Chords Revisited, Finding Old Friends in New Places

Appendix 4 Latin Rhythms

But if you want to do something REALLY worthwhile….

Discussion of Mickey’s Chord Forms

Group C: Melody chord forms

forms 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are related with a sixth string root.

In the “Display” tab, check:

In the “Screen” tab, Check:

In the “Advanced” tab, as a minimum, check:

In the “Multitrack” tab, check Module Labels.

Good luck and have fun!

Location of the MIDI Module Selection Boxes

Location of the Tempo Control

Just keep it FUN!

Selection of MIDI Voice

Just keep it FUN!

Location of the Key Signature

Key Signature Window