Mickey Baker’s Jazz Guitar Lesson 2
If you’ve mastered Lesson 1, get ready for Mickey Baker’s Jazz Guitar Lesson 2. In this Lesson, we will use the chords we learned in Lesson 1 and use them in some simple vamps. If you have not completed Lesson 1, go back and learn these jazz voicings as it will be critical to playing the vamps.
Also, I highly recommend that you purchase Mickey Baker’s Jazz Guitar Book 1. You can take this book and your guitar with you anywhere so you will be able to practice. Gone camping? No Internet? No problem! You’ve got the book! And if you want to go the extra mile, you can purchase Mickey Baker’s Jazz Guitar Book 2!
As we progress through the lesson, I’ll talk a little bit about what’s happening musically. If you’ve got a good understanding of music theory, you can skip this and get right to practicing! I do not have a music degree but am using my experience to explain music theory as best as I can. If you see me make an error below, please email me! I’m always looking to learn, and most importantly I want these lessons to be as accurate and informational as possible for you!
If the music theory is confusing or just a bit too much to comprehend, go right to playing the vamps and the chords. Hearing the sounds and working through the chord shapes is more important than understanding everything right now.
Lesson 2
Mickey Baker’s Jazz Guitar Lesson 2 gets you started on some simple vamps so you can learn how to use the chords you learned in Lesson 1. By the end of this lesson, you should be able to use all the chords from Lesson 1 up and down the neck of the guitar. You will also begin to see how these chords work with each other musically.
Vamp 1 – Chords 1, 2, & 3
To start, let’s play the first Vamp. We will be using Mickey Baker’s Chords 1, 2, & 3 or in musical terms, G, Gma7, and Gmaj 6. The G chord is made of the 1, 3, and 5 notes of the major scale. In this vamp, we will be moving the 8th note in your major scale (also the 1 note) down to the 7th not, then down to the 6th, and then back to the 7th. This “movement” is happening on the D-string of the guitar as the notes descend from the 5th fret, to the 4th fret, to the 2nd fret. You’ll notice that every other note in your G chord stays the same. Even though you are changing your fingering for each chord, the only note that changes in on the D-string of the guitar!
This vamp will start in the key of G, and then we will move the vamp up one-half step to Ab. You will continue to move this vamp up the guitar neck chromatically (one-half step or one fret at a time). Keep progressing until you reach the Eb vamp, or when your root note reaches the 11th fret of the low-E string.
Here’s your vamp progression and a sound file for you listen and practice with.
If you need to slow down, feel free to vamp on the G chords until you can change between the chords easily. When you’re ready, you can move on to Ab, A, and so on. Here’s an audio clip of just the G, Gma7, Gma6, and Gma7 chords repeated slowly so you can practice.
Vamp 2 – Chords 2 & 3
Vamp 2 simplifies Vamp 1. Starting again in the key of G, we will use what Mickey Baker labels as chords 2 & 3, or Gma7 and Gma6. You’ll start by playing these two chords, then move them up half a step, or one fret, to Ab. You will continue chromatically up the neck until you reach Eb, or when the rot note reaches the 11th fret.
As you move the vamp up the neck, notice how the chords feel different as the frets get closer together. As chords move up the neck, the notes will not change, but your hand will feel a difference as your fingers begin to “squish” together! It’s important to be able to feel and play the chords in all positions on the guitar as you will be transposing these chords into different keys later.
Vamp 3 – Chords 4 & 5
The third Vamp takes chords 4 & 5 and has you alternate between the Ami7 and Ami6 chords. This will feel very familiar as we just did the same thing with the major chords in Vamp 2.
For Vamp 3, you will start on the Ami7 for two beats, then change to the Ami6. You move the progression up one-half step, or one fret, and continue up the neck chromatically until you reach the 13th fret or the Fmi chords.
Vamp 4 – Chords 2, 3, 4, & 5
In Vamp 4 you get to hear how some of these chords begin to work together. You’ll start by playing Gma7 and Gma6 (Vamp 2) then play Ami7 and Ami6 (Vamp 3). You’ll notice it starts to sound a bit more musical, and less like an exercise. The reason for this is Am is the 2nd note of the G-major scale. And if you’re familiar with the Nashville Numbering System, Am is the 2-chord when playing in the key of G.
There’s a bit more to Mickey Baker’s use of the Ami7 in the key of G, but we will cover that later. For now, let’s get to learning and practicing Vamp 4.
Vamp 5 – Chords 4, 5, & 6
Vamp 5 is similar to Vamp 3, but now we will include Chord 6 or the D13b5b9 chord. When in the key of G, your Am is your 2 chord, and the D is a 5 chord. Mickey Baker will use this D13b5b9 chord in a lot of his turn arounds and fillings, so this is an important vamp to study and get down. The faster you can change to and from the D13b5b9, the easier your fillings are going to be!
Vamp 6 – Chords 2, 4, 6, & 9
Vamp 6 brings a whole lot of stuff together. To me this sounds like a standard 1-5-4-5 chord progression, or a filling line used between a chorus and a verse. It could also be used as an intro or an outro to a song, so this is a very versatile pattern. Instead of bombarding you with several musical interpretations that Vamp 6 could represent, let’s jump right in so you can hear and apply it as you see fit.
Time to Practice!
Practice makes perfect. Be sure to practice these vamps every day. People say to practice for a minimum of 20 minutes, but I personally think that 45 minutes is more appropriate. The longer you spend with these vamps, the easier the next lesson will be! Once you feel comfortable playing these vamps up and down the neck, it’s time for you to move on to Lesson 3, which I will be posting next week!
Enjoyed Mickey Baker’s Jazz Guitar Lesson 2? Ready to purchase a guitar to accompany your new jazz chords? Check out my review of the Epiphone Dot Deluxe VS. It’s a great archtop guitar that has a classic look!
Like what you’re reading? Enter your email below and click Sign Up to subscribe to our email list. You’ll get the latest updates from The Smelly Tele the moment they’re published. We will never send you spam.
Need More Help?
If this is a bit too advanced for you, send me an email and let me know! I’d love to hear what you are struggling with, and I’d be happy to make a new post just for you. There are probably other players just like you who struggled with the same thing, so don’t be afraid to ask!
