Mickey Baker’s Jazz Guitar Lessons 4 & 5
What? We’re combining Mickey Baker’s Jazz Guitar Lessons 4 & 5? Yes! Let’s jump into Mickey Baker’s Jazz Guitar Lesson 4, and once you’ve covered this you’ll understand why we are squeezing Lesson 5 in here too!
Lesson 4 is very similar to Lesson 3, and it builds on the vamps and turn arounds that you’ve already learned. If you haven’t mastered Lesson 3, go back now and review the vamps there. It’s going to help the contents of Lesson 4 & 5 sink in more, and it will help you focus on the new material.
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!
Like the previous lessons, I’m going to talk a bit about what’s happening musically in each vamp. If you’ve got a good understanding of music theory, you can skip this. Jump right to the chord charts and sound clips! If the music theory is confusing or just a bit too much to comprehend, you can also 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 4
In Lesson 3, Mickey Baker taught us some chord progressions in a few keys: F, G, Ab, and Bb. We reviewed standard ways of playing chord progressions. We also learned new ways to play those progressions using the jazz voiced chords that we learned in Lesson 1. In Lesson 4, we’re going to build on these progressions in the key of G, and we are going to explore more turn arounds and movements that you can play behind a standard chord progression. Like Lesson 3, we will look at the “old way” to play these progressions, and then look at the “new way” to play these progressions.
Vamp 1
In Vamp 1, our standard progression should be very familiar. You will see a I-chord (G), V-chord (D7), and a II-Chord (Ami). This progression is similar to many pop songs, jazz standards, etc, and there is no turn around or movement to the chords when playing them the “old way.” You just fret the chords, and start strumming.
The new way will feel very familiar to what you did in Lesson 3! For the I-chord, you’ll play a G, Gma7, and Gma6, and you’ll move the 8th note of your chord to the 7th, to the 6th and walk it back up. Instead of playing the V-chord (D7), you’re going to substitute this with a II-chord (Ami7 & Ami6) and use the familiar 13b5b9 turn-around from Lesson 3 to get back to the I-chord. Finally, instead of playing a standard Ami chord as your II-chord, Mickey Baker has you play a II-chord, but now you will use the Jazz voicings for Ami7 and Ami6.
Note, in the recording, I’ve skipped the repeats and just played the chords straight through to the end of the 6th measure, and then jumped back to start. You can feel free to play the repeats as written by Mickey Baker, but for this first vamp, it doesn’t seem imperative to stick to the book.
Vamp 2
For Vamp 2, the standard way to play this progression is a I-chord (G), then the G#dim to move to the II-chord (Ami), and finally a V-chord (D7). These chords don’t change until you get to the 5th measure, and then the G#dim chord is replaced with a VI-chord (Emi).
What’s great about the new way to play this progression is it’s a series of turn arounds that you can use to get back to your I-chord. The first two measures of the new way start at the I-chord, and the next 3 chords are a walk down that ends with the 13b5b9 chord. Measures 3 & 4 substitute the I-chord entirely, and you jump up to a B chord, and walk it down form the B, to Bb, to A, and then (again) your 13b5b9 chord. And finally the last 2 measures are just your I-chord and II-chord.
Note, I have again skipped the repeats in the recording. After you get the hang of the chords, you can play the repeats on your own if you’d like. In the recording, you’ll hear me play measures 1 through 6 in order, and then repeat these.
Vamp 3
Vamp 3’s old way of playing the progression follows a I-IV-V chord progression. This is probably one of the most popular chord progressions in blue’s and rock music. It’s also very common in jazz, and a I-IV-V progression is something you should commit to memory if you haven’t already.
Note, the standard progression adds a few things that are different from a standard I-IV-V progression. You’ll see in measure 4, Mickey Baker throws in the IV-minor chord, and then in measures 5 & 6, he uses the turn around progression from Vamp 1 with the G, G#dim, Ami, and D7 chords.
Measure 1 of the “new way” sticks with a I-chord and only adds Gma7 and Gma6. But, instead of playing a G7 in the second measure, you will substitute this with a V-chord, or Dmi7 and Dmi6, up the neck. This gets your hand closer to the C chord in measures 3 & 4 as you move down two frets to the Cma7, Cma6, Cmi7, & Cmi6 chords. In measures 5 and 6, you use the same walk down progression that we learned in the middle of Vamp 2! Now you’re starting to move the chords up and down the neck to get some descending chord movements!
Vamp 4
In Vamp 4, the old way of playing chords from Vamp 2 is revisited with the G, G#dim, Ami, D7 progression. This is played twice, and then the old progression from Vamp 3 is played with the G, G7, C, Cmi progression.
The new way to play Vamps 4 & 5 are going to give you new turn arounds, and are some of my favorites out of the Mickey Baker jazz guitar lessons. The first measure uses a familiar substitution of Gma7 and Gma6, followed by Ami7 and Ami6. Then, you will use the walk down from Vamp 2’s Measures 3 & 4. You will arrive back at G in measure 5, and on the 3rd beat of the measure, you will jump up the neck to a Dmi6 chord. What follows next in Measure 6, 7, and 8 is a long turn around that walks you down from the Cma7 chord to your D13b5b9 chord. Then you will repeat starting at your home chord of Gma7. You’re going to love how this sounds!
Vamp 5
Vamp 5 is the hardest of this lesson because how you play your descending turn around is going to change slightly. Instead of playing each chord for 2 beats like we have for all previous vamps, the end of Vamp 5 will have you play one chord per beat to get you back to the home chord. It’s really cool and is going to challenge your ability to change chords quickly! It’s tough at first, but remember to slow down and play through this carefully. The better you can switch between the chords and move your progression down the neck, the easier the next lessons will get.
The old way of playing Vamp 5 will remind you of the previous “old ways” from this Lesson’s vamps, and doesn’t require much explanation. The new way to play Vamp 5 uses similar substitutions from Lesson 4’s vamps as well. There is nothing new here, except that your turn around has a chord played on each beat. Take a listen to the recording and start working your way through Vamp 5!
Lesson 5
And finally, Lesson 5. This Lesson has no chord charts and no audio files. If you’ve mastered the vamps in Lesson 4, Mickey Baker tells us that Lesson 5 is easy. Why? Because it’s essentially the same Lesson 4, but it involves a bit of homework on your part.
Lesson 5 is a bit academic, and you will not necessarily learn anything new, other than exercising your ability to transpose. Pull out a pen and paper. You may have noticed that every Vamp in Lesson 4 was in the key of G. This is not a coincidence, and your next task is to transpose thes Vamps in Lesson 4 from the key of G, to the following keys: F, Ab, and Bb major. You’ll want one piece of paper for each key. Once you’ve completed transposing, go back and review them to be sure they are right.
Then, begin practicing these vamps until you’ve got them memorized, or as Mickey Baker writes, “you know them all by heart in each key.” Slow down and take your time here. If the chords and vamps felt cumbersome and awkward in the key of G, they’re going to feel cumbersome and awkward in the new keys. So be patient with yourself and keep practicing!
Time to Practice!
This lesson continues to build on Lesson 3 and helps us get a more jazzy sound and more interesting turn arounds. Please note the use of 13b5b9 chord again as your transition back to either the I-chord. I think the biggest take aways from Lessons 4 & 5 are the turn arounds you get to experiment with.
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, it’s time for you to move on to Lesson 6.
Enjoyed Mickey Baker’s Jazz Guitar Lesson 4 & 5? Ready to purchase a guitar to accompany your new jazz chords? Check out my review of the Gibson CS 336. This guitar is the top of the line, and borders on the boutique edge. It’s expensive, but it will blow you away!
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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!
