hord-melody, as a style, seems simple enough: Play some chords,

play some melodies—no problem. But wade into chord-melody

a little farther and it doesn’t take long to realize that this is deep,

deep water. * Playing chord-melody well requires that you develop a set of muscles

almost completely different from those used in most other guitar styles. After

B Y A D A M L E V Y

C

all, to keep two or three melodies going simul-taneously, sustain chords while a melody floatsfreely on top, or walk a bass line beneath amelodic line and chords is much more thanyou’re required to do on an average gig.

The physical side is only half of the game,however. The other half is design—learning touse contrasting harmonic colors and melodicdevices to craft compelling arrangements. Agood arrangement can even make the physicalpart easier, employing musical sleight-of-handto make it sound like there are more parts in themusic than you’re actually playing.

Rather than presenting technical exercisesfor building chord-melody chops, I’ve writtena solo-guitar adaptation of the spiritual “NobodyKnows the Trouble I’ve Seen,” using several keytechniques you can apply to your own arrange-ments. Once you can play this arrangementsmoothly—with the chords ringing clearly andthe melody singing soulfully—your chord-melody chops will be in pretty good shape. Payclose attention to the tab and fingering indica-tions, as they are key to playing the arrangement

with as little wasted energy as possible.Although this arrangement launches right

into the song with no introduction, intros areoften used to set up chord-melody pieces. Introscan be based on part of the song—in this case,measures 13-15, plus the first three beats ofmeasure 17, would set up the song quite nicely.A more concise introduction, consisting solelyof the V7 chord of a song’s key, is commonlyused. G13sus4 (borrowing the voicing used inmeasure 7) or G9 (borrowing beats three andfour from measure 23) will work just fine.

Another alternative is EExx.. 11, a chordal ideaemployed regularly by the late chord-melodykingpin Joe Pass. (Pass’ inspired solo-guitarrecordings—particularly Virtuoso, Virtuoso #2,and Virtuoso #3 [Pablo]—are required listeningfor chord-melody enthusiasts.) The descendingchord sequence is basically an extended IIm7-V7 progression, with Ab13 used as a half-stepapproach to G13, and Db7#9 used similarly toanticipate the arrangement’s first chord, C major.

One of the first things to notice in thearrangement is the range of the melody. (Themelody is written with upstemmed notesthroughout.) The published sheet music for thissong is in the key of Ab, but transposing it toC keeps the melody between second-line G andthe G an octave above that—a nice, meaty rangefor chord-melody style. (Any lower makes ithard to fit chords under the melody withoutsounding muddy. The melody could certainlybe placed higher—the high E above the staff isa practical upper limit.) The key of C also offersseveral opportunities to use open strings as bassnotes (as in measure 3) and as voices withinchords (as in measure 4).

The arrangement starts out with simple,three- and four-part chords. Starting with bare-bones harmony leaves us more to get to later—something to consider when building anarrangement. The first few chords set the tonefor what is to come, so using dissonant chordsin the beginning says, “Hey—this arrangementis about dissonance.” If your ears need to hearjuicier harmony right away, try swapping EExx.. 22’sFm/maj7 for the Am7 in measure 2. TheFm/maj7 can be played either with fretting-hand

here is not a “proper” way to play

chord-melody. Many players use a

classical-style technique, playing with fas-

tidiously maintained nails; others prefer to

use the fleshy tips of their picking-hand fin-

gers. (This second technique is less articu-

late but offers a warmer, more lush tone.)

Another approach combines a flatpick,

held as usual, and the three remaining fin-

gers. (The masterful Lenny Breau preferred

a thumbpick-and-fingers approach.)

If you’re new to chord-melody and

aren’t sure what to do with your picking

hand, just experiment until you find an ap-

proach that feels comfortable and sounds

good. You also might want to check out a

few players you admire to study their ap-

proach. —AL

===================TAB

& 44 öööö öööö öööö öööböb úúúún( )

úúbúbúDm9 Dm11 Dm9 A 13 G13 D 7 9b #b

12 10 10 10

8 8 7 7

5 5 5 3

6 5 4

4

4 5

3

3

5 4

4 3

3

1 1 1

2 2 1 1

1

3 3 3 3

4

2

1

1

4 3

2 ======TAB

& wwwwbFm/maj7

5 1 3 3

Ex. 1 Ex. 2

TPicking-Hand Technique

===================================TAB

& 44 ö ö ö ö .úúú öj ö ö ö úúúú öööö öö ö ööö ööö öúú ú . úú1

C F/C C Am7 C G/B Am7 C/E Dm/F G7(no3rd)

5 5 5 3

5 2 2

1

3 3

3 5 5 5

5 5 5 5 5

5 3

5 5 5 3

5 2

2 5 5 5 5

5 0 1

0 2 0

3

3

öööö ö öÎ ö .úúú öjC F/C

5 5 5 3

5 2 2

1

3 3

3

3 3 3

1

1 4

4

4

1 2

3

3 3 3

2

4

1

1 4 3

2

1

4

3

Freely, with spirit

úúúööö Î

===================================TAB

&6 öööö# ö öööönb úöböö ööböb

n( )

n( )

öj ööö# ööön úÎ öböböb ööönn öÎE7/B

Em7 5/BA7 9

A 7 5 G13sus4 D7 G13b b b # N.C A 7/G C/Gbb

5 7

7

6

5 5

5 7

6

5

5

5

3 5 4

4

3

3

3

5 5

5 5 3

4 4 5

3

1 1 1

1 0 2

2 3

5

1 4 2 3

1

1 4

2

4 1 3

2

2 3

1

1

1

1

4 3

1 3 2

2 3

1

1 1 1

2

2

3

öúú ö öú ö öúú ö úúúC Cmaj7 C6 C

3 3 3 5 5

5 4

3 1 2

3 0

0 1

1 4 3

3 1

2 2

4

1 1

b ö .ö .ö .ö .ö . ä 4

önú

0

===================================TAB

&11 úúúú úúúú ú .úúú úúbú

ö ö .úúúúöj ööúúú#

ö ön( ) úúúö úúúú# úúúú

n( ) úúúúCmaj7 Fmaj7sus2 G9sus4 G7 9 C/G G dim7 Am7 D9 G13sus4 G9sus4#b

3 1 4 2

0

0 1

3

3

3

3

2 1

0

3

3

3 1 0 2

3

3 3 3

3 4

4

5 8 8 5

5

5 5

5 4

7

5 5 3

3 3

3 2 1

3 1 4 2 3

4 1 3

2

4

1

2

3

3

1 1

1

2

4

1

1

3

3 3

1 2

2 1

4

3

4 n

===================================TAB

&16 ú .ú .ú .ú .

öÎ

C

1 0 2 3

12

ö öjä ö .úúú öj öúúúúö ö úúúúú ööjúúb

ö öj öúúúúö ööú

öö ööö ööö ööö öööö ö ö ö

Cmaj7 Am7 Fmaj9 Dm9 B 6/9 11 Am7b # G9sus4

G7

Fmaj7

Em7

Dm7

G9sus4

12 12 12 12

10

10

10 8

9 7

12 12 12 12 8 9 10 8

10 10 10

10

12

12 12

12

6

10 8 8 5 5 5

5

5

5 3

3

3

4

12 10 10 10

10 8 9 9

8 6 7 7

5

5 5

6

3 3 3

1

1

1

2

2 3

4 4

1

1

2 3

1 1 1

1

*Th

4

3 2

let ring - - - -

1 1 1 1

1

4 4

3

1

1

1

2

4

1 1 1

1

4

3 2

2 1

1 1

* Play B w/ L.H. thumb in front of fretboard.b

3

let ring - - - -

öJöö

8

úöj

Î

===================================TAB

&21 öööö öö ö ööö ööööb ööööö

ö ööööö#úúúbúún

ö .úúúúöj ööúú

öö ú .ä öJöb ö ö öb ö öb öbÎC G/B F/A F/A C/GF m7 5

Fm6/maj7 C/G G9

# bA maj7b

5 5 5 3

5 2

2 5

5

3

3

3 5

4

0 0 0 0

0

1 1

1

1 0 2

3

1 2 2

2

3

0 1

2

3

0 3

3

3

2

0 0 1

1 5 3 2 1

1 3 4

4

1

3

3

2 2

1 4 3

4 3

1

1 1

4 3

2 1 3

ö ö ö ö âUC

let ring - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -3

3 2

0

0 1

3 20 1

bwä öj

“ N o b o d y K n o w s t h e T r o u b l e I ’ v e S e e n ”

fingers 2, 3, 1, 4 (low to high) or 2, 2, 1, 4, witha 2nd-finger double-stop holding down the Cand F. The latter is difficult, but worth the effort.To get both C and F with your 2nd finger, placethe tip of your finger above both notes, then tryto touch your fretboard. That’s right: Ignore thefourth and fifth strings and just go for the wood.Done right, this trick will let you nail both noteswith relative ease, leaving your 3rd finger freeto perform other harmonic or melodic duties.

The harmony heats up in measure 6, thanksto a descending bass line beneath the melody’srepeating Es and a reharmonization based onthe new bass line. Why use these particularchords? With the bass and melody lines in place,these chords simply fit and sound agreeable.Bm11-Bb7b5-Am7-Ab6#5 is another possibleharmonization. Experiment with other chordsand see what you can come up with.

In measure 8, plant a half-barre acrossstrings 2, 3, and 4 before sounding beat one’s C.This will let the C ring over beat two’s chord. (Asimilar move is required to execute measure 24.)Plotting your fretting-hand fingering carefullyis extremely important in chord-melody—fin-gering can make the difference between “un-playable” and “playable.”

Measures 9-12 again utilize a descendingline beneath a fairly static melody (similar tomeasure 6), but this time the line is in a higheroctave, making it heard not so much as a bassline but as a moving line that changes the basicC major chord sound to Cmaj7, C6, then backto C—a useful move whenever you have a majorchord that lasts for two measures.

Beginning with the quarter-note pickup atthe end of measure 16, I’ve bumped the melody

up an octave for measures 17-20. Why? Variety.As measures 17-24 are basically a repeat of thesong’s first eight measures, changing octaves(and tweaking the harmonization subtly) keepsthe arrangement fresh. Keep in mind, though,this is a condensed arrangement designed todemonstrate a variety of techniques in a smallamount of time. On a solo-guitar gig, a songcan stretch out over five or six minutes, so youcould wait longer before changing the song’smelodic range.

Measure 19 contains the arrangement’shardest move: a Bb6/9#11 that requires you tobring your thumb around to the front of thefretboard (a grip gleaned from fingerstyle wizTuck Andress). If this chord proves too difficult,try holding your fretting hand out in front ofyou— palm towards your body—then spreadyour thumb and fingers as far apart as you canand visualize your thumb playing Bb on thesixth string and your pinky playing the high Eon the first string at the 12th fret. If you canwrap your mind around that, you can probablywrap your hand around the chord. If it stillseems hopeless, try plugging EExx.. 33 into measure19. The Cmaj9 is still a stretch, but most handswill find it playable.

Now, take a look at the eighth-note chord se-quence at the end of measure 20. (Because thispassage is a “fill” and not part of the song’smelody, it should be played quietly to set it apart.)This passage differs from the rest of the arrange-ment in that it is in “block chord” style (eachmelody note is supported by a chord), whereasmost of this arrangement is in “free lead” or “freemelody” style (the melody moves independentlyabove the chords). Block-chord voicings can bea very useful arranging tool. EExx.. 44 illustrates thefirst two measures of “Nobody Knows the Trou-ble I’ve Seen” arranged in block chords.

The arrangement’s final note is rendered byway of an artificial harmonic. To accomplish this,fret F at the 1st fret, then place the tip of yourpicking-hand index finger directly above the20th fret—the fret itself, not the wood. Touchingthe string very lightly with your extended indexfinger, pluck the string with your thumb. Takecare to hit the harmonic spot on—if the fingeredF sounds, it will ruin the C major arpeggio.

A few final tips:• Make sure to play the melody louder than

the chordal accompaniment. Though the styleis called “chord-melody,” it’s better to think ofit as “melody-chord” to remind yourself thatmelody is job #1.

• Keeping the above in mind, feel free to in-terpret the melody. Imagine how a great soulsinger would perform this song, and try to getyour melodic phrasing into that zone, letting thechords—in contrast—fall squarely on the beat.

• Legendary 7-string guitarist George Van Epsrefers to his solo-guitar style as “lap piano,” re-minding us that chord-melody is in many waysa pianistic conception. Lenny Breau was hip tothis, citing pianist Bill Evans as one of his chiefinfluences. For inspiration, check out some solorecordings by jazz piano greats, such as Evans,Art Tatum, and Thelonious Monk.

• You can take the lap piano concept onestep further by actually adapting piano musicto the guitar. Seek out the sheet music to oneof your favorite songs and try to play the pianopart. (Remember to transpose everything up oneoctave, because the guitar sounds an octave low-er than it’s written.) At first, concentrate solelyon the treble-clef part, then the bass. Beforeputting the parts together, take one final step:Play the song’s melody line and the bass line (thebass clef’s lowest line) together—just the twoparts, without all the notes that go in between.(This step gives you a better sense of how thebass- and treble-clef parts will ultimately fit to-gether.) Once you can accomplish this last step,put all the pieces together. If necessary, you cantake liberties—such as leaving out notes thatare doubled within a chord or editing out dec-orative musical embellishments.

After all that hard work, you may find thatonly some passages are physically possible onthe guitar, but the parts that are playable willgive you a fresh, non-guitaristic perspective onhow music can be arranged. g

===========TAB

& 44 öö ö öjäöúúúú

öCmaj9 Am7

let ring - - - - - - -12 12 12 12

12 10

8

8 8 5 5 5

5

ÎöJöjö ===================

TAB

& 44 öööö öööö öööö ö .ö .ö .ö . ööööJ öööö ö ö úúúúCmaj7 C6 Fmaj7 F6 Cmaj7 Am7

12 12 12 10

8 5 7 7

5 5 5 5

8 6 9 7

10 10 10 10

12 12 12 10

12 12 12

12 10

10

Ex. 3 Ex. 4

early any song has potential as a chord-melody piece. Songs from the jazz canon,

folk tunes, and old and new pop songs can all work well in this format. When choos-

ing songs to arrange, don’t worry too much about what’s playable. If you want to play a

piece of music badly enough, you’ll find a way to render it on the guitar—even if it means

employing guerrilla tactics such as tapping, harmonics, and non-standard tunings.

Tuck Andress’ cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” (a solo-guitar track from the Tuck &

Patti album Dream) is a great example of this. At a guitar clinic, Andress said he worked

on the arrangement for more than ten years before recording it. Andress’ arrangement

includes all the elements of Wonder’s original—the bass line, keyboard parts, horn

parts, and the vocal line! Most guitarists wouldn’t have gone to such trouble, but some-

thing about the song turned Andress on so much that he kept after it until he could play

it. (For an in-depth look at Andress’ unique, multi-layered style, check out

“A Private Lesson with the Amazing Tuck Andress” in the April ’88 GP and “The Reckless

Precision of Tuck Andress” in the Feb. ’91 issue.) —AL

NReckless Persistence