Chords for Girl From Ipanema Tutorial | How To Learn Chord Tones On Bass Guitar

[A] _ _ _ [D] _ _ [Dm] _ _ [C] _
_ _ _ [D] _ _ _ Today we're going to take a look at the A section from the Brazilian jazz standard called
The Girl from Ipanema.
So with that in mind, grab your bass and let's get started.
The Girl from Ipanema was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim, who was one of the most prolific
jazz composers from Brazil.
His concept of harmony is a little different and his tunes are great vehicles to learn
how to improvise over.
In a previous free video that I did, I broke down the harmonic analysis to another one
of his tunes called Wave, which you can check out by just clicking the info card just over here.
So let's go ahead and analyze this harmonic progression right now.
It starts off with F major 7 for two bars, which is one major 7 in the key of F, followed
by a G7, which is a secondary dominant chord functioning as the 5 of 5.
From there it moves to a G minor 7, which is two minor 7, and then that's followed
by a Gb7, which is a [E] tritone substitute of the V7 of the key, which is C7.
Although this progression is really easy, I've found that many bass players don't
understand these rudimentary harmonic fundamentals.
If you feel that you fall into this category, then you've got to get my book Functional
Harmonic Concepts, and yes, you can find it in the link in the description box below.
I'm going to go ahead and improvise over these changes, and then come back and talk
about some concepts that you can use over this tune.
This tune is usually played at a much slower tempo, but I'm going to put more of a new
twist on this and play it a bit brighter, reminiscent of the way a band like the Yellow
Jackets might play this tune.
_ [Am] _
_ [A] _ _ [Dm] _ _ _ _ _
[F] _ _ _ [E] _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ _ _ [Am] _ _ _ [D] _ _
[A] _ _ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ [Dbm] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ _
[Dbm] _ _ _ [F] _ _ _ _
What's really important about improvisation is being able to organize what you're playing
as conceptual devices fast.
If you check out what I'm playing over this section, you might become lost trying to find
out what I'm doing if all you're used to is compartmentalizing what you play as licks
rather than broad concepts, which are proven for far better results.
The way I look at this is what I call the improvisation map.
Notice that I've organized this into two different categories, which consist of chord types and
concepts.
On the left, I've written the chord types that I'm playing over, which is the major
seven, the minor seven, and dominant seventh chords.
And on the right, I've listed the various concepts, including chromaticism, triad pairs, _
_ intervallics, superimposition, polyrhythms, and lyrical phrasing.
There's an infinite number of ways that this can help you to solve problems that you might
be facing with your bass playing.
But it's really important to point out that when I work with a private student, each one
of these [G] concepts can last up to a year of study.
But I'll tell you what, the difference is, and this is guaranteed, is that my students
can actually understand and play ideas based on these concepts as a result.
Okay, so let me give you a few examples and break down some of these simple and easy to
use concepts that I was using in this solo.
If you check out the first pattern that I play, you'll notice that I've inserted a double
chromatic above to a single chromatic below before playing the root, two, three, five idea.
_ [F] _ [G] _ _ [C] _
[Ab] In this next example, I'm using some triad pairs, which are mutually exclusive, meaning
that there's no repeated notes.
Notice how I'm using a major triad combined with an augmented triad a whole step apart
over the G7 chord in bars [G] three and four. _ _
[A] _ _ [D] _ _ [A] _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ In bars five and six, I'm using intervallic approach notes over the [Dm] G minor 7 to G flat 7.
Notice the target notes over the G minor 7th are the root and 11th, where over the G flat
7, the target notes are sharp 11, flat 7, and 13. _ _
[Em] _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ [A] _ _ [G] _
_ [Eb] _ _ _ Superimposition is another classic concept that can be found throughout jazz improvisation.
I use this principle all the time, which is based on the premise that you're superimposing
one chord over another.
For example, I've used this concept here in bar seven over the F major 7 chord, where
I'm superimposing a D minor 7th chord over the F major 7.
This highlights a combination of both chord tones and tensions.
_ [A] _ _ _ _ _
_ In bars nine through 12, I'm combining lyrical phrasing and polyrhythms together using constant
structure of perfect fourths grouped in displaced dotted quarter notes.
[E] _ _
[D] _ _ _ [C] _ _ [Dm] _ _ _
_ _ _ [F] _ _ I know it goes way beyond the scope of this video to understand each one of these concepts
in their totality.
That's what private lessons are for.
But what I'm trying to impart here is a different way of organizing what you play.
Remember, thinking in terms of licks just doesn't work.
However, organizing your stream of consciousness into concepts is a whole new ballgame.
Thanks for hanging out and please [Ab] make sure that you subscribe to my channel.
This is a no risk deal for you because as soon as you subscribe, you'll be getting free
bass lessons directly to your inbox [E] every Thursday.
Until next time, practice smart, work hard, and play creatively. _ _
_ _ _ [B] _ [C] _ _ _ _