Chord Melody Standards

Chord melody is not only a requisite skill for jazz guitarists, it’s also some of the most gratifying and enjoyable music that you can make all by yourself with your favorite instrument. Taking full advantage of the polyphonic qualities of guitar by playing both rhythm and melody simultaneously, and keeping it all in the groove, is certainly challenging but the learning curve flattens dramatically once you develop the foundational skills. Frank Vignola’s Essentials: Chord Melody Etudes will get you up and running quickly, with a series of etudes designed to impart the essential skill set. “In this edition of Essentials: Chord Melody Etudes, my goal is to give you a foundation to build on with eight chord melody etudes covering a range of keys and approaches.

Chord melody may very well be the most daunting rite of passage for jazz guitarists. Learning how to comp, jazz up melody lines and improvise solos is challenging enough but doing all of that simultaneously is seemingly an impossible task. Especially if you’re a fan of jazz chord melody masters like Joe Pass, Barney Kessel and Bucky Pizzarelli. Meanwhile, you can’t pick up your jazz guitarist credentials without passing that chord melody class.

Mark Stefani, a top-notch solo guitar player with a pedigree a mile long, is also one of the most prolific and well-rounded guitar instructors we have the pleasure of working with. Mark's recent TrueFire course, Jazzed Blues, remains at the top of our charts and his monthly lessons always rank in the top ten. Chord Melody Cafe, an interactive video course, focuses solely on chord melody for intermediate to advanced and pro players.

Chord melody may very well be the most daunting rite of passage for jazz guitarists. Learning how to comp, jazz up melody lines and improvise solos is challenging enough but doing all of that simultaneously is seemingly an impossible task. Especially if you’re a fan of jazz chord melody masters like Joe Pass, Barney Kessel and Bucky Pizzarelli. Meanwhile, you can’t pick up your jazz guitarist credentials without passing that chord melody class. So where do you start? How do you get up and running as quickly as possible? And who will guide you on this learning journey? All three answers can be found inside Frank Vignola’s 1-2-3 Jazz Chord Melody.