Navigating Chord Changes in

Jazz Guitar with Three Different

Fingering Approaches: Vertical,
Horizontal, and Diagonal

Diego Celi
University of the Arts Singapore–LASALLE College of the Arts
diego.celi@lasalle.edu.sg

This article discusses the evolution of jazz guitar fingerings through three different
approaches to navigating chord changes: vertical, horizontal, and diagonal. It explains
the early limitations of vertical fingerings and how it was improved with the advent of
the horizontal approach, evidenced in the jazz world by Pat Metheny in the 1970s. It
also looks at how Kurt Rosenwinkel introduced diagonal fingerings to the broader jazz
audience in the late 1990s. This article explains these three fingering styles and provides
examples and a pedagogical guide for their study.

Keywords: Jazz guitar, guitar fingering, jazz guitar technique, jazz improvisation

INTRODUCTION
The role of the electric guitar as a solo instrument in jazz is relatively new. Since
its inception, it showed some physical limitations in adapting jazz saxophone-like
vocabulary to the fingerboard. Despite early jazz guitarists significantly advancing

Diego Celi is an Ecuadorian jazz guitarist, composer, pedagogue, and scholar. He is rec-
ognized as a performer, researcher, and educator across the Americas and Southeast Asia.
Currently, he serves as Programme Leader at LASALLE College of the Arts—University of
the Arts Singapore. Previously, he served as a Professor, Chair, Vice Dean, and Dean of the
College of Music at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito for 17 years. He embarked on
his jazz studies at Florida International University and obtained a Master’s degree in Music
Education from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. His doctoral studies were
pursued at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, earning a Doctorate of Musical
Arts in Jazz Performance in 2016. His research concentrates on Western art compositional
techniques applied to jazz, jazz counterpoint, and music education. He focuses on jazz guitar
pedagogy, jazz theory pedagogy, and music curriculum and assessment.

Jazz Education in Research and Practice Vol. 5, No. 1 • Copyright © The Trustees of Indiana University •
DOI 10.2979/jazzeducrese.5.1.12
Navigating Chord Changes in Jazz Guitar with Three Different Fingering Approaches 161

the role of the guitar as a solo instrument, with Charlie Christian probably being
the most prominent, the guitar was still relegated as a solo instrument compared to
woodwinds, brass, or piano (Owens, 1995, pp. 200–201). This was partly because
in the late swing and early bebop eras (circa 1940–1945), the guitar partially lost
its role within the rhythm section and reemerged as a solo instrument. Unlike the
saxophone, trumpet, and piano, the guitar lacked a history as a jazz solo instrument
at the time: “Guitarists were among the last to learn bop style, and they did not
improvise with the originality of Parker and Gillespie” (Gridley, 2009, p. 182).
Another reason for this gap was that conventional guitar fingering (mainly
vertical) did not easily adapt to bebop’s melodic vocabulary. This did not change
until the mid-1970s when Pat Metheny—a then relatively new guitarist—caught
the jazz world’s attention with his innovative sound and fluid improvisation, partly
due to a different form of fingering: horizontal (Kernfeld, 2003). However, this
did not become meaningful until the mid-1980s, when Metheny (1999) reached an
improvisational level that shook the jazz guitar scene. Additionally, the book The
Advancing Guitarist published in 1987 by the late Mick Goodrick popularized this
fingering style. After that, jazz guitarists who developed these new fingering skills
added to the standard vertical fingerings, radically reduced the improvisational gap
between the electric guitar and other instruments, arguably to its disappearance.
This seemingly once-in-a-lifetime event of rewriting electric guitar tech-
nique, against all odds, happened again in the late 1990s when Kurt Rosenwinkel
caught the jazz world’s attention. Rosenwinkel (2017) integrated the vertical
and horizontal fingerings and also mastered fingering melodic ideas diagonally
across the fretboard. These developments advanced the guitar’s improvisational
freedom and creativity so far that the gap between the electric guitar and other
jazz solo instruments no longer exists. This article explains these fingering styles
and suggests a pedagogical approach for their study.

VERTICAL FINGERINGS
This is the oldest and most widespread fingering style, and although no unique
standardized system exists, all its versions share a common concept. Early gui-
tar books taught some version of this system in which scales and arpeggios are
fingered in ascending or descending order in a vertical alignment of frets, main-
taining a position on the fretboard where each finger corresponds to one fret (also
known as playing in position). Under this concept, systems like mapping the fret-
board into five, six, or seven regions, or the CAGED system, was broadly taught.1
As a result, guitarists were “boxed” in sectors of the fretboard relatively limited
in their horizontal and diagonal movement and rarely ascended to frets higher
than the 12th, especially compared to contemporary jazz guitarists.2 Goodrick
(1987) joked that position playing creates two problems, “‘paralysis’ (fear of move-
ment) and ‘acrophobia’ (fear of higher frets)” (p. 10). The figures below show two
excerpts, one by Wes Montgomery and another by Jimmy Raney, performing
bebop lines fingered in regions.
162 Jazz Education in Research and Practice Volume 5, Number 1

Figure 1. Wes Montgomery, “Nica’s Dream” solo excerpt, Wes Montgomery, VPRO Studio,
Hilversum, Holland, April 2nd, 1965 (colorized), YouTube, 06:37. 3

Figure 2. Jimmy Raney, “There Will Never Be Another You” solo excerpt, Jimmy Raney
Live in Nashville, Another You, YouTube, 01:44.

Numerous exercises exist in this fingering style for navigating chord changes,
as it has been known the longest. The following are four exercises to practice
improvising over a IImin7 | V7 | Imaj7| progression in Bb major.4 For these
examples, the fretboard was mapped into five regions,5 and the chosen scales for
each chord are C Dorian, F Half-Whole Diminished,6 and Bb Bebop Major.7
Figures 3–5 depict the fingering of these scales in the second region. The scales
start from the lowest note and ascend to the highest one within the second region,
not necessarily from the root.

Figure 3. C Dorian in the second region.

Figure 4. F half-whole diminished in second region.

Navigating Chord Changes in Jazz Guitar with Three Different Fingering Approaches 163

Figure 5. Bb Bebop major in second region.

Figures 6–8 display fingerings for Cmin7, F7, and Bbmaj7 arpeggios in the
second region. The arpeggios start from the lowest note and ascend to the highest
one within the second region, not necessarily from the root.

Figure 6. Cmin7 arpeggio in second region.

Figure 7. F7 arpeggio in second region.

Figure 8. Bbmaj7 arpeggio in second region.

Figure 9 demonstrates an exercise referred to as Voice-Leading Arpeggios

in the second region of the fingerboard in a Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | progression.
The exercise begins on the lowest note in the second region and ascends in eighth
notes to the highest. The change of chords is made by switching to the nearest
chord tone of the new chord without altering the melodic direction (ascending or
descending). This exercise can start on any chord tone from Cmin7 in the second
region and be looped indefinitely. Figure 10 presents a similar exercise, but it voice
leads the mentioned scales instead of arpeggios. Figures 11–12 show a variation
of this exercise alternating arpeggios and scales and vice versa. It is recommended
to practice these exercises in all five regions.
164 Jazz Education in Research and Practice Volume 5, Number 1

Figure 9. Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | voice-leading arpeggios in second region.

Figure 10. Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | voice-leading scales in second region.

Figure 11. Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | voice-leading arpeggio-scale-arpeggio in second region.

Figure 12. Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | voice-leading scale-arpeggio-scale in second region.

Navigating Chord Changes in Jazz Guitar with Three Different Fingering Approaches 165

HORIZONTAL FINGERINGS
Pat Metheny recalls that when he was young in his hometown of Lee Summit,
Missouri, there were no guitar instructors available since the guitar was relatively
new to jazz. Consequently, he devised a unique practice approach that differed
from the traditional canon. His method involved selecting a jazz piece and chal-
lenging himself to play it one string at a time all over the fingerboard. He would
then progress to playing it on two, three, four, or solely on the lower or upper
strings (Niles, 2009).
Metheny’s quasi-accidental exploration opened a door that revolutionized
guitar pedagogy. This was further developed with the publication of the book The
Advancing Guitarist. In the dedication, the author states, “This book is dedicated to
Pat, partially because he made it possible, but mostly because he never needed it”
(Goodrick, 1987, p. 1). The pedagogical impact of this fingering approach remains
influential to this day. Figures 13–14 depict two excerpts, one by Pat Metheny
and another by Nir Felder, demonstrating jazz melodic lines fingered horizontally.

Figure 13. Pat Metheny, “Solar” solo excerpt, “Solar” (Live, 1990), YouTube, 0:48.

Figure 14. Nir Felder, “Sippin’ at Bells” solo excerpt, Kevin Hays with Nir Felder, YouTube,
17:15.
166 Jazz Education in Research and Practice Volume 5, Number 1

Figures 15–18 illustrate the same voice-leading exercises but performed on

single strings. The first example demonstrates a voice-leading of arpeggios on the
third string, the second example shows a voice-leading of scales on the second
string, the third alternates between arpeggio-scale-arpeggio on the fourth string,
and the fourth demonstrates voice-leading of scale-arpeggio-scale on the first
string. It is recommended to practice each exercise on all six individual strings,
despite only one string per exercise being notated. It is suggested that each exercise
be performed at a slow tempo and looped for as long as possible.

Figure 15. Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | horizontal voice-leading arpeggios–3rd string.

Figure 16. Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | horizontal voice-leading scales–2nd string.

Figure 17. Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | horizontal voice-leading arpeggio-scale-arpeggio–4th

string.
Navigating Chord Changes in Jazz Guitar with Three Different Fingering Approaches 167

Figure 18. Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | horizontal voice-leading scale-arpeggio-scale–1st

string.

DIAGONAL FINGERINGS
The third and most recent fingering approach gained recognition in wider jazz
audiences through Kurt Rosenwinkel’s playing. The difficulty of this fingering
style lies in the absence of fixed positions or regions on the fretboard for fin-
gering scales and arpeggios. Consequently, the same scale or arpeggio can be
fingered differently each time it is ascended or descended. Figures 19–20 show

Figure 19. Kurt Rosenwinkel, “Half Nelson” solo excerpt, Live From Emmet’s Place
Vol. 105—Kurt Rosenwinkel, YouTube, 14:58.

Figure 20. Mike Moreno, “Woody’ n You” solo excerpt, Mike Moreno Quartet—Woody ‘n’
You—Bar Bayeux, YouTube, 1:43.
168 Jazz Education in Research and Practice Volume 5, Number 1

two excerpts, one by Kurt Rosenwinkel and another by Mike Moreno, demon-
strating jazz melodic lines fingered diagonally. Figures 21–24 illustrate the same
voice-leading exercises but fingered diagonally.

Figure 21. Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | diagonal voice-leading arpeggios.

Figure 22. Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | diagonal voice-leading scales.

Figure 23. Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | diagonal voice-leading arpeggio-scale-arpeggio.

Navigating Chord Changes in Jazz Guitar with Three Different Fingering Approaches 169

Figure 24. Cmin7 | F7 | Bbmaj7 | diagonal voice-leading scale-arpeggio-scale.

CONCLUSION
The development of two new fingering approaches, in addition to the conventional
method, has led to a significant increase in the improvisational capabilities of jazz
guitarists. Position and region playing has already been extensively covered in
pedagogical materials, while horizontal playing is still developing but is rapidly
gaining popularity within the jazz guitar community. Although a new set of edu-
cational materials for diagonal fingering has yet to be seen, the results achieved
thus far have been promising.

NOTES
1. Some prominent guitar books of the time included Leavitt (1966), Galbraith (1971), and Pass
(1977).
2. While early guitarists occasionally ventured beyond the 12th fret and moved across the fretboard,
their fingering style was horizontally and diagonally restricted. Their horizontal movement resulted
from a shift in regions.
3. Circled numbers are the standard symbol for guitar strings.
4. These exercises are not the only options for practicing improvisation over chord changes. They
are just four popular and effective choices.
5. Dividing the fretboard into five overlapping regions (also used in the CAGED system) is done
by octaves linked to a pitch. For example, the octaves of the pitch C can be found in frets 3 (5th
string) to 5 (3rd string); frets 5 (3rd string) to 8 (1st or 6th string); frets 8 (1st or 6th string) to 10
(4th string); frets 10 (4th string) to 13 (2nd string); frets 13 (2nd string) to 15 (5th string) (or frets
1 to 3). A region is considered as encompassing one fret lower and one fret higher than the octave,
resulting in the following regions: Region 1, frets 2 to 6; Region 2, frets 4 to 9; Region 3, frets 7 to
11; Region 4, frets 9 to 14; Region 5, frets 12 to 16 (or 0 to 4).
6. This scale is known by various names, like dominant diminished, auxiliary diminished, dimin-
ished mode 2.
7. The scale options for this progression are extensive; the one presented here is just one of many.
Refer to academic sources on chord-scale relationships for alternatives (see Keller, 2006).
170 Jazz Education in Research and Practice Volume 5, Number 1

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