What Are Guide Tones - How To Use Them - 7 Easy Guitar Licks

What Are Guide Tones and How to Use Them

By Stef Ramin On 2016-12-14 Updated on 2024-07-16 2

Guide tones are the notes in a chord which leads or gives harmonic pull toward the next chord, these are an excellent way to study and absorb the sound of any chord progression.

Guide tones are used to outline chord progressions in an improvisation.

They are most of the time the 3rd and the 7th because this is what determines whether a chord is major, minor, or dominant.

This jazz guitar lesson explains how to solo over common jazz chord progressions by using guide tones.

Guide Tones Within Scales And Chords

Guide tones are made up of the third and the seventh degree of the scale they belong to.

This charts shows you the relation between the main scales, triads, seventh chords and their guide tones.

Degrees	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
C Major scale (Ionian)	C	D	E	F	G	A	B
C major triad	C	x	E	x	G	x	x
C major seventh chord	C	x	E	x	G	x	B
Guide tones	x	x	E	x	x	x	B

Degrees	1	2	b3	4	5	6	b7
C Dorian mode	C	D	Eb	F	G	A	Bb
C minor triad	C	x	E	x	G	x	x
C minor seventh chord	C	x	Eb	x	G	x	Bb
Guide tones	x	x	Eb	x	x	x	Bb

Degrees	1	2	3	4	5	6	b7
C Mixolydian mode	C	D	E	F	G	A	Bb
C major triad	C	x	E	x	G	x	x
C dominant seventh chord	C	x	E	x	G	x	Bb
Guide tones	x	x	E	x	x	x	Bb

Degrees	1	b2	b3	4	b5	b6	b7
C Locrian Mode	C	Db	Eb	F	Gb	Ab	Bb
C half diminished triad	C	x	Eb	x	Gb	x	x
C m7b5 chord	C	x	Eb	x	Gb	x	Bb
Guide tones	x	x	Eb	x	Gb	x	Bb

Degrees	1	2	b3	4	b5	#5	6 (bb7)	7
C diminished scale	C	D	Eb	F	Gb	Ab	A	B
C diminished triad	C	x	Eb	x	Gb	x		x
C diminished seventh chord	C	x	Eb	x	Gb	x	A
Guide tones	x	x	Eb	x	Gb	x	A	B

Depending on the quality of some chords, notes other can be made guide tones as the sixth, the fifth or the ninth.

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