▪ Jazz Standards have been widely misinterpreted by musicians and music schools – especially after 1960 or so. Finding the original sheet music is a major challenge. Almost all existing sheet music must be corrected by teachers such as Connor Jones. Some of the basic guidelines are provided below, but require a deep familiarity of the original repertoire.
▪ What we can take from Fake Books and the like, are the melody notes, which tend to be correct.
▪ Tunes have a general scale outline and a logic to their choice of tonal centers. The tonal centers of a tune are typically related to other tonal centers either diatonically or by family relation (coming from the same diminished chord).
▪ Fully diminished 7th chords and dominant chords are typically used for moving from one center to another. To know which tonal center you are on, identify the scale to which the chord is diatonic.
▪ Before approaching a new tune from the Great American Songbook, it is best to analyze the scale outline of the tune. Understanding where tonal centers shift will put the entire tune into perspective.
▪ The final chord of a tune usually indicates its main tonal center (as it all resolved to it) — not always, but perhaps 80+% of the time.
▪ The root of the chord should almost always be lowest in the bass (or if not, it should resolve there) for structure, along with the shell voicing of choice.
▪ For the bassline, we typically use root + shell voicings of choice (detailed in shell voicings chapter). Therefore, lead sheets of Great American Songbook tunes we use usually don’t need a detailed bassline. The treble clef with chords and melody are usually enough. This also leaves room for improvisation and personal interpretation.
▪ Due to shifts between tonal centers throughout tunes, it is better to go with accidentals than key signatures.
▪ In Great American Songbook tunes, there are many minor 7th chords that should be interpreted as minor 6th chords. Not all, but in many cases. Try both, listen to the difference, and choose.
▪ In Great American Songbook tunes dominant chords can be played as dominants, or as a minor 6th on the 5th scale degree. Try both, choose your style.