TO UNDERSTAND these shapes, we need to consider the nature of Django’s caravan-fire injury and disfigurement. His third and fourth fingers, curled permanently into his palm, were not used for soloing, but he had a limited ability to fret high notes in chords. Spending 18 months convalescing in a nursing home, Django developed not only a virtuoso soloing style but also a chord vocabulary to suit his flexibility. Using inversions and condensing chords to their essential‘flavour notes’, he was able to cover a surprisingly wide range of chords. Here are some ways for you to try this approach…
HERE’S the first fundamental shape, built from just root, 6th and Major 3rd. You can easily adapt this to cover Major 7th, Dominant 7th, Minor 7th and Minor 6th, just by moving…