Soloing Using Chord Shapes - "Speak Low"

Master the art of chord-shape soloing with renowned jazz guitarist Paul Bollenback in this comprehensive exploration of Kurt Weill's classic "Speak Low." This intermediate-to-advanced course reveals how professional jazz guitarists navigate complex chord progressions using strategic chord shapes as their roadmap, transforming your approach to improvisation through practical, position-based techniques you can apply immediately. Bollenback demonstrates how to "map" the fretboard using drop-two voicings and essential minor shapes, showing you precisely how scales, arpeggios, and melodic lines emerge naturally from these positions. You'll learn to construct solos that maintain harmonic clarity while exploring the full range of the instrument, using G minor 11, G minor 9, and related voicings as your foundation. The course covers harmonized scale patterns in sevenths, chromatic passing tones that land correctly on strong beats, and position-specific arpeggio exercises that build real facility across the neck. What sets this approach apart is its efficiency—rather than memorizing countless scale patterns, you'll discover how a handful of carefully chosen chord shapes unlock the entire fretboard. Bollenback shares the same systematic approach used by jazz masters from Eddie Lang to Pat Martino, adapted for modern performance contexts. Perfect for experienced players looking to break out of scalar thinking and develop a more sophisticated, chord-conscious soloing style that sounds professional from the first chorus.