Chords for Hey Jazz Guy - Giant Steps Breakdown

_ [F] _ _ [E] _ _ [Db] _ _ [F] _
_ _ [Bb] _ _ _ [Db] _ Hey Jazz Guy, John Coltrane's Giant Steps is one of the most important and influential [N] pieces in the jazz repertoire.
To really break this song down and get inside of it, we need to analyze it in two different parts and analyze the type of harmonic system that it's based on.
Giant Steps employs a three-tonic system, which means that there are three different tonics in the song, three different keys that I represent.
The way to understand this is if you take the octave, for [B] example, let's take B to B, and we divide it in equal parts in terms of numbers of half [Ab] steps,
you get four half steps times three, which is twelve half steps of the octave.
So if [B] you take B, and you go three halves, four half steps, _ _
[D] three, [Eb] four, you get to E flat.
If you go four more half [F] steps, one, two, three, [G] four, you get to G.
From G, four half steps [Ab] _ _ [B] _
yields you back to B.
So [A] you have there in the three-tonic system B, [Eb] E [G] flat, _ G.
[B] Check it out.
_ _ _ [Eb] _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ [B] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ The genius of [Gb] this progression is it takes not only the three tonics, but the dominant [Eb] chords that are the five chords in relationship to those tonics,
and puts them all in sequence.
So for B major, we put a dominant in F sharp 7.
For E flat [Ebm] major, we put [Bb] a dominant in B flat 7.
[D] And for G major, we put a dominant in D7.
[B] So if you look at the song in two different parts, the first section combines the tonics with the dominants that are related to them.
Check it out.
_ _ _ [Gb] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ _
_ [Eb] _ _ _ _ _ _ [Am] _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Eb] _
_ _ _ _ [Gb] _ _ _ _
_ [B] _ _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ _
_ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _ And there you have the first section of Giant [Bb] Steps.
The beginning [D] part.
_ [Gb] _ _ _ _ [D] _ So on and so forth.
[N] The next section, the second half of the song, takes the same idea, same tonics,
but instead of putting only one chord in front of each one, the dominant chord,
we're going to put two chords in front of each one.
And those being, of course, the minor 2 and the dominant 5 that are related to that chord.
So for example, to get to B, [E] we put [Gb] C sharp minor 7, F sharp 7.
[G] To get to E [Eb] flat, we put F minor 7, [Bb] B flat 7.
And [A] to get to G, we put _ A minor 7, [D] _ D7.
Check out the [Eb] progression.
_ _ _ [Am] _ _ _
_ _ [Gb] _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ [Dbm] _ _ _ _ [Gb] _
_ _ _ [B] _ _ _ _ _
_ [Fm] _ _ _ _ [Gm] _ _ _
_ [Eb] _ _ _ _ _ [Dbm] _ _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ [B] _ _ _
_ _ So by putting those two halves together, we have the entire song.
Check it out. _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ [Gm] _ _ [C] _
_ _ _ [Am] _ _ [D] _ _ [G] _
_ _ [A] _ _ _ [Gb] _ _ [B] _
_ _ [Ebm] _ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _
_ _ [Am] _ _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ [B] _ _ [Gb] _ _ [B] _
_ _ [Eb] _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ [Eb] _
_ _ _ [Db] _ _ [Gb] _ _ [B] _
_ _ _ And that's the entire form.
Notice how it loops [A] around after we [Eb] go back to E flat major that next time.
Instead of going to G7, [Gbm] to G major, [Em] we go back, [Gb] _ [B] tonicize B major, and start at the top of the form over again.
_ [N] In order to solo and improvise on a piece like this, that has a lot of chords moving very quickly,
the best thing to do is to study the arpeggios and the chord tones in each of those chords,
so that you're able to move freely along with the harmony.
When you listen to John Coltrane play it, especially in the earlier recordings,
these are the kind of techniques that he employs.
So one example line to cover this is just going to take simple chord tones, pentatonic scales, and arpeggios.
Check out the first few [B] bars. _ _
_ [Db] _ _ [E] _ _ _ _ [Bm] _
_ _ [Bb] _ _ _ [Fm] _ _ [Gm] _
_ _ _ [Cm] _ _ _ _ [Eb] _
_ [G] _ _ So [N] by using those techniques, it will be very clear in your playing what the harmony is _ that you are outlining.
Another commonly used technique on Giant Steps is to employ the pentatonic scales.
Notice that the pentatonic scales, major pentatonic scales, for example B, _ [Db] _ _ [Ab] _ _ [B] _
_ _ [F] E flat, _ [Gm] _ _ _
[G] G,
_ [Bm] _ _ _ _
they share notes in [Eb] common, and they don't specify whether the chord is major or dominant.
So you could, for example, play the major pentatonic [D] scale to each _ [G] _ _ [B] _
[C] chord that's getting tonicized.
_ [Eb] _ _ _
[Gm] _ _ _ So [Gb] good luck, listen a lot, and jazz [F] hard.
_ _ [Eb] _ _ [Bbm] _
Good [B] luck.
_ [Dbm] _ _ [Ab] _ _ [Eb] _ _ [Bb] _ _ [Db] _ _ _
_ [B] _ _ _ _ [B] _ _ [N] _