Jazz Guitar Lessons • Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams Chord Melody

For more chord melody arrangements see:

• Misty
• Moon River
• When Sunny Gets Blue
• God Bless The Child

More Jazz guitar lessons:

• Jazz Guitar Lessons • Chord Substitution
• Jazz Guitar Lessons • When Sunny Gets Blue (Chord Chart, Melody, Chord Progression)
• Jazz Guitar Lessons • What A Wonderful World

I did this arrangement many years ago after hearing George Benson's version. It is a beautiful melody, and one of my favourite Benson (and there are many) pieces. I found this tune very easy to arrange. Many of the chords are the same name, just different inversions and voicings. Measure one is a good example of this. The first Ab Major (beat one), is the second inversion. Chord spelling is Eb (fifth), Ab (first, or root), C (third). This chord could also be an Fm7. Chord spelling: Eb (seventh), Ab (minor third), C (fifth). In this case there would be no root. The second Ab Major (beat 3), is the root position. Chord spelling: Ab (first, or root), C (third), Eb (fifth), Ab (first, or root, octave higher). Diminished chords are very interesting. On the guitar fretboard, diminished loosely translates to one fret lower. Mostly used as passing chords (chords that are used to connect two chords, rarely used as the basis for a song), the chord repeats four frets higher. For example: G dim7 contains the notes, G (root), Db (diminished fifth), E (diminished seventh), Bb (minor third). Four frets higher (based on the eighth fret), the chord contains the same notes in a different order: Bb (root), E (diminished fifth), G (diminished seventh), Db (minor third). Four frets higher than that (based on the eleventh fret), the same notes again in a different order: Db (root), G (diminished fifth) , Bb (diminished seventh), E (minor third). Four frets higher (based on the fourteenth fret): E (root), Bb (diminished fifth), Db (diminished seventh), G (minor third). Every note in the chord can be thought of as a root note. When playing a G dim7, you are also playing Db dim7, an E dim7, and a Bb dim7. In old movies and cartoons, this progression was commonly used when the villain entered the room. I employed this movement in the arrangement for God Bless The Child.