When I was a boy I used to love Tuesday nights. The reason for my great anticipation was that my mom would have gone shopping on Tuesday morning. This would ensure that we would have my favorite meal of the week that evening, aside from the traditional Friday night pizza of course. This meal was none other than fresh pork chops, lightly breaded and baked to succulent perfection; mashed potatoes so creamy and thick that you could lay a brick fireplace with them; and rich, brown gravy! We also had peas, I am sorry to say, but we do live in an imperfect world, so we won't talk about the peas.

What I remember most now that I am older is not just the individual courses of that great meal, but rather how I ate that meal. You see, I did not eat according to Emily Post or any other popular etiquette manual that would most likely suggest taking small bites of one entrée at a time. That seemed too dainty for me and my sense of New York Italian bravura, so I developed my own way of eating my mom's culinary work of art.

I would cut a piece of pork chop, dip it into the mashed potatoes and follow it up by dipping both into the brown gravy (slightly salted and peppered). I just loved the texture of it all. I loved the interplay of the flavors just hanging there in my mouth to be enjoyed.

So, what does this have to do with my concept of harmony? Since those childhood days, I have learned to apply the same principle to chords when arranging for solo jazz guitar. Just as the flavors of my mom's Tuesday night dinner blended together in my mouth producing a delicious culinary moment, I have come to see voicings of chords as doing the same thing, in a musical way of course!

My mentor and musical father figure, Gene Bertoncini references this concept and more in his Mel Bay DVD The Art of Solo Guitar. If you wish to see and hear a master at work, purchase this DVD. You will not be disappointed. Gene taught me many things about our common craft, but most of all he taught me about the concept of musical taste. In his original, authentic "school" of arranging, the music dictates the usage of the options that the arranger has at his or her disposal. The music itself calls for a certain type or voicing of a chord. Imposing ones knowledge of harmony upon a piece of music when the music itself does call for it rarely yields satisfactory results.

The "Pork Chop, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy Method" is primarily a harmonic concept. It is a method whereby the voices determine the fingerings, not the other way around. Try allowing the music to be "tasted" by the audience instead of settling for conventional chord "grips" or patterns. This method may also be used when deciding upon fingering for works by other composers (see below). Once again, even in this instance, it is the music that decides the fingering and voicing.

Many of us reference chords by their names and subsequent grips (i.e. C, D, Bm, or G7b11). This is quite helpful when playing off standard chord charts and when accompanying singers or other lead players. I find, however, that this grip or chord pattern approach is too restrictive when arranging for solo jazz guitar. The name of the chord as presented in the original harmony means very little to me other than serving as a point of departure and occasional reference.

When arranging, I don't conceive of chords as grips or patterns, but rather as voices of a choir. Take for instance a simple C major chord (See example #1). Seasoned guitarists know various ways to play this basic chord. To me, however, it is not the grip that is important, but rather that in this chord, the notes C, E and G are singing together. Like the individual components of Mom's Tuesday night dinner "singing" on my palette, those simple notes were meant to be sung by our guitars and "tasted" by the listener if you will.

So, what about available notes for each chord type? How does the "Pork Chop, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy" concept work for them? Much of the taste of these chords comes from their altered tones. For instance take Dm7 (see example #2). While the example illustrates a conventional voicing, what if we were to voice this chord as in example #3, adding the 9th and 11th? Can you taste the 9th (open E) working together with the other notes? Can you hear the 11th and all the notes hanging there to be enjoyed by the listener?

Sometimes using unique voicings may require unusual or unconventional fingerings. If the taste of the chord in its musical requirement is good enough, however, it will have been well worth the effort expended to learn to play it.

Let's examine a slightly more complex chord; E7#9 is conventionally played as shown in example #4. This chord is very easy to see and grab at a moment's notice when reading a chord chart. What if we were at a place in our arrangement where a real lushness was required, and all of our arranging sensibilities directed us to use a more tasty voicing of this chord? What if we were to play it as in Ex. #5? Again, good musical taste is required. Can you taste all the voices singing together, hanging in mid air to be captured by the listener's ear?

Now let's try another chord. Am7 is conventionally played as in example #6. What if we were to "flavor" it with an added 9th? What if the flavor note were open? Taste the voicing in example #7. Listen closely to hear all the voices of your instrument singing together!

This approach also works nicely when fingering certain passages in the non-jazz solo guitar category. In the "Chaconne" of Johann Sebastian Bach, the following passage (see example #8) may be played several ways. I have opted to allow the notes to sing together via the Pork Chop Method described above (See example #9). Try it and see if this particular taste of Bach and your instrument singing together does not bring you and your audience pleasure.

With a little study, especially in conjunction with Gene Bertoncini's DVD, the ingenuity and humility that come from the subjugation of our egos and bags of tricks to the higher purpose of musical taste, this "Pork Chop, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy" method of harmonization can be used with any chord type. Your knowledge of the fretboard will increase in the process, and your analytical skills will also improve as you allow the music to dictate harmonic structure rather than letting chord sheets or familiar fingerings do the job. More importantly, our palette of colors or musical tastes will grow.

There are many great songs in the jazz repertoire. They deserve the most tasteful approach we can give them when arranging for solo jazz guitar. These tunes are not just fodder for the exercising of our "chops" (no pun intended), but rather vehicles capable of conveying an emotion or idea to an audience. Try my method; you may just like it. And the next time you have a Tuesday night dinner ala Mom Ciaccio, try dipping your pork chops into both the mashed potatoes and the brown gravy. I bet you'll like that too. If you like this culinary concoction, shoot a wink up to Heaven and tell my mom "thanks".and hello from me.

About the Author

Alfonse Ciaccio has had a love affair with the guitar since the age of 8, the result being a lifelong pursuit of perfection of his craft. He studied the classic guitar with Mrs. Mary Anthony, famed protégé' of the Spanish master Narciso Yepes, and with Dr. Matthew Slotkin of Mansfield University and the Eastman School of Music. With an emphasis on solo jazz guitar arranging and performing, Ciaccio studied for years with the legendary Gene Bertoncini of New York City and Steve Brown of Ithaca College.

His first solo CD project Pieces of My Heart was released in 2004.

"...after hearing a performance of Alfonse Ciaccio, you will know what love of the guitar is..."
- Gene Bertoncini

"Definitely someone to seek out and listen to..."
- Joe Negri