Coltrane John - Giant Steps guitar tab
Here's a chord-melody arrangement of the head to ``Giant Steps''
by John Coltrane. Most of the chord voicings have been opened to
mostly fourth, tritone, and fifth intervals (so-called ``quartal
harmony''), giving a very nice ambiguous sound. These voicings are
easy to finger on the guitar and sound good. I give the chord names
in two forms: a name for a simple ``closed'' voicing, (top) and a name
for the more open or extended voicing (bottom).
Giant Steps by John Coltrane
harm. by Bo Parker (parker_b%aplvax.span@fedex.msfc.nasa.gov)
Bmaj7 D7 Gmaj7 Bb7 Ebmaj7 Am7 D7
B6/9 D6/9 Gmaj7 Bb13 Eb6/9 Am9 D6/9
E--14---10----7----------6-------7----5---
B--14---10----7-----8----6-------5----5---
G--13----9----7-----7----5-------5----4---
D--13----9----5-----6----5-------5----4---
A-----------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------
Gmaj7 Bb7 Ebmaj7 F#7 Bmaj7 Fm7 Bb7
G6/9 Bb6/9 Ebmaj7 F#13 B6/9 Fm9 Bb9
E--10----6-----3-----------2------3----1--
B--10----6-----3------4----2------1----1--
G---9----5-----3------3----1------1----1--
D---9----5-----1------2----1------1----0--
A-----------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------
Ebmaj7 Am7 D7 Gmaj7 C#m7 F#7 Bmaj7
Eb6/9 Am9 D6/9 G6/9 C#m9 F#9 B6/9
E--6------7---5----10----11---9-----14---
B--6------5---5----10-----9---9-----14---
G--5------5---4-----9-----9---9-----13---
D--5------5---4-----9-----9---8-----13---
A----------------------------------------
E----------------------------------------
Fm7 Bb7 Ebmaj7 C#m7 F#7
Fm9 Bb13b9 Eb6/9 C#m11 F#13 repeat from beginning
E--15---15-----18-----14----14---
B--13---12-----18-----16----16---
G--13---13-----17-----16----15---
D--13---12-----17-----14----14---
A--------------------------------
E--------------------------------
To tie in with the discussion of picking technique, I pick these as
block chords using either all four fingers or the first three fingers
(no thumb, no arpeggiation). When I pick stuff like this, I do not
anchor my right hand at all, and I play over the sound hole. I can't
really solo over these changes(!), but it's fun just to play the head.
Enjoy
GIANT STEPS (John Coltrane): melody chords to "Head" chorus
--guitar arrangement: tcg, 1987
--4/4 // BM // Allegro (pretty quick)
--head so "jagged" and wide in its range, melody at times had to be
transposed up/down an octave. . . .
--fingerstyle or pick-&-3-fingers easiest; plectrum strums'll work
if yu' deaden "x" strings with sides of adjacent fingers. . . .
--note durations:
/ quarter note
/- eighth note /-. dotted eighth
/= sixteenth note
/_/_/_/ tied notes
[hey, _I_ understand it!--I think. . . .]
BM7 D7 GM7 Bb[7/]6 Eb[M7] Am9 D9
x_x___ x____x _x__xx x__oxx _x__xx xx____ xx____
2 |o|||o 3 ||||o| 3 o||||| 1 |o|||| 1 ||o||| 5 ||ooo| 4 ||o|||
|||o|| ||o||| ||oo|| |||||| |||||| |||||| |||ooo
||||o| |o|o|| |||||| ||o||| o||o|| |||||o ||||||
/ / / /-. /=_/_/ / /
GM7 Bb7/6 EbM7 F#7/6 BM7 Fm9 Bb7
x_x___ xx____ x____x x____x x_x___ x____x x____x
10 |o|||o 6 ||o||o 6 |o|||| 2 ||o||| 2 |o|||o 6 ||o||| 6 ||o|o|
|||o|| |||o|| |||o|| |||o|| |||o|| |||||| |||o||
||||o| ||||o| ||o|o| |o||o| ||||o| |o|oo| |o||||
/ / / /-. /=_/_/ / /-.
EbM7 Am9 D9 GM7 C#m9 F#7/6
x_x___ xx____ xx____ x_x___ x____x x____x
6 |o|||o 5 ||ooo| 4 ||o||| 10 |o|||o 2 ||o||| 2 ||o|||
|||o|| |||||| |||ooo |||o|| |||||| |||o||
||||o| |||||o |||||| ||||o| |o|oo| |o||o|
/=_/_/ / /-. /=_/_/ / /-.
BM7 Fm9 Bb7/6 EbM7 F#7/6
x_x___ x____x xx____ x_x___ x____x
2 |o|||o 6 ||o||| 6 ||o||| 6 |o|||o 2 ||o||o
|||o|| |||||| |||o|| |||o|| |||o|| D.C.
||||o| |o|oo| |o||o| ||||o| ||||o|
/=_/_/ / /-. /=_/_/ / /
*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*
| Thomas C. Gannon | tgannon@charlie.usd.edu | U of SoDak (Vermillion) |
* ------------------------------- _-^-_ ------------------------------- *
| "--If I decide to practice a / o )=\\ slight movement from right |
* to left . . . or from left { /===} to right . . . it's *
| nobody's business but my \\ (=o=/ own." (_A_Day_for_Eeyore_) |
*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===* ^-_=^ *===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*
