John Coltrane - Giant Steps Chords & Tabs

#----------------------------------PLEASE NOTE---------------------------------#
#This file is the author's own work and represents their interpretation of the #
#song. You may only use this file for private study, scholarship, or research. #
#------------------------------------------------------------------------------##
From: parker_b%aplvax.span@Fedex.Msfc.Nasa.Gov

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--------------------------------|

[ Tab from: https://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/j/john_coltrane/giant_steps_tab.html ]
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


From: tgannon@charlie.usd.edu (spideir)

 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_)  |
  *===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===* ^-_=^ *===*===*===*===*===*===*===*===*