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chords used: Cmaj9 - Bb - Cmaj7 - Fmaj7 - Cm11 - Dbmaj7 - Eb9 - F7 - Abmaj7 - Bb - Ab - G7 - E7 - A7 - Cm7 - Dbmaj7 - Gbmaj7 - Fm7 - D7-5 - Dbmaj7(-5) - outro with the best of the best drum beats! YAY! - Cm11 - Bm7 - Cm7 - Fmaj7 - Dm7 - C13 - Dbm7 - Cm7- Cm11-- 8 times beaccches

the intro chord used on Aja is a Cmaj9 chord as shown here:

note: from our free guitar lesson thread that Cmaj9 is one of the three "BASIC" ninth chords..
in this case we start as pointed out earlier by me, with a Cmaj7 chord to build this chord which is the C E G B notes adding the 9th (D) we come up with this chord Cmaj9 and as you listen to the opening chords on the tune Aja by Steely Dan play this chord I am showing you in the photo and see if I am not right ..it is spot on the right chord..now harmonize those cascading stretched ghost bends on top of the Cmaj9 chord and it begins to take shape.. my middle finger is on the 5th string 3 rd fret which is your root C note index finger on the E (3rd) ..you figure out what note the ring finger is fretting and the pinkie is fretting.. hint: pinkie is fretting a B (7th) ring finger fretting D (9th) ..note we are omitting the G (5th) but is allowed..the 5th can be added on 6th or 1st string if desired but much harder to play..

damn....dane that's not you, is it??? look at where that guy's thumb is! he must have that gtr neck confused w an umbrella or baseball bat!

well, whatever gets it done. that's what counts.

the whole note chord at bar 11 (from the start of the tune) or bar 7 from start of vocals ---> Dbmaj7 shredders play this Dbmaj7 chord all the time but jazz-rock aces Steely Dan gives the audience a healthy dose of the Dbmaj7 chord on this monster known as Aja.. (miracles and marvels)

BTW...."AJA", along w "Royal Scam" and "Katy Lied" are my fave Steely Dan albums.

pretty much whichever one of those is on...that's my favorite.

I did not realize how hard it is to take a photo of the left hand making a chord while the right hand holds the camera..really contorts doing that but I feel good contributing to the next group of players.. but the free lessons will come to a close, but I have to contribute to society as GLENNY J has taught me

Planetguy wrote:BTW...."AJA", along w "Royal Scam" and "Katy Lied" are my fave Steely Dan albums.

pretty much whichever one of those is on...that's my favorite.

I think Katy Lied was the album they refused to listen to due to the poor production.. good tunes though had the katydid on front..

Dane Ellis Allen wrote: I have to contribute to society as GLENNY J has taught me

dane, as a fellow american i'm proud of you!

as for glenny teaching you stuff...isn't it great that you can learn from everyone? even if it's what NOT to do!

craigslist has this guy at Springfield, Mo. musicians section that is known as GranPappy Rock or somethin'? he gives encouragement to up and coming young players.. he admits he hosts a cutting heads event which has me wondering if everything is ok with him..

I use that barred (C) major 7th a lot. On the other hand, the Cmaj9 with the pinky on the B of the G string - is the ring finger playing both the B and E strings at he 3rd fret? My ring finger won't do it! IF I had to play those notes, I'd do a barre C on the 3rd fret, doing the B note on the G string with my middle finger, and the barre taking care of the B and E strings (D and G notes).
Steely Dan's clean sound and jazzy guitar chords always impressed me but never could adapt to playing any of their tunes.

Nice Dane! Now work those changes til you got em really smooth and record it with your phone so we can all hear you groove with "The Dan".

We played SD back in the day. We used to jam on E St Louis and Bodhisattva but they weren't ever tight. "Reelin in the years" was pretty good for a bunch of juke joint players though.

GuitarMikeB wrote:I use that barred (C) major 7th a lot. On the other hand, the Cmaj9 with the pinky on the B of the G string - is the ring finger playing both the B and E strings at he 3rd fret? My ring finger won't do it! IF I had to play those notes, I'd do a barre C on the 3rd fret, doing the B note on the G string with my middle finger, and the barre taking care of the B and E strings (D and G notes).
Steely Dan's clean sound and jazzy guitar chords always impressed me but never could adapt to playing any of their tunes.

that barred chord you do at the 3rd fret will pass if you leave out the 5th of the chord (G note 5th fret D string)....but "jazz chords" often to leave out the 5th (esp in the "bottom" of the chord if the root is present) as it adds no color... and unless it's a b5th it imparts little 'info' if the root is already there.

but if you take the shape that Dane demonstrated and down it over one set of strings and up to 7th fret you might have an easier time playing that hipper voicing that omits the 5th....

8 7 9 7 x x

or you can include the two top strings 8 7 9 7 7 7 to give a hip sounding CM7 add9 #11 chord

of course you could always just play the 3rd fret position you described and not play the 5th if you're playing fingerstyle....or just mute it if you're using a pick

I have no idea what chords I use, or anything else I do with my arrangements. I just think em up n do em. ... seems to work just fine.
I'm afraid that if I learn music theory, I will start doing things correctly.
Can't have that

Salute!