Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me: Lead Sheet

These arrangements capture the essence of Duke Ellington's harmonic sophistication while remaining accessible to fingerstyle guitarists. The notation and tablature combination means players can learn by eye or ear, and the collection spans Ellington's most iconic works, offering a cohesive pathway through jazz guitar vocabulary.

Sophisticated and unhurried. These pieces evoke candlelit rooms and the elegant restraint of the swing era, yet they remain deeply personal and intimate at the fingerstyle guitar scale. The harmonic landscapes Ellington created reward careful listening and patient execution.

Intermediate to advanced fingerstyle guitarists seeking repertoire that bridges jazz standards and guitar technique. This collection works equally well for jazz ensemble guitarists preparing solo interpretations or for solo recital programs.

• Study the chord voicings carefully before focusing on melody; Ellington's voice-leading shapes how these tunes breathe
• Let rubato serve the phrase contour rather than the tempo grid, especially in ballads like "In a Sentimental Mood"
• Balance single-note melody lines with the harmonic texture underneath; neither should overshadow the other

Feature these arrangements as a standalone set in a jazz recital, or select individual pieces to anchor a broader program that traces the evolution of American song. The variety of tempos and moods means you can program them across a full concert without tonal fatigue.

• Jazz chord voicing and voice-leading on guitar
• Fingerstyle technique across mixed rhythmic figures
• Reading from chord charts and standard notation simultaneously
• Phrasing and rubato in jazz ballad contexts
• Swing eighth-note feel and rhythmic interpretation