The easiest way to play All of Me as a guitar chord melody is to switch: play a phrase of the melody, then a shell chord, then the melody again, without fitting the melody note inside the chord. The song is in C major, and if you know the melody and the chords clearly, this works right away.
Chord melody really scared me for many years. I felt like I didn’t have the tools, I didn’t know how people did it, it was really complicated and I couldn’t do it. That’s not reality. You can do it. The first half of this lesson is a simple trick that really solves chord melody, and the second half is a more complex arrangement with really cool voicings.
How do you start a chord melody on All of Me?
Play the melody on its own, almost like a piano player’s right hand, and then play the chord after it, like the left hand. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, but it actually works really well.
Before anything, know the melody very clearly and know the chords very clearly. That sounds obvious, but it’s not always the case. For the chords, use only shell voicings. If you only use shell voicings, that’s perfect. That’s all you need, and it’s going to sound great.
- C major 7. Start with the C major 7 shell chord.
- The opening melody. Play the melody starting on C, G and E, and continue just the melody.
- E7. Jump to the E7 shell chord.
- Back to the melody. Finish that line, then go to A7, then D minor, then E7 again.
That’s basically the first A of the song. The chords can come in different places: a little before the melody, between the notes of the melody if there’s a break, or after the melody. The idea is just switching between the chords and the melody in a clear way.
If you know the melody and you know the chord, you just need to switch between them in a clear way.
Rotem Sivan
In the second ending, from F major 7, there’s F major 7 to F minor 6, which is a beautiful chord. That shape can sometimes work as a diminished chord too, but here I’m thinking about it as F minor 6. The melody in this part sits very much on chord tones, so it clearly spells out the chords you see in the chart.
Does this trick work on other songs?
Yes. This will work with any song. Take Stella by Starlight: any song will sound like you’re comping, because you are comping.
You’re not playing the chord and the melody at the same time, but this is a really great starting point. What’s cool about it is that you only need to know two elements, the melody and your chords. The trick is knowing your shell chords really well so you can jump between them. I’m not doing anything fancy. I use the same in-and-out approach on Autumn Leaves, which has a lot of space in the melody.
How do you play a fuller All of Me chord melody?
Take voicings you already know and tweak them a little so the melody note sits on top. That’s really all that’s happening in the second half of the video.
Here are the moves in the arrangement, in order, and the thinking behind each one.
- The intro. It’s really around C major. I use some dyads (major 3rds, minor 3rds, 4ths and 6ths), then triads of C major, D minor and E minor, to give it a little flavor.
- C major 7 9. The first voicing, which I super love. It’s a triad with the 9 added in the bass. Just playing the plain chord is a little dull, I feel, and this sound is very lush to me. Then I harmonize the melody with C major 7 9 in first inversion.
- C augmented. Instead of staying on C, I play C augmented, because it sounds good. When you have C major standing for a while, you can do this line cliché.
- E7. Literally just an E7 voicing, kind of a drop 3, with the melody on top.
- A7 flat 9. A major in first inversion, with C sharp in the bass, then a diminished shape that’s really an A7 flat 9. Then another A7 flat 9 voicing with the flat 9 in the bass. It’s a very harsh sound, which is very beautiful to me.
- D minor sus to D minor 7. Good old-fashioned D minor, with a sus because that’s where the melody is.
- E augmented to E major. E augmented with the line kept on top, then an E major triad and some diminished chords moving up, then A minor with the bass descending.
- D7 13 to D7 9. The D7 9 shape is also the shape of F sharp half diminished, but here it’s a D7 9. Very lush.
- The last bars. F6 with the major 7 over an F bass, F minor 6, then perfect 4ths over E minor, almost modal for a second, a very open sound. Then A7 13 with the 9 as the melody, D minor 7 9, and G7 13 flat 9, which is a beautiful voicing for the transition.
Again, what I’m doing is taking voicings that I know and tweaking them a little bit. I know the melody needs to be in a certain place, so I grab the shape and move it there. Same shape, different tensions. Pretty simple, but super effective.
What’s happening in the harmony of All of Me?
All of Me is in C major, and several of its chords are secondary dominants: E7, A7 and D7 aren’t in the key of C, but each one is the 5 of a chord that is.
- E7. A secondary dominant: the 5 of 6, leading to A minor.
- A7. Not in the key of C. It’s the 5 of 2, leading to D minor.
- D7. Also not in C major. It’s the 5 of 5, the dominant of G.
Whenever I try a chord melody, I make sure I know the melody really well, I know the chords, and I understand harmonically what’s happening. Understanding what each chord is doing functionally helps us hear it and tag it more, and that’s a really helpful way to progress with music.
An All of Me practice idea for today
Take just the first A section. Play the melody on its own until you can sing it. Then play C major 7, E7, A7 and D minor as shell chords until they’re clear. Now put them together: a phrase of melody, a shell chord, a phrase of melody. Go slowly, a hair slower than feels natural, and try placing the chord before, between and after the melody notes.
If your chord shapes need work first, Jazz Chord Essentials rebuilds your chords from the ground up: how a 7th chord is built, the four main colors, and every inversion on the 4th, 5th and 6th string sets.
Frequently asked questions
What key is All of Me in?
The version in this lesson is in C major. The first A section starts on C major 7, moves to E7 and A7, then D minor, and the chart also uses secondary dominants like D7 that sit outside the key.
Do you have to play the melody and chords at the same time?
No. A great starting point is switching between them: melody, then chord, then melody. The chord can come a little before the melody, in a break between melody notes, or after. It’ll sound like you’re comping, because you are.
Which chords should you use for an easy chord melody?
Shell voicings. If you only use shell voicings, that’s perfect, and it’s going to sound great. The trick is knowing your shell chords really well so you can jump between them and the melody without stopping.
What are the secondary dominants in All of Me?
E7 is the 5 of 6, leading to A minor. A7 is the 5 of 2, leading to D minor. D7 is the 5 of 5, the dominant of G. None of them are in the key of C major, which is why it helps to know what each one is doing.
Get the first A section going with melody and shell chords today, and the fancier voicings will have something solid to sit on.
