The “Piano Secret” Wes Montgomery Used to Master the Fretboard
Voicelid Jazz Guitar
9,290 views
This is a free online jazz guitar lesson from VoiceLid Jazz Guitar (Junewon Choi) on unlocking the fretboard for jazz improvisation. Written lesson on the one-shape diagonal method: https://www.voicelidjazzguitar.com/ja...
Wes Montgomery wasn't the only one who saw the fretboard diagonally — Django Reinhardt did too. The Django Line is the second diagonal structure that unlocks the whole neck.
This video is part of the series:
"VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony Series 🔶 Wes to Django"
▶ Start from the first video in this playlist:
VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony...
Previous episode: Stop Playing in "Boxes": The Wes & Django ...
Next episode: How Wes Montgomery Plays ii–V 🔶 The Hidden...
🎸 What if Wes Montgomery’s “Wes Line” wasn’t the beginning — but the continuation of another legend’s idea?
In this lesson, Junewon Choi (VoiceLid Jazz Guitar) uncovers *Wes Montgomery’s second secret: The Django Line* — a diagonal logic that began with Django Reinhardt’s two-finger technique and evolved into Wes’s melodic phrasing.
You’ll learn:
• How Django’s limited technique led to limitless harmonic invention
• How Wes built his diagonal “Wes Line” on Django’s foundation
• The A-form / B-form shapes both players used across the fretboard
• Why this diagonal harmony connects guitarists and pianists alike
• How this logic became the root of the *Functional Diagonal Approach*
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#JazzGuitar #WesMontgomery #DjangoReinhardt #VoiceLeading #FunctionalDiagonalApproach
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🕒 *Chapters*
00:00 Intro — What is the Django Line?
01:15 Django’s Two-Finger Fretboard Logic
03:10 A-Form and B-Form: The Two Diagonal Shapes
05:25 Wes Montgomery’s Connection to Django’s Movement
08:40 Applying the Django Line on ii-V-I Progressions
11:20 Voice-Leading Across the Neck (Diagonal Motion)
13:45 How Pianists Like Bill Evans Used the Same Structure
16:00 Practical Routine: Turning Harmony into Melody
18:30 Recap & Next Episode Preview
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🎶 Lesson Highlights:
– C minor 7 → F7 → B♭ minor 7 → E♭7 (2-5 chains on “Four on Six”)
– E♭ Maj7 Drop 2 to Shell Voicing linkage
– Understanding A-form / B-form on the fretboard
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🎬 *Next in the Diagonal Harmony Series:*
👉 [The Other Side of the Wes Line: How Wes Montgomery Completed Diagonal Logic How Wes Montgomery Plays ii–V 🔶 The Hidden...]
🔁 Watch the full playlist: [VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony Series 🔶 Wes to Django VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony...]
📚 Download free PDF exercises and 2-hour course access here:
https://voicelidjazzguitar.com/buildi...
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20 Comments
That’s 2 and a half octaves, and couldn’t be easier to remember or transpose. It also puts all the important notes in useful positions. Great for bass too since it covers more ground on fewer strings.
Major pentatonic being a mode of minor pentatonic, you can move up and down the fretboard the same way. And since every other scale is just a few notes altered or added to a pentatonic, well…
The “Piano Secret” Wes Montgomery Used to Master the Fretboard
Voicelid Jazz Guitar
9,290 views
This is a free online jazz guitar lesson from VoiceLid Jazz Guitar (Junewon Choi) on unlocking the fretboard for jazz improvisation. Written lesson on the one-shape diagonal method: https://www.voicelidjazzguitar.com/ja...
Wes Montgomery wasn't the only one who saw the fretboard diagonally — Django Reinhardt did too. The Django Line is the second diagonal structure that unlocks the whole neck.
This video is part of the series:
"VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony Series 🔶 Wes to Django"
▶ Start from the first video in this playlist:
VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony...
Previous episode: Stop Playing in "Boxes": The Wes & Django ...
Next episode: How Wes Montgomery Plays ii–V 🔶 The Hidden...
🎸 What if Wes Montgomery’s “Wes Line” wasn’t the beginning — but the continuation of another legend’s idea?
In this lesson, Junewon Choi (VoiceLid Jazz Guitar) uncovers *Wes Montgomery’s second secret: The Django Line* — a diagonal logic that began with Django Reinhardt’s two-finger technique and evolved into Wes’s melodic phrasing.
You’ll learn:
• How Django’s limited technique led to limitless harmonic invention
• How Wes built his diagonal “Wes Line” on Django’s foundation
• The A-form / B-form shapes both players used across the fretboard
• Why this diagonal harmony connects guitarists and pianists alike
• How this logic became the root of the *Functional Diagonal Approach*
---
#JazzGuitar #WesMontgomery #DjangoReinhardt #VoiceLeading #FunctionalDiagonalApproach
--
🕒 *Chapters*
00:00 Intro — What is the Django Line?
01:15 Django’s Two-Finger Fretboard Logic
03:10 A-Form and B-Form: The Two Diagonal Shapes
05:25 Wes Montgomery’s Connection to Django’s Movement
08:40 Applying the Django Line on ii-V-I Progressions
11:20 Voice-Leading Across the Neck (Diagonal Motion)
13:45 How Pianists Like Bill Evans Used the Same Structure
16:00 Practical Routine: Turning Harmony into Melody
18:30 Recap & Next Episode Preview
--
🎶 Lesson Highlights:
– C minor 7 → F7 → B♭ minor 7 → E♭7 (2-5 chains on “Four on Six”)
– E♭ Maj7 Drop 2 to Shell Voicing linkage
– Understanding A-form / B-form on the fretboard
---
🎬 *Next in the Diagonal Harmony Series:*
👉 [The Other Side of the Wes Line: How Wes Montgomery Completed Diagonal Logic How Wes Montgomery Plays ii–V 🔶 The Hidden...]
🔁 Watch the full playlist: [VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony Series 🔶 Wes to Django VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony...]
📚 Download free PDF exercises and 2-hour course access here:
https://voicelidjazzguitar.com/buildi...
---
“VoiceLid Jazz Guitar: The Diagonal Harmony Series 🔶 Wes to Django”
If you’re new, start from the first video here:
Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXjye26919kZuRISMp1rPFw-_8SGWL0ZW
VoiceLid Home: https://www.voicelidjazzguitar.com/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=piano-secret-wes-montgomery&utm_content=pinned-comment
Free “Essential: Building Blocks”: https://www.voicelidjazzguitar.com/building-blocks?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=piano-secret-wes-montgomery&utm_content=pinned-comment
Wes’ Insight: https://www.voicelidjazzguitar.com/jazz-icon-wes-insight?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=piano-secret-wes-montgomery&utm_content=pinned-comment