Giant Steps — reimagined in Major Thirds

Originally by John Coltrane (1960, tenor sax & piano) Tuning used here Major Thirds (all six strings a major 3rd apart — free, one of the 33 built-ins) Key idea the "Coltrane Changes," refretted in the one tuning built the same way the song's harmony is

This isn't a guitar tuning Coltrane ever used — Giant Steps was written for sax and piano, no guitar involved at all. But the pairing isn't arbitrary: the song's whole harmonic trick is dividing the octave into three equal major-third key centers (B, G, E⁠♭⁠), and Major Thirds tuning divides the guitar neck the exact same way. It's the one tuning where this progression's own internal logic and the instrument's logic actually match.

Nicknamed the "Coltrane Changes," this is one of the most feared and most discussed progressions in jazz — three major-7th key centers a major third apart (B, G, E⁠♭⁠), each approached by its own dominant 7th, cycling in a way that never lets the ear settle into one home key for more than two bars. Most functional jazz harmony moves in fourths and fifths; this moves in thirds, which is exactly why it still sounds unlike almost anything else in the standard repertoire.

Bmaj7→ D7→ Gmaj7→ B⁠♭⁠7→ E⁠♭⁠maj7→ F⁠#⁠7→ Bmaj7

This is the famous opening cycle exactly as documented in every standard lead sheet — open it below to hear it fretted in Major Thirds, no Pro unlock needed.

Major Thirds is free — every voicing above, ready to play and hear immediately.

Remix with Open—Shape

Every chord verified against the app's own voicing engine in the real Major Thirds tuning.