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Category: learning jazz basics
Substituting chords in jazz part 2
Substituting chords in jazz is a great way to extend your harmonic vocabulary when soloing or harmonising a tune. In a previous blog I gave you examples of some basic ways to swap one chord or set of chords for another. Here in part 2 I cover some more advanced approaches. Substituting chords for the… Read more »
Chord substitution
In this article we will explore chord substitution. This phrase is exactly as it sounds: we replace one chord with another. This will result in increased harmonic options that will enhance your solos. Chord substitution: major to minor and minor to major Let’s begin with a very easy chord substitution. Take a major 7 chord,… Read more »
Easy steps to learn jazz piano episode 3
Here is episode 3 of easy steps to learn jazz piano. In episode 1 our first step was to find the notes V that lead to I, dominant leading to tonic, tension to release. This interval, up a perfect 4th or down a perfect 5th is the backbone of most Western music. The graphic below… Read more »
The second easy step to learn jazz piano
The second easy step to learn jazz piano is turning the notes into chords. We began with 2 notes, the V leading to the 1. Our second step is to turn these 2 notes into chords. Here is a short video to explain this second easy step to learn jazz piano. Our first chord will… Read more »
Jazz basics 3: the dominant 7 chord in jazz
Why is the dominant 7 chord in jazz so important? To answer this question I will first separate this chord into two categories: moving and static. Moving This applies generally to any classical harmony but when this dominant 7 chord in jazz is moving towards its resolution it can be thought of as a tension… Read more »
Jazz Basics, part 2
More about the most important chord in jazz: the dominant 7. When discussing jazz basics there is nothing more basic than your understanding of the dominant 7 chord and its functions. Let’s begin by taking a look at the row of the seven 7th chords constructed over one major scale. Here is an example of… Read more »
Learning jazz basics
Learning jazz basics part 1. The dominant 7 chord and its uses.