In Introduction To The Jazz
Piano Chord
The Distinguished Sounds Of Jazz
One of the things that distinguishes
jazz piano
from classical piano, blues piano, or any other style is its
chords. The Jazz piano chord move beyond
the typical 3-note triad to a four-note combination (as well as
extended chords) -- making them an interesting "filler" of sorts.
And since they're pretty
heavy on the major and minor 7th chords, shifting to this style
should be fairly simple if you're already familiar with the dominant 7th
chord.Learning The Major And Minor 7th Chords
Remember the dominant 7th chords? Dominant 7th chords are created by
playing triads with the B note between the A and C notes of the C major
scale: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. Accomplishing a
major 7th chord follows an
almost exact procedure, except unlike with dominant 7th chords, the B
note isn't flat. So a major 7th chord in C would look like: C, E, G, and
B.
When you play this chord and listen to its unique harmony,
you'll notice that it's quite different from the typical C Major chord
in classical music. By simply adding a fourth note to the traditional
C major chord, you can completely change the dynamics of your music.
Try out these Major 7th root chords to see what we mean:
A,
C#, E, G#
Ab, C, Eb, G
B, D#, F#, A#
Bb, D, F, A
C, E,
G, B
D, F#, A, C#
Db, F, Ab, C
E, G#, B, D#,
Eb, G, Bb,
D
F, A, C, E
F#, A#, C#, E#
G, B, D, F#7th Chord
InversionsInverting these chords is almost as simple as adding a
fourth finger into the mix because they follow an easy-to-remember
pattern.
And since we're now working with four notes, the chords can be
played four ways --- three of them inverted. To invert any one of the
chords above, just begin each one with its second, third, or fourth note
and play remaining notes of the chord in order. As an example, look at
the first major 7th chord above in its root form: A, C#, E, G#.
Inverting this chord by C# would create: C#, E, G#, A.
Inverting
this chord by E would create: E, G#, A, C#
Inverting this chord by
G# would create: G#, A, C#, E
See the pattern?
Playing minor 7th chords follows the same principle, only they're played
with minor chords.Familiarity Breeds AppreciationThis is of
course the basic principle behind the
jazz piano chord
because as you've probably heard in the music that you hear, they can
get much more intricate than what's introduced above. That's because
every key can create seven extended chords of some kind.
Just remember that each chord is built from a scale and although the
jazz presents tremendous opportunity to improvise, creating new music
from a familiar structure ensures that your audience can relate the to
message that you're trying to convey.
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