Jazz piano theory

Five Cool II-V-I Jazz Piano Licks That You Should Know!

2024-03-07T15:06:54+00:00

For most non-jazz musicians and beginners, the assumption is that jazz improvisation is conjured out of thin air, and that improvised phrases are a stream of consciousness. The truth is that jazz musicians are discerning magpies, who always have an ear open to catch a phrase played by another musician, with the intention of using it in their own improvisations. Learning to play jazz is, to me, exactly like learning to speak a foreign language fluently. When learning to speak a language we are usually given stock phrases to use that can be altered to suit different situations. In the exact [...]

Five Cool II-V-I Jazz Piano Licks That You Should Know!2024-03-07T15:06:54+00:00

Jazz chords and knowing your intervals – for the adult beginner

2021-03-01T11:08:01+00:00

In this article, I will be discussing the 7th chords or jazz chords which are formed on any given major scale or key using the natural notes of the given scale. We will be working from the major scale on which western music is built. This structure is called the tonal center. There are 12 possible major or minor keys any particular song can be played in. This is because of the 12 notes on the piano keyboard. This means that anyone of these twelve notes will be the tonal centre or home base. How can we determine the home key? [...]

Jazz chords and knowing your intervals – for the adult beginner2021-03-01T11:08:01+00:00

Teach yourself jazz theory: chords built on the major scale part 1

2021-03-01T11:07:03+00:00

Today we will be discussing the jazz chords built on each of the steps of the major scale and how to implement these chords into your jazz repertoire. In the article called “Jazz chords and knowing your intervals”, I discussed the basic scales, intervals and the combination of intervals and chords that form the four basic jazz chords namely the Major 7th, the Minor 7th, the Dominant 7th and the Minor 7th b5 chords. In this article, I will be discussing the different 7th chords or jazz chords formed on each step of the major scale.  When building chords, you will [...]

Teach yourself jazz theory: chords built on the major scale part 12021-03-01T11:07:03+00:00
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