What Are Jazz Chords?

Here is a transcript of the video, just in case you want to follow along:

Good morning, this is Duane. Today, I’d like to talk about jazz chords. Over the years, many people have asked me how to create a jazz chord as though it’s an animal all to itself. It’s really not. A jazz chord is just a chord like every other kind of chord is a chord. In other words, you use the same chords in classical music as you do in jazz as you do in pop as you do in gospel, whatever. It’s the voicing and the touch that changes to get that typical sound.

In other words, in popular music you probably hear a chord like that, a G seventh, right? Well, in jazz it may be voiced more like this. That’s a stack of 4’s, not always of course. There’s a lot of different variations but let me just how you that.

Their just chords but the voicing makes them sound different. Here, for example, the seventh is on the bottom. It’s a G seventh chord like that but the seventh’s on the bottom, the third in the middle, and the sixth on top. They had a 6. It’s quite, they quite often add more color to them. More colors, such as that. That’s a little strange if you’re not used to it. What you have to do is, usually, establish a low root voice. In other words, if it’s a G chord you probably want to hit a low G. See, in jazz, a lot of pianists play with a bass player and the bass player does that. A pianist doesn’t have to do that. But, if you’re playing a solo then you would have to do that.

Let me do that slow, what I just did. Okay? It’s kind of a jazzy sound. All it is is a complex chord, it’s G seventh suspension. That is too, except it’s got a flat ninth in it. What that chord is, it’s an F seventh with a G chord over it. That was awful. Okay.

But, I just want to demonstrate that they’re the same animal. They’re just voiced different. Okay, here’s another. If I was playing the blues, I might go like this. Again, I’m voicing it with the seventh on the bottom. Seventh, ninth, third and sixth. Right hand happens to be at an octave but, of course, that could be … you’d use that in any style, probably. But, typically, it has a more open sound like an open fifth, or an open fourth like that. Okay? In jazz too, they use a lot of half steps so you get the same chord you just moving up or down a half step like that. Okay. That’s all there is to jazz chords. If you want to pursue that I’m sure there’s courses that could teach you that in detail.

Thanks for being with me and we’ll see you again tomorrow with another little tip like this. So, bye-bye for now.

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You’ll learn piano chords galore and how to apply them when you play piano – major chords, minor chords, augmented chords, diminished chords, 6th chords, 7th chords, 9th chords, 11th chords, 13th chords, suspensions, alterations and more. Chords are the “missing link” in most piano lessons and you can learn them all easily. Learn piano playing and music theory at the same time – it will make your progress faster and you will understand music like you never have before.

Here is the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M6Oho3EK7w&feature=youtu.be