Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Harmony
the theory behind the progressions
& how to write your own
Modern Sounds……………………………. 39
Contents:
Technique tips……………………………… 44
Final words…………………………………. 47
Welcome…..…………………………………. 2
Copyright © 2017 Julian Bradley. All rights reserved, including the
About the author………………………… 4 right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.
Learning tips……………………………….. 8
Pop progressions………….……………. 14
Minimalist Progressions……………… 16
1
Welcome!
Greetings Harmony Hunter!
Pedal Markings:
I’ve notated pedal markings in some of the music - but not all. These
are shown as a sustained line beneath the stave - while this line is
sustained you should hold down the pedal - and when the line
breaks you should release the pedal (this is usually done as quickly as
Welcome to ‘Best Chords In The World’ where I’ve put together 30 possible):
of my favorite chord progressions of all time. These progressions
span a range of styles and moods - starting with Diatonic
progressions (which stay within one key), and progressing right up to
some of the most sophisticated jazz piano progressions that can
possibly exist.
Backing tracks: But most of the time I haven’t notated the pedal - to keep the music
Some of the progressions have backing tracks, and some don’t. For looking tidy. However you should use the pedal in all of the
the progressions that do have a backing track I’ve marked a small progressions (and almost all of your playing). The general rule for
triangle in the sheet music - like this: pedaling is this:
And you should release the pedal exactly as you play the next chord.
2
Fingering:
I’ve also marked in my suggested fingering for some of the fiddly
melodic sections. As a piano player it’s important to figure out the
best fingering early on, so that you ingrain the same fingering every
time you play.
Fingering is marked using small numbers above the notes - like this:
And the fingers are numbered with thumb as ‘1’ going through to the
little finger which is ‘5’ - like this:
3
About the author
I displayed no special talent in music during this time - I was a C
student in my music class, and I even remember having to retake a
performance exam at age 16 because I was the only music student in
Hi, my name’s Julian Bradley - I’m a jazz piano player and composer, the class who had completely failed that part of the exam (a very
and I’m here to hep you master music theory, improve your playing, embarrassing experience for me at the time).
and enjoy music on a much deeper level for the rest of your life.
In general, I lacked confidence in any musical setting - orchestras,
music classrooms, auditions - as you can see in this embarrassing
high-school photo:
4
• I’d find images to Jazz albums, and zoom right into the image just
These 2 years I spent in Ian’s class (age 16-18) were my musical to see what notes the pianist was playing in the background (just
breakthrough - largely due to the fact that I was immersed in music to learn one new chord voicing!)
for that whole time. I’d see Ian 3 times a week. Then I’d spend lunch
breaks in the music room playing with my classmates. At the • And I’d even play Jazz recordings at 50% speed in Windows Media
weekend I’d see my piano teacher and work on a set of classical Player while I transcribed an entire jazz solo by ear.
pieces for my upcoming grade 8 exam. And my favorite thing of all,
was figuring out songs by ear - which I did every day on the journey In short - I was truly inspired to learn Jazz piano.
to and from school (while listening to the radio).
Ian’s teaching in harmony and music theory came at the perfect time
for me - he taught me the fundamentals - like counting intervals,
chord types, harmonic analysis, notating rhythms by ear, composition
techniques, and a bit on film scoring too.
Introduction to Jazz
Toward the end of this 2 year ‘immersion period’, I attended a
Wynton Marsalis Jazz concert - which was my first introduction to
jazz. I mean I’d heard it on the radio but it’s completely different to
see it first hand. I even got to sit in on the pre-concert rehearsal
which was very cool. In particular I remember the pianist - a young
African-American guy dressed casually with lumber jack type boots
and a pencil behind his ear - he was trying out different chord After a couple of months of doing this, I was lucky to find a an
voicings and writing things down in the music. amazing jazz piano teacher living near me - called Terry Seabrook (in
Brighton, UK). I started seeing Terry once every 2 weeks and he gave
Overnight I became obsessed with jazz: me plenty to work on. Each lesson was mentally demanding - the
whole time I’d be watching Terry play and trying to memorize all of
the best chord voicings and licks.
• I spent my lunch breaks searching the internet for everything I
could find on jazz (we didn’t have internet at home in those days).
I’d download MIDI files of Jazz performances and open them in Terry started me out learning basic chord voicings - playing literally
the school’s notation software, then I’d print them and take them what the chord states:
home to learn. • So for ‘C maj 7’ I’d play C E G B
• for ‘C min 7’ I’d play C Eb G Bb
• and for ‘C7’ I’d play C E G Bb
5
Then at the next lesson he’d teach me to invert these same chord Finally, after graduating I went on to do a one year Masters Degree
voicings - so that my hand didn’t have to jump around so much: at Bristol University (UK) where I studied music composition for
film. My main breakthrough at Bristol was in technology - until this
• So ‘C maj 7’ I’d now play as G B C E
time I’d stayed away from computers - but here I was forced into the
• ‘C min 7’ I’d play as G Bb C Eb deep end. Not only did I learn how to record and mix music, but I
• and ‘C7’ I’d play as G Bb C E also learned to make films too. I’ll always remember in the first week
of class, the film teacher telling us to ‘just make a film’ - and me
With each new lesson the voicings got a bit more advanced. And thinking ‘how?’ But I’m eternally grateful for being introduced to the
we’d work on just 3 jazz songs, applying the new voicings to the technology side of media and without it, I’d never have posted a
same 3 songs (Autumn Leaves, Ladybird and Afternoon In Paris). single YouTube video.
I did study abroad for my 2nd year, where I had the amazing
opportunity to transfer to UC Santa Cruz for one year (California).
Here I came in contact with yet another world class teacher - called
Anatole Leikin. Anatole had been a conservatoire pianist, he had a
phenomenal ear and written books on Chopin’s use of harmony, and
he was also an inspiring teacher.
6
I never intended to do anything more with it, except after a few
weeks I logged back in and noticed that the videos were getting
quite a few views, comments and even subscribers. So following this
initial encouragement I continued to film videos - my passion for it
grew and grew and now I’m having the time of my life putting Jazz
videos out there. My goal is to put the education that I was lucky to
have and to make it accessible to anyone who has the passion to
learn music.
But again - I was not born with any super human talent at music. For
the first 10 years I was an average / below average music student,
and I lacked confidence in any musical environment.
• Passion (which only emerged once I got into music theory, and
away from sight-reading and performance)
• Reading books - a very quick way to learn and always time well
spent.
And the good news is that these things are all available to you. You
don’t have to be born with any special natural talent or come from a
musical family.
7
Learning tips
minor, I transcribed songs by ear in C minor, and I thought of all
music as being in C minor. Sure - I wasn’t very good at playing in
other keys during this time, but it gave me a very clear understanding
of how music works. And once I had that deep understanding in one
key, it was a simple task to transpose everything out into other keys.
Here are some guidelines to help you learn harmony quickly:
And once I did that I became BETTER at playing in other keys than
Learn everything from C: most musicians who played in all keys from the start.
One of the most confusing things when learning music theory is that So when learning new harmonic concepts (like scales, chord voicings,
we have 12 different keys, and that the songs we play are spread out and chord progressions) I suggest that you line them up to start
in all different keys. It’s very hard for a musician to compare one from C every time - like this:
song with another when every piece is in a different key - Bb minor,
F# major, D minor, Ab major, … etc. And this is the reason that most • Scales: Every new scale you learn, make sure you memorize it
musicians stay confused about music. starting from C:
- C major scale (C D E F G A B)
- C minor scale (C D Eb F G Ab Bb)
- C lydian scale (C D E F# G A B)
- C dorian scale (C D Eb F G A Bb)
- C altered scale (C Db Eb E Gb Ab Bb)
- and the same for every scale you learn.
All of my scales are memorized in my head starting from C - it’s very
neat and organized, and I can compare them all with each other
easily.
8
• Chord Progressions: Whenever I discover a new Let’s take chord voicings for example - if I see a nice new chord
chord progression, the first thing I’ll do is transpose it so that it’s voicing that I want to learn, I’ll start by looking at the intervals
either in the key of C major (if it’s major sounding) or C minor between the notes.
(if it’s minor sounding). Usually I’m composing in one of these 2
For example, take this C maj 7 rootless voicing:
keys anyway, but if I’m not then I’ll transpose it so that I can learn
it starting from C.
B E A D G C
So for everything you learn in harmony, line it up to start from C.
This will give you a crystal clear picture of how everything works. I would remember this as:
The nice thing about this book is that I’ve already lined every ‘stack of 4ths built from the major 7th (B), ending on the root (C)’
progression from C for you:
…because each note in the voicing is a 4th apart (B E A D G C) and all I
The major sounding progressions are in C major, and the minor need to know is the bottom note (the maj 7th - B) and the top note (root -
sounding progressions are in C minor. C).
This is straightforward for the Diatonic progressions (which means Here’s another voicing for a C min 11 chord - ‘The Kenny Barron
the ‘Pop’ and ‘Minimalist’ progressions which stay in one key). Voicing’:
However for the sophisticated jazz progressions which have lots of
key changes - I’ve either STARTED these in C major / C minor, or C G D Eb Bb F
ENDED in C major / C minor - whichever feels most natural.
This voicing I remember as ‘stack of 5ths built from the root’ in the
left hand, and ‘stack of 5ths built from the minor 3rd’ for the right
learn intervals, not notes: hand.
C E G D F# A
9
(rather than the note names). It’s also great practice for counting
I’ll remember this as ‘major triad from the root’ and ‘major triad intervals in general - which brings me to the next topic:
from the 2nd (or 9th)’. So this one’s easy - I don’t have to remember
Interval Arithmetic:
many intervals.
It sounds complicated when I put this in writing, but when it’s in your So here’s my favorite exercise for getting good at intervals - which I
head it feels completely natural. call ‘Interval Arithmetic’:
1. You have the freedom to decide how you’re going to memorize a Now in your head, jump up and down by different intervals:
chord voicing (the way I memorize a voicing will be different to
how another jazz player memorizes it) C - up a 4th
2. You have to memorize the notes as some sort of interval
The answer = F
pattern - and not just by its note note names
F - up a minor 3rd
Once learned from C, transpose it:
So I’ll start by learning every voicing from C. Once I have it in my The answer = Ab
head built from C, then I’ll try building that same interval pattern
from other notes - so if the voicing was for Cm9, next I’ll build it for Ab - down a 5th
Fm9, then I’ll build it for Abm9, and take it through different notes at
random. The answer = Db
This isn’t about playing in different keys - it’s just about building the Db - up a tritone
INTERVAL PATTERN of the chord voicing from every different note.
And by doing this I’m reinforcing the interval pattern of the voicing The answer = G …and so on.
10
Practice this AWAY from your instrument - personally I used to Here’s a table showing you how I remember each of the 12 intervals
practice it in waiting rooms (like at the dentist), or on my train (look at the column on the right):
journey back from school. And you can practice this anytime you’re
waiting for a moment - like inline for a coffee, or for 30 seconds
when you park your car, or every time you brush your teeth. Just
decide on a place that you’re going to practice this - and make that
activity a ‘trigger’ to remind you to practice it.
Key Point: Any time you spend doing ‘Interval Arithmetic’ is time
well spent. It’s impossible to waste time doing this exercise - every
interval you count in your head will make you a better musician.
Whatever level you’re at - it’s always a great brain workout. And even
if you’re good at intervals - you can always get better.
The only one of these intervals you’ll probably have to practice is the 5th -
as the octave, whole-step and half-step are quite easy. And for the 5th,
you just have to memorize the twelve 5ths that exist:
Once you know these 4 intervals, you can quickly add or subtract
them together to build any of the 12 intervals, starting from any
note.
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• So if I need to count a minor 3rd up from F#, then I’ll count up
a whole-step (F# - G#) and then a half-step (G# - A). 7. Bb - up a major 7th = ?
• If I need to count up a major 6th from Db, then I’ll count up a 8. F# - up a minor 7th = ?
5th (Db - Ab) and then a whole-step (Ab - Bb).
9. Bb - down a 5th = ?
• And if I need to count up a minor 7th from Ab, then I’ll count
up an octave (Ab - Ab) and then down a whole-step (Ab - Gb). 10. D - up a tritone = ?
How long does it take to get good at intervals? I’d say it took me
about 2 months to get REALLY good at counting intervals - I used to
casually practice this for about 5 minutes a day, while on the train
back from school. I think you’ll see huge improvement within the
first 2 weeks of doing this, and if you keep doing it for a month then
you’ll really get good at this.
Answers:
Remember, there’s only a limited amount of ‘sums’ that exist within
the 12 notes - there’s just 12 notes, and just 11 intervals I’m asking 1. F
you to practice adding / subtracting.
2. A
Here’s some test questions to get you started:
3. F# / Gb
Questions: 4. Ab
1. C - up a 4th = ? 5. Db
2. C - up a major 6th = ? 6. A
3. C - up a tritone = ? 7. A
4. Eb - up a 4th = ? 8. E
5. Eb - down a whole-step = ? 9. Eb
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F# up a 5th = C#
Your Mission: Set yourself a time of day / activity when
you’ll practice Interval Arithmetic; will it be over coffee in the Then the next day you could work on the minor 6th and do the
morning? During your tea break? On the tread mill? For 2 minutes same thing:
after you park?
C up a min 6th = Ab
B up a min 6th = G
Eb up a min 6th = B
F# up a min 6th = D
And the next day, maybe you tackle the major 3rd, or the 4th, or the
minor 7th. Just make your way through all 12 intervals over 12 days.
Decide a time to practice each day and make this a habit for at least Click here to watch my ‘Interval Arithmetic’ video
the next 2 weeks.
C up a 5th = G
Ab up a 5th = Eb
B up a 5th = F#
Eb up a 5th = Bb
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Now for the main part of this book - over the following pages I’ll
explain the different types of harmony I used in the ‘Best Chords’ C min - Eb maj - Ab maj - Bb maj
progressions. I’ll go through the styles in order - Pop - Minimalist -
Jazz, Montunos, Endings - as well as covering additional ‘Modern Eb maj - Bb maj - C min - Ab maj
Sounds’ and ‘Piano Performance Tips’ at the end.
…and so on
Pop progressions: If you’re ever listening to music and you get goosebumps - then it’s
usually caused by these chords being played.
The progressions in this section (#1 - 4) are taken from my years of
trying to become a music producer. Harmonically speaking, the Pop
They don’t just get played in Pop music - they’re heard just as often
Progressions in this book are straightforward - they’re ‘Diatonic’
in film music (especially modern soundtracks by composers like
which means that they stay within one key (no key changes).
Hans Zimmer) - the only difference is that in film music they’re
usually played by an orchestra.
The chords stick to the 4 most popular chords of all time - which I
call the ‘Pop Chords’ - and in our key of C minor these chords are:
These chords are very powerful emotionally - however most Pop
songs overdo them. I think that these Pop chords should be saved
C minor - Eb major - Ab major - Bb major
for special moments in a piece (like the chorus of a song) - rather
than played throughout - since if you keep repeating them, the
But since you’re learning everything by intervals, memorize these
emotion starts to wear off.
chords by their interval distance away from the root:
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• Add reverb (if you’re playing on an electric piano): I like to add
So the key ingredients to a hit pop song are: reverb when playing the Pop progressions (and the Minimalist
ones too, #1 - 8). Doing this makes it sound like you’re playing in a
• The 4 ‘Pop Chords’ (C min - Eb maj - Ab maj - Bb maj)
big room.
• The Pentatonic scale (C Eb F G Bb)
And incidentally, a large part of learning to play music by ear is simply
Pop Backing Tracks:
learning to spot these 4 chords and 5 notes by ear: It’s common in music production to have what’s known as a ‘Pad’ in
the background. ‘Pad’ is the name for a synthesized sound which is
Click here to watch my free Ear Training Crash Course where I subtle and non-intrusive. It’s held down in the background (in the
cover this fully midrange, somewhere above middle C usually), and lasts throughout
the entire song (or other times just for the verse, or the chorus).
And whenever there would be silence in the music, the pad is always
there in the background so that there’s no empty space.
To make these Pop progressions sound their best, try the following: What notes does a Pad play? Either a single note - usually the root
of the music’s key (so in C minor, the Pad would play C). Or
• Play quietly: the piano has a beautiful sound when played sometimes the Pad will play the i chord - so if the song is in C
quietly (in fact most instruments do), and these progressions are minor, then I’ll hold down a C minor chord.
meant to be played quietly. Use these progressions to practice
playing as quietly as possible - while still making each note play. And apart from the Pad, I also made sure to add some subtle
rhythmic sounds (drums or simple loops), so that you can keep in
• Play sustained: hold each note as long as possible, and release time with the backing track.
it as you play the next note. Your performance should be seamless
(no gaps of silence). Use these progressions as an exercise to play But of course the backing tracks are optional - so you can play these
as sustained as possible. At times you’ll need to use the pedal to progressions on solo piano too.
hold down the notes as you move to the next chord - but make
sure you release the pedal as you play the next chord (exactly at
the same time).
15
Minimalist progressions: Odd bar Phrases:
When writing Minimalist Progressions I try to keep things
‘Minimalism’ is a genre of music that features repeating loops. So
interesting. Harmonically they might be straightforward (mostly
instead of going with the traditional way of writing music where
Diatonic) but rhythmically I like to change things up and I’ll try to
there’s an ‘A section’ followed by a ‘B section’, maybe a ‘C section’
break away from writing standard 8 bar phrases - instead I’ll aim for
and so on, Minimalism just uses the same looping texture instead.
numbers like 7 or 9, or other odd numbers.
To hear some examples of Minimalist music, just listen to Steve
So if you count the bars to some of my Minimalist Progressions (like
Reich, Philip Glass, or my favorite - John Adams (these are the 3 most
progression #5 ‘Interlaken’) you’ll notice that I’m using 9 bar phrases.
famous Minimalist composers):
Click here to listen to ‘The Chairman Dances’ by John Adams Subtle Modulations & pivot chords:
Another technique I use when composing Minimalist Progressions is
Important: ‘Minimalism’ DOES NOT refer to music that has a what I call ‘Subtle Modulations’. Unlike the obvious key changes that
minimal number of notes, or is simple in any way (I used to think it you hear in styles like Jazz (where the goal is to actually emphasize
meant this, as many people do). how many notes you’re changing), I like to write a very subtle
modulation that almost no one would notice. In my Minimalist
Minimalist Music can actually be full of notes and played loudly by a Progressions it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the key change
full orchestra (as in the John Adams piece above) - so it doesn’t happens.
mean ‘simple’ or ‘stripped down’ in any way.
To do this, first I have to make sure that the 2 keys I’m modulating
I think that the word ‘Minimal’ probably refers to the minimal between have only one note different to each other - like the key of
amount of melodic writing that the composer does - you don’t have C minor and the key of F minor for example. This means that the 2
to write an A melody, a B melody, a C melody, etc. - instead a keys will have to be a 5th or a 4th apart from each other (because
Minimalist composer just writes a short fragment of a melody, and this means that there’ll only be one note different - either an extra
then loops it for long periods of time while varying the texture. sharp or an extra flat). And this means that both keys will share many
of the same chords as each other.
Ending a Minimalist Progression: Then I use what’s called a ‘Pivot Chord’ - which is a term from
The Minimalist progressions in this book loop back onto themselves, Classical music - when a Classical composer was preparing to change
and you can loop them as many times as you like. They’re designed to key, they would first identify a chord that’s found in both the old key
be hypnotic and I find it hard to stop playing them. But when you’re and the new key, and they’d play this chord in the middle of the
ready to end the piece, you can just end by playing the i chord (C modulation to bridge the gap between the 2 keys. It makes the key
minor). change sound discrete (because in Classical music the composers
16
wanted to make pure sounding music, and so they’d use a Pivot After the Db major chord - we have an F minor, Ab major, and Eb
chord to help avoid any sort of harmonic clash). major chord - and these 3 chords are found in both keys - C minor
and F minor.
In progression #6 ‘Force of Nature’, you can’t pinpoint exactly when
the progression modulates. It could be in several places, but you
However, when the G minor chord is played, we know that the
don’t know for sure because it’s hidden with Pivot chords on either
music is back in the key of C minor (because a G minor chord can
side.
only exist in the notes of C minor, and not F minor). But when did
the music modulate back to C minor? Because the Ab major and Eb
So the first part of the progression is in the key of C minor, the
major chords are found in both keys - C minor and F minor - these
middle part is in the key of F minor, and then it ends back in C also act as Pivot Chords allowing the music to transition back to the
minor. key of C minor. There’s no way to pinpoint exactly when the
modulations happen. Here I’ve highlighted the Pivot Chords:
When the music reaches the Db major chord, we know that the
music is definitely in the key of F minor (because Db major does not
exist within the notes of C minor). However, the C minor chord that
precedes this Db major chord can be found in both keys - it exists in
the key of C minor, and it also exists in the key of F minor - which
means that this C minor chord that the chord progression starts and
ends on is a Pivot Chord. I’m using it to modulate seamlessly from
the key of C minor to the key of F minor.
This is quite an advanced technique and I don’t think you need to
master this technique in your own writing - I just want you to
understand that it exists and to notice it in progression #6 ‘Force Of
Nature’.
17
Chord Numbering:
JAZZ Progressions: It’s useful to number chords based on which scale degree they’re
built from - because these numbers stay the same whichever key
The Jazz progressions are the most complicated progressions in this
you’re playing in.
book - they feature frequent key changes (with almost every new
chord the scale changes). However these progressions should be
And it’s also normal to use Roman Numerals when writing
straightforward for you to understand after reading this section.
chords:
I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII
ii - V - I’s:
Every genre of music has its own ‘characteristic chord progressions’. • When using Roman Numerals we use UPPERCASE numerals
And for Jazz, its chords consist mostly of ii-V-I progressions for major chords - I, IV,V for example.
(pronounced as ‘2 - 5 -1’).
• And we use lowercase numerals for minor chords - i, iv, v,
‘ii - V - I’ refers to 3 chords - a ii chord, V chord, and I chord - and etc.
these 3 chords can be played in any key. The Roman Numerals refer
to the scale degrees that each chord is build from (‘scale degrees’ So by looking at how I’ve written ‘ii - V - I’ you should be able to tell
are when you number all the notes in the scale starting on one, and which of these 3 chords is major, and which is minor:
counting up 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7).
• ii - is lowercase so this chord is minor (D minor)
So say we’re in C major scale:
• V - is UPPERCASE so this chord is major (G major)
• ‘ii’ refers to a chord built from the 2nd of the scale (D) • I - is also UPPERCASE so this chord is major (C major)
• ‘V’ refers to a chord built from the 5th of the scale (G)
• ‘I’ refers to a chord built from the root of the scale (C) adding 7ths:
Now in Jazz it’s normal to play every chord as a 7th chord. The term
‘7th chord’ means a chord that has a root, 3rd, 5th and 7th - as a
posed to the standard 3 note ‘triad’ chords that most other music
styles use. 7th chords have an extra 3rd added above the 5th - e.g.
the notes ‘C E G B’ make a ‘7th chord’.
Now the term ‘ii - V - I’ only specifies triad chords - because there
isn’t a number ‘7’ after each Roman Numeral. However in jazz we
play each of these 3 chords as a 7th chord - so a ii-V-I in C major
really means this:
18
Nearly all chords in jazz boil down to one of just four types of 7th
D min 7 - G7 - C maj 7 chord. No matter how many extensions you see listed in the chord
symbol - b9, #9, #11, b13, etc - all of these are just added for
Each chord is built from notes in the scale that the ii - V - I is in. So decoration on top of what is just a basic 7th chord at the bottom.
right now we’re in C major scale, so we simply build each chord And the first step in jazz is to learn the four main types of 7th chord
just by counting up in 3rds using only notes from C major scale (the - here they are built from C:
white notes):
• So for the ii chord - just start on D and count up in 3rds (every • C major 7 = maj 3 + min 3 + maj 3 (C E G B)
other note):
• C minor 7 = min 3 + maj 3 + min 3 (C Eb G Bb)
D - (skip E) - F - (skip G) - A - (skip B) - C
• C7 (a.k.a. ‘C Dominant 7’) = maj 3 + min 3 + min 3 (C E G Bb)
• For the V chord - start on G and count up in 3rds: • C Minor 7 b5 (a.k.a. ‘C Half-Diminished’) = min 3 + min 3 +
maj 3 (C Eb Gb Bb)
G - (skip A) - B - (skip C) - D - (skip E) - F
Practice Tip 1: If these 7th chords are new to you, then spend
• For the I chord - start on C and count up in 3rds: time looking at this and memorizing it. Play these 4 chords on the
piano built from C first, and then build them all 12 notes.
C - (skip D) - E - (skip F) - G - (skip A) - B
And to learn these chords you have to memorize the INTERVAL
PATTERNS to each one - so this will be great practice for you to
4 main chord types: measure out all of the major 3rds and minor 3rds.
19
To do this yourself, just play combinations of major 3rds and minor
3rds built from C. Start with 7th chords (just 4 notes). Once
you’ve played every combination, then build your chords a 3rd higher
(9th chords) and try out all the minor 3rd / major 3rd combinations.
Then go another 3rd higher (11th chords), and finally a 3rd higher
(C D Eb F G Ab B)
(13th chords). ‘13’ is as high as a chord can go, because adding a 3rd
above 13 brings you back to the root again - so that’s why you’ll never see
The Harmonic Minor scale is a normal minor scale up to the 6th (C
a ‘15th’ chord, or a ‘17th’ chord.
D Eb F G Ab) but then it has a major 7th (B).
And the higher you go with your chord extensions, the more maj 3 /
min 3 combinations will be possible (there’s a lot more combinations
for the 13th chords than there are for the 7th chords).
Questions:
2 types of ii-V-I: Before I tell you, see if you can figure out which types of 7th chords
Now there are 2 types of ii-V-I - there’s a major ii-V-I and a minor ii- are found in a minor ii-V-i. We’ll do this in C harmonic minor, and to
V-i - and the difference between these 2 progressions is the scales figure it out, just count up in 3rds from each root note (D - G - C).
that they’re built from. Once you have the notes written down, measure out the intervals
between the notes (which will be major 3rds and minor 3rds) and
So we’ve already looked at the major ii-V-I above - I was building all figure out which type of 7th chord each one is (refer to the previous
3 chords from notes of C major scale. page if needed - where I listed the four types of 7th chord).
Well the minor ii-V-i follows the same idea, except it’s built from the 1. Which type of 7th chord would the ii chord be? (built from D)
notes of the minor scale instead.
Now there are several minor scales that exist (Natural Minor, 2. Which type of 7th chord would the V chord be? (built from G)
Melodic Minor and Harmonic Minor) but in jazz, the minor ii-V-i is
built from the notes of the HARMONIC Minor scale. Here’s C 3. Which type of 7th chord would the i chord be? (built from C)
harmonic minor scale:
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the minor ii-V-i is at the END of the piece would I consider ending
If music theory was all that mattered in music, then we would build
1. D minor 7 b5: Your notes would be D F Ab C. The intervals
the minor i chord from the notes of C Harmonic Minor scale and
between the notes are min 3 + min 3 + maj 3, which makes a everything would be straightforward. However in music, the most
important thing is ‘what sounds good’ - and the music theory comes
‘min 7 b5’ chord.
AFTERWARD. Only after someone discovers a new sound do we
then try to make sense of it. And in this case, it just sounds better to
abandon C Harmonic Minor scale for the final i chord - and to play a
2. G7: Your notes would be G B D F. The intervals between the
C min 7 or C min 6 chord instead.
notes are maj 3 + min 3 + min 3 which makes a ‘V7’ chord.
Try playing through the 3 possible types of i chord below and see for
yourself how they sound:
3. C minor major 7… ok this is a trick question - if you build
the i chord from notes of C Harmonic Minor scale then you get
something that's NOT one of the 4 commonly used 7th chords -
so let me explain:
The final i chord in a minor ii-V-i is one of the reasons jazz can be
confusing - it’s nearly easy to understand (and teach) except for this i
chord in the minor ii-V-i. And whether you play a C min 7 or C min 6 chord, in both cases
you’re breaking out of C Harmonic Minor scale. So C minor 7 has
Normally you would expect the i chord to be built from notes of C a Bb (whereas C Harmonic Minor has a B natural) and C minor 6 has
Harmonic Minor scale, which would give you a C minor chord with a an A natural (whereas C Harmonic Minor has an Ab).
major 7th (C Eb G B). This chord has a very film noir sound to it (it’s
featured in the soundtrack to Hitchcock’s film ‘Vertigo’), and this Notice also that when I write ‘ii-V-i’ for the minor version, I’m
chord is SOMETIMES played for a minor ii-V-i - but not very often. writing the ‘i’ in lowercase, because in this situation it’s a minor
chord. Whereas for the major version I wrote it as ‘ii-V-I’ - because
More commonly, we either play the final i chord as a minor 7 the I chord is major.
chord (C Eb G Bb), or as a minor 6 chord (C Eb G A). We do this
because these chords have a less dramatic sound - they’re more And of the 2 types of ii-V-I, the major ii-V-I is used most of the time
casual and sound better for most scenarios within a jazz song. Only if in Jazz. It’s almost slightly rare to see a minor ii-V-i - you really have
to find a minor sounding song like Cry Me A River to encounter a
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minor ii-V-i - and the giveaway of a minor ii-V-i is seeing a minor 7 b5 The answer is Eb major scale. All I did was this - I spotted the 3
chord - since this only occurs in the minor ii-V-i. chord pattern of a major ii-V-I (min 7 - V7 - maj 7). I also noticed the
ii-V-I bassline pattern - up a 4th, then down a 5th (F - Bb - Eb) and
How jazz works: that means that this is a major ii-V-I. And since the final I chord is
Eb major 7, I know that the music is currently in Eb major scale. So
So most of jazz is built of ii-V-I’s, and these ii-V-I’s modulate all the final I chord tells you what the scale is.
around the place through different keys. It’s normal for a jazz song to
start and end in the same key (called ‘The Home Key’), but that’s the
only real ‘rule’ - for the rest of the music anything is possible. There’s
no right or wrong set of keys to move through, and a composer can
Questions:
literally just jump straight to any new key and play a ii-V-I in that key. Let’s practice this a few times. You see the following chord symbols
in a chord sheet - what keys do they tell you that the music is in?
You can tell which key the music is currently in just by looking at the
chord symbols above the music and spotting the ii-V-I chord pattern. 1. Bb min 7 - Eb7 - Ab maj 7
Note: Often a Jazz Standard will use a key signature at the 2. G min 7 b5 - C7 - F min 7
beginning of the music (this is a display of sharps or flats that stay in
place for the whole piece). In other styles of music it’s normal to 3. A min 7 - D7 - G maj 7
figure out the key of the music just by looking at these sharps / flats
- however in Jazz, even though there might be a key signature, this 4. F# min 7 - B7 - E maj 7
doesn’t mean that the music is in that key from beginning to end.
Instead the key signature probably just outlines the Home Key - but
the music will almost certainly modulate through many other keys.
Answers:
So let’s say we saw the following 3 chords - what key do these
chords tell us the music is currently in?
- Figure this out before reading on - 4. E major scale (this was a major ii-V-I)
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Partial ii-V-I’s: Other ii-V-I variations:
A lot of the time you’ll see all 3 chords from a ii-V-I, as in the Other ii-V-I variations include something I call the ‘Almost ii-V-I’. This
examples above. However there’s also many times in Jazz when you is based on the never ending ii-V progression mentioned above,
won’t get all 3 chords - sometimes you only see the first 2 chords except this time instead of resolving down a perfect 5th from the V
(ii-V) and other times just the last 2 chords (V-I) - and then the chord, here you resolve down a diminished 5th (or a ‘Tritone’):
music jumps to a different key without playing all 3 chords.
D min 7 - G7 - C# min 7 - F#7 - C min 7 - F7 - B min 7 - E7
For example, a typical Jazz song might play something like this:
And so on… I didn’t include this progression in the 30 Progressions,
D min 7 - G7 - F min 7 - Bb7 - Abm7 - Db7 but you can certainly try playing this too. I suggest that you look at
Progression #12 and use the same voicings, but transpose them to fit
Every two chords are a ii-V to a new key, but the music doesn’t stay with the following pattern instead:
long enough to play the final I chord.
Dm7 - G7 - C#m7 - F#7 - Cm7 - F7 - Bm7 - E7 - Bbm7 - Eb7 - etc
You’ll see this happen a lot in the Jazz progressions to this book - for
example in Progression #12 ‘Never Ending ii-V’s’:
Cycle of Fifths:
The ii-V-I is actually taken from a bigger type of chord progression -
known as a ‘Cycle Of Fifths Chord Progression’ - which is a long
string of chords in which each chord resolves down a 5th to the
next chord. You’ll hear this progression in Classical music (where it
originates from) as well as Jazz music, and it typically lasts for 7 or 8
chords in a row - like this:
This is a set of descending ii-V’s, where instead of playing the normal B7 - E min 7 - A7 - D min 7 - G7 - C maj 7
I chord as a major 7 chord, I’ve played the I chord as a minor 7
chord instead - and then you realize that this is NOT the I chord, but The ii-V-I is just the final 3 chords of this complete Cycle Of Fifths
it’s actually the ii chord of a new ii-V-I instead. chord progression.
This pattern keeps repeating itself and takes you through several Note: Occasionally in jazz you will get to hear a complete Cycle
keys, moving down a whole-step each time. Of Fifths - like in the B section to ‘Take 5’ for example. However the
Cycle Of Fifths can sound a bit basic and a bit predictable - you can
kind of hear where the music’s going to go - and it also sounds
pretty Diatonic - since all of the chords are built from notes in one
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key (at least the roots of the chords are all taken from the same
scale) and again, in Jazz we like to change key often because it
creates a sophisticated sound - so playing a complete Cycle Of Fifths
isn’t appealing to most Jazz composers. So instead you tend to just
get the ii-V-I played in a range of keys.
However, if an arranger specifies every single chord extension in the • Sometimes I specify all of the extensions for you - generally I do
chord symbols, then the music starts looking very complicated this for the really nice voicings.
quickly - like this:
• Other times I keep it simple and just write chords as 7th chords -
so I might write ‘Dm7’ (even though it’s voiced as a D minor 9
chord), or I’ll write ‘G7’ (even though there’s a 9th and 13th
added).
And when you play a Jazz standard, you have the freedom to add
your own chord extensions - so when the music says ‘C min 7’ I’ll
nearly always play it as a C min 9 chord (just by adding D to my
voicing). And the same goes for all 7th chords - I’ll generally add a
9th (for maj 7 and V7 chords too). And for V7 chords, that’s where
So to keep the music looking tidy and quick to read, it’s normal just you can really go to town and add all sorts of chord extensions, as
to state chords as 7th chords - rather than always listing ‘#9’ ‘b13’ well as flattening and sharpening them - so numbers like b9 #9 #11
‘#11’ for every single chord - like this: b13 are only really seen on V7 chords. You wouldn’t usually add these
to a major 7 or minor 7 chord.
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‘4’ vs ’11’:
When playing the progressions, you might notice that sometimes I
write ‘#4’ (e.g. C maj 7 #4), and sometimes I write ‘#11’ (e.g.
C7#11).
Now both of these numbers refer to the same note. So over a C Instead of playing G7, we’re going to transpose the V7 chord a
chord #4 and #11 both mean to add an F# to your chord voicing. tritone away (either up or down, because both directions bring you
to the same note - Db). And now we’ll build the same V7 chord but
However, there’s a semi-rule that I follow when deciding how to spell from Db instead - like this:
this note:
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So all you need to do is play the ii chord as normal (D min 7), then
move the bass note down a half-step and build a V7 chord (Db7), and
then move it down another half-step to play the I chord (C maj 7).
This is the way I think about Tritone Substitution and it actually
makes it EASIER to play than the original ii-V-I which involves
jumping by 4ths and 5ths.
And Tritone Substitution works for both major ii-V-I’s, and minor ii-
V-i’s. So for a minor ii-V-i in C minor you’d start with this:
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• Whereas if there’s an F in the melody over the G7 chord, then
you won’t need to change it when you play Db7 - because F is
found in both scales - it’s found in C Major Scale and it’s also
found in Db Lydian-Dominant - so this note doesn’t need to be
tweaked.
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So look out for my use of Tritone Substitution in the jazz
progressions (especially in progressions 11, 12 and 13) - and you’ll What Scale should I play?
see me using V7 chords that resolve down a half-step to minor 7 and I also want to show you how to know what scale to play over any
major 7 chords. chord. This is a common question I get, and it used to confuse me
when I first started. It’s common to buy a book on jazz and for the
author just to tell you ‘play this scale’ for minor 7 chords, or major 7
Making a simple melody from chords, and so on. But I prefer to actually show you how to figure
your voicings: out what scale you should play on your own.
Another technique you’ll see me us in the Jazz progressions is to First of all, there’s never just one scale you can play - for any given
take the top note of a chord voicing, and to turn it into a simple chord, there’s at least 2 or 3 scales that you could play - all of which
melody - just by moving it down a whole-step. would sound consonant (right notes) but each would have a different
‘Tonal Color’ (mood).
For example if I have a C minor 9 voicing (C Eb G Bb D) then I’ll
play D as the top note at first, but then I’ll move it down to C for It also depends on the style of Jazz that you’re playing:
the 2nd beat - like this:
Anytime you’re playing a Blues based progression, I would
recommend playing predominantly the Blues scale.
I think this works best when the chord’s top note is the 9th F min 7 - F min 7 - C min 7 - C min 7
(moving down to the root) or sometimes the 6th (moving down to G min 7 - F min 7 - C min 7 - C min 7
the 5th).
Most blues music resembles this pattern in some way - but usually
So look out for me using this ‘top note melody’ technique in the Jazz not exactly like this. So it’s common for blues to at least start out
Progressions (see Progressions 15 and 18), and you can also use this with a C min 7 (of the i chord in whichever key the music’s in) and
technique yourself in all of your playing - just take any chord voicing to play it for about 4 bars - and then it’s common to go to the iv
and try moving the top note down a note to create some chord (F min 7) for a couple of bars. It’s also common to hear a v - iv
movement. - i (G min 7 - F min 7 - C min 7) somewhere toward the end.
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sustained i chord (C min 7) the Blues Scale will keep things sounding
So if you look at Progressions #9 and #10 you’ll see that these interesting - it has both a clashing sound (when you play the Blue
resemble a 12 Bar Blues: Note - Gb) but it’s also very singable - because it has the Pentatonic
Scale in it (Eb F G Bb C are the notes of Eb Pentatonic Scale). And if
you remember back to the Pop Chord section, I said that Pentatonic
melodies are very memorable and easy for everyone to sing back -
even non-musicians.
So the Blues Scale is always a good choice for this type of Blues
influenced music.
The other scale that I’d consider playing over a Blues based chord
progression would be the Dorian scale - so over C min 7 you could
also play C Dorian Scale:
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Well chord and scale are always related, and you can figure out And now see which scale you end up with:
which scale you should play just by looking at the chord symbol
(that’s right, you don’t even have to search the internet or see what
scale a book says you should play - you can actually figure it out by
yourself).
Questions:
• Now add a whole-step to the root, 3rd and 5th - and that gives
you your scale (so add D F# A)
Use this method to figure out which scales to play over the following
So let’s try this out - say that your chord symbol is ‘C min 7’ and you chords:
want to know which scale to play over it:
1. Which scale would you play over C major 7?
• Start with the chordal tones - ‘C min 7’ has C Eb G Bb - so our
scale has to agree on these notes.
2. Which scale would you play over C7?
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Usually the major 7 and minor 7 chords are straightforward when it
Answers: comes to scales (just use the chordal tones + whole-step approach
above, or the Blues Scale).
1. C D E F# G A B (known as C Lydian scale) However when it comes to V7 chords - this is the place for exotic
Chordal tones = C E G B scales and exotic chord extensions (b9 #9 #11 etc) - and the reason
for this is that it creates an ‘in - out - in’ type of sound for every ii - V
Then add a whole-step = D F# A - I. So the ii and I chord stay fairly basic, but then for the V7 chord
you create an ‘out of key’ type of sound - either by using the Altered
Scale or several others - which I covered in this video:
2. C D E F# G A Bb (known as C Lydian-Dominant scale)
Chordal tones = C E G Bb Click here to watch my ‘4 Exotic V7 Scales’ video on YouTube
Then add a whole-step = D F# A And following that I have a whole chapter dedicated to jazz piano
scales and improv techniques in my Jazz Theory Explained ebook:
3. C D Eb F Gb Ab Bb (known as C Half-Diminished scale) Click here for full details and to download ‘Jazz Theory Explained’
Chordal tones = C Eb Gb Bb
Then add a whole-step = D F Ab
This is the approach I take most of the time when choosing which
scales to use for a melody or improv. And even though it’s a simple
formula - the scales that you produce sound sophisticated and
professional. I mean look at the scales above - we ended up with the
Lydian, the Dorian, The Lydian-Dominant, and the Half-Diminished
scales - those are all pretty advanced scales which you don’t often
hear outside jazz. So don’t think that this is some beginner trick - it’s
what a lot of professionals use.
As I said, there are other scales you can use - there’s never just one
scale for any type of chord. I suggest you start with the approach
above, but once you get good at this.
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Cuban Montunos:
In Progressions #22-24 I share some of my favorite Montuno
How montunos work:
Montunos work best when applied to Cycle of Fifth chord
progressions, like the ii-V-I (remember ‘Cycle of Fifths’ means a
patterns. ‘Montunos’ are a feature of Cuban music styles, like Salsa - progression where each chord resolves down a 5th).
they’re a way to play chords to interesting rhythms, and they’re an
interesting texture to add to your playing. To write your own Montunos there’s a specific way of voicing the
chords, and a specific way that each voicing moves to the next chord
Montunos are played loudly and fairly high up the keyboard (because in the Cycle Of Fifths.
Salsa music is loud and the piano has to play loudly and double its
notes in octaves just to be heard). So let’s apply a Montuno to a series of ii-V’s (just as I’ve done in
progression #22). We’ll start with the first ii-V in the key of C major.
So whereas traditional American Jazz is played to a swing rhythm, in The outer octave starts on the 7th of the minor 7 chord - so for
Latin Jazz the music is played in ‘straight time’ (which means there’s D min 7 the outer octave plays the 7th (C):
no swing - you just play the rhythms exactly as they’re written).
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Then the chord changes to G7, and the outer octave descends a
half-step to play the V7 chord’s 3rd (B):
Question:
How would you voice the following 2 chords if you were playing a
Montuno (i.e. which notes would you play?):
C min 7 - F7
Meanwhile the inner voices stay on the same 2 notes (F and A),
except these 2 notes are now the 7th and 9th of G7.
And then this pattern repeats over and over - the outer octave
keeps moving down in half-steps (C - B - Bb - A - Ab - G etc) -
Answer:
So for the C min 7 chord, the outer octave starts on the 7th (Bb),
alternating between the 7th and the 3rd of each chord. And the
and when the chord changes to F7 it will move down a half-step to A
inner voices start on the 3rd and 5th, and stay the same for the
(the 3rd of F7).
next V7 chord (becoming the 7th and 9th). Then they reset to the
next chord’s 3rd and 5th, then they stay the same for the next V7
Meanwhile, the inner voices will start on the 3rd and 5th of C min 7
chord - like this:
(Eb and G), and when the chord changes to F7 these will stay the
same, becoming the 7th and 9th of F7:
It’s quite a distinctive feeling in your hands to play - first the outer
fingers move (thumb and little finger), then the inner fingers move (2
and 3) - and this keeps alternating.
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track (or with your band) which already has the bass line in it - like
To see this in action take a look at progressions #22 and #23. You’ll this:
notice that the outer octave descends step, alternating between 7th,
and 3rd of the chords:
In the left hand you’ll only need to play the bottom note of the
Montuno’s outer octave part, because the right hand is already
playing what would be the left hand’s top note.
And you’ll see that the inner voices start on the 3rd and 5th of the
And if your left hand isn’t as good as your right, just play the right
first chord, and then stay in place for the next chord.
hand louder, and you’ll still be able to create a confident sounding
Montuno performance.
But remember, this pattern only works when the chord progression
is some sort of Cycle Of Fifths - where each chord resolves down a
5th. PRACTICE CHALLENGE: To ingrain this, I want you to
write a Montuno to the following progression:
THE CUBAN BASS LINE: Dm7 - G7 - Cm7 - F7 - Bbm7 - Eb7 - Abm7 - Db7
For the bass line, there’s a specific Cuban rhythm that we play to.
Usually the chords change every 2 beats, in which case the bass line (keep repeating this ii-V pattern - then check your answer by looking at by
will play the root of each chord - but sometimes you’ll get a chord Progression #22)
that’s sustained for a full 4 beats, in which case the bass line will play
root and then the 5th of the chord.
But if playing both hands is too hard, you can just double the right
hand’s Montuno in the left hand, and then play this to the backing
34
• ‘Free Tempo endings’: These are the fun type of ending -
Jazz Piano Endings: when the song’s tempo breaks down into a free space where you
can play more or less whatever you want, and you don’t have to
The end of a jazz song is a special time - especially for piano players. play strictly to the song’s beat anymore. These endings are most
It’s a time when we get to show off our favorite chord voicings and appropriate for slower and more thoughtful Jazz songs (anything
scales, and to end with something that sounds sophisticated. that isn’t upbeat and loud). Here’s a ‘free tempo ending’ I wrote to
the end of my Jazz arrangement to ‘Greensleeves’ - the first 2 bars
As a composer, I like to think that there are 2 types of ending: are still in the song’s normal tempo, but once we hit the C maj 7
#4 chord, the tempo breaks down and I just play a dreamy
• ‘short endings’: When the music ends loudly with a short sounding ascending arpeggio of a C maj 7 #4 chord:
high chord. These aren’t something I look forward to playing, but
for some pieces it’s only appropriate to keep the ending short and
sweet (usually for upbeat loud pieces). Here’s a ‘short ending’ I
used to end my Jazz piano arrangement of ‘O Christmas Tree’ -
notice that the trumpet plays a few high notes, while the piano
plays some accented chords (a ii-V-I in which key?), and then the
whole piece ends abruptly on a loud stab of the final chord:
And these are the type of endings I’ve included in this book - ‘Free
Tempo Endings’ (obviously ‘short endings’ wouldn’t make it into this
book!)
This excerpt is taken from my Jazz Tutorial Christmas Collection. • hold down the pedal: Whatever you play for your ending,
you’ll usually start by holding down the sustain pedal and keeping
it down for the entire ending - you’ll add more and more notes to
the mix, and each one will be sustained with the pedal.
35
The scale you play will be decided by the chord you’re ending on - so
• Ascending works best: For my endings I will ascend up a C minor 7 chord would imply a C dorian scale, or a C major 7
the keyboard in one way or another (sometimes for my intros
chord would imply a C Lydian scale (remember the scale rule from
I’ll descend downwards into the song, but ascending works best
earlier? Just build your scale from the chordal tones of the chord - 1
for endings).
3 5 7 - and then add a whole-step above the 1 3 5).
• Arpeggio or scale: For my endings I will either Your ending chord / scale DOESN’T have to be the root chord of
arpeggiate the final chord, e.g. C Eb G A C. OR I will run up the the song’s home key. So a song that was in C minor doesn’t
scale in step, e.g. C D Eb F G A B. And oftentimes I’ll play a necessarily have to end on a C minor chord - although often it will.
combination of both - first an arpeggio of the chord voicing, However I think that you should keep the root note of your ending
starting somewhere around middle C. And then as I get higher up chord the same as the song’s root note - so if the song was in C
the keyboard I’ll switch to playing a scale in step - like this: minor, keep C as the root note for your ending chord - but feel free
to try playing all types of C chord as a reharmonization - C maj 7, C
maj 7 #4, C7, C7#11, C min 7, C min 6, C min maj 7, etc.
But with that said, there are a couple of chords and scales that I
particularly like to use for my jazz piano endings:
36
And I used this Lydian sound in Progression #29: And you’ll notice that I used an ascending C min 6/9 sound in
Progressions #25 and #28:
• C min 6 + the melodic Minor: And for a minor sounding Block Chords:
ending I’ll usually build my ending flourish from the notes of the You’ll also notice that in Progression #30 I’ve used a ‘Block Chord’
Melodic Minor Scale (which is the minor scale but with a technique. Block Chords creates a very dated sound (again a Film
major 6th and 7th: Noir type of sound) and it’s easy to do:
Just find a melody that moves in step (or write one) - then double it
an octave below. And finally, play as many of the chordal tones as you
can fit in-between the octave.
C Eb A D G B
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You can certainly try applying this Block Chord technique to a
melody that doesn’t move by step - so one that jumps by 3rds and And if the chords change while you’re still playing Block Chords,
4ths. However it doesn’t work very well - the Block Chord sound that’s fine - just change the inner voices to the new chord’s chordal
works best on melodies that run up or down the scale in step. tones when the chord changes - just as you normally would when
playing chords.
And Block Chords can be used in any section of a song - not just an
ending. And lastly, Block Chords take some practice. I’m not able to play
Block Chords without practicing them first. Every melody is different
Here’s one more example from my Christmas Collection - where in so it’s unlikely you’d ever be prepared enough to play Block Chords
my Jazz arrangement to ‘The First Noel’ I used a Block Chord on the spot to something. So instead, you’ll have to decide on a small
pattern for the first 2 bars of every verse: section that you’re going to play Block Chords for and then rehearse
it by playing it slowly many times.
All I did was find a part of the melody that moves in step, then I
doubled the melody down an octave, and finally I crammed in as
many of the chordal tones from the chord symbols that I could fit.
Practice Tip:
Take a Jazz Standard that you already know. Look through the
melody to find a section that moves by step (most melodies have
some step movement somewhere). Now try applying this Block
Chord technique to that section:
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modern sounds:
There’s still a few contemporary sounds I want to share with you in
A few of my personal favorites are C minor and D major, C minor
and E major, C minor and F# major:
PolyChords
‘Polytonal’ or ‘Bitonal’ music is a modern composition technique
(twentieth century onwards). It’s when there’s more than one key And you can play with the voicings / inversions / octave range that
signature playing at once - perhaps there’s a C minor chord being you play these chords in:
played low down, and a melody that uses notes from E major scale
higher up.
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Bitonal chords like these (a.k.a. ‘Polychords’) have an interesting / Again this can be an interesting sound to use in your compositions.
intellectual sound - and they’re used mostly in Film Music. My
favorite example in a film soundtrack would be in the Matrix
soundtrack - where the composer Don Davis wrote a REALLY
interesting score which features a Bitonal chord played in the brass -
one chord crescendos (gets louder) as the other chord diminuendos
(gets quieter) and the 2 chords go back and forth like this. There’s
also several other Bitonal textures throughout the soundtrack:
Pedal notes:
Another interesting sound is when you hold down a bass note (C) -
and then you change the chords in your right hand while keeping the
bass note sustained.
When the bass note stays put on a note, and the upper parts detach
and continue to play their own chords, this is known as a ‘Pedal’ -
and the sustained bass note is a ‘Pedal Note’.
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HOW TO write YOUR OWN
C min - F min
C min - Eb maj
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• start with triads - add extensions later: or above) then I’ll use a closed voicing (C E G). Whereas if I’m
playing in the lower range (below middle C) I’ll play an open voicing -
Depending on the type of music you’re interested in, you might
C G E.
want to add chord extensions to your chords (7ths, 9ths, 11ths
etc). If you want to add extensions then I’d recommend writing And the open voicing is quite a stretch so most people play this with
your progression first using just major / minor chords (certainly if 2 hands - root and 5th in the left, 3rd in the right.
you’re new to writing chord progressions I recommending getting
the progression to sound right using just major and minor chords And if you’re using extended chords, then there’s a lot of possibilities
first - but if you’re confident then you can go straight to using - but try out more than one type of voicing. For example in
7ths while trying out different chords). Once you’re finished and Progression #9 you’ll see that I’ve included 2 versions - the only
you’re happy with the progression itself, it’s then an easy task to difference being the voicings (but the chords are exactly the same).
start adding 7ths, 9ths, 11ths to the chords as a separate step.
Otherwise if you start your exploring by using 7ths, 9ths and You’ll notice that both versions use the exact same notes in the
11ths, there are just so many possibilities that you could get stuck voicings, except I’ve inverted the right hand voicing. So I could either
for a long time on each chord. Personally, I prefer to write the voice the F minor 9 chord as Ab C Eb G played over F:
initial chords as quickly as possible, and then dress them up with
extensions and nice voicings afterwards.
• Voicings:
This is a similar step to the one before - but there’s many ways to
voice each chord. So you should spend some time trying out
different ways to voice the chord progression.
Whereas an ‘Open’ Voicing’ is when you spread out the notes - just
start on the root (C) - then skip the next note (E) and play G - then
skip the next note (C) and play E - giving you C G E.
This works on any major or minor chord - and the way I decide
which of these 2 voicings to use just depends on the range I’m
playing in. If I’m playing the chord higher up the keyboard (middle C
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So whenever you have a good chord voicing, you can also try now have the chords so spend some time finding the best way to
inverting the notes (just by taking the same notes but starting them voice them.
from a different note higher up the chord).
• Rearrange the chords - try playing the chords from your
progression in a different order - sometimes this unlocks new
• Rearrange the chords: chord progressions that are even better than the original.
One other thing you can do AFTER you’ve written a great chord
progression, is to try playing those same chords in different
combinations. So if the chords sound good played in the first
combination (1 2 3 4), then the chances are that there’ll be other
combinations that sound good too, and sometimes better (e.g. 4 3 2
1, 2 1 3 4, 3 1 2 4, etc).
So whenever you find a progression that you like - either taken from
this book or on your own - try playing those chords in every other
combination that you can think of.
to summarize:
• Start from C every time (C maj or C min).
• Try out every chord possible - major and minor chords built from
all 12 notes.
• Use your ear - if you can hear a chord in your imagination, then
that chord exists - so try out all possible chords until you find it.
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Technique tips When it comes to technique, I like Classical music (Bach, Mozart,
Beethoven) - since this type of music fits the criteria above, and in
many cases was actually composed to help the player improve their
The chord progressions, riffs and solos in this book are also designed technique. There’s also plenty of left hand practice - left hand
to improve your technique. melodies, etc - which jazz music tends not to have (jazz mostly plays
chord voicings in the left, so the left hand isn’t pushed as much as
People often ask me “what practice drills do you recommend to with Classical music).
improve piano technique” - and my answer is always the same -
“work on real pieces of music”. I know a lot of my jazz readers won’t want to work on Classical
music in general, and that’s fine - the main point is to look for music
Personally I’ve never done any specific practice drills for technique that has strict tempo, some scales and arpeggios built into it, and
other than scales and arpeggios. I loose interest quickly when that’s slightly ahead of where you’re currently at.
playing something I don’t enjoy the sound of, so apart from scales The normal way to practice playing in time is to play to a
and arpeggios (which I was forced to practice for my Classical piano metronome - start SLOWLY, and gradually speed up. I’ll discuss this
exams), all of my technique has developed from studying piano pieces more in a bit.
- especially Classical piano pieces.
Key Point: If you choose the right pieces then you have all the
drills you need built into the piece itself. There’s scales, there’s
arpeggios, there’s tricky sections that you have to play repeatedly,
there’s dynamics, there’s note articulations, there’s pedal practice,
and so on. So by working on real pieces of music - like the chord
progressions in this book - you are improving your technique at the
same time.
I also think you should focus on music that has strict tempo meet with a piano teacher, at least once:
(rather than pieces with free tempo, where you can get away from Most of my online teaching is focused on music theory, and this
having to play strictly in time - which is one of the main things we works well in video form. However one thing I can’t monitor is your
have to get good at). technique, and that’s why I suggest that you meet with a piano
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teacher in person - even if it’s just for one lesson this month. If you 2. Rhythm / timing: Another common performance tip I
don’t meet with a piano teacher then you could start ingraining bad have for students is to focus on playing strictly in time. It’s common
technique and habits without knowing it. Whereas a piano teacher for students to speed up and slow down freely - which is fine for
will be able to spot these things straightaway - so I recommend some types of music - but only AFTER you’ve learned to play strictly
getting an outside opinion from a piano teacher. in time first. So I recommend practicing to a metronome (or a
backing track if you have one). Start by playing SLOWLY - repeat the
But with that said, I can also tell you some of the common issues I section many times - and then gradually speed up over time. No one
see in students: goes straight into playing perfectly in time just by practicing playing
fast - you have to learn to play in time slowly first, and then speed it
1. Hand Position: Your hands should never be lower than up gradually.
your fingers. Sometimes I notice students hanging their hands off the
piano keyboard, with their wrist lower than their fingers. Having your 3. Record Yourself: This is a real pro tip - I suggest that
hands too low will make playing the piano harder (like when you you record yourself and then listen to the recording (this includes
need to move your thumb under your fingers to play up a scale - you recording yourself playing to the metronome). This will allow you to
won’t have enough room for your thumb). It’s also harder to play spot where you need to improve, because what sounds good while
strictly in time when your hands are so low - and it could even lead you’re playing, doesn’t always sound good when you’re the listener.
to a repetitive strain injury. So make sure that your hands are higher When you’re the listener you’re not being distracted by all the things
than your fingers - like this: you have to do when playing (pedaling, keeping time, moving hands,
what’s coming next, etc) - as the listener, all you’re doing is listening -
so you’ll be a much better judge of how you sound.
You might have to adjust your piano seat to make sure that your
hands are at the right height - your forearms should be parallel with
the floor, and your hands should be roughly 2 inches above the notes
on the keyboard, and your fingers should be lower than your hands. Don’t worry about the fancy microphone image - a phone recording is fine.
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Listening to yourself ‘on tape’ will give you INSTANT FEEDBACK - possible). It’s common for professional players to either play a note
and you don’t even have to be a piano teacher to spot your own as sustained as possible, or as short as possible - and
mistakes. Just ask yourself ‘how do I want this to sound?’, as well as nothing in-between. In every piece, certain notes should be played
‘what’s stopping me from sounding like that?’ How is my timing? sustained (most of the notes), and certain notes should be played
How are my dynamics? How are my note articulations? Am I clearing staccato (usually around 5% of the notes). Only rarely will I play any
the pedal at the exact same time that I’m playing the next chord? - notes that are half-way between long and short. So it’s good advice
questions like these. to create maximum contrast between these two sounds - either play
a note extremely long, or extremely short. And again, you can listen
4. Perform a bit faster: It’s common for students to play out for this in your recordings.
pieces a bit on the slow side. Again, this probably has something to
do with being so absorbed in playing the piece that you don’t notice
it - but to an outside listener, the music often sounds a bit slow (it’s
rare for someone to play too fast, but playing too slow is common).
So double-check how fast the piece is supposed to be - either by
setting your metronome to the correct pace (normally stated in the
sheet music), or with the ‘Best Chords In The World’ progressions
you can listen to my recordings to hear my intended tempo (using a
free online metronome or app is fine).
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tHank you for reading!
Thank you for reading this book and supporting my online jazz
teaching with your purchase. I really hope you enjoyed this book and
the progressions in it, and I hope that it gives you plenty of new
sophisticated sounds for all your future playing.
I would really appreciate hearing what you think of this book / the
chord progressions / videos, and I’d love if you could send me a quick
voicemail message here (using your computer’s microphone):
Hearing from you lets me know how I’m doing and is the only way
for me to improve my written teaching material (since there’s no
‘thumbs up’ button for an ebook, so I rely entirely on your feedback).
Plus it would make my day to hear from you!
I’m Julian Bradley, thank you for reading and I look forward to seeing
you in a new video soon!
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Other Productions from Jazz Tutorial:
• 8 Christmas Songs (O Christmas Tree, God Rest Ye, First Noel, Silent
Night, Greensleeves and more)
• Multiple Arrangements: includes both intermediate and beginner
versions to each song, as well as 6 duet versions so that you can perform
with other instruments!
• Video Lessons:10 jazz tutorial videos with a Christmas theme (all downloadable) - covering harmony, voicings and licks.
• Performance Review videos: For the first time ever, watch me review 8 student piano performances - I’ll give tips on technique,
expressing emotion, metronome practice and more.
• Email coaching: You’ll also receive weekly email lessons from me leading up to Christmas - showing you how to learn new music
quickly, how to reharmonize your own Christmas songs, my latest ‘Staircase Progression’ technique, and more.
Click here to watch my ‘Intro To Ear Training’ video series, and I’ll notify you when
enrollment next opens again
- BEST CHORDS IN THE WORLD -
guidebook
how to learn harmony & improve your technique quickly
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