* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, October 4, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Books about the arts and some haunts for a Denton October – Denton Record-Chronicle

    Uncover Artistic Treasures and Spooky Adventures to Experience in Denton This October

    Taylor Swift Releases New Album The Life of a Showgirl : Listen and Read the Full Credits – Yahoo

    Taylor Swift Releases New Album The Life of a Showgirl : Listen and Read the Full Credits – Yahoo

    Toni Braxton Is Turning Her Biggest Hits Into Lifetime Movies – Yahoo

    Toni Braxton Is Turning Her Biggest Hits Into Lifetime Movies – Yahoo

    Major airline to offer new in-flight entertainment options for passengers – PennLive.com

    Major airline to offer new in-flight entertainment options for passengers – PennLive.com

    Penn State-Themed Restaurant and Entertainment Spot Happy Valley Live Set to Open in State College – StateCollege.com

    Penn State-Themed Restaurant and Entertainment Spot Happy Valley Live Set to Open in State College – StateCollege.com

    The Police Made Chart History With This 1979 Hit Nearly 50 Years Ago – Yahoo

    How The Police Changed Music Forever with Their Iconic 1979 Hit Nearly 50 Years Ago

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Technology Is Becoming More Important Than Humans In CX – No Jitter

    Technology Is Becoming More Important Than Humans In CX – No Jitter

    A Tech Expo Shows What China Can Make, but Not Who’ll Buy It All – The New York Times

    Inside China’s Tech Expo: Cutting-Edge Innovations Face Uncertain Demand

    Steampunk Metal Oval Technology Sense Sunglasses Personality Handmade Chain Multicolor Sunglasses UV400 – The San Joaquin Valley Sun

    Steampunk Metal Oval Sunglasses with Handmade Multicolor Chain – Bold UV400 Protection and Unique Style

    STELLA Automotive AI Appoints Fred Seidelman as Chief Technology Officer – Yahoo Finance

    STELLA Automotive AI Appoints Fred Seidelman as New Chief Technology Officer

    Saving Energy and Money with Smart Technology – Terms of Service with Clare Duffy – Podcast on CNN Podcasts – CNN

    Saving Energy and Money with Smart Technology – Terms of Service with Clare Duffy – Podcast on CNN Podcasts – CNN

    Four Strategic Signals Technology Leaders Are Tuning In To – SPONSOR CONTENT FROM ARM – Harvard Business Review

    Four Essential Strategic Signals Every Technology Leader Should Watch

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Books about the arts and some haunts for a Denton October – Denton Record-Chronicle

    Uncover Artistic Treasures and Spooky Adventures to Experience in Denton This October

    Taylor Swift Releases New Album The Life of a Showgirl : Listen and Read the Full Credits – Yahoo

    Taylor Swift Releases New Album The Life of a Showgirl : Listen and Read the Full Credits – Yahoo

    Toni Braxton Is Turning Her Biggest Hits Into Lifetime Movies – Yahoo

    Toni Braxton Is Turning Her Biggest Hits Into Lifetime Movies – Yahoo

    Major airline to offer new in-flight entertainment options for passengers – PennLive.com

    Major airline to offer new in-flight entertainment options for passengers – PennLive.com

    Penn State-Themed Restaurant and Entertainment Spot Happy Valley Live Set to Open in State College – StateCollege.com

    Penn State-Themed Restaurant and Entertainment Spot Happy Valley Live Set to Open in State College – StateCollege.com

    The Police Made Chart History With This 1979 Hit Nearly 50 Years Ago – Yahoo

    How The Police Changed Music Forever with Their Iconic 1979 Hit Nearly 50 Years Ago

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Technology Is Becoming More Important Than Humans In CX – No Jitter

    Technology Is Becoming More Important Than Humans In CX – No Jitter

    A Tech Expo Shows What China Can Make, but Not Who’ll Buy It All – The New York Times

    Inside China’s Tech Expo: Cutting-Edge Innovations Face Uncertain Demand

    Steampunk Metal Oval Technology Sense Sunglasses Personality Handmade Chain Multicolor Sunglasses UV400 – The San Joaquin Valley Sun

    Steampunk Metal Oval Sunglasses with Handmade Multicolor Chain – Bold UV400 Protection and Unique Style

    STELLA Automotive AI Appoints Fred Seidelman as Chief Technology Officer – Yahoo Finance

    STELLA Automotive AI Appoints Fred Seidelman as New Chief Technology Officer

    Saving Energy and Money with Smart Technology – Terms of Service with Clare Duffy – Podcast on CNN Podcasts – CNN

    Saving Energy and Money with Smart Technology – Terms of Service with Clare Duffy – Podcast on CNN Podcasts – CNN

    Four Strategic Signals Technology Leaders Are Tuning In To – SPONSOR CONTENT FROM ARM – Harvard Business Review

    Four Essential Strategic Signals Every Technology Leader Should Watch

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Entertainment

Jazz Chords Made Simple

July 9, 2023
in Entertainment
Jazz Chords Made Simple
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Afraid of “complex” jazz chords? Just strip them down.

{‘media’: ‘[rebelmouse-file-pdf 54527 original_filename=”JazzChords-Oct18.pdf” site_id=20368559 expand=1]’, ‘media_html’: ‘JazzChords-Oct18.pdf’, ‘id’: 54527, ‘type’: ‘pdf’, ‘file_original_url’: ‘https://roar-assets-auto.rbl.ms/files/54527/JazzChords-Oct18.pdf’}

Have you ever felt like jazz is a secret society? An exclusive club where the password to enter is to spell out a Bb7#5b9 chord? Well, in this lesson we’ll start to decode the language of jazz harmony and get you playing standards in just a few minutes … even if all you know are cowboy chords!

Reverse-Engineering Chords

One of the biggest obstacles guitarists face when starting to learn jazz standards is coming to terms with the abundance of new chord names and shapes favored by jazz musicians. One can randomly open The Real Book—the most commonly used jazz fake book, a resource you should have access to, and which I’ll frequently refer to throughout this lesson—and immediately be challenged by confusingly named chords. From the aforementioned Bb7#5b9 to those chords with the little circles in the upper right-hand corner, which sometimes have a slash through them, it can seem as if you’re reading a foreign language. These chords with longer names are variously known as “extended chords” and “altered chords.” The former means that they extend beyond both the common1–3–5 and the slightly more intricate 1–3–5–7 formulas by including the scale degrees 9, 11, or 13. The latter means they feature alterations, such as a b5, #5, b9, or #9. Thus, the first thing we need to do is reverse-engineer these chords to make sense of the names and shapes.

Let’s start by looking at a common chord pattern found in many jazz standards, including “Autumn Leaves,” “Take Five,” “Fly Me to the Moon,” and “My Favorite Things.” Each of these tunes is built around chords that move through the circle of fourths. This means that the root of each chord is separated by four scale degrees (Ex. 1).

Now, if these chord names and shapes are new to you, it’s almost pardonable to give up by measure two. Right from the outset, both Am9 and D9 are challenging chords to play. And goodness knows how many times I’ve had to remind students what an F#m7b5 is. But instead of giving up, I recommend simplifying. And for you snobs out there, if you insist on calling this “dumbing it down,” so be it. At least we’re planning on evolving!

The most efficient way to simplify is to remove the numbers from the chords, including numbers in parentheses. And voilà—you get chords so easy even beginners can play jazz (Ex. 2). I need to point out one anomaly: How did an F#m7b5 become Am? Easy. The only difference between the two chords is the F# in the bass. In fact, if we were playing folk music, we might call this chord an Am/F#. Now, in different keys, this substitution of a basic minor triad for m7b5 chord is not always so obvious, but with a little practice you should be able to figure out the alternatives: For instance if Am (A–C–E) substitutes for F#m7b5 (F#–A–C–E), then Bm (B–D–F#) can sub for G#m7b5 (G#–B–D–F#).

Color Your Chords … or at Least Barre Them!

From here you can start doing one of two things: You can either add some color, via extensions, to your chords by removing or adding a finger to these basic shapes, as shown in Ex. 3. At the risk of oversimplifying, it doesn’t make much difference if you add a 7, 9, or 13 to the chord. The other option is to play them as barre chords like Ex. 4. Either way, you’ll start to build a more refined chord vocabulary.

Rules for Simplifying
Before we move on, a few basic rules to remember for simplifying chords:

You can remove numbers from any chord. The only exception is the m7(b5) chord (see above).You cannot remove sharps or flats directly after the initial chord letter name. Bb13 can only become Bb, not B. You cannot remove minors. Gm9 can become Gm, but not G.You can remove any alterations such as b5, #5, b9, or #9.You can drop all notes after slashes. A7/G can become A7 or A.

When in Doubt, Transpose

Another problem with jazz is that, for a beginner, it can be difficult to identify an easy chord progression, like Ex. 1, from a more complex one, simply because of the key it is written in. For example, a song like Charlie Parker’s “Donna Lee” in what I call an unfriendly guitar key, such as Eb or Ab, might at first glance seem convoluted because of all the flat chords (Ex. 5). But if you were to transpose that song into a friendly guitar key, such as D or G, the progression would become much more transparent (Ex. 6).

Modulation

There is one more issue we need to address: jazz songs that modulate, or shift, through several different keys. This occurs in such tunes as “How High the Moon,” “Cherokee,” and “Giant Steps,” and makes the simplification process problematic because we lose many of our open-string chords and therefore have to rely more on barre chords. But I have to be frank with you here, if you’ve gotten this far into jazz, playing more urbane songs, such as those I just mentioned, you’re probably best off learning the chords The Real Book uses. The simplification processes used in this lesson will work for these more complex songs, but eventually you will want to learn the names and shapes of more sophisticated chords. Thankfully, you can ease into those as well. I suggest first working out of the barre chords shapes, where you can make maj7, m7, and dom7 chords relatively easily by lifting off, or moving around, one or two fingers.

In Ex. 7, we have basic barre chords transforming into jazzier 7th chords—in the guitar-friendly key of C. Ex. 8 demonstrates the same process in the key of Eb, which is already becoming friendlier. Once you’re familiar with these chord names and shapes, the possibilities for alternatives become practically endless (though not always practical).

Oversimplified?

Even though I believe I’ve made this process relatively simple, it will probably take intermediate players a few passes to make these changes with ease. And you’ll want to make these changes on paper, as well as in your head. So don’t hesitate to write out your simplified progressions. Not only will this make the whole process easier, it will reinforce the material.

One last—and vital—piece of advice: Learn to sing some jazz standards. There are many great versions of jazz standards performed in non-jazz idioms: “Summer Time” by the Zombies, “Autumn Leaves” by Eva Cassidy, and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” by Hank Williams Jr. are excellent examples of simplified versions of the originals. Another benefit to singing is that many of the melodies to jazz tunes that seem obtuse when played instrumentally become stunningly lucid when they’re attached to the words their composers originally intended. Heck, when you hear Ella Fitzgerald sing it, even “All the Things You Are” isn’t so odd.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : PremierGuitar – https://www.premierguitar.com/lessons/jazz/jazz-chords-made-simple

Tags: ChordsentertainmentSimple
Previous Post

Nationally Acclaimed Singer-Songwriter And Author Kelly Lang’s New Single “I Think It’s Jesus” Is Available Now

Next Post

Corook: “My dad used to say, ‘If you practiced guitar as much as you practice Guitar Hero, you’d be pretty good.’ I was like, ‘Fine, I’ll do that then!’”

Ageing and health – World Health Organization (WHO)

Ageing and health – World Health Organization (WHO)

October 3, 2025
CFOs confident in their own companies but not in the economy – CFO.com

CFOs Reveal Unshakable Confidence in Their Companies Amid Economic Uncertainty

October 3, 2025
Books about the arts and some haunts for a Denton October – Denton Record-Chronicle

Uncover Artistic Treasures and Spooky Adventures to Experience in Denton This October

October 3, 2025
WFSD Announces Northwell Mental Health Partnership – William Floyd School District

WFSD Announces Northwell Mental Health Partnership – William Floyd School District

October 3, 2025
The current state of shutdown politics – CNN

Inside the High-Stakes Battle Over Government Shutdowns

October 3, 2025
Bhagwat rings ‘warning bell’ on Himalayas, ecology threats – Times of India

Bhagwat rings ‘warning bell’ on Himalayas, ecology threats – Times of India

October 3, 2025
117-Year-Old Woman’s Diet Could Help Us All Live Longer – ScienceAlert

117-Year-Old Woman’s Diet Could Help Us All Live Longer – ScienceAlert

October 3, 2025
The Best Time to Eat Breakfast, Backed by Science—and Why It Matters More Than You Think – Real Simple

The Ideal Time to Eat Breakfast: Surprising Science-Backed Reasons Why It Matters

October 3, 2025
Lifestyle and stress erode heart health advantage in long-term US immigrants – News-Medical

Lifestyle and stress erode heart health advantage in long-term US immigrants – News-Medical

October 3, 2025
Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions Deploys RIO Security Solutions – TipRanks

Artificial Intelligence Technology Solutions Unveils Game-Changing RIO Security Innovations

October 3, 2025

Categories

Archives

October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (849)
  • Economy (870)
  • Entertainment (21,744)
  • General (17,391)
  • Health (9,913)
  • Lifestyle (882)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (871)
  • Politics (881)
  • Science (16,080)
  • Sports (21,370)
  • Technology (15,852)
  • World (853)

Recent News

Ageing and health – World Health Organization (WHO)

Ageing and health – World Health Organization (WHO)

October 3, 2025
CFOs confident in their own companies but not in the economy – CFO.com

CFOs Reveal Unshakable Confidence in Their Companies Amid Economic Uncertainty

October 3, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version