Passing chords are very important if you want to add interesting chords in between chords on your lead sheet. You can learn more about mastering slides in the 10-Lesson Blues Challenge ( Level 2 & Level 3). One of the easiest things to add to your arrangement is slides, and these create a blues or gospel sound, depending on the slide you use.Ī slide is like a grace note – you play the note below or above your target not very briefly.įor example, here is a common blues slide that is added to a melody note E: Blues chromatic slideįor this arrangement, you can use both diatonic slides (gospel slides) or chromatic slides (blues slides). For a deep dive on this concept checkout the Coloring Dominant Chords With Upper Structures course.
Simple christmas jazz piano how to#
On dominant 7 chords, it is very common to add beautiful chord colors called the b9, #9, #11, and b13.įor example, here are some common chord alterations added to a C7 chord: C7b9, C7#9, and C7b13#9 chords, jazz piano chord alterations (altered chords)Īlmost any combination of these notes work very well, but it is important to understand how to combine these to make especially beautiful chord voicings.
Dominant 7 Chords: Add the 9, 13, b9, #9, #11, and b13įor a deep dive on how to use chord extensions on jazz ballads, checkout the course 6 Jazz Ballad Harmonic Approaches ( Level 2 & Level 3) Arranging Technique #2: Chord Alterations. Here is a guideline that I use with students: Now, when adding chord extensions to an arrangement, you need to know which extensions to add to which chords. The 9 is the B, the 11, is the D, and the 13 is the F#.įor example, here are your chord extensions on a C Major 7 chord: Chord extensions on a C Major 7 For example, in an A7 chord, you can find your extensions by playing the A major scale. They are simple to find -simply take your major scale for given chord, and find the 2nd, 4th, and 6th note. Arranging Technique #1: Chord ExtensionsĬhord extensions are the 9, 11, and 13 of a chord. What next?Īt this point, I recommend going through all of your chords and adding chord extensions. Step 2: Add the 8 Jazz Ballad Piano Arranging Techniques Once you’ve got the 7th chords down, it’s time to apply the 8 Jazz Ballad Piano arranging techniques. I also encourage you to practice the left hand chords with the backing track, which can be downloaded on this page after you log into your membership. If you don’t know all your 7th chords, you can learn all major 7, minor 7, and dominant 7 chords, how to use them in songs, and dozens of exercises in our Jazz Foundations Learning Track here. This is one of the biggest mistakes I see students make – they try adding all kinds of chord colors and fills to their arrangement, yet they don’t really know the basic chords in the song!ĭon’t make this mistake! Take the time to master the 7th chords in a song chords. Make sure you can play the chords in root position in the left hand before adding anything. However, most lead sheets will be very similar to the above chords. Here is how you would play these chords in root position: Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas jazz piano song chordsĭepending on the lead sheet, you might find this song in a different key, or you might find slightly modified chords from the above. If you look up a lead sheet for Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, you will most likely find one that contains these four chords: A lead sheet usually does not include the left hand bass clef or any right hand harmony notes – as a jazz pianist, you are expected to add that. Oftentimes, the lead sheet contains lyrics, but this is not necessary. The first step to playing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas in a beautiful jazz ballad style, and furthermore, any song in a jazz ballad style, is to start with a lead sheet.Ī lead sheet is sheet music that contains the most basic elements of a song: the melody and chords. Do you love the song Have Yourself the Merry Little Christmas? Today, I’m going to teach you how to play the lead sheet for Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas in a beautiful jazz ballad piano style, or Cocktail Jazz piano style.
0 kommentar(er)
