In 1938 Frank Loesser and Hoagy Carmichael wrote Heart and Soul. Many of my students have learned this song from me or from one of their own family members. I am sure you can easily play the song. For Valentine's Day I wanted to put a different spin on it. I've learned many tips from Robert Pace. I thought I would share a different approach with you for this song. (Jazz style)
Try the left hand chords a few times until they are easy to find, then play these variations on the famous "Heart and Soul" tune.
It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) Words & Music by Duke Ellington, 1932
Recorded by Ella Fitzgerald, 1966
I absolutely love music from the swing era. You might be interested in an article by Lee Evans that I shared with readers on my other blog. I've been asked to do a tutorial on this song and even though I've slowed the speed down in my video, I'll post another video showing all these fancy chords at a later date. For now, here are the chord progressions to this lively song.
You'll find an easy version to the song here. I've posted the chord chart below.
Em D C C7 B7
What good is melody, what good is mu - sic
Em D C C7 B7
If it ain't possessin' something sweet?
Em D C C7 B7
It ain't the melody, it ain't the mu - sic --
Em D C C7 B7
There's something else that makes the tune complete.
Em B+ Em7 Em6
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing --
A7 D7 G6 C7 B7
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat.
Em B+ Em7 Em6
It don't mean a thing, all you got to do is sing --
A7 D7 G6
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat.
Dm7 G7 CM7/6 CM7
It makes no diff'rence if that rhythm's sweet or hot,
Em7 A7 D7 C7 B7
Just give that rhythm ev'rything you got.
Em B+ Cdim Em7 Cdim Em6
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing --
A7 D7 G6 Gdim
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat,
A7 Cdim G6
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-waaaa.
+++++++++++++++++
Now, in the Hal Leonard Jazz Book that I recommended yesterday,
here are the piano chords.
Gm Gm/F Eb7 D7 Gm Gm/F Em7b5 Eb7
What good is melody, what good is mu - sic
Gm Gm/F Em7b5 Eb7 D7#5 Gm
If it ain't possessin' something sweet?
Gm/F Eb7 D7 Gm Gm/F Em7b5 Eb7
It ain't the melody, it ain't the mu - sic --
Gm Gm/F Em7b5 Eb7 A7/E Eb7 D7
There's something else that makes the tune complete.
Gm Gm/F Eb7 D7 Gm
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing --
C7/G Gb7b5 Cm7/F Bb6
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat.
D7#5 Gm Gm/F Em7b5 Eb7 D7#5 Db7 C7
It don't mean a thing, all you got to do is sing --
C7/G Gb7b5 Cm7/F Bb6
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat.
F#dim7 Bb7 Eb
It makes no diff'rence if that rhythm's sweet or hot,
F#dim7 C7 F#dim7 C7 F7 G7
Just give that rhythm ev'rything you got.
D7#5 Gm Gm/F Eb7 D7 Gm
It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing --
C7/G Gb7b5 Cm7/F6 Bb6 D7#5
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat,
C7/G Gb7b5 Bb6
Doo-wat doo-wat, doo-wat doo-wat, doo-waaaa.
If you love jazz and have always wanted to learn this style of playing,
Here is a list of some of the songs with their key signatures:
1. All Of Me - C
2. All The Things You Are - G
3. April In Paris - C
4. Autumn In New York - F
5. Bewitched from Pal Joey - C
6. Bluesette - G
7. Body And Soul - Db
8. But Beautiful - G
9. Caravan - Ab
10. Call Me Irresponsible - F
11. Dancing On The Ceiling from Simple Simon- F
12. Day By Day - G
13. Do Nothin' Till You Hear From Me - G
14. Falling In Love With Love from The Boys From Syracuse - Bb
15. Don't Get Around Much Anymore - C
16. A Fine Romance from Swing Time - C
17. Georgia On My Mind - F
18. God Bless' The Child from Lady Sings The Blues - Ab
19. Have You Met Miss Jones? from I'd Rather Be Right - F
20. Hello, Young Lovers from The King And I - C
21. Here's That Rainy Day - G
22. I Get Along Without You very Well (Except Sometimes) - Bb
23. I Can't Get Started With You from Ziegfeld Follies - C
24. I Could Write A Book from Pal Joey - C
25. I Didn't Know What Time It Was from Too Many Girls - G
26. I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good - G
27. I Hear Music from Dancing On A Dime - F
28. I'll Never Smile Again - Eb
29. I'm Beginning To See The Light - G
30. I'll Remember April - G
31. I've Got You Under My Skin from Born To Dance - Eb
32. In A Sentimental Mood - F
33. If I Should Lose You from Rose Of The Rancho - C
34. Imagination - Eb
35. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning - C
36. Isn't It Romantic? from Love Me Tonight - Eb
37. It Could Happen To You from And The Angels Sing - Ab
38. It Don't Mean A Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) from Sophisticated Ladies - Bb
39. It Might As Well Be Spring from State Fair - G
40. June In January from Here Is My Heart - Eb
41. Lover from Love Me Tonight - D
42. Like Someone In Love - C
43. Love Is The Sweetest Thing - D
44. Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) - F
45. Misty - Eb
46. Mona Lisa from Captain Carey, U.S.A. -
The compilation of songs in this book are for intermediate players. There are so many songs that I do know and a few that I'm not familiar with. If you read sheet music, then this is the book for you. You will learn lots of jazz chords with their cool sounds.
About the Author
Founded in 1947, Hal Leonard Corporation has become the worlds largest
print music publisher, representing some of the greatest songwriters
and artists of all time. We are proud to publish titles of interest to
all musicians as well as music lovers, from songbooks and instructional
titles to artist biographies and instrument price guides to books about
the music industry and all the performing arts.
Now, HearandPlay is having a sale on the 300 page course book, 'The Secrets to Playing Piano By Ear,' for $25 off and free shipping. Not only that, but they're throwing in one of their seven Musician
Breakthrough 2-hour programs (worth $49.00) at no extra cost.
Easy-to-understand information that will show you...
* How to improvise while playing your favorite songs
* How to play several hymns in all 12 major keys!
* The relationship between chords and scales
* The basic principles of sight reading (bonus material )
* How to recognize various chords in several chord
progressions
* How to alter and invert chords to make them sound full
* Several Progressions such as '2-5-1' and the '1-4
turn-around' (you'll see these chord changes everywhere!)
* How to substitute common progressions in the place of
'dull' chords
* How to recognize erroneous chords in a progression
* The difference between: triads, seventh, ninth, eleventh,
and thirteenth chords
* Several chord patterns which can be used in most Gospel,
Blues & Contemporary Jazz Music (they all share the same
chords ... believe me!)
* How to find the key center of any song or progression (in
other words, what key a song or progression is being played
in).
... and these are just a few of the concepts and principles
you'll discover in the course -- not to mention over 6 bonuses
I have fond memories of the rhythm and blues vocals of the Queen of Jazz. I will miss the sounds of Etta James, also known as "Miss Peaches." Perhaps she warmed your heart also. I am interested in your thoughts. Here's a little bit about Etta James from Wikipedia:
"Etta James (born Jamesetta Hawkins; January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012) was an American singer whose style spanned a variety of music genres including blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, gospel and jazz. Starting her career in the mid 1950s, she gained fame with hits such as "Dance With Me, Henry", "At Last", "Tell Mama", and "I'd Rather Go Blind" for which she claimed she wrote the lyrics. She faced a number of personal problems, including drug addiction, before making a musical resurgence in the late 1980s with the album The Seven Year Itch.
James is regarded as having bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and is the winner of six Grammys and 17 Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008.Rolling Stone
ranked James number 22 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All
Time and number 62 on the list of the 100 Greatest Artists."
Music Chords to At Last
(A7) DBmEm7A9Em7DBm7Em7
At last my love has come along,
A7+5A7DBm7Em7
My lonely days are over
GdimA7DBmGdimA9
And life is like a song.
A7DBmEm7A9Em7DBm7Em7
At last the skies above are blue;
A7+5A7DBm7Em7
My heart was wrapped in clover
GdimA7DGmGdimD
The night I looked at you.
Bridge:
A7D7G+7 GdimDm7D6
I found a dream that I can speak to,
C+ Bm6FdimF#m
A dream that I can call my own,
Bm6Dm6E7Am7A6
I found a thrill to press my cheek to,
DBm7CdimAEm7 (A7)
A thrill I've never known.
(A7) DBmEm7A9Em7DBm7Em7
You smiled and then the spell was cast,
A7+5A7DBm7Em7
And here we are in heaven,
First Time:
GdimA7DBmEmGdim (A7)
For you are mine at last.
Last Time:
GdimA7D6GmGdimD6
For you are mine at last.
I like to play this song in the Key of G. Here is the chord chart. You can print the sheet music at chords and midi
(D7) G Em7 Am7Eb7D7 G Em7Am7
At last my love has come along,
D9/F#GEm7 Am7
My lonely days are over
Eb7D7 G E7 Eb7Eb7/Bb D7 D7/A
And life is like a song.
G Em7Am7Eb7D7 G Em7 Am7
At last the skies above are blue;
D9/F#G Em Am7
My heart was wrapped in clover
D9/F# G7 C7 G7Fdim7 Am7
The night I looked at you.
Bridge:
[ Tab from: http://www.guitartabs.cc/tabs/e/etta_james/at_last_crd.html ]DGmaj7 G6
I found a dream that I can speak to,
F#7 G7 F#7 Bm7
A dream that I can call my own,
D/A Em7A7 D F#dim7
I found a thrill to press my cheek to,
Em7 A7 Am7 (D7/F#)
A thrill I've never known.
G EmAm7Eb7D7 GEm7 Am7
You smiled and then the spell was cast,
D9/F# GD Em Eb7
And here we are in heaven,
First Time:
Eb7/Bb D7 D7/A G Em7 (Am7)
For you are mine at last.
Last Time:
Eb7 D7 G Em Am7 Eb7 D7 G9
For you are mine at last.
Maybe I will post a video and write down the chords I'm playing. It has a very cool rhythm with 12 beats to the measure and an eighth note getting one count.
When you search for free midis online, be sure and invest in this cool music software that will help you play songs: Song Robot Software
Al the best,
"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King
"Swing arrangements mainly consisted of composed sections, but with
certain sections designated for improvisation. A bebop tune, however,,
would simply consist of a statement of the head,
or main theme, extended solos over the head’s harmonic structure, and
then one final statement of the head. It was common for bebop musicians
to compose new, complex melodies over well-known chord progressions. One
example of this is Charlie Parker’s “Ornithology,” which is based on
the changes from “How High the Moon,” a popular show tune in the 1940s.
"
Here's an overview of a very cool article (focusing on solo development) written by Dr. Stylani Tartsinis. I have learned a lot from it and I think you will, too.
To understand the Bebop approach in music, we have to
take a look at chromatics. If you're not familiar with Bebop, listen to these Bebop mp3s
Bebop patterns are like embellishments to the bare melodic
structure. Remember that in jazz, the scale degrees are referred to as numbers
rather thanletters.
Here’s a diatonic exercise
to practice, approaching the target tone by a whole step above and below. When
the target tone is approached by a whole step above, it forms a 9th;
if approached from below, it forms a flat 7 in the chord.
Extra tones: Dominant 7th
(natural 7), Major (#5), Minor (natural 3) and Half-dim (natural 5). Begin the
scale on the odd numbers. If the scale is begun on the even beats (2, 4 or 6),
the student will have to insert a half-step to prevent these added tones from
falling on downbeats.
Example #3 Major
C D E F G G# A B C
1 2 3 4 5
#5 6 7
Example #4 Minor
C D Eb E F G A B C
1 2 b3 4 5 6
7
Example #5 Dominant 7th Scale
C D E F G A Bb B C
1 2 3
4 5 6 b7 7
Example #6 Half Dim Bebop
C Db Eb F Gb G Ab
Bb C
1b 2b 3 4b 5n 5b 6
b7
Chromatic Approach Tones
Here are some examples of
approaching the target note C (tonic or1). The approach tones are proceeded
with a half-step (above or below), but at times, could be approached by a whole
step. It is this chromatic sound that defines the bebop style. It is also
important to keep in mind that these exercises are strictly for developing the
bebop sound. You should further practice these bebop examples to extend these
patterns with combinations of other chord tones an scales.
Single Note Approach
C# to C Half-step above
B to C Half-step below
Note: The above and below
examples note #1 (C#) as b9 (Db). Note that the #1 (C#) is the enharmonic or
the same tone to b9 (Db). B9 is preferred because of its frequent use as an
extension.
A7Dm7Dm7G7
Somewhere there's music, how faint the tune.
Cm7Cm7F7
Somewhere there's heaven, how high the moon?
Bb+7 Em-5 A7Am7Em7-5
There is no moon above when love is far away, too.
A7D9Em7A7Fm7F7Em7
Till it comes true, that you love me, as I love you.
#2.
Em7A7Dm7Dm7G7
Somewhere there's music, how near, how far?
Cm7Cm7F7
Somewhere there's heaven, it's where you are.
BbEm7-5 A7Dm7
The darkest night would shine if you would come to me soon.
A7-9Fm7F7EmEm7A7-9 D6
Until you will, how still my heart, how high the moon???
You'll stay on beat with your solo development if you use the Song Robot Software
All the best,
"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King
You can develop your skills in learning how to play piano without having to use a bass line. This is true, especially if you're playing the keys with a bass player in the band. You certainly do not want a battle going on between the keyboard bass line and the electric bass line.
Have you ever heard a musician use the term "Pocket"? A good "pocket" is achieved when the rhythm is playing together and establishing a groove that is soothing. Each musician is functioning in their roll in a tasteful non-abrasive manner and not competing and playing over each other.
So how do you develop this skill? You have to gain an understanding of left hand chord voicings. These are chords played in the left hand that are rootless. The term "rootless" means that there is no bass note in the chord. Playing this type of chord voicing will allow the bass player to play the bass notes and free the keyboard player to improvise or create more intricate harmony with the right hand.
Contemporary musicians usually play these chords using sevenths, ninths, elevenths, and thirteenth chords. All the chords for the right hand can be played with the left hand. Here is a diatonic chord exercise. For example, in the key of C major there at eight diatonics derived from the C major scale.
C maj7= C/B E G
D min7= D/C F A
E min7= E/D G B
F maj7= F/E A C
G add2= G/G A B D
A min7= A/G C E
G/B= B/G B D
C= C/G C E
Notice that each chord is spelled out with the root. When you practice these chords only play the right hand portion. For example when you play the Cmaj7, only play B E and G. The C is played by the bass player. These chords will also serve as substitutions for your major and minor triads. If you normally play a Dm chord, play a Dm7. The 2-5-1's in both major and minor keys should also be practiced in the left hand.
Jazz piano chords played as rootless chord voicings give that open, airy sound that I love. For further study of rootless voicings visit http://www.jazzcenter.org
One of my all time romantic songs is the Love theme from THE SANDPIPER. From the movie, The Shadow of Your Smile is sung by Barbra Streisand & Johnny Mathis. You'll hear Dave Koz on his sax. They received Grammy award Song of the year 1965. Here is
Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton romantic drama "The Sandpiper" (1965), filmed in Big Sur, California. Listen to the sandpiper soundtrack of this passionate, award winning song!
* The song Shadow of Your Smile
Words & Music by Johnny Mandel & Paul F. Webster
Recorded by Tony Bennett, 1965
Featured in the movie "The Sandpiper"
* The Shadow of Your Smile Lyrics
The shadow of your smile
When you are gone
Will color all my dreams
And light the dawn
Look into my eyes
My love...and see
All the lovely things
You are to me
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com
Our wistful little star
Was far to high
A tear drop kissed your lips
And so did I
Now when I remember spring
All the joy that love can bring
I will be remembering
The shadow of your smile
* Instrumental versions of The Shadow of Your Smile
Learn to read music, learn basic 7th chords(5 for each key) in every key, this can be done out of most basic jazz theory books. Start by playing melody and bass note alone, then go to melody/RH and bass note-7th/LH. Memorize melody completely so you can play it with eyes closed. then add 3rd of chord in left or experiment with adding chord tones to RH melody. If you follow this, by that time your ear should take over and teach you to play the tune. Listen to great performances as well.
THE SHADOW of YOUR SMILE bossa nova by freddym223
I love hearing these jazz sounds to a very mellow song
single note improvisation with backup
here are the chords.key of G.
/F#m7/B7/Em7/A7/Am7/D7/GMa7/CMa7/F#m7/B7 /
Em7/Em7/C#m7b5/F#7/F#m7/B7/F#m7/B7/Em7/
/A7/Am7/D7/Bm7/E7/Am7/Cm7/Bm7/E7/A7/D7/
/GMa7/B7/
Free music and chords to The Shadow of Your Smile
http://www.curtsheller.com/scores/gtr/ShadowOfYourSmile.shtml
Curt Sheller is the author of over 30 books on guitar, ukulele and music. A jazz guitarist and educator with over 40 years playing experience and 20 years teaching. Curt's JazzGuitarResources.com and UkuleleResources.com web sites are considered the top resource for jazz guitarists and ukulele players. Get a FREE subscription to Curt's newsletter.
Curt Sheller is available for clinics, workshops and concerts. Visit CurtSheller.com for details.
* The Shadow of Your Smile Chords The Shadow Of Your Smile. Words & Music by Johnny Mandel & Paul F. Webster ... Em F#m7 B7 Em A9 The shadow of your smile when you are gone, Em Am7 D7 G
http://www.theguitarguy.com/shadowof.htm
Em F#m7 B7 Em A9
The shadow of your smile when you are gone,
Em Am7 D7 G
Will color all my dreams and light the dawn.
CM7 F#m7 B7 Em B+ Em7
Look into my eyes, my love, and see
Em6 F#7 C7 F#m7 B7
All the lovely things you are to me.
(N.C.) F#m7 B7 Em B+ Em7
Our wistful little star went far too high;
Em6 Am7 D7 Bm7-5 E7
A teardrop kissed your lips, and so did I.
Am7 Cm7
Now when I remember spring,
F7 Bm7-5 E7
All the joy that love can bring,
A7 Am7 D9 D7/9 D7 G Cdim B7
I will be remembering the shadow of your smile.
(Instrumental interlude: 1st verse)
(N.C.) F#m7 B7 Em B+ Em7
Our wistful little star went far too high;
Em6 Am7 D7 Bm7-5 E7
A teardrop kissed your lips, and so did I.
Am7 Cm7
Now when I remember spring,
F7 Bm7-5 E7
All the joy that love can bring,
A7 Am7
I will be remembering
D9 D7/9 G Gdim Am7 Cm7 G
The shadow of your smile.
* The Shadow of Your Smile midi
http://www.songtrellis.com/sounds/viewer$453
* Chord Chart from my friend MrAndrew in the zone at HearandPlay
The Shadow of Your Smile
Arr. By Mrandrew
B,E,Gb,G,B-the shadow of your
Gb/ADbEGb-smile
Gb,-when
B/AEbGb-you
C-are
E/GBDGb-gone
B,E,Gb,G,B-will color all my
A/CEG-dreams
A-and
D/ADGb-light
E-the
G/BDGbB-dawn
C,B,A,G-look into my
Gb/ADbEGb-eyes
C-my
B/AEbGb-love
A-and
E/BDG-see
B,A,G,-all the lovely
Db/BDbEG-things
B-you
Gb/BbDbEGb-are
B/ ADbEGb-to
B /AEbGb-me
Jazz piano chords can sometimes be confusing at first glance. In this article, I am going to explain how jazz players usually interpret chords and pick tensions to create lush chords. Bear in mind, every musician has their own "tricks" that they use to form their chords. However, there are some basic harmonic concepts that you need to understand and I'll cover some of them in this article.
If you are looking for an instructional course on creating full chords at the piano, I'd suggest the JazzPianoLessons.com Piano Chords bundle. This three-DVD set covers both basic seventh chords along with advanced quartal voicings, tensions, alterations, upper-structure triads, rootless voicings and more.
Let's begin with a basic seventh chord for D-7. Example A is what a typical voicing of a D-7 chord might look like.
Example A
O.K., that's pretty simple, right? Now take a look at example B. Does this still look like a D-7 to you?
Example B
Labeling Chords
You might look at this chord and think F Maj7 or D-9. We can rule out F Maj7 because the root is a D. However, why didn't I label this chord D-9?
I did not label the chord as D-9 because it is common for jazz players to automatically add tensions to the chords that they are playing. Jazz players know which available tensions each chord can utilize. Personally, I'd rather see a chord written as D-7 than D-9 or D-9 (add 11). I think that many (not all) pianists would agree with me because as jazz players, we are accustomed to working from a "shell".
Basically, when I see D-7, I already know that the 9th and 11th are probably available to me. When looking at a lead sheet, especially in a low-light gig situation, I want the lead sheet to be as un-cluttered as possible.
The "Right" Tensions
You might be wondering, which tensions are the "right" tensions for a particular chord? Well, let's go through the three basic chords: Major, minor and Dominant 7th chords.
Major 7th available tensions are: 9, #11 or 6 (usually replaces the 7th) Minor 7th available tensions: 9 and 11. 6 would replace the 7th. Dominant 7th available tensions: b9, 9, #9, #11, b13 and 13.
Chord Type Available Tensions Major: 9, # 11 or 6 (usually replaces the 7th) Minor: 9 and 11. 6 would replace the 7th Dominant: b9, 9, # 9, #11, b13 and 13
So, looking back at the D-7 chord in example B, you'll notice that I am adding the 9th to the chord. This is just one of many different voicings that I cover in the Piano Chords bundle.
Dominant 7th Tensions
I want to draw your attention to the Dominant 7th available tensions. Once again, they are b9, 9, #9, #11, b13 and 13. Let's go through the notes for a C7 chord.
C7 chord tones are: C-E-G-Bb
Available tensions are: Db-D-D#-F#-Ab-A
You'll notice that the only two notes left that are not represented are F and B. F would be a sus4 and B would change the C7 to a C Maj7 chord.
I like to bring this up because remember, when you improvise, you can use any chord tones or available tensions in your solo. So, on a Dominant 7th chord, there are really only two notes that you would try to avoid. This also means that when you play a Dominant 7th chord, you can add almost any note as a tension. Well, let me put it this way, you have a 10 out of 12 chance of hitting the "right" note!
The Million Dollar Question, "Why 13 and not 6?"
I have been asked this question for years! It is a difficult question to answer because it is like asking why does 2+2=4? However, I do have my explanation. Let's take the C7 chord as an example again.
The chord tones (notes that are found in the chord and not tensions) are C-E-G-Bb for a C7 chord. The C is the root, E is the third, G is the fifth and Bb is the flatted 7th.
It is perfectly reasonable to think of D, F# and A as two, sharp four and six. However, we would call D the ninth, F# sharp eleven and A the thirteenth. You might be asking, "Why?" Since chords are predominantly formed by "stacking" thirds, we would consider the D-F# and A as being "upper structures" of the chord.
Jazz piano chords can sometimes be confusing at first glance. In this article, I am going to explain how jazz players usually interpret chords and pick tensions to create lush chords. Bear in mind, every musician has their own "tricks" that they use to form their chords. However, there are some basic harmonic concepts that you need to understand and I'll cover some of them in this article.
If you are looking for an instructional course on creating full chords at the piano, I'd suggest the JazzPianoLessons.com Piano Chords bundle. This three-DVD set covers both basic seventh chords along with advanced quartal voicings, tensions, alterations, upper-structure triads, rootless voicings and more.
Let's begin with a basic seventh chord for D-7. Example A is what a typical voicing of a D-7 chord might look like.
Example A
O.K., that's pretty simple, right? Now take a look at example B. Does this still look like a D-7 to you?
Example B
Labeling Chords
You might look at this chord and think F Maj7 or D-9. We can rule out F Maj7 because the root is a D. However, why didn't I label this chord D-9?
I did not label the chord as D-9 because it is common for jazz players to automatically add tensions to the chords that they are playing. Jazz players know which available tensions each chord can utilize. Personally, I'd rather see a chord written as D-7 than D-9 or D-9 (add 11). I think that many (not all) pianists would agree with me because as jazz players, we are accustomed to working from a "shell".
Basically, when I see D-7, I already know that the 9th and 11th are probably available to me. When looking at a lead sheet, especially in a low-light gig situation, I want the lead sheet to be as un-cluttered as possible.
The "Right" Tensions
You might be wondering, which tensions are the "right" tensions for a particular chord? Well, let's go through the three basic chords: Major, minor and Dominant 7th chords.
Major 7th available tensions are: 9, #11 or 6 (usually replaces the 7th) Minor 7th available tensions: 9 and 11. 6 would replace the 7th. Dominant 7th available tensions: b9, 9, #9, #11, b13 and 13.
Chord Type Available Tensions Major: 9, # 11 or 6 (usually replaces the 7th) Minor: 9 and 11. 6 would replace the 7th Dominant: b9, 9, # 9, #11, b13 and 13
So, looking back at the D-7 chord in example B, you'll notice that I am adding the 9th to the chord. This is just one of many different voicings that I cover in the Piano Chords bundle.
Dominant 7th Tensions
I want to draw your attention to the Dominant 7th available tensions. Once again, they are b9, 9, #9, #11, b13 and 13. Let's go through the notes for a C7 chord.
C7 chord tones are: C-E-G-Bb
Available tensions are: Db-D-D#-F#-Ab-A
You'll notice that the only two notes left that are not represented are F and B. F would be a sus4 and B would change the C7 to a C Maj7 chord.
I like to bring this up because remember, when you improvise, you can use any chord tones or available tensions in your solo. So, on a Dominant 7th chord, there are really only two notes that you would try to avoid. This also means that when you play a Dominant 7th chord, you can add almost any note as a tension. Well, let me put it this way, you have a 10 out of 12 chance of hitting the "right" note!
The Million Dollar Question, "Why 13 and not 6?"
I have been asked this question for years! It is a difficult question to answer because it is like asking why does 2+2=4? However, I do have my explanation. Let's take the C7 chord as an example again.
The chord tones (notes that are found in the chord and not tensions) are C-E-G-Bb for a C7 chord. The C is the root, E is the third, G is the fifth and Bb is the flatted 7th.
It is perfectly reasonable to think of D, F# and A as two, sharp four and six. However, we would call D the ninth, F# sharp eleven and A the thirteenth. You might be asking, "Why?" Since chords are predominantly formed by "stacking" thirds, we would consider the D-F# and A as being "upper structures" of the chord.
I have found a fabulous resource called Cutting The Changes: Jazz Improvisation via Key Centers by Antonio J. Garcia. It is perfect for the beginner to intermediate player on improvising. The Concepts are simple with detailed explanations. This book is an invaluable tool for singers and all beginning improvisors.
Here's what you'll get in this educational resource:
* A jazz study on major scale development.
* A book with sheet music for improvisors struggling with
standard tunes. (The Shadow of Your Smile, It Ain't
Necessarily So, I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face)
* A Play-Along CD with superb rhythm section
accompaniment.
* a CD-ROM packed with theory instruction, listening
examples, a discography for musicians who want to learn
more, and printable accompaniment scores and parts for
optional live rhythm section.
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?item=16660973&cart=34262262471819332&cm_re=289.1.4-_-Results+Item-_-Title/"
Oh, so now you see five choices, oh my! Well ,here's the deal on why I recommend the C Edition. The C edition means that it is for non-transposing C instruments like the piano, guitar, bass, etc..
This fabulous book cuts the chord symbols out of soloing! You improvise over standard tunes using Major Scales! No Dorian, Mixolydian Scales are required. This method is ideal for classroom, private or self instruction, as well as music education. Get your copy today!
I love teaching beginners, young children, and adults. I offer piano lessons for ages 3-103 and all levels from primer to advanced. We have a blast with piano games, playing duets, learning songs and theory.
I offer private and group lessons. I am a WunderKeys piano teacher for preschoolers, 3-years-old to Kindergarten. We have 2 recitals, Fall and Spring.
Thank You!
I've Been Mentioned!
Billie
“If I’m going to sing like someone else, then I don’t need to sing at all.” – Billie Holiday
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