Hey friends ….. I have a new skill share course that I have just released. It’s all about chords and is part one … part two coming later next week.
You can try out skill share for free for a month and try my course out or others.
If you sign up using this link you will get a month free and I get $10. So it’s a great way to help me keep doing what I’m doing for you guys.
The skill share course is all about jazz piano chords and this is just part one which includes 15 lessons.
The course also is accompanied with a workbook, which you can download below.
There are 7 voicings that I believe every jazz pianist should know. Of course there are many more, and many wonderful voicings like drop 2 and quartals, but I think these 7 voicings are the most basic and useful jazz chords there are to know.
The voicings are AXIS OF 3rd and 7th, Open and Closed Voicing, A and B voicing and a special 3 note voicing towards the end of the video.
Axis of a 3rd and 7th Voicings
These two voicings are wonderful two handed voicings with a simple 5th in the Left hand and the 3rd and 7th in the right.
The Axis of a 3rd is Left Hand 1 and 5 and Right Hand 7 and 3.
The Axis of a 7th is Left Hand 1 and 5 and Right Hand 3 and 7.
They swap beautifully between the two when doing 2 5 1’s or going around the cycle of 4ths. More info
Open and Closed Voicings
These two voicings are also two handed. One has a very open sound and the other closed.
The Open Voicing is Left Hand 1 and 7 and Right Hand 3 and 5 (or 13).
The Closed Voicing is Left 1 and 3 and Right Hand 7 and 9.
They also swap well between the two. More info
A and B voicings
A and B Voicings are one handed. You could play in the right hand and play a bass note or use in the left hand when soloing for example.
Even though they do not have the 1 (root note) they still have everything the listener needs to ‘hear’ the changes.
The A voicing is 3 5(or 13) 7 9 and the B voicing is 7 9 3 and 5 (13). Here’s some more info.
Special 3 note voicing
In the tutorial I talk about a 3 note voicing that I use all the time. In reality it’s multiple voicings that use the one concept.
The concept is to use make sure you have 3 and 7 in the voicing, which are the guide tones and then add some colour (flavour). For example 3 7 and 9 to make it a bit tastier. Or 7 3 and 13 or 3 7 and #9. The options are many.
Using the guide tones you can create awesome sounding 3 note chords
Transcribing is listening to a recording or live performance and working it out (usually writing it down).
It is such a vital skill for the jazz musician. There have been many gigs that I’ve played where there has been no charts and I have not known the songs and I was expected to play along. Transcribing helped me greatly with that.
Transcribing will help your ear, your reading (if you right it down), help you to know what your favourite musician is playing and give you ideas that you can use in your own playing.
A few tips :
1. Transcribe lines or solos that you like the sound of and you would like to be able to play. Don’t bother working out a solo you can’t stand. There’s an unlimited amount of music that out there that you probably love, so transcribe that instead.
2. Use youtube or other digital media players to slow down the piece if you can’t work it out at the speed.
3. You can also transcribe something that you know someone else has already. That way you can check it later. Though don’t go to it just because it’s getting a bit tough to work it out. Keep trying and listen hard. Train your ear!
Here’s a video that I did on transcribing. It was a one minute tip, so it’s a bit rushed, but hopefully it helps.
Recently I stumbled across this great video where Barry Harris shows some students some ideas on a scale he calls the diminished 6th scale. It contains the same notes as a major bebop scale but he’s approach to is a little different to how most people would generally approach the bebop scale, so it’s kind of fitting.
I’ll try and do a video on this sometime later, as I personally found it fascinating, but I really wanted to do a quick post on it now (even though it really is a quite advanced jazz technique). I’ve also included a quick chart of the scale and also the voicing of the chords that the students were playing in the video.
I just love the voice leading and chord combinations that are created when using this scale. The chords when formed naturally over this scale are so interesting. From the humble C major 7 to altered dominant chords and quartels (think kind of ‘so what’ chords).
Enough from me, I’ll let Barry do the teaching today.
Hey guys, thought I would do a quick review on ‘The Real Book’ released by Hal Leonard.
The Real Book (Affiliate Link)
Jazz fake books, many years ago were a little bit like internet tab or chords sites like e-chords.com or ultimate guitar.com. You know the sites I’m talking about. Kind of useful, but notoriously wrong. I mean it can be a useful place to start, but in the end half the chords to the tune are wrong. Thankfully that’s getting a bit better with people voting for decent transcriptions and down voting those that are terrible.
Well the old jazz fake books were a little bit like that.
They were called ‘fake books’ because they gave you just enough information to ‘fake’ your way through the tune. Typically, a simplified version of the melody and the basic 7th chords.
So a number of years ago a bunch of Berkley Jazz students got together to try and rectify that, and they created the first version of ‘the Real Book‘. And although this book was illegal (it paid no royalties to the composers) it became a standard list of tunes that jazz musicians would need to know to play a gig. You used to have to buy it at music shops with a bit of a wink, some cash and go out to the back alley to get your copy.
The Real Book is such a great book to get your hands on to learn a whole bunch of the standards, practice improvising on tunes and to have as a reference point in case you need to know a tune that you’ve never played before.
I personally used the Real Book and also the New Real Book (affiliate link) to build my list of tunes I knew and be gig ready. I now know most of the tunes of by heart, but these books were such a great way to learn the standards.
Thankfully, now you can buy a legal copy of the Real Book (good because you’re not breaking the law and the original composers and their families get a small slice of the action – and so they should).
A quick example
It’s the 6th edition and it’s released by Hal Leonard. They have even fixed a few of the chords the chords that were wrong (only a few to start with) and improved the font a little (though I did like the hand written vibe).
If I was to begin my jazz piano journey again and could only buy one book, it would be just this one. I wouldn’t recommend it otherwise. Worth the cash. 462 pages long with literally 100’s of tunes.
By the way, there is a few versions of it, so make sure you get the right one. For piano you want the C version, but there is a Bb Version for Trumpet, Clarinet and Tenor Sax etc, an Eb version for alto sax and a bass clef version too.
Wanting to learn how to play jazz piano? Get started today with one of our tutorials.
It’s so hard to narrow down to just 10 great jazz pianists that you should check out, but for what it’s worth, here’s my list. Listening to great players is not only enjoyable, but will also help shape you as a player, give you musical ideas and expand your musical vocabulary. Let’s get straight into it!
10. Oscar Peterson.
Oscar Peterson was one of the first jazz piano players that I was introduced to and I was instantly blown away. His virtuosity and fierce ability to swing like almost no other means he had to make this list. One of only a few pianists IMHO that can play so many notes without it sounding like he is overplaying. In my early years of learning to play jazz piano, Oscar was a big influence on me.
Art Tatum – one of the all time great jazz pianists
9. Art Tatum.
Possibly the most virtuosic player of all time, Art Tatum made a huge contribution to the jazz world and in fact was a huge influence on Oscar Peterson. More traditional in style but worth checking out at some stage.
8. Chick Corea.
An amazing jazz pianist, Chick Corea is one of the many pianists who played with Miles Davis and then became famous. Chick has crossed over a number of genres such as jazz funk, completely free form, latin and classical. He also has some super fun duets recorded with Herbie Hancock (another great player) and Gary Burton (a wonderful vibes player). No matter what you are into, you will find something that Chick Corea has played that you will love and maybe even something you won’t be too fond of. My favourite is his own composition that has became a jazz standard, ‘Spain’.
7. Brad Mehldau.
One of my favourite contemporary players today that has inspired me in many ways. I love the way he almost plays in a baroque kind of way from time to time, improvising simultaneously in both hands. Brad’s left hand is often playing the melody and it’s not uncommon for him to start a phrase in one hand and finish it with the other. A creative and beautiful pianist. For all this, Brad makes my list of 10 great jazz pianists to listen to. Here’s a link to his page
6. J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven.
I know not technically jazz pianists but hear me out. These guys were improvising musicians! Because we have immortalised their works we want to play their pieces just right.But I think that means we have forgotten that these guys loved to improvise. In trying to be faithful to what they were doing, we may have lost some of the spirit that these compositions were born from. I find it fascinating that Bach could improvise the kind of pieces that we practice hour upon hour to be able to play. Out of these 3 keyboardists, Bach is my absolute favourite. I love to play his compositions and upon analysing, you will find a stack of 2-5-1’s. It would be so great to have some recordings of Bach improvising at his harpsichord.
5. Bill Evans
Such a beautiful player and another that found fame with Miles Davis. The chords he used in ‘so what’ on Miles’ breakthrough album, ‘Kind of Blue’ have forever been known as the ‘so what chords’. When listening to Bill Evans it’s evident that he was influenced by the impressionists like Debussy (so good) and Ravel. Here’s a quick listen to ‘So What’.
4. Thelonius Monk.
What Thelonius lacked in technique he made up for in creativity. Infact, what some would say was a lack of technique may have helped him (and us) push the boundaries of jazz harmony and see a bunch of interesting melodies birthed. His approach to harmony and rhythm at the time was so unconventional that he makes my list of the 10 greatest jazz pianists
3. Bud Powell
Bud Powell has to make any list of great jazz pianists as he represents the bebop players. When Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker first started to straighten out the eight notes (quavers) and play ridiculously fast Bud Powell thought he would join them, even sometimes on his own. When playing solo piano, Bud Powell would often play 1 & 7 or 1 & 10 in his left hand to give us the bass but a little bit of harmony too as his right hand flashed all over the keyboard.
2. Herbie Hancock
Just a monster in any style and the essence of a great jazz pianist. Herbie is continuing to make advancements in jazz fusing many a genre together over an astonishing fruitful career of 50 years. Some of his pieces have become standards, such as ‘Watermelon Man’, for any young musician to learn. He has played solo, within famous groups, with orchestras and is a must for any beginning jazz pianist to check out and learn from.
1. Keith Jarrett
Keith Jarrett has had the biggest influence on me as a pianist and for that reason I’ve given him the number one spot. A virtuoso, Jarrett can play jazz and classical and has consistently been one of the most creative musicians on the planet for the last 50 years. From his time with Miles to his solo improvised concerts (my favourite the Kohn Concert) to his amazing jazz standards trio, Keith Jarrett has offered us so much over the years. Have a listen, and then re-listen and listen again.
I’ve had my say, who would you say would make your list of 10 great jazz pianists to listen to?
