BU coma reed eating CeCe ones lel egos eee ea ce eee Ser SS uocaroray Se aes ead eee ee Complete Jazz Keyboard Method NOAH BAERMANJAIL KEYBOARD : AYA Take the Mystery out of Jazz Harmony NOAH BAERMAN Alfred, the leader in educational publishing, and the National Keyboard Workshop, one of America’s leading contemporary music schools, have joined forces to bring you the best, most progressive educational tools possible. We hope you will enjoy this book and encourage you to look for other fine products from Alfred and the National Keyboard Workshop. ISBN 0-7390-1 106-5 (Book) ISBN 0-7390-1 107-3 (Book & CD) ISBN 0-7390-1 108-1 (CD) This book was ecquired, edited and produced by Workshop Ars, Inc. the publishing em of the National Guitar Werkshop, Nathaniel Gunad, editor Gory Tomassett, music Timothy Phelps, interior design CCD recorded at Bar None Stuclos, Nerthford, CT Cover photo: Karen Miller cand assistant itor Copyright © MM Afced Publishing Co. Ine. Al rights reserved, Printed in USA,a About the Author Introduction Key Signatures Chords—Triads.. FourNote Chords: 7 and 6 Chords... Lead Sheets . ‘Swang Thang. V Chapter 2: Inversions Ineroducing Rootless Voicings. Shell Voicings Bebop Style Lefe-Hand Voicings.. Introduction to Voicing .. \/Chapter 3: Introduction to Chord Progressions ... Diatonic Harmony ve Diatonie Harmony in Minor Keys. The ii-V-I Progression Voice Leading. Choosing Voicings: Melody . Harmonic Analysis Swang Thang. Chapter 4: Adding Extensions to Chords othe . YA ths an 13th: Combining Extensions in Voicngs Alterations Dovble-Tension Chords - Chords with Both Altered and Unaltered Extensions Swag Thang nn Now That You Have Learned the Rules. Chapter 5: Substitution Turnarounds. Using Dominant Chords in Cycles Diminished Passing Chords .. Tritone Substitution Suprises: Other ii-v Devices... ‘The Twelve-Bar Blues... Basic Twelve-Bar Blues... Bird Blues . Minor Blues Rhythm Changes Rhythm Changes with Substitutions. Rhythm Changes with Lots of Substitutions __ Siang Thang nnn poeChapter 6: More Voicing Concepts Clusters Spread Voicings Ath VoiCINgS nnn Thinking in Modes... Modal Voicings Parallel Voicings ... Triads Revisited ... Bi-Tonal Triads .. Upper Structures. Deriving Harmonies from Other Scales... Chapter 7: Reharmonization .. Coltrane Changes... _ Coltrane or Giant Steps Substitutions Swang Thang 00. ne Non-Diatonic Progressions Non-Diatonic Reharmonization Swang Thang wn... Appendix A: How to do 12-key Examples Chord Progressions. Individual Chord Voicings... Voiced Chord Progressions Appendix B: How to Use the CD Appendix C: Tunes... Appendix D: Suggested Listening ... Wuat You Nzep To Know To Use THis Book “You should be reasonably fluent reading music in treble and bass clefs,with accidentals. You should have an understanding of rhythms and time signatures. Also, look at the review chapter at the beginning of the book (Chapter! page 6). W the material in that chapter is not justa review for you, you will probably need to supplement your study. Depending on #4 your level, you might want to try a basic theory book. For more work with basic chords, check out Beginning Jozz Keyboard, wrieten by No the National Keyboard Workshop. ‘A.compact disc is available for this book. Using this disc will help make learning more enjoyable and the information more meaningful. The CD provides you with the sounds of many of the book’s examples, In addition, by turning down the volume on one speaker, you can provide yourself with bass and drum accompaniment, That way you can practice some of the book’s most important lessons with a rhythm section. For detailed instructions, please see "Appendix B: How to Use the CD” on pages 92-93. Track | provides the note"A” to help those of you with eleccronic keyboards tune to this CD. Have fun! Baerman and published by Alfred and _ 12K exercise to playin all ewelve keys. Appendix A (page 82) will help you learn how to do this. ‘This symbol is placed next to examples that have special play- along tracks on the CD, allowing you to practice playing through twelve keys with a rhythm section. See page 92 fora ‘complete explanation.about the author Bor and raised in New Haven, CT, Noah Baerman began piano studies at age 8. He had his first formal jazz training at the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven and at Jackie McLean's Artists’ Collective in Hartford, He also committed himself to a professional jazz ‘career at this point, beginning a long association with saxophonist and fellow student, Jimmy Greene. He went on to earn Bachelor's and Master's degrees in jazz studies from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, also teaching several jazz courses there. While at Rutgers, he spent six years under the tutelage of the renowned jazz pianist Kenny Barron, He worked in and around New York with a wide variety of jazz artists, and in 1994 co-founded the collective jazz quartet Positive Rhythmic Force (PRF), which established itself in the jazz world through clinics, CD recordings and constant performing, Noah has also been active in interdis- ciplinary arts, creating pieces that employ spoken-word poetry, modern dance, theater and visual art, He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Kate TenEyck. He spends his time freelancing throughout the East Coast as a jazz organist and pianist, serving as musical director for Mr. BS Boogie Band, teaching, composing and writing books like this one. He is the author of the three-volume Complete Jozz Keyboard Method also published by the National Keyboard/Guitar Workshop and Alfred Publishing Company.This book was written for three groups of people: 1) Jazz pianists (and other keyboard players) who want a focused and organized way to study and practice some voicings and progressions. 2) Other jazz musicians (vocalists and players of other instruments) who want to use the keyboard to reinforce their fluency with the harmonies in the tunes they play 3) Other (‘non-jazz”) keyboard players who want to explore some progressions and voicings contralto the jazz idiom, either to begin playing jaz or to use these devices in other styles. This book is intended to serve both as a reference book and a workbook. You can use it to review, learn and reinforce isolated concepts, You can also dig into each section and cross reference, using the book as a basis for an intensive jazz harmony practice regimen, The irony is this: To leave no stone unturned in the world of jazz keyboard harmony would require a 20-volume encyclopedia, not a 96-page book. And yet 96 pages are more than ‘enough to give an industrious student a lifetime's worth of practice materials. This paradox is possible because in the performance and the study of jazz, one is constantly confronted with possibilities and choices. The most thorough student will examine as many of the possibilities as he or she can. In practical terms, with this book, all of this means that you are encouraged ‘to mix and match concepts as much as you can. When you learn a new voicing, go fo a tune or go back to an earliar lesson on progressions to see how fluently you can apply the voicing to that tune or progression, When you learn a tune or substitution, work through it with as many different voicing types as possible. And listen! No one masters jazz without listening to a healthy dose of it. For suggestions, see the suggested listening list at the end of the book. AWord on Rhythm Because the focus of this book is harmony. rhythms are wrieten as simply as possible to avoid obscuring the voicings and rhythms. You are encouraged, therefore, to take liberties with the rhythms—use the syncopations, anticipations and silences typical of the jazz idiom. If these rhythms are not already natural to you,you can develop them by exploring other books on jazz, taking lessons and (especialy) by listening to plenty of good live and recorded jazz. Acknowledgements Thanks to: Nat Gunod, Dave Smolover and everyone else at NGW and Workshop Arts; to Kate Westin, Sharon Aaronson and the rest of the movers and shakers at Alfred Publishing Company; to Collin Tilton at Bar None Studio; to Kenny Barron, George Raccio, Ralph Bowen, Jimmy Greene, Jason Berg, Sunny Jain, Ben Tedoff, Amanda Monaco, Bob Hart, Lea Osborne, Score Sasanecki, Joanne Bracken, Michael Mossman, Larry Ridley, Phil Schaap, Lewis Porter, Clara Shen, Wanda Maximilien, Eva Perriou-Varga: to the Rutgers Music Department, the Artists’ Collective, and ECA; to everybody at Oddfellows Playhouse; to te TenEyck family (Bob, Carol, Dave, Carla, Dan, Barry, Dottie and Peter); to the Baerman family (Mom, Dad, Alison, Jennifer: Annie, Macthew and Tanja); and to my favorite trumpet player, Kate TenEyck. This book is dedicated in loving memory to Earl Theodore Dunbar. Everybodys got to play the piano, you dig? If youre a drummer, you play drums and piano. If youre a trumpet ployer, you play trumpet and piano, If youre a pianist, well = Ted Dunbar (1937-1998) introduction:(- ie] Major AND Minor SCALES {All of us who have learned any musical instrument have practiced scales. Any type | Brsculee made up of apatorn of half steps and whole stepe, A hal step i the Shoreest distance between two notes Two half steps make a whole sep ‘The major scale, shown here in the key of Chas the following pattern of half and whole ste ‘The natural minor scale has the equivalent pattern to a major scale begun from the éth note in the scale. Shown here starting on C, thas the following pattern of half and whole steps Natural Minor Scale w H w w H w w aN NO ae ee be. 2 “The harmonic minor seale is another type of minor scale. Showm here starting on C,it has the followin gatcern of haf and whole steps (note the wide insral beoween the th and 7h notes inthe scale: Harmonic Minor Scale w H w w How oH OH ‘The melodic minor scale is the third type of minor scale. Shown here starting on C, it has the following pattern of half and whole steps: Melodic Minor Scale w iH w w wow 4 —— ° = SS a ‘The melodic minor scale is traditionally played this way? | only when ascending. When descending the natural | minor used, The version ofthe scale shown here is sometimes called Jazz Minor.INTERVALS, ‘An intervals the distance between two notes. The most basic building blocks for intervals are half steps and whole steps. The intervals we use also have more specific names. The class of an interval is frst defined by its size using a numerical name. For example, to determine the interval class of D up to G, count all the different note names between those ‘wo notes (ignoring for now whether they are natural, sharp or fiat). In this case, you have D, E.F and G. That's four, so you have some kind of 4th, The intervals name is then refined by giving ita quality: major, minor, perfect, augmented or dimin- Ished. The chart below shows the most basic intervals. In addition, any perfect or major interval ‘an be made augmented by making ita half step larger. Any perfect or minor interval can be made diminished by making ica half step smaller. The numerical name can be altered with an accidental to indicate che quality. For example, in C, the second note of the major scale is D, which is called ‘a major 2nd, can also be called"2". D’,a minor second above C, can be called'2 (“flat two"); D8, an augmented 2nd above C, can be called #2 ("sharp cwo"). For each of the intervals below, you are given five pieces of information: the numerical name, formal name, the abbreviation of that name, its size in half steps and an example from the note C. 4 | | | | Numerical | lover | Abbrevaced | Number of ne Name Name ‘Name Hat Steps | 1 perfect unison Pu o a srinor 2nd rind 2 major 2nd Ma 3 minor 3rd ind i 3 major 3rd Map 4 perfece Ath Pa Hor? |augrenced 4h, | ups. im ‘iinehed Sch 5 perfec Sth Ps uamented Sth | AvgS, ming trinor 6h : ‘ major 6th Mais i ” singe 7h mi ‘ 7 iar Tih vai? 811) | perfeccoctive | 8 © Also called a tritone, 7| Key SicNaTURES | As you know, the major seal always has the same pattern of whole steps and half stp: | Wewcrt manos Thats why the mor scale always has a certain sound no mater what | Foti. Ky sigatars el us which notes nae have ro berased (wth saps or lowered | (with flats) to retain that sound. These sharps and flats are applied in every octave as long as the key signature is there (and no other accidental, such as a natural sign & has been applied). Sometimes a scale or piece will be minor, not major. If we use the minor key with the same key signature as a major key, we call that the relative minor. The relative minor can be found by playing a scale beginning from the 6th degree of its relative major scale. For example, if we play aC Major scale starting and ending on A, the 6th degree, we will have A Minor. | hh se Key Signature & S° | Key Signature £== ..| EC -d o o Cycle of Sths Take a look at the key signatures above. Note that with the sharp keys, every time you move up a Sth, you add a sharp. With the flat keys, every time you move up a Sth, you subtract a flat. This brings us to the Cycle of Sths, (the Cycle of 4ths if you're moving counter- clockwise) or, for the visually inclined, dhe Circle of Sths (or Aths). This cycle organizes key signatures (or any other tones) in Sths. Each key is similar to the key next to it on the circle, with a difference of only one sharp or flat, Major keys are on the outside, minor keys are on the inside.‘CHorDs—TRIADS 7 Triads are three-note chords and, after intervals, they are the next building blocks as we construct our mastery of harmony. A triad can be built by using every other note of the first five notes of the major scale. For-example, starting on C and selecting every other note of the CC major scale will yield C,E and G-a C Major trad. Starting from the lowest note (C) and going : up. these notes are called the root, 3rd and Sth of che chord. C Major scale C Major Triad Scale degree You can also build triads by adding intervals above a root (I). The following examples show how to build the four kinds of zriads with this method. The numerical names of the notes in each triad are shown to the right of the music, The numbers can be thought of as the “formula” for that type of triad. “To build any major triad, we use the note a major 3rd above the root (3) and the note a perfect Sth above the root (5). To build a minor triad, we lower the 3rd of a major triad (with a flat or a ratural sign), leaving the root and Sth the same. This results in a minor 3rd (3) anda perfect Sth (5) C Diminished “To build a diminished triad we lower the Sth ofa minor triad.resuling inaminor | — | 1 3rd (3) and a diminished Sth (5) gaa ore} “To build an augmented triad, we raise the Sth of a major triad (using a sharp ‘or a natural sign), resulting in a major 3rd and an augmented Sth, “This chart shows the abbreviated symbols you may encounter to notate each type of chord “The firse symbol listed for each chord is the one that will be used in this book. Triad Possible Symbols in Formul Major. '€, Maj, CM, CA Minor on + Cmin, Crmi, Cm, C= Diminished. Cain, C° Augmented .. C#, CAugFour-NoTE CHORDS: 7 AND 6 CHORDS While triads are the building biocks of most harmony in the Western world, jazz musicians usually add notes to them, such as 7ths and éths, to create other chords. All of the four-note chords below are made by adding a note on top of an existing triad, From the bottom up, the four notes in these chords are called the root, 3rd, Sth and 7th (or 6th,as the case may be). The major 7 chord is made by adding a major Th above the root of a major triad, Ie can also be thoughe of as adding a major 3rd above the Sth of 2 7 major trad, The formula 1,3,5.7. =} coair ‘The dominant 7 chord is made by adding a minor 7th above the root of a major triad, It can also be thought of as adding a minor 3rd above the Sth ‘of a major triad. The formula is 1,3, 5,7. ‘The minor 7 chord is made by adding a minor 7th above the root of a minor triad, It can also be thought of as adding a minor 3rd above the Sth of a minor triad. The formula is 1,°3,5,°7. The minor 7 fat fe (or “holfdiminished’ chord is made by adding a minor Teh above the root ofa diminished triad, I an also be thought of as ading 2 major 3rd above the Sofa diminished triad. The mame“halt-dminished” qe PSS means thatthe Sth is diminished, but not the th (as opposed to the “fully diminished” chord below). The formula is 1,°,'5,7 The diminished 7 chord is made by adding a diminished 7th above the tof a diminished trad. Ie can ls be thought of a5 adding a minor 3rd above the 'S ofa dimnihed tad. The diminished 7th on top is enhermonicaly equiv. ler o.a major 6th, The formula ls 13,5, 6 (or *7™) “Tha maj 8 chords made by adding 6th above the root ofa major triad, ean also be thought of as adding a major 2nd above the Sth of major wad, The formula 13,56. This chord is usualy interchangeable with amor Teh chor. ‘The minor 6th chord is made by adding a 6th above the root of a minor triad, Ie can also be thought of as adding a major 2nd above the Sth of a minor fn triad. The formula is 1,°3,5,6. e ‘The chart below shows the common symbols used for the different types of 7 and 6 chords. As ‘with triads, the first symibol listed for each chord isthe one that willbe used for the rest of this book. Chord Possible Symbols nC Major 7 cay, CHT, Ca? Major 6 Cé, Ca, CMB, Cos Dominane 7 o Minor 7 min?, Ci, C7, C-7 33.7 Minor 6 ming, Cmié, Cmé, -6 ais.6 Minor 7 Fle 5 Cmin?5,C%,Cmi75, Cm, C75 135.7 Diminished 7 aim, C27 35,667) * Two notes that sound the same but have different names are enharmonically equivalent, ** = Double lot. The note is lowered by wo half steps.Leap SHEETS ~ ‘There are various ways a jazz musician will learn to play a tune. These include reading sheet ‘music, playing by ear or being shown the tune by another musician. Probably the most common tool isthe lead sheet. A lead sheet provides you with a tune's melody and basic chord progres- sion. How you play those chords is left up to you—an issue we will spend much of this book. discussing. Lead sheets are beneficial for many reasons. Among them: + Not having specifically written-out voicings or left-hand patterns gives you and your fellow musicians more freedom to choose the way you want to interpret the tune. + The lead sheet provides the essence of the tune, giving you a chance to focus your ‘eyes and ears on the primary melodies and harmonies. + Since lead sheets allow a whole tune to be whitled down to a single page or less, books | ‘can be-and have been-compiled that include a great many tunes in a single volume, + At some point or another every jazz musician encounters lead sheets—usually quite ‘often. Everybody's doing itso join the club! Below is atypical lead sheet for you to check out. If you already have some voicings under your fingers.try them. IF not, just play the melody with your right hand while playing the basic chords, ic. Well be referring back to this with your left hand. Either way, spend some time wit tune often. SWANG THANG “J+ Repese ~~ ee Drmin? Gmin? ¢ E s a wy Brey? co FMai7 (Gein? C7)" Chords in parentheses are for use before a repeat. Leave them out at the end.2 voicing. One of the skis we work on the most while studying jazz keyboard harmony is that of voicing. Voicing a chord is the act of choosing exactly how to arrange the notes of that chord. and we have a world of choices. For example, we can double (repeat), add or omit notes, We can choose the ‘order in which to play the notes, where on the keyboard to play the notes,how to get from one chord to the next and so on. The word voicing” is also a noun referring to the specific organiza- tion of notes you decide to play. When you hear somebody say"that pianist has great voicings “I'm working on Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner voicings,” that is what they are talking about. Inversions c —— oot Poston The first step on the road co masterfl voiings s the mastery of chord : inversions. As an example, lets look at a C Major 7 (CMa) chord. nits | C=] “raul sate wh the oot on he borom iis id tobe nr potn, doe 15 inversion Ui we play the same chord with the 3rd on the bottom, it is in ~ (st imersion. = . ate _ and inversion If we play the same chord with the Sth on the botom, it is in - 2nd version, B o i se : 3d nyersion li we play the same chord with the 7th on the bottom, it is in |_| 3rd inversion Understand that which nace you play on the bottom also impacts which note | Root Position will wind up on top. In a jazz context, we use the top note at least as often with 2nd Inversion 2s the bottom note in deciding which inversion to use ina given situation. To ‘in the ight hand take itone step further we can use the concept of inversion as a voicing too) even with root position chords. If we want to retain the sound of che roct ‘on the bostom, but want the flexibility ofa diferent inversion, we can play the inversion of our choice with the right hand and lay doven che root under= neath wit fe left hand. In a group setting, we can play the inversion of our choice wich either hand and let the bassist play the root.12K 12key: tnversions Play each of these chord inversions through all twelve keys. Appendix A on page 82 will each you how to do this, Make sure so practice thes versions with both hands, one a atime. In 12K examples, the double bars will help you know how much to take through all the keys at ‘one. In this example, each chord voicing should be taken through owelve keys individually Root Position Ise version 2nd Inversion c = = © cau = r= — = © s aaa om 4 Cam a 7 f = SS 3 oot Position Ise version 2nd lnversion 3 Iverson cra 7 6 g = = = & Note 4 Note that the minor 7 chord (in this ease Cmin7) and the major 6 chord f (in this case E'6) are inversions of one another. Likewise, the minor 7 flat five and minor 6 chords are inversions of one another. If you are aware of this as you practice, then you will actually be “I2-Keyin, ‘wo chords at once! meThe Selection Process Begins When creating your voicings, you can have a division of labor between the hands. Let's say you have the following voicings for 2 CMaj7 chord, based on practicing the inversions on page 13. While there is nothing wrong with the above voicings, you will notice chat both hands are playing the root ofthe chord (in this case, C). The root in the bass register played here by the lefe hand, is doing a fine job of “anchoring” the chord, so we can try leaving the root out of the righthand, IntropuciNe RooTiess Yoicincs ‘We have just explored the idea of division of labor. chis case allowing the left hand to play the roots,and thus eliminating the need for the right hand to play them. Now we are going to look at a more traditional division of labor, one that actually involves more than one person. ‘There are a wide variety of diferent configurations for rhythm sections. Assuring that there isa keyboard instrument in the band, here are some examples: + piano, bass, drums + piano, guiear, bass, drums * piano, bass, guitar + piano, vibes, bass, drums + organ, bass, drums + organ, guitar, drums {In all but the last of these combinations, there is a bassist in the rhythm section (traditionally acoustic bass, sometimes electric bass in more recent times, depending on the style). And in the organ-guitar-drums trio, the organist is usually playing involved bass lines with his or her left hand and/or feet, not using the left hand to flesh out chord voicings {In terms of division of labor this means that somebody in the band (the bassist) already has the job of playing lines that emphasize the roots of the chords. For you to play roots in the bass register with your left hand is therefore unnecessary much of the time, Sometimes playing left- hhand roots can even be downright unsuccessful. If the bassist is playing busily it can just make the music sound cluttered. jootless voicings are very common in jazz, and a jazz-trained ear gets so accustomed to them ‘hat they often sound appropriate even when nobody Is playing the roots!So ifthe bassise is handling the roots, you can stick to playing the remaining notes. In the case ‘of the CMaj7 voicings from page 14, you would wind up with these voicings: (Or.we can play the same voicings in the now-emancipated left hand. In this example, we play the voicings an octave lower to rake it easier to play and to give the right hand the space to play other things. Note ‘When choosing where (in what range) to play a voicing, keep this guideline in mind: the D below middle C is generally the lowest non-root tone you should play. f you find thata particular voicing leads you to play a note other than the root lower than that"D.” play it an octave higher or choose another voicing. i This is only a“guideline.” but voicings that don’t follow it generally wind up sounding. cluttered and muddy. : }2K — 12-Key: Letting the Leit Hand (or the Bass Player) Handle the Roots Play each of the following chords in all twelve keys. Remember to play each chord not only in the style shown, but also with the root omitted 2nd the left hand playing the remaining notes. coma? co min? . |Fr Go sat | SHett Voicines ‘Lets have a compare-and-contrast session with the three most common four note chords in | jazz: the major 7 chord, the dominant 7 chord and the minor 7 chord. =| i cma c7 min? ' i If we look for similarities, we notice that all three chords share the same root (C). If we look. more closely, we notice that the Sth of each chord'is also the same (G). The fact that the Sth is the same for each of these chords means that, even without the Sth, our ears still have ‘enough information to determine which of the three chords is being played. ‘Armed with this knowledge, we can begin to use sell volcings. A shell voicing is what che name indicates, a skeletal voicing that shows you only the basic structure of the chord, In practical terms, that means you play only the root, 3rd and 7th of the chord. CMa? 7 Cm? As with the rootless voicings on page 15, shell voicings can be made even more compact by ‘omitting the root and playing the remaining notes with either hand. In this case, that would ‘mean playing only the 3rd and 7th. ‘There are situations where more color is called for and these stark voicings are less appropriate. Likewise, there are times when the chord you want to play is not one of these three types. However. there are many situations where this sort of voicing is quite useful. In addition, because they provide the"skeleton” of a chord, we vill be coming back to them repeatedly to use them as, building blocks for bigger lusher chord voicings. 12K i2xey: Shells Play each of these shell voicings in all ewelve keys. Make sure to practice rootless versions of the chords, 00. ‘O) cms cr Cmi7(or Grins)Besor Styte Lert-Hanp Voicincs Our voicings seem to get more and more sparse! The voicings we will explore here were i popularized in the bebop era (beginning in the mid 1940s) by pianists such as Bud Powell | Right-hand solo lines had become increasingly complex and harmonically rich, so the left-hand : voicings began to move in the opposite direction, often consisting of only two notes: the root and either the 3rd or the 7th, =~ ‘These voicings have a variety of applications. Here are a few (mix and match!) + Yoicings for solo playing where you want to play simple root-position voicings while your right hand plays solo lines andlor other figures. + Noicings for laying down roots in an ensemble with no bass player + Voicings to accompany a right-hand solo that outlines the harmony so well that additional harmonic support isn’t necessary, + Voicings to accompany a right-hand solo that goes low enough to entef the range ‘where you might normally play left-hand voicings—this way your hands don't bump into each other, ‘One way to make these voicings sound a little more ful is, to transform the root-3rd voicings to root-10th voicings by playing the roots an octave lower ‘Try the root-I0th voicing only if your hand is large | and flexible enough to do it comfortably. If it | hurts, don't do it. It doesn’t sound good | enough to be worth getting tendonitis. Kv 12K 1n.key: Bebop Style Left-Hand Voicings ith your let hand practice playing these voicings through all twelve kes. Be avare of the diferent chords that may be implied a8 you ply each one. If (and ony i) your hand is large andlor flexible enough to handle ie ry turing the 3rd int IOths by practicing the voicing in parentheses a wel C7 oF Cmin? or CS IT3 =chord progression Learning how to voice chords is the first half of the jazz keyboard harmony equation. The second half of the equation is learning about chord progressions. A'chord progression is any sequence of chords. The chord progression to a tune is often called the changes, since the change from each chord to the nextis a important to the sound as the individual chords themselves. Being familar with progressions gives you a context in which to use your voicings, just as being familiar with voicings makes it possible to actually play through progressions. Diatonic HARMONY Diatonic means “of the scale.” When we refer to diatonic harmony, we mean chords built from ‘ particular scale. The most common way to build these chords is by stacking 3rds (except for | the case of the 6th in a 6 chord) from each degree of the scale (through the simple process of | using every other note). For example, here are the diatonic 7 chords in the key of BY Major: 1 a oof WM vow wi 1 BIMaj7 or BS Cin? Dein? EMa\7 FT Gin? Amin?®S BIMaiT or 86 1 OR = —§ 8 —— e 8 a ‘We use Roman numerals to signify the scale degree a chord is built on, since that notation is not specific to a particular key. We use uppercase Roman ‘numerals for chords with a major 3rd (major, augmented, major 6, major 7 and dominant 7},and lowercase for those with a minor 3rd (minor diminished, minor 7, minor 6, miner 7 flat five and diminished 7). Here's a quick review of {the Roman numerals you will need and their Arabic equivalents: | Roman Nume-als j Too i I Vo v= Tor it 2 Vir vi 6 Wor iii 3 vir vii_ = Voor wv = 4 | Notation using Roman numerals is useful because the kind of chord button each degree i the | same in every key. Here are the datonc 7 chords hat you wil find In every malor key: 1 Mai7 (or 6) ii min? | ili min7 [vii mins | TV Maj7 | | Asa tool to memorize the diatonic.chords in every key, make yourself a chart like this: i | ig | Key I ii ii WY Wi vii < el ic CMaj7 min? Emin? FMaj7_ G7 Amin? Bins TIL s6 GMaj7_ Amin? Brin? CMaj7_ D7 Emin? Fin ?5 ‘And s0 on, through all the keys. . aDiatonic Harmony IN Minor Keys ‘The most obvious way to tind the diatonic 7th chords in a minor key is to look at the key’ relative major key, and simply borrow the chords and shift the Roman numerals. Here is the key of G Minor, which is the relative minor of B’ Major (shown on page 18). i ii ut ¥ Gmin?Amin?’S BMG? Cin? It doesn’t end there, however. What you see above is based on the natural minor scale. But as ‘we know, the natural minor is only one of three types of minor scales (page 6). The primary | use of the harmonic minor scale is exactly what the name implies—it's a scale from which | harmonies are derived. This is because it provides a dominant 7 chord on V. Here are diatonic 7 chords of a G Harmonic Minor scale: ii it iv Grice) AminhS (Bmai7S- Coin? = a7 oF min") an chord isa major 7 chord witha raised Sth (Mai75). These are both unusual chords chat sound most appropriate in a very modern setting. We will examine both of these chords later as we explore modern and non-diatonic harmony. ; In common practice, elements of both scales are used, replacing the unusual chords with their more “traditional” counterparts from the natural minor. Another option is to replace the minor 7 i chord with a minor 6 chord. i i om ow vow vi Gmin?orGminé Amin?*S BMT Cmin? D7 EMT Flim? GminT or Gming i : NOTE: 12K i2-key: Diatonie Harmony The minor 6th option for the i chord Here are the diatonic 7 chords in both C Major and C Minor, Play 2Maj7 chord with 2 9th, The frst voicing has the root in the left hand and the 3rd, Sth, 7th and 9th voiced straight up in the right hand. The next voicing has the same notes but in a different order, with the 9th in the middle of the voicing rather than on top. The third voicing gives @ more open sound by leaving out the Sth,as though you were playing a shell voicing and then adding a 9th. The final voicing ‘echoes the one before it, but is played by the left hand as a — rootless voicing12K 12-Key: 9ths : Below are some useful voicings with Sths. Play each of them in all ewelve keys both as shown and a8 rootless volcngs withthe left hand taking the notes currently shown Inthe treble clef cra C69 co ef - = i Fe © -$ pe « | bo r i i | | | E = = = : o mine mings (Cring) Ciind's Ceim9 (Cedi)I iths Its time to goa step further to the I Ith, he next excended color we can add to a chord. Below of the chords that commonly use an | |¢h, Bimini Bing (add 11) i 8. = i = re | (Bimin7) (Bring ) Bein! I'S, B’dim! | | @rrin?’s) (Bdm7) Note that these voicings contain 9ths as well. It is generally understood that an I! chord includes all the notes leading up to the Ith including the Sth. Whether or not to actually play the 9th is a decision that you make as you choose a voicing For chords with a major 3rd (major 7, major 6 and dominant 7), we take a different approach to IIths. The reason is that the IIth (the same note as the 4h) clashes with the major 3rd. Therefore, rather than using the natural Ith, we borrow from the Lydian mode and use a sharp [1th (#11) instead (if you want a quick review of modes, skip ahead to the “More Voicings” chapter, page 62). Here are some examples of the #I| in action: Bhaiz411 Bett BT > ‘There is one fairly cammen-exception to the use of the I! - for all chords with a major 3rd. That_exception-is the Cus oc suspended chord (sus4). The traditional use of the sus- = pendéd if in classical music is ¢o delay resolution on a x ——— Fh ‘major triad by playing the 4th (held over or “suspended” v from a note in the previous chord) and then letting it resolve to the 3rd, ‘The suspended 4ch can be used this way in jazz, and sometimes is. However, we jazz Geo Cees musicians are notorious for lifting cool =r sounds out of their original context to use ‘wherever we think they would sound good. | 7 tn this case, it translates to using the sus- pended 4th as a color on dominant 7 chords. A. fice bic of eauton Is required when using a dominant 7 suspended (7sus) chord. First of al, you need to leave the 3rd out of the voicing to avoid a major dissonance. Similarly, you need to be sure that youre not using it in a place where the 3rd will be emphasized in the melody. Bue if you want a colorful yet somewhat ambiguous sounding dominant 7 chord voicng.c can be a grea choice. Technical she color we use isa 4th and notan | Ith since ic isa fundamental part of the chord, replacing the 3rd, ies function, though, is similar to that of an I Ith,and as such you can use the darninane 7 suspended (7sus) chord in essentially the same way as any chord with an I Ith, as long as youre conscious of the rules”I 2K) 12-Key: ths 1 Below are some useful voicings with IIths, as well as some suspended voicings. Play each of them in all cwelve keys both as shown and as rootless voicings with the left hand aking the notes shown in the treble clef, The left hand practice technique does not apply of course, to those voicings that are too spread our to play with one hand o) cmair4i eon c R 9 | cry | zi) ee eo _| Cmint (Ciné (ad) (Cring) mint 5 Caimi amonly make use of the 3th po ‘As with I chords, 13 chords allow for the use of all the colors that come before the 13th, including the 9th and 1 Ith. As you can see above, the I Iths are sharp, except in the ease of the suspended 4th. As you can also see, were now dealing with a tremendous number of note possibilities fora single chord, so being selective with voicings is becoming even more important. Now that we've looked at situations where we can use 13ths,let’ look at che situations where it makes less sense, and why. First of alin the case of 6 chords (major 6 and minor 6),the 6th and 13th are identical. Calling the note a 13th implies that the chord has a 7th of some sort. If there is no 7th, then the 3th is considered a fundamental part of the cho! ind we call ica 6th, Another insane where the 12h isnt uted inthe ase of mine ll cords (inor 7 or minor ? far S cons seubg thei in VE), Ar you may reel rom ow wie lenorg studi Chapter Sswecan we shlvelcigs ore Vtteoe. the esence ofthe sound ofthe changer The Te onc eked moves smoothly to the ed ofthe nen chord and vase Often asin ce fat ensope to theghe the 2c ofoneshond isthe same notes te Ma the nent hardening the oe tment of the Pik the 3 at estonia eae Sein oe ; sien Satine nee orkyawencaiyiy Pe—pde— ieivanetanesateran cnc atatame es ot second example eo erg, dong thr decanphasnes ee sapenst of te Teh hel chord iowng vo Oe ede he areca oe pera ee ere Tey pene } 13ths |The next extended color at our disposal is the 13th, Below are the chords that most come | | ‘Then there are diminished chords. Diminished 7 chords wth 13th sound good with alle ! tweaking, A diatonic 13h identical tothe diminished 7th (7th or eaharmonicaly the 6h in the chord. The 3,howevenis a nice color Check out the sound inthe fr example Bulow. ‘While we are looking at the ‘13 color for 2 diminished 7 chord, lets also check out the major Teh, as shown in the middle example below. Technically, you'd call it a 14th, but itis just an ‘octave-higher version of the major 7th, so in this ease we opt for the simpler chord name of “diminished major 7th." Notice also that, when you put together all the extended colors in a ; diminished 7¢h chord, you wind up with another diminished 7th chord with a root one whole step higher, as shown in the last example below. Bhim! 12K 12-Key: 13ths a Below are some useful voicings with 13ths. Included are some diminished 7 voicings using the | “13 and the major 7. Play each voicing inal twelve keys both as shown and as rootless voicngs | with the left hand taking the notes shown in the treble clef, As withthe II chord voicngs, don't sf try the left hand practice technique with those voicings that are too spread out to play with } one hand i cma VBR) tai ca ag 7 ie : = v roy 1 bs i | / i - 2 | I | 2 x 4 x Camis SE Ceri? (Cain?) ©=, COMBINING EXTENSIONS IN VoICINGS Now that we know about all ofthese extensions, we need to work on putting them co use. I's good to be aware of the many possibilities now available to us in voicing a chord. At the same time, though, we should study the most common applications of these colors so that we don't have to be inundated with hundreds of possibilities every time we see "C7." For starters les look at the two most common ways of voicing aii-V-I with extensions, Both formulas shown are numerical so they both apply to any key. Well start withthe key of C. The charts on the left show the chord tones being used in each chord, from the bottom up. < Mai? SOO OO Bottom Note} iimin? | _V TMi7 Top Note 9 vaonion LB ‘These voicings are most commonly played as leftchand rootless voicings. They can also be i Useful as right-hand voicings when the left hand is playing roots or a bass line. ‘The same formulas can also be used in minor keys,as shown below. Often, altered notes (the next subject on our agenda) are used, but standard exter.2ad colors like these can work as well. ‘Once you have absorbed these standard voicings, you can begin experimenting with them. Look at the example below for some ideas. It begins witha typical 3-5-7-9 voicing for a major 7 chord. Inthe second voicing.a 13th is substituted for the Sth. Inthe third voicing, the 7th is replaced by the 6th, making ita 6/9 chord. In the last voicing, the Sth is replaced by the ‘Ith. Start with the structure of these “stock” voicings, and then use your knowledge about which extended colors work with which chords to try this kind of experimentation wherever possible.12K 12-Key: Combining Extensions 2) st age? ‘two major and ewo minor ii-V-ls (track 14). Once youre comfortable with the ii-V-Ts, try exploring other voicing possibilities by adjusting some of the notes, as suggested on page 34 For example, take the major ii-V-I's through the twelve keys, only this time play the 13th instead of the Sth on the major 7 chord (I). Or play the minor i-Viis with a minor 6/9 chord in place ofthe minor 7th asthe i chord. Through ll ofthese, remember to pay both as written and in the left-hand, rootless style. Acre sese viens trough al evehe kes. one ta tine. Nec o he sare wi he 4 \ { | Major: i-Vi Dmin7 o7 Mair Minor: iV Drmin?’s o7 min? Dmin?’s G7 Cmin7ALTERATIONS Just when it seemed like we'd exhausted the possibilities for adding notes to chords, it's time to 0 yet a step further and explore alterations. Alterations (also called altered notes or altered extensions) are notes that are raised or lowered a half step from their natural state. In com> mon practice, alterations are used on dominant 7 chords. The extensions we've studied so far in this chapter are notes that can be naturally derived from a scale and added to the basic chord. ‘We have seen a handful of common exceptions as well, such as the natural (as opposed to flacted) 9th added to a minor 7 flat 5 chord, or the fll chat can be added to a dominant 7 chord. In both cases, the extensions are “borrowed” from other chords in which they occur naturally But it shows that we are not always bound to use only the seven notes in a scale. Not just any note can be altered, though. As you have learned, in shell voicings, the root, 3rd and Teh of a chord define the basic sound of the chord. We can’t alter any of those notes and still have 3 dominant 7 chord. Thus the “nonessential” notes are the ones we can alter. The common alterations used on a dominant 7 chord are #9,"9,45 and. The other “nonessential” notes (the leh and 13¢h) are not as typically referred to since altering them would give you notes that are redundant with either the altered 9ths and Sths or with basic chord tones. Reasons for Using Altered Notes By their very nature, altered notes are dissonant. The dissonance is, in fact, exactly why we use aleered dominants. From our first look a¢ the i-V-I progression, we have been exploring the idea of tension and resolution, The ii chord is added to a V-I to intensity and prolong tension, for a more ¢ramatic resolution. Altered dominants use the same principle. Altering a dominant chord heightens the tension, making for a more cathartic resolution, Where to Use Altered Dominants ‘We must first acknowledge that there are two kinds of dominant 7 chords: unresolving dominant chords and resolving dominant chords. Resolving dominant _p F787" "7 _ chord are domitan 7 chord tht resohe to am | QPP LAPP LILA ILE other chord. AV chord that resohes to al ori) QA EAA AAA chord i the most commen example. Unresolvng dominant chords are dominant 7 chords that are om Ea static in nature, not resolving in a predictable way. ‘The blues is a common source of unresolving domi- nant chords. For example,note the basic twelve-bar blues progression to the right. The unresolving domi- nant chords, hose that don't resolve to chords a Sth beloware marked with an asterisk (1). These chords are chosen for their blues character, not for reasons of tension and resolution, For the purposes of this discussion on alterations, we're not concerned with unresolving domi- ‘nants, Unaltered extensions can still be used freely with these chords, but not altered notes. Since altered notes are used as a tool for building and releasing tension, we will use them on chords that are used in a tension-releasing context.5 In the section on 1 ths,we looked at some uses for the I I,used with major 7 and dominant 7 chords to create a Lydian sound and to avoid clashing With the major 3rd in the chord. Enharmonically speaking.the !I1 and the —- 'S are the same note. The difference (sometimes relevant, sometimes not) is thatthe fll can be used as an unaltered color and it is implied chat ce i there also is or could be a Sin the chord, AS, on the other hand, i — | considered an altered note asi i replacing the 5. Which one you should -~— think of at a given moment (#1 or'5) depends on context and voicing. If e youre not thinking of altered notes, its, youre wring to add an =~ - altered bite, i's 5. Voicing choices have an impact as well. In the first example below. the 4 is blended almost unnoticeably into other unaltered colors. The 'S in che second example below is left very exposed, emphasizing its bite and dissonance, 8°709,4413) 8765) Ultimately. itis up to your ears and instinets. If you have practiced your voicings and the sound is the right for the moment, the theory becomes quite secondary, anyway. The’ is another note that could be called either of wo things. A'S is the enharmonic equivalent of 13, and sometimes you will encounter a chord symbol ike "D713." As with the split personaly of the 41/5, the "13 implies that an extension is being added to a chord that could have a '5, while #5 is meant to replace the‘S altogether. #5 is a more commonly used name and symbol for this note, largely because it is rare to actually encounter a chord that actually contains both a and 2°13. Another way to think of a dominant 7 chord witha #5 is as an augmented wiad with a'7 added. As such, sometimes the “+” sign is used as itis to indicate an augmented triad. So"G7'S” could also be written as"G+7" or Be Bee 87 37's (Added 7) 7cosy by 5 bah i ‘The next common altered color we will look at is the °8. The°9 has a few traits eam aoe] 1 i || that make ita very versatile color As shown in the two voicings on the right,you | sj canuuse the Sth in the voicing or omicit. Omitting itis more common but since the altered 9th is not a fundamental part of the chord, chat’s up t0 you. ‘The 9 is particularly useful in cases where a dominant 7 chord resolves to a minor chord. As you can see below, the "9 occurs naturally on a dominant 7 chord when deriving harmonies from the harmonic minor scale, as does the ‘13 (5). AHarmonic Minor V(E7) Sort evo e7ts 2 2 2 Yet another useful fact is that a rootless dominant 7 voicing with a9 (3-5-7/9) spells a diminished 7 chord. And since diminished chords are completely symmetrical, there are four diminished 7 chords that you can refer to when voicing any given dominant 7 chord with a9 (Caim7) (€dim7) (Geim7) ; (Bim) or ————— a ae jpho Gite a : = Closet rock’n'ollers are likely to recognize the dominant 7 with a*9 as the’Jimi Hendrix chord” the focal point ofthe tunes Foxy Lady and Purple | Bis Haze, Because the ‘9 is only a half step away from the major 3rd of the | | chord (or a major 7h away depending on the voicing) there isa great a deal of bite to any chord that uses it, { You will notice that the #9 is the enharmonic equivalent of the '3. The result is that, forall practical purposes, you have the sound of a major 3rd and a minor 3rd in the same chord. This | makes for a great deal of tension to resolve. Another use, though, is to do what Hendrix did and utilize the *9 as though it were a'3 "blue note” giving a bluesy gritty feeling to @ dominant 7 ‘chord. Play chrough the excerpt below to hear this in action inthe first five bars ofa blues. 79 7 7a | 2K 12-Key: Alterations You will get the most out of this 12-Key exercise if you practice it in two ways (four if you consider that you will be doing each of the three ways both as written and with lefchand rootess voicing). First. play only the dominant 7 chord voeing in each two-measure example to become accustomed to those voicings. Take each voicing through the keys as though it were shown as an individual chord, Second, play the passages as writen (nll twelve key, of course) to become accustomed to using voice leading to resolve the altered dominants. i Bid Gmin?s C79 Fmin7 Gmin? C779 FMai7 i ‘eae | Gmin? C79 Mal Gminr's C79 Fin? Gms? CPS. FMai7 Gmin?'s C7"S Fin? Gein CTS Emin? Grint C75 FMai7 i{] Douste-Tension Cronos Since the function of having an altered note in a dominant chord is to build more tension (leading toa correspondingly more powerful resolution) it stands to reason that ewo altered notes in the same chord will create even more tension than one,and thus an even more intense resolution. Dominane chords {with ewo altered notes are sometimes called doubletension chords or altered chords. There are four possibilities for double-tension chords: 95, °9#5, #95 and 1915. The order of altered notes can be reversed in the name as wall (95255, for example). The term “altered chord” is a blanket term that ap- plies to any of these four chord types. Sometimes a lead sheet will have the chord symbol “ale” to signify an alzered chord. So you may see “B'7 al” or even simply “Bait” In those situations, ou have your pick as to which alcered notes you want to play. The choice will most likely depend on some combina- tion of considering the melody, the voice leading and your ears and instincts at the moment. eo When playing a double-tension chord, there are some common ways to approach voicing (as well as many less common ways,of course). In each case, we start from the bottom, building the voicing up from the 3rd or the 7th of the dominant chord, In the first method, we begin with the 3rd or the 7th and then move up, playing the nearest available ofthe remaining notes. The 3-5-7-9 and 7-9.3-5 patterns wwe first looked at with chord excensions also apply here, simply altering the 5 and 9 according to the chosen colors. Because this voicing type ean be played ‘one-handed, i is a clear choice for lefchand rootless voicings. POS 7a) In the second method, the left hand plays the “shell” (3rd and 7th) while the right hand plays the altered colors, Because its so spread out, this voicing type is by nature two-handed and rootless.12K. 12-Key: Double-Tension Chords e "Play each of the voicings below through all twelve keys. Notice that while the first ewo voicings for each chord type ean be practiced in the usual way.the next two are already twohanded and i rootless,and thus needn't be adjusted to practice as rootless voicings. If you are so inclined, try | raking some of these voicings and inserting them in place of other dominant chords in the { progressions found in 12-Key exercises earlier inthis chapter. i an | rss costs 1 criss=] CHorps Wit Bort Atterep AND UNALTERED EXTENSIONS | I We've already studied voicings that combine unaltered exten: sions, We have also looked at double-tension chords, voicings ‘hat use multiple altered notes. What we have not yet explored are voicings thae combine unaltered extensions with altered notes. ‘As with some of the other colorful voicings we've studied, we Bist take a “one from column A, one from column 8” approach. In o ‘other words, we wouldn't be likely to use two different $ehs in gE 6. the same voicing, opting instead to use a Sth in tandem with a > Oe 13th or an altered Sth. Therefore, the relevant combinations are 513 with 9,513 with *9,°9 with °S and 9 with *5. These chords have an interesting and ambiguous sound. The altered note creates tension, yet the unaltered extension does not scream “resolve me” in the same way. As such, one good use for this category of chord is whee cension is called for,but nota tremendous amount. | For example, if you ae ina situation where you want ro build and release tension, but you want to withhold your most tense chords for later, one of these chords may be a good choice. [Another place where these chords are useful is where you want a dominant chord with some ‘ric to it, but are playing underneath a melody with an unaltered or otherwise incompatible | Color: As shown in the two examples of harmonized melodies below, you can use these voicings to acknowledge the unaltered color and still throw in an altered note that is far enough away from the melody note that it won't clash. The top notes of each chord comprise the melody. Emin? AIPD D6 Emin? A9!S DMT12K. 12-Key: Combining Altered Notes with Unaltered Extensions Take all he voicings below through all twelve keys. Follow all of the same guidelines that you followed when practicing the I2-Key exercise for double-tension chords (page 41). i otk C139 us eae se cists 3s aOnce again, i's time for Swang Thong. This time the une is adapted to the concepts and voicings we have been studying in this chapter. Various combinations of extensions and alter ations are used to harmonize both the melody and the “blank” spaces where the melody is inactive. If your fluency with these colors is anything short of exceptional. itis suggested that you go in with a pencil and identify the colors in each of the chords. Once you have done that and practiced the music below,go back and try substituting your own voicings for those shown. See the bottom of page 84 to check your answers, . SWANG THANG S FM Dmnin7 Grin? ce Fe Emint’s AT Dring Gmin? 7 Fai min? Gmin? 7 FM? (Gmin7 cn 12K 12-Key: swong Thang with Extensions and Alterations ‘Once you have analyzed and become comfortable with the colors in the music above, you should be able to take it through all twelve keys, In addition, try playing the tune in each of the ‘weve keys with different voicings, using all ofthe new ideas discussed inthis chapter.Now That You Have Learned the Rules ... You have probably heard somebody say “you have to learn the rules so you can break them” ‘That’ certainly true of jazz. Ics a safe bet that if you have gone to apply your well-studied lessons to tunes, you have discovered places where the tune breaks the rules you've been learning, Likewise, when you listen to your favorite players, there's a good chance you will hear ‘them breaking some rules—even if they're the people in whose honor the rules were estab- lished in the first place, As such,"the rules” are constantly in flux, depending on the accepted sounds of the day. If you became a famous and legendary jazz musician, you could be sure that any “rule-breaking” techniques in your style would seem a lot more acceptable before long. For example, check out the chords below. M745 Bhmin/Mai7 If we followed the rules to the letter, we might stay away from these chords. But there are situations where they are useful especially in more modem tunes or more modern interpreta- tions of standards. The Maj75 can be voiced and extended using the same guidelines as other Maj7 chords, and the min/Maj7 can be treated the same way a8 a minor 6/9. Both of these chords, you may recall, occur naeurally in the harmonic minor scale, yet aren't used as commonly as other chords, as they are considered more dissonant This is true not only of chord types, but of extensions and alterations, too. Play the chords below and check out the extensions. Bein? 13 Bimai729411 §——tbo x E 33— - =o o bo iE Hopefully by now you have practiced your extensions enough to quickly real: alterations to the above chords are"'supposed” to work. Yet in the right contex: ‘example, Wayne Shorter makes dramatic use of the Mal7#9 in his tune Speak No Evil while hierbie Hancock's Dolphin Dance uses 2 7sus'9. Theory and rules are important but, as often as not, theory is simply a way of codifying sounds that people have made and that other people like and want to replicate. Remember that the major scale is not 2 natural phenomenon of physics, but just a group of notes that people have decided sound good together. This does not mean we can just ignore the rules, (although it's unlivly that the “jazz police” will knock on your door to arrest you for noise pollution). However you look ac some of the most famous and influential rule-breakers (ors history now looks upon them,rule-creators) like Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy and Charles Mingus, many of them have something interesting in common. They all mastered whatever rules existed at the time, before deciding that they needed to break them to express themselves. Admittedly. not everybody who has ever fruitfully broken a rule has done so from such a pesiton. But if you believe that knowl ledge is power, you are probably best off being comfortable with both perspectives: having the knowledge to go by the rules and the freedom to bend them wien you nezd to, And after al if youlve made it this far in this book, you obviously have something invested in learning to access the sound of jazz musi, In subsequent chapters, we will look at further uses for some of these less traditional chords but for now the important thing isto be aware ofthe freedom that can lle ahead once the traditional sounds and techniques are mastered.5 substitution. | Most of the voicings and progressions we have studied so far revolve around the concept of tension and release. Chord types and voicings are often chosen based on the amount of tension they wil create and the strength of the subsequent resolution. So while we spent Chapter 4 looking at voicings that intensify tension and release, we wil shift our focus in this chapter to substiution, Substitution is the act of altering a chord progression. Most jazz substitution consists of adding chords to a progression o using new chords to replace existing ones. Many of the substeutions that are common in jazz today were popularized beginning in the 1940s during the bebop era. Pioneers such as saxophonist Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizry Gillespie and pianists Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk began tinkering with standard tunes. fa chord progression was too static for their tastes, chey would use alternate chord progressions that provided more mo- tion, more excitement and more stimulation for the soloists. Though there are a virtually infinite number of possibilities for substitutions, che principle is usually the same—to make the existing tune or progression more exciting, interesting and “hip” There are two ways that substitution is commonly used: 1) Prearranged substitution ~ A person or group looks at a tune beforehand and decides ‘on alternative changes to be used in performance. This can range from one changed chord to a complete overhaul of the harmony. 2) Spontaneous substitution ~ A player spontaneously decides to substitute different changes. ‘The player could be a soloist using alternate changes for the content of a solo or it could be somecne laying down the changes on a chordal instrument (piano, guitar, etc). Asa jazz musician gets more experienced, he or she builds up knowledge of common substitu- tions, just like the palecte of voicings we have been developing. Once you have this experience, i it becomes just another part of the common language shared by fluent jazz musicians. So a pianist may decide while comping to throw in a substitution to stimulate the soloist, who will in turn hear the substitution and adapt the solo lines accordingly. Likewise,a soloist may decide to stare soloing over substitute changes, while che comping pianist hears the new changes being outlined in the solos and plays those same alternate changes. If chat still sounds daunting, relax. While the scenarios listed above are the “ideal” illustrations of substitution synergy, you needn't wait until you have flawless ears and mental telepathy with a soloist to begin using substitution. Remember from our voicing studies that the guidelines are vague for exactly which alterations to use. Typically, you choose how you want to build up tension, and as long as you release it in the “correct” place, you have a lot of freedom. Substi- tution can be much the same. Imagine that you and your roommate are leaving a party at the same time to go hame and clean the apartment. It doesn’t much matter whether you both take the same route home. What matters most is that you arrive home at the same time. As with the voicings we've studied, be sure ta try out the substitutions wherever you can. Over ‘ime, youll find that the concepts and techniques of substitution are not that tricky at all. The trickiest part is knowing which substitutions to use when, or when net to use any at all. Upon learning a new substitution, the instinct is to use it wherever possible,and that's fine. Over time you learn when to use what through sensitivity, ears and plain old experience, NOTE: { Spontaneous substitutions can be used most freely during improvised solos. They can be used ‘with writcen melodies as well, ut with the added caution of making sure the new chords are compatible with the melody. What might be a hip substitution out of context will quickly become square and downright unpleasant if it clashes with the melody.TURNAROUNDS If chere were an advertising campaign for tumarounds,it would be “Turnarounds: they sound so natural you won't even know you're using a substitution” A turnaround (sometimes called a “curnback’) is a progression that takes you from the end of a tune or section back to the top again. To illustrate play the following standard progression with no turnarounds: Br v 1 AV eta 87 ei er 62d . 1 ei v 1 Aa? Frnt BT eMai7 le sounds fine, But the last two measures are completely static, staying put on the I chord. The saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder” applies to chord progressions. When we get back to the I chord at the top of the tune on the repeat, itis antilimactic because we havent really been anywhere in the meantime. Inserting a turnaround at the end of the tune will break up the stagnancy, create excitement and lead us back to the top. Play the three examples of standard turnarounds below. They could be used in the last two measures of the progression above. Be y Bt ay Bot vi eter Etat mnt 07 EM Cmin? Fron? 87 SS Z 7 In the firs example, the V chord is inserted to bring us back to the top. In the second, that V is preceded by the ii. In the last example, we cycle through a full I-vi-ii-V, adding even more suspense t9 resolve at the top of the form. Even fa tune already has a turnaround, you can use substitutions to lengthen or intensify it. For example, if you encountered the first turnaround above (I-V}, you could use the third one ([-vi-i-V) as a substitution. ‘We can 2!so use the same concept to spruce up the harmonies elsewhere in 2 tune—preced- inga I chord with a V, preceding the V with a ii and so on. The guideline isto leave the I (ori) chord alors, only using substitutions to change the way you get there. The example below shows the progression from the top of this page with several substitutions in addition to the -smaround, Br ve SMa Cmin7 A iis v Brminy? 7 U eit v 1 ve ie ve (ati Frio? 7 BMT Cmin? = Fmin? 87 NOTE: Sometimes you will see a turnaround written into a tune with parentheses, as is the case with Swang Thong (see the footnote on page I) In those cases, play the turnaround only when you are repeating the form and returning to the top. In those instances, you leave out a ‘turnaround when you get to the end of the tune, leting it resolve rather than creating anticipation for another go-round. _ 47.Using Dominant Chords in Cycles isa dominant 7 chord resolving down a Sth toa Maj7 or min7 chord. IFwe use diatonic harmony, however,we only have one dominant 7 chord in any key (the V chord) and thus only one chance ‘As we have seen,one of the most essential sources of tension and release in a chord progression per key to access this sound. Using substitution, we can make greater use of this sound, One of the most effective places to add a dominant chord is in a ycl,a repetitive sequence of chords. For example,a progression whose roots consistently move dawn in Sths or half steps isa cycle. The most common kind of cycle in jazz harmony isa series of chords moving down in Sths. Below is the ili-vi-ii-V-I progression, a very common cycle. Sri Sh SS Gmin? Coin? Frsin? enir ‘The cycle above has motion and it has tension and release. However. could have alot more. That's ‘where substitution comes in. Imagine that the ii chord (Fmin7) is a tonal center ofits own for the ‘moment. In that case,it would likely be preceded by its V chord,C7, This is often called a secondary dominant. Check out what happens when we substitute C7 for the Cmin?. & i vi ii v I min? cr ba =——— LADD SL - + By thinking of the Fmin7 as a temporary i chord, we have theoretical justification for the substitution above. But when we play through the example, we realize that the theoretical justification is secondary to the fact that it ust sounds good. Adding that dominant chord adds excitement and motion to the progression, We can take ta step further stl and have dominant chords serving 3s" chords that resolve to.otherV chords, Landing ona V chord doesnt much sound like a resolution (except perhaps ina blues) but ina cycle t's ne. In fact the"semi-resoluion”creaesa sore of domino effect that makes the ukimate resolution afer a string of secondary dominants (inthis ease EM) that much more intense Get PELE f S ‘When we looked at turnarounds, we established that in a V-I you can enrich the progression by inserting the ii chord. In the example below, we take each of the dominant chords (serving as temporary V chords) and precede chem with the appropriate ii chord, (Co es eee Verte et eu Sey) 1 Dein? G7 Gmin? C7 Cin? 7 Femina NOTE: The different substitutions shown above and the theoretical justification for them illustrate an important poi works somewhers | elsewhere, about substitution—if something (a device, concept or technique) it can probably be lifted from its original context and used effectivelyCycles can be taken to an even greater extreme, as shown dramatically by the cycle below. _ oa 7 AT O7 Fr 87 Mair To create such a long dominant cycle, the trick is to know where youre going to wind up and when. In an example such as this, you target an“arrval” at the I chord (EMaj7 in the fith bar). The rest isa decision of how long you want to cycle, plus doing the math to werk your way backwards from the target and see where to begin in order to end there. “To make things even more interesting you can still apply the ii chords that relate to each of the dominant chords, as shown below. eve ait) boy oy t | Dmin? GT Grin? C7 Cmin? FT Fen? 87 ENT y Remember that this cycle is still serving as a substitution for the original iii-vi-ii-V-1 progression at the top of page 48. Obviously, something this extreme should be used with caution. The example above could bring a tremendous amount of inensity toa tune, However, if that level of incensiy isn't warranted, or ifthe chords clash with the melody, you might be in trouble, Use restraint. Diminished Passing Chords ‘When discussing the 9 on page 38, we noticed that certain diminished chords are almost identical to certain dominant 7 chords where the '9 is included. This becomes useful now as we lookat dimin- ‘shed passing chords. The dominant cycling we've looked at shows us how to move down through a cycle, but what if we need to move up? For example, lets say we have the following changes: emai? Fin? Grint By using diminished passing chords, we can fill in chese gaps and move up as follows: Substitutions ev Edi™ Fin? Fant” min? ‘The smooth root movernent in half steps makes the progression feel seamless, and the progression has harmonic resolution as in a dominant cycle. Edi? is the equivalent of 2 i rootless C79 (and therefore resolves as a V-i to Fmin7) and Fidim7 has the same relationship Sees to D7 (resolving to Gmin? asa Vi. ‘o—| {-S50] Trirone SuastiTuTion ‘One of the most important and widely used intervals in jazzis also possibly the most dissonant of them all: the tritone (diminished Sth! augmented 4th, three whole steps). We have been playing the tritone ! 50 often in our dominant 7 chord voicings that it’s easy to forget | i 1 SF eritone ‘hata tensioncfled interval ies. Bue ies no accident that we most cften find icin the dominant 7 chord,a chord whose main function is co build tension. Notice also the symmetry of the tritone—it, bisects the octave (splits it in hal), and can be inverted with the {spacing and notes remaining the same. For example, ifyou go up a tritone fromA’, you get Di If you go down a tritone fromA’,you get another Dt It you play the shell voicing for a dominant 7 chord, you | will notice that the distance between the 3rd and 7th is a tritone. Notice, as the example to the right shows, that the dominant chord a tritone away shares the same tritone shell, The 3rd of one dorninant chord is the’ ofits tritone counterpart, and vice versa, This striking similarity is the basis forthe tritone sub (tritone substitution). A resolving dominant chord can be replaced by the dominant chord a tritone away, since the shell of a dominant chord defines its sound and these two chords share the same shell ‘We have been exploring the addition of the ii chord in front of a dominant chord, and we can do this with tritone subs as well. In fact, we now have several options. We can use the ii chord in the "home" key, as in the first example below. We can also use the ii chord that would normally relate to the dominant 7 chat is being used, as in | the second example below. Cnt B77 Fmin?® BT ‘We can also apply tritone subs to dominant cycles. For example the iii-vii-V-I we explored Con the pages 48 and 49 could become either of the following progressions, among others (the tritone subs are asterisked): o7 om fT :r ei? om CI ar °7 ear ‘After using eritone subs for a while, your ear will begin to process movement downward in half {saps in much the same way that it processes moverene downward in Sths.‘Surprises: OTHER -V Devices In classical theory, the term deceptive cadence is used to refer to a progression that sounds like ie leading co a certain resolution but then tricks your ear by resolving differently. Typically the term refers to progressions in a major key that surprise you by resolving to the relative minor instead. In jazz, you're unlikely to hear somebody say “hey man, dig this deceptive cadence” Nonetheless, there are a number of common substitutions that have the same ceffect—that of setting the ear up for one thing but giving it another. Mind you, this doesn't | ‘mean that you can arbitrarily play the opposite of what people are expecting. While all the substitutions on this page are less common sounds than a typical {i-V-I, they all serve the function of providing an effective resolution. ‘As we have seen, one of the most common and effective methods of substitution is to take something out of its original context and insert it into a new context. A typical and useful example of ths is borrowing chords from the parallel major or minor (if you are in a major key, the parallel minor key is that which starts on the same note,and vice versa). The example below shows a minor chord resolution preceded by a cycle borrowed from the parallel major. Drsin? o7 2 ‘The following example shows the opposite of the above. Below, a ii-V associated with a minor key resolves instead to major. This device is used in the beginning of Cole Porter's standard Night and Doy. Fin?’ 7 emai7 7 Other ii-Vs can work as well. One frequently used substitution is to play 8 dominant chord ! built from the’? in che key of resolution ('VII7), That chord can be preceded, of course, by the ii chord that rises toi (inthis case, the ivmin7). The example below shows this in action in a passage in the style of the opening five measures of Tadd Dameron's Lady Bird. w wy) coair Fin? 87 cma Another useful ii-V is one built a half step above the one we just played. In this case the dominant chord used is the one built from the 7 in the key of resolution—one half step below the chord of resolution (VIIT). Its corresponding ii chord will be built on the ‘iv of the key. The jazz standard ! Remember You makes use of this device in its opening measures. Here is an example: ‘These are a few ofthe substitution possibilities we have with i-V's. Ifyou find another one ina tune, = feel free to use it in another. Just be sensitive to how well fits the context pe _ elTHe Twetve-Bar Buues ‘The twelve-bar blues is the single most common chord progression in azz. It has been used in fone form or another since the earliest days of jazz. All of this makes the blues a prime candi- {date for substitutions, After all,any jazz musician is going to play a whole lot of blues over time, 50 it sure is nice to have the option of adding some variety to the mix. The basic structure for a owelve-bar blues is shown below. The chords in parentheses are common but optional For the purpose of studying substitution, che most important thing to know about this struc ture is the location of every important point of resolution: the I chord in bar I, the [V chord in bar 5 and the return to the I chord in bar I. Some would say that any twelve-bar tune that fits those three harmonic criteria is automatically a blues, regardless of what happens for the ‘remaining nine bars. So, as we look at possible blues progressions and substitutions, our main goal is to find substitutions that still lead us to these points of resolution, but in different ways, 12K 12-Key: Blues Progressions ‘We wil now look at various common twelve-bar blues progressions. Practice each of them in all ewelve keys. sk 12k BASIC TWELVE-BAR BLUESBEBOP BLUES SS ' Notice the substitutions used in isthe most commonly used blues progression in modern jazz. | 87 7 7 Fmin7* Bhs 2K “BIRD” BLUES ai Substicutions ‘The many substitutions in this progression make ie seem almost a world removed from a basic blues, It is associated most with speedy bop tunes like Charlie “Bird” Parker's Blues for Alice. air Amin?'S* D7 Gmint™ cre” Emin® BT po . - = _ acme” pat Br : ebntai7 om Comin a aE = - v MINOR BLUES This is the minor-key variation on the blues, used in tunes like John Coltrane's Mr. RC. Bin? Brin? or 7 Binsin FrRhythm Changes “The corm Rhythm Changes refers toa particular thity-two-bar chord progression with an A-A-B-A, form. The progression, shown below, originated with George Gershwin’ ! Got Rhythm. Since then it has become the second-most common chord progression in jazz (behind the blues), serving as the basis for many widely played jazz tunes including Lester Young’ Lester Leaps In, Sonny Rollins’ eo, Thelonious Monk’s Rhythm-A.Ning and Miles Davis’ The Theme. Dial Coda = Da Capo af Coda, Go back to beginning and play to the Coda sign ©. Coda = Ending section, BIMaj7 Gin? Cmin? 7 Dmin? Gain? Cmin? FT 1 87 ergy tam? | omar G7 mint #7 : Because Rhythm Changes are both so common and so harmonically rich, chey inspire a great deal of substitution by jazz musicians. That substicution can be spontaneous, or in the form of “altered” Rhythm Changes (progressions that involve written substitutions but still adhere to the basic Rhythm Changes structure). ‘As with the blues, the trick is to understand the basic structure, The revolve around aI chord in bar | and a IV chord in bar 6, The second (coda) usually resolve back to T on the 8th bar, while the first [3] usually puts a turnaround in that space. The bridge is simply a dominanc cycle leading back to the I at the top of the last (3 Therefore, chords can be added or changed, as long as resolutions occur in the appropriate places. As we will explore, one can use so many substitutions that the original structure is barely recognizable. For now, though, there is plenty of material to master within the realm of Rhythm Changes substitutions that retain the basic harmonic structure sections typically 12:Key: Rhythm Changes Play the progression above in al cwelve keys. 1AZz ¥Er@OARD ARON |The progression below uses some common substitutions for Rhythm Changes. Any of the sections shown below could be used when playing a Rhythm Changes tune without provoking any dirty looks from other bandmembers. i) RHYTHM CHANGES WITH SUBSTITUTIONS Saeeasal| ~ Al ° a LoS ara G7 cmin? 7 Dmin? G7 Cmin? FF w Fminz BT May Simin?” min? «G7 Cmin? —F7 © Al ea Beim7* min? Ciim7* min? BT Cm? Bz? Fret” 87 eMai7 Edm? = min? Bina 27 ery 7 mint shes (r%) ! 2K 12-Key: Rhythm Changes with Substitutions Play the progression above in all ewelve keys.EES The progression below uses some of the more adventurous substitution devices commonly used in a Rhythm Changes. As examples. Thelonious Monk’s Humph uses the progression shown in che second A section, while the last A section is similar to the changes from Jimmy Heath's CTA. The bridge uses the changes that Sonny Stitt popularized on the bridge of his 1 famous Rhythm Changes The Etemal Tiong. = "RHYTHM CHANGES WITH LOTS OF SUBSTITUTIONS 2 Substitutions K LAT ahr ine cr ae ere cm ar © 87 ery abr or oor oo * : . 2 — f] ear ear or er Cayo Amin?® D7 Amin OTe Gm cr Fmin?= Bm > 87 Evay AP Coin? £7 May (FD) 12K) 12-key: Rhythm Changes with Lots of Substitutions Play the progression above in all twelve keys 56)As if you hadn't had enough of Swang Thang, here itis again. This time the harmony to Swang Thang is diferent, The basic structure and resolutions are the same, but many substitutions have been added. Play through the music below and compare it to the versions without substi- tutions (pages 11,26 and 44). Once you have become comfortable with it. try adding your own | substitutions, both prearranged and spontaneous. Make sure to explore each of the substitu- : tons we've studied in this chapter, and as you encounter other substitutions in tunes, work ‘with them as wel, When you add your own substitutions, you may prefer to use the completely ‘unadorned version on page I to begin witha clean slate ol SWANG THANG Sibsteaions 8 Fei? or Gmin? Biman ET coe F6 ar abr» Br Dring cr cr FMaiz Br Amin?’S* Te Gmin?* 7 FMai7 (07* D'min* — Gi7*) 12K> 12-xey: Swang Thang Substitutions Ply through the tune above with al of ts substitutions in all ewelve keys. Then play the tune through the keys with your own substitutions following the suggestions above { NOTE: q IF you haven't already done so, take some time to try our these substitutions in a variery of |g” ‘tunes. Apply them to tunes you're working on, tunes you've been wanting to learn orlook at the tune lis at the end ofthis book. é By i6 ‘more voicing concepts... \. | this chapter wit focus on adding 0 your palate of voicing and voiing concepts. Obvioushit | is ecommended tha you dig nto everything inthis caper but you ean do s0 a your own | pacespcking and chooting the devices most relevant c yur ste, The lesson inthis ehaper | Cemprise more ofa survey than a regimented sudy—here are fo mary voiings and voicing | Concepts ou there that he best thing we ean do here Is get ou feet wee with 38 many as posible, Suaestons are given for how to dig deeper inc each concert CLusTers ‘A cluster is a group of two or more notes played very close together. Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor are among the best known proponents of clusters, By the very nature of cramming notes as close together as possible, clusters are biting and somewhat dissonant. They can be rhythmic (often the case with Silver), playful (Monk), jarring (Taylor) or any combi- ration of these. ‘The most basic way co form a cluster is to find two notes ina chord (fundamental chord tones and excended/altered colors) that are a whole step apart .. e ThPee “These clusters only hint ata chord, rather than spelling it out, since not al che defining chord | tones are present. In subtle harmonic situations, or ones where the harmony is already clear this can be fine. If more harmonic clarity is needed, another option is to begin with the shell voicing for the chord (3 and 7) and then eram additional colors in between those two notes. waka, 37 oF © ot bbSB? [As with mose things we have studied, clusters can be taken to the extreme. The voicings to the right show ‘wo more extreme examples,and they can get even more intense chan that. you drop your arm lengthwise across the keyboard, thar’ a cluster, though the music has to be preety incense and avant-garde for that to be appropriate. To practice clusters more intensively.take one chord type 3¢.atime.and experiment to see how many different clus- ters you can play. Do the same in every key with every | chord type. Then stare doing the same within tunes.‘SPREAD VOICINGS Spread vings is 2 Hanket term referring to voicings in which the notes ae spread out more « chan usual. Py the tree vocings for a B7 shown below and compare the sounds, : 87 i ‘The first voicing is a typicsl 3-5-7-9 voicing, In the second voicing, the 5th is played an octave higher. This voicing type is similar to some that we used for altered dominant chords in Chapter 4—the left hand voices a shell and the right hand plays the additional colors immedi- ately above. In the third voicing, the 9th s also played an octave higher, spreading the four notes out over a range of almost two octaves. To begin working with spread voicings, apply this technique to voicings you already know. Play the "less essential” colors an octave higher and observe the sound, ‘There are pros and cons to using spread voicings. On the pro side, the sound is very 847 (a0 spread out) rich and very full without using more notes. Also, colors that might be obscured in more constricted voicings can be heard more dramatically, The main con of using spread voicings is that voice leading becomes more diffcult. Along the same lines, the more spread out a voicing becomes, the greater the danger that the notes will sound less“of a piece” In other words.a voicing that is spread out to the extreme, such as the example to the right, can cease to sound like a unified chord, sou instead like a series of separate notes (never mind the fact that to play ityou'd need | | OE an extra arm). Given these pros and cons, here are a few general guidelines for spread voicings: + They are most useful at slower tempos where the ear has time to absorb the colors and process the more spread-out voice leading. + They provide a great opportunity to play coloriul chords. Since each color becomes more audible, be liberal with your use of extensions and alterations. + leis generally wise to play the 3rd and 7th at the bottom ofa voicing. In a spread voicing, having the voicing rooted in the fundamental chord tones is essential to hearing the chord’s identity ‘The example below shows the guidelines in action, The first ewo bars show a ii-V-I played with ‘more typical voicings,and the next two bars show che same chords translated to spread voicings.. “ Cmin? Fr Mair Cris? FT BMai7 id