Jazz Piano Chords

Exciting Jazz Piano Chords

Jazz piano chords and jazz chord progression create some of the most complex music for an instrumentalist to master. The basic triad chord of three notes is far afield from the stacked 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths that jazz musicians must understand. If you are a beginning player, however, keep in mind that the best instrumentalists started just where you are starting.

The C major chord of C, E, G has a sweet, harmonic sound. The minor chords are universally considered melancholy. When you get into the seventh chords, you enter the bluesy, funky sound. A minor seventh is more jazzy and mellow. Don't let the terminology put you off. It will soon become second nature, as you practice and absorb music theory, whether from lessons or a wall chart.

Stacking Chords

When you get good enough to play for a jazz band, which probably means a trio or quartet, you will frequently not play the melody. What you will play at these times is backup piano, or jazz piano chords and progressions. Understanding 11ths and 13ths, and being able to improvise with the more complex chords, becomes essential.

Sometimes it's helpful to get an overall picture of where you are going when you first start playing. A comprehensive, clear wall chart is a great aid in many ways. For one thing, you don't have to take your fingers off the keyboard to change a page in a book. All you need to do is keep your fingers in place and look at the piano chord chart on the wall in front of you.