3 Comments for 'Does anyone know any good chords to use in Jazz/Blues Music?Also, Any tips/instructions on composing jazz?'

1.  
   Marcop
   December 29, 2008 | 3:59 am
    

   Catho,
   from my point of view, your question has no answer.
   There are a lot of information, also over internet, that can help you in learning chords that sounds goods playing jazz, but this is not helpful, or maybe, it's not enough to start your compositions.

   IMVHO you should start "rewriting" a song using different chords and trying to play it. Once you start using the basic chords, the substitutions ecc. you'll learn how the different chords sound, and where to use them. This of course, is a long term exercise, but I think you'll find it very useful.

   my 2 cents

   ps- sorry for poor English, it's not my language.
   References :

2.  
   galacticsleigh
   December 29, 2008 | 4:13 am
    

   Bill Evans is considered the "gold standard" for jazz piano chords and chord voicings.
   Also, Herbie Hancock has luscious chords.
   Try to find true piano transcriptions of any of their music.
   Here are two book suggestions:
   1) "Jazz Piano Chords" by Misha V. Stefanuk, published by Creative Keyboard Publications, a division of Mel Bay Publications, Inc.
   It is meant for piano, but it will give you the most complex chords and harmonizations of chords. Its probably the only book you will need.
   2) "Voicings for Jazz Keyboard" by Frank Mantooth is my favorite chord book, but it is pretty technical. A background in some music theory would help with this book, but it has the most interesting combinations, in my opinion.

   Good luck! Stick with it, the more you compose, the better you get at it.
   References :

3.  
   JB
   December 29, 2008 | 4:46 am
    

   O.k. so the chords are down below… but please read this first!

   First of all, Music is a language and Jazz is a dialect of the language. In order to really understand it, you must listen listen listen and speak it (sing a long before you can play it).

   It doesn't matter if you know all the chords in the world, if you don't know how to play them in the right style (dialect)

   Start by listening to some (starting from earliest to today)

   Scott Joplin

   Tunji Sowande

   Louis Amrstrong

   Ella Fitzgerald

   Duke Ellington

   Count Baise

   Charlie Parker

   Dizzy Gillespie

   Thelonious Monk

   John Coltrane

   Miles Davis

   J.J. Johnson

   John Coltrane (Again)

   Charles Mingus

   Herbie Hancock

   Kieth Jarett

   Dave Holland and the Dave Holland Quintet

   Robin Eubanks

   Chris Potter

   Joshua Redman

   Roy Hargrove and the RH Factor

   Now for the chords!
   (if you want to hear these chords go here:
   http://www.musictheory.net/trainers/html/id92_en.html )

   I'd recommend going there anyway to help train your ear!

   I'll put all of these chord in "C" so you'll need to transpose

   Basic Chord Types

   Major written C
   C E G

   Minor written C- or cmin
   C Eb B

   Diminished written Cdim
   C Eb Gb

   Augmented written C+ or C aug
   C E G#

   Major 7 written Cmaj7 or with a triangle instead of maj
   C E G B

   Dominant 7 written C7
   C E G Bb

   minor 7 written C-7 or cmin7
   C Eb G Bb

   Half Diminished 7 Cdim7 or C (circle with a line through it) 7
   C Eb Gb Bb

   Fully Diminished 7 C (circle)7
   C Eb Gb Bbb

   Ok then there's extensions….b9,9,#9, 11,#11 etc

   the numbers refer to there step in the scale so

   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
   C D E F G A B C D E F G A

   So you could build a C7b9 chord like
   C E G Bb Db

   One of my favorite chords is a Minor 9/11

   C Eb G Bb D F

   Chord Progessions:

   THere are some common chord progressions. I'll show you a few:

   Here's a basic 12 bar blues chord progression

   Chords needed:
   C7 - C E G Bb
   F7 - F A C Eb
   G7 - G B D F

   (each slash mark is a beat… 4 beats in a measure. I've separated the measures so you can see it easier)

   C7
   / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
   F7 C7
   / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
   G7 F7 C7
   / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

   12 Bar blues with a ii V at the end

   Chords needed:
   C7 - C E G Bb
   F7 - F A C Eb
   D-7 - D F A C
   G7 - G B D F

   C7
   / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
   F7 C7
   / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
   D-7 G7 C7
   / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

   Here's the typical blues played in jazz

   Chords needed:
   C7 - C E G Bb
   F7 - F A C Eb
   F#DIM7 - F# A C Eb
   D-7 - D F A C
   G7 - G B D F
   A7 - A C# E G
   Amin 7 - ACEG

   I've separated the beats out more because there more chords

   C7 F7 C7
   / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
   F7 F#dim7 C7 A7
   / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
   D-7 G7 C7 A-7 D-7 G7
   / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

   Here's a complete chord dictionary
   http://www.geocities.com/mecmirror/magicpiano.html

   Here's some more changes

   ii V's
   http://www.outsideshore.com/primer/primer/ms-primer-5-2.html#TwoFive

   Rhythm Changes
   http://www.outsideshore.com/primer/primer/ms-primer-5-2.html#RhythmChanges

   For more changes I'd suggest Jamey Aebersold
   http://www.aebersold.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc
   or purchasing the real book
   http://www.amazon.com/Real-Book-Hal-Leonard-Corporation/dp/0634060384

   Good Luck! Jazz is a challenging, yet rewarding endevour… one that takes a lifetime to master, but learning one aspect of it one week will change your perception of music forever and enhance your musical experience! So, I know this is a lot of information, but one step at a time and enjoy each step. Just because it can take a lifetime doesn't mean you can't begin to enjoy playing it now!

   Even though I am a professional jazz musician, I am still practicing, still working on getting better… I always will.
   References :
   Myself - Professional Jazz Musician

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