Sam?s guide to starting Jazz

Hey - Haven't sent you anything in a while! - Here's some more stuff:
I have already touched on some of this in the last set of notes, but it just helps me in explaining so bear with me if you think you've heard some of it before!

I'm going to go into chords and spacings in more detail first. Every player whatever horn they play (bass and drums inclusive!) should know about chords and be able to play them on the piano, or at least visualise them in some way. This will provide you with invaluable help when trying to improvise over complicated chord changes. I'm going to use 'Night and Day' by Cole Porter as an example for this - I will take it through various stages - starting at a skeletal chord structure and making it more and more interesting as I go along. What you will see first is the lead sheet, then the basic chords written out, followed by a voice leading skeleton (containing only Ists, 3rds and 7ths of each chord moving as smoothly as possible to each other (ie the idea of good voice-leading = the notes in each chord not having to move very far, or even at all, to reach the next chord. If a note has to move it is best if it only moves a single note either up or down. The result of this is a very smooth transition) - the reason I use only 1sts, 3rds and 7ths is that these are all the notes 'needed' for the chord to sound like the chord it is), and then after this the other voices will be filled in with and without the tune and I will provide example left hand voicings for if you were playing in an ensemble.










Notice from the 'Voiceleading - Parts Filled' picture onwards how 9ths and 13s are added whenever I wanted them - these extensions are almost a standard part of the chords in jazz. You don't need to be told to add them, generally you just stick them in. #11ths are also good, though they will not always sound good so you have to know (fairly by trial and error with each tune - though often its fairly obvious) when they will. In this picture I use one at the end on G7 (becoming basically 'G7(#11)(9)(13).' You can decorate Dominant 7ths with 4-3 suspensions - which is when you hold the note 4 diatonic notes above the root (ie in G7 - the note would be C) over from the previous iim7 chord (ie Dm7 - C is held over into G7). This causes a clash - the note 4 then resolves by dropping down to note 3 which is the third of the dominant 7th chord (ie C drops to B in G7 - B is the third!). My sharp 11th at the end comes out of a little trick where instead of just resolving the suspension downwards, the 'voice' splits into two - moving a semitone in either direction (ie C becomes both B and C# (4 becomes both 3 and #4), this is a way of preparing #11th chords.
When I add in the tune - I have to make allowances for some of the notes in my previous tuneless voicings which span too high to accommodate the tune. I add in notes which may have been at the top before, into the middle of the voicing where necessary. This leaves a well harmonised tune. In terms of getting up to this stage, practice playing just the tune and the 'Voice leading skeleton' type structure of just 3rds, 7ths and roots in accompaniment. This is actually quite easy, and sounds very good. When you are playing with a band a bass player will hate you if you are playing bass notes with him/her, because bass players like having the freedom to change the chord from bass up, and by doubling them you take this away from them. Therefore you should then practice playing the same voicings with the roots take out.
In case you don't remember how these voicings are formed - here is the process: The thumb of each hand plays either a 3rd or a 7th - in terms of voice leading, 7ths and 3rds always morph into each other - so the 3rd of one chord may become the 7th of the next or the 3rd of the next - as a general rule. So you're thumbs won't and shouldn't stray away from 3rds and 7ths. - In you're Left-Hand fingers you play the bass note (if you are playing piano solo - you can even play walking bass lines with them). This is the basic structure of the chord. Then above this in your Right-Hand fingers you play the extensions (9th, 13th etc). - The 'voice leading parts filled' picture doesn't stray from this structure - so look at that for example!
For a basic ii V I pattern - the notes would morph like following:

iim7 V7 Imaj7
9 13 9
5 9 5
3 7 3
7 3 3
1 1 1
And the same thing in notes for
Dm7 G7 Cmaj7
E E D
A A G
F F E
C B B
D G C

This is the first likely voicing (for the ii chord it starts with 7 lower than 3, the other likely voicing starts with 3 lower than 7). Here is the other likely voicing:

iim7 V7 Imaj7
5 9 5
9 13 9
7 3 3
3 7 3
1 1 1
And the same thing in notes for
Dm7 G7 Cmaj7
A A G
E E D
C B B
F F E
D G C
If you look throughout the 'Voiceleading parts filled' picture you should see these in practice.

The last thing I demonstrate in the pictures is rootless voicings. These can be played in the LH for accompanying a Right-Hand tune or solo, or alongside Right-Hand 'Octave voicings' or 'Upper-Structure Triads'(some explanation will be provided). They are basically condensed versions of what you were doing with the fuller voicings, but without the root (they are used nearly all of the time when you are playing with a group, and fairly sparingly when you're not!). One way of getting used to them is to start by playing the melody of a tune or perhaps a solo over the changes, and with your Left Hand accompany with only the 3rds and 7ths of each chord ('Autumn Leaves' or 'All the Things You Are' both sound great like this, as they are based so strongly around Cycle of 5th patterns). This will get you used to the essential Left Hand Voice Leading. Then you can fill in the voicings, of which (yet again there are 2 main types:
For a basic ii V I pattern - these would be one set of rootless voicings starting:

iim7 V7 Imaj7
5 9 5
3 7 3
9 13 9
7 3 3
And the same thing in notes for
Dm7 G7 Cmaj7
A A G
F F E
E E D
C B B

The other set of rootless voicings:

iim7 V7 Imaj7
9 13 9
7 3 3
5 9 5
3 7 3
And the same thing in notes for
Dm7 G7 Cmaj7
E E D
C B B
A A G
F F E

Thats quite a lot of stuff to have in the bag already - If you're looking at chord charts and playing all that, then you're well on the way. In a band accompanying a soloist you can play various voicings. You can play the full 'voiceleading parts filled' type voicings but without the root notes and this will sound great. As well as this you can also (and will more often) play the LH rootless voicings with:

1. Octave Voicings in Right hand - above the Left Hand you can play for a minor 7th chord - 1,5,1 (in Dm = D,A,D) 9,5,9 (E,A,E), OR 9,13,9 (E,B,E). for a dominant 7th chord the options are the same, (i.e. 1,5,1 (in G7 = G,D,G) 9,5,9 (A,D,A), OR 9,13,9 (A,E,A). For a major 7th you can play 9,5,9 (i.e. Cmaj7 = D,G,D), OR 9,13,9 (D,A,A) - You can't play the 1,5,1 voicing because the '1' note clashes with the major 7th in the rootless voicing quite jarringly.Below is a picture of some octave voicings for ii V I patterns:


2.Upper Structure Triads:



This is an alternative for Octave Voicings. Octave voicings are quite hard edged sounding chords which are great for making an impact. Upper-Structure Triads provide a fuller but less 'in your face' sound. They are, as their name suggests, triads played in various inversions in the rights hand. Each chord can be seen as having its own scale, from which its extensions derive (eg in C maj7(#11) the core notes are C E G and B, and its possible extensions are D, F# and A. If these notes are put in order you get C D E F# G A B - which is a scale! The scale is C Lydian (which is derived from its parent scale G maj (it is mode 4 of G major)).
These are some of the scales from which the extensions of the following chords (as generic examples) can come:

Dm7 - D dorian (Parent Scale = C major (Mode 2))
G7(#11) - G Lydian Dominant (Parent Scale = D Melodic Minor (Mode 4))
G7(alt) - G Altered Dominant (Parent Scale = Ab Melodic Minor (Mode 7))
Cmaj7 - C Lydian (Parent Scale = G major (Mode 4))
Cmaj7 - C Ionian (Parent Scale = C major (Mode 1))
Cmin(maj7) - C Melodic Minor (Parent scale = C Melodic Minor (Mode 1))
Dm7(b5) (..ie D half diminished) - D Aeolian(b5) (Parent Scale = C Melodic Minor (Mode 6))

That Might be scary to look at - so I'll simplify it for you by presenting each one in how it differs from a simple major scale: Dm7 - b3, b7
G7(#11) - #4, b7
Cmaj7 - #4
Cmaj7 - No difference
Cmin(maj7) - b3,
Dm7(b5) (..ie D half diminished) - b3, b5, b6, b7

G7 (alt) may need even more explanation... Its extensions are as follows: b9, #9, b13(sometimes seen as +5 (an augmented 5th) , it also has a b5 in it - It is basically a very strange and wonderful chord. In terms of practically finding the scale you want - here is a little trick..

First of all I will need to go off on a short tangent and explain something important - this is 'tritone substitution.' Jazz players often substitute a chord or more in a ii V I phrase, for the chord a tritone (Tritone = 3 tones, an example would be 'G - Db') away (ie instead of playing 'Dm7 G7 Cmaj7', they might play 'Dm7 Db7 Cmaj7' or even 'Abm7 Db7 Cmaj7', or 'Dm7 G7 Gbmaj7'). They would only do this when the melody allows or during solos. The first and foremost reason they do this is simply because it sounds good. But there is also a theoretical reason to back it up:
I said earlier when forming my 'Voiceleading Skeleton' that the notes which really encapsulate the essense of a chord are the 1st, 3rd and 7th. Well.. the 3rd and 7th of a '7' chord (ie in G7 = B and F) are also present in the chord a tritone away (ie Db7 = F and B), which renders them very similar chords! In terms of the essense of the chords - they both share 2/3rds of it, differing only by the root. Whats more, and this is the most important part, the 3rd and 7th of both (or any for that matter) '7' chords, are a tritone apart (ie B - F = a tritone). A tritone is about the most dissonant interval you can get in music, so it has a strong sense of needing to resolve whenever it is played:

The tritone resolves to the closest consonant interval that it can - if it moves a semitone out in both direction (ie B and F move to Bb and Gb) then it finds a 6th (Bb and Gb). If it moves in a semitone in both direction (ie B and F move to C and E) then in finds a major 3rd (C and E). In ordinary harmony if the tritone is in a Db7 chord, it will resolve to the Bb and Gb (which are the 3rd and 1st of a Gbmaj chord). And if it is in a G7 chord, it will resolve to the C and E (which are the 1st and 3rd of a C major chord). However jazz harmony plays on this connection between the '7' chords, letting them resolve either way. This explains phrases like 'Dm7 G7 Gbmaj7', 'Dm7 Db7 Cmaj7' and 'Abm7 Gb7 Cmaj7')

So... back to Altered chords. The Altered 7th chord is basically the same as the '7(#11)' chord a tritone away from it, but with a different bass note. So if you're looking for a scale to play over an altered 7th chord - play the scale you would play over the '7(#11)' chord a tritone away (ie Db altered dominant (mode 7 of D melodic minor) = the same notes as G lydian dominant (mode 4 of D melodic minor). As a recap if we were thinking of G lydian dominant's notes in terms of their difference from a normal major scale - it would be #11 and b7 ( G A B C# D E F ).

The same trick can be pulled if you are looking for a Rootless Left Hand Voicing for a '7(alt)' chord. Basically play a rootless voicing for the 7(#11) chord a tritone away and it will be the same (this is demonstrated on bars 9-10 of the picture entitled 'Rootless Voicings with Upper Structure Triads for major and minor ii V I patterns)!
As a quick passing point, the altered dominant sounds cool because of the ambiguous major/minorness of it - this is due to the #9 extension (which is the same note as the minor 3rd) being played against the major 3rd. Being a '7th' chord, it is clearly a major based chord - but the #9 creates a cool illusion. The sound can be quite bluesy or dark depending on the context in which it is used.

...AND now backtracking even further - UPPER-STRUCTURE TRIADS! All you are doing with them is playing, over the rootless left hand voicing, whatever triads you like and think sound cool. These triads however must have derived from a scale related to the chord (ie if you are thinking of the lydian scale for a C major 7th chord then you might play D major (chord II of C lydian) over a C major rootless voicing. I have provided you with some possibilities on the 'Rootless Voicings with Upper Structure Triads for Major and Minor ii V I patterns' picture, but you have a lot of freedom with US-triads to really find whatever sounds you like and play them.

At this point I'll add in a couple of notes - I have provided you, where I have written rootless voicings, with a good 'fourth' voicing for major 7th chords (eg 'Rootless Left-Hand Voicings with Octave Right Hand Voicings' bar 2(beat 3)). This is interchangeable with the major 7th voicing found in the same picture in bar 2(beat 1). The 'fourth' voicing sounds cooler but both have there merits.
Also, In the 'Night and Day - LH Rootless Voicings' picture, in bar 16(beat4.5) I have included 'side-slipping' shifting the harmony out a semitone and then moving back in again - this is a cool trick that modern jazz pianists do often. It works particularly well (as in this example) with fourth chords.
PART 2

I'm going to talk a bit about learning tunes. Jazz isn't all 'blagging it from Real Books.' For most players there is an audible difference between when they are playing a solo over chord changes they are reading, and when playing over changes they know. This is especially the case on difficult songs. You truly know a song when it can be called in any key and you can play the tune, any number of different fluent chord voicings, solo fluently, and play it in any format (ie solo, quartet, only accompanying instrument). This sounds a bit tough, but a lot of, especially jazz standards, songs can be learnt quite easily when you know something about them. You can create quite a basic picture in your head, from which everything you need to know can come.
Go back to Night and Day and work out the key. It is C major, you can tell this from the key signiature, the ending of all sections on Cmaj7 of C6 chords, and the final melody note being a C.- If you relate all the chords you have to C you get:

A SECTION
[['bVI', 'V7', 'I'](x2) '#ivb5', 'iv', 'iii', 'biiidim', 'ii' 'V' 'I'](x2)
BRIDGE (sort of)
['bIII','I'](X2)
LATTER HALF OF A SECTION
'#ivb5', 'iv', 'iii', 'biiidim', 'ii' 'V' 'I'

Once you've reached this stage you can play the chords in any key - but this is still more to know than we need to - what I would simplify this to in my head is

A SECTION
[['bVI', 'V7', 'I'](x2) '#ivb5' - minors down to 'ii' in semitones, diminished lead in - 'ii' 'V' 'I'](x2)
BRIDGE (sort of)
['bIII','I'](X2)
then LATTER HALF OF A SECTION (beginning #4)

In terms of the tune - I know what it sounds like first and foremost, I remember that it starts on degree 5 of the key it is in, and that there is a big jump of a major 7th towards the end. This is all I need - and all you should need. You can't go trying to learn too much, as it were, of any one song. Most people will not have enough brain space to cope with more than about 20 this way!

There are a few devices that turn up all the time in jazz songs. Here are some:

'rhythm' changes - the chords to the verse of 'I Got Rhythm'(Gershwin) -[:|I vi|ii V|:], these should be known in all or most keys anyway as they are so common. You also get these changes in minor keys - [:|i vimb5|iimb5 V|:] - Such as at the start of 'Sugar' by Stanley Turrentine.
'Honeysuckle Rose' bridge

Giant Steps is a notoriously hard jazz tune by John Coltrane that pretty much all modern jazz players will have got their head around at some point

Sam