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Jazz Theory/Concepts- #2

Diatonic Harmony- THE MOST IMPORTANT JAZZ LESSON- Understanding Jazz Harmony


Recap

Watch the MOST IMPORTANT LESSON FOR ALL MUSICIANS in understanding major scale harmony and the essence of music theory in this lesson to help you get started with jazz in this beginning jazz piano tutorial on Diatonic Harmony. Understanding Diatonic Harmony is paramount to being able to understand chord movements, 7th chords, key changes, functioning dominants, secondary dominants, and various other concepts that you can apply to playing jazz and transcribing jazz music. 

On a personal note, this was the hangup in my playing for years, and honestly I could never determine the solution to what was holding me back. Upon discovering this major concept, it opened so many doors as I entered a completely new harmonic sphere in understanding chords in a key and why all these chords are not simply "random." Songwriters might particularly find this lesson useful, in being able to pick chords from the diatonic series to create a unique and good sounding chord progression. Rock players, jazzers, and blues players will definitely find this helpful in understanding key changes, chord movements, ect.

Key

C Major








C#Major

Scale Degrees

  1. C
  2. D
  3. E
  4. F
  5. G
  6. A
  7. B
  1. C#
  2. D#
  3. E#
  4. F#
  5. G#
  6. A#
  7. B#

Chord Quality

  1. CMaj7    --- root key
  2. Dmin7
  3. Emin7
  4. FMaj7
  5. G7            --- dominant
  6. Amin7      --- relative min
  7. Bmin7(b5) 
  1. C#Maj7    --- root key
  2. D#min7
  3. E#min7
  4. F#Maj7
  5. G#7          --- dominant
  6. A#min7     --- relative min
  7. B#min7(b5)

Chords

  1. C (1) E (3) G (5) B (7)
  2. D (1) F(b3) A (5) C(b7)
  3. E (1) G(b3) B (5) D(b7)
  4. F (1) A (3) C (5) E (7)
  5. G (1) B (3) D (5) F(b7)
  6. A (1) C(b3) E (5) G (b7)
  7. B (1) D(b3) F(b5) A(b7)
  1. C#(1) E#(3) G#(5) B#(7)
  2. D#(1)F#(b3)A#(5) C#(b7)
  3. E#(1)G#(b3)B#(5)D#(b7)
  4. F#(1)A#(3)C#(5)E#(7)
  5. G#(1)B#(3)D#(5)F#(b7)
  6. A#(1)C#(b3)E#(5)G#(b7)
  7. B#(1)D#(b3)F#(b5)A#(b7)

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  • About
  • Media
    • Pianist
    • Educator
    • Composer/Arranger
    • Articles
    • Transcriptions >
      • Bill Evans
      • Kenny Barron
      • Barry Harris
      • Hank Jones
      • Herbie Hancock
      • Oscar Peterson
  • Calendar
    • Upcoming Performances
    • Past Performances
  • Educator
    • Video Submission Lessons
    • Lesson Videos & PDFs
    • Testimonials
  • Press
    • Interviews
    • Quotes
    • EPK
  • Contact