POP AND JAZZ CHORD PROGRESSIONS #2

PREREQUISITE: Knowledge of the Scale-Tone Seventh Chords and the major scales.

In the last post, POP AND JAZZ CHORD PROGRESSION #1, we discussed how certain chords types tend to gravitate to others. I borrowed from (and took a liberty here and there :-\ ) Randy Halberstadt’s ‘Cosmos’ metaphor for theory discussion.

We focused in on just one of the twelve planetary systems within our harmonic galaxy with the sun being the center —the major (I) chord in the key of ‘C’. We learned that each sun has planets, (green) that surround and are pulled/gravitate toward it—these are the ‘Scale-Tone 7th Chords’—with the (V) planet (G7) having the strongest gravitational pull. Let’s zoom out and take a look at a larger picture; the pop & jazz harmonic galaxy which contains twelve solar systems; representing the twelve key centers. Below is a look at that galaxy. Here's a PDF DOWNLOAD of it for a larger look.

Without getting to scientific, technical, or philosophical, mostly because I can’t :-/ —keep this thought in mind. There is a motion, rhythm and vibration at every point in the entire universe. And what makes music pleasurable are those mechanisms that we hear and feel.

THE CYCLE OF FIFTHS

Looking below, we see that our harmonic galaxy moves counter-clockwise from sun to sun in perfect 5th intervals—what we call the Cycle of 5ths.

It is the natural order of all things musical.

This is your foundation… your everything for learning chord progression/movement, how they pull/gravitate to one another. This chart shows how key centers/solar systems move toward each other.

But, as you will see very soon over the next posts, each key center has its own cycle of 5ths. This is where you begin to put to use how chords move within the key of a song. And I will demonstrate how that will work with many familiar tunes.

Here’s what you need to know, and do, to get the cycle burned into the brain.

Even solar systems/key centers gravitate to one another. If you just have to know WHY it moves in 5ths, you can do a google search for the ‘overtone series’ for an explanation. This is your foundation, your everything for learning and using chord progressions/movement, and how they pull/gravitate to one another. Here’s and exercise for moving around the cycle of 5th galaxy.

BACK TO THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT INTERVALS

We said the two most important scale-tones in any chord are the 3rd & 7th? Even though we only discussed them pertaining to the (V) chord in the last post, which created the tri-tone interval, it does not mean that every 3rd & 7th tone of every chord is a tri-tone. Yet they are still the primary tones for all... chord recognition.

Now there may be sharpie or two out there that will tell me that there ARE chords other than the (V) chord that contain a tri-tone—and you’d be right. But for my purpose right now, I’m only talking about the most important one (the dominant 7th)—with the strongest pull home.

Why I segregate the (V) chord from others will become an ah-ha moment when I talk about chord substitution. OK.... on to the exercise. Let’s move from key center to key center, sun to sun, using only 3rds & 7ths (Are ya still with me? I know, this is a longy)

In the previous post you downloaded and practiced the (V) to (I) exercise. Right? :-) Well, here for the purpose of learning the 3rd and 7th scale-tones on (V) dominant 7th chords only, we’re going to take the (V) planet of every sun, (key center), and move it around the cycle of 5ths using the 3rd and 7ths tones in the right hand and the root/bass note in the left. Download the large PDF here before you go blind.
For any techies out there, some of the spellings are not enharmonically correct. It’s for simplicity sake. And for those that don’t know what I’m talking about... fa get a bout it. Just do the exercise.

Tri-Tone (V Chord/Dom7th) Practice

Through All The Major Key Centers

Here’s the galaxy representation of the above exercise. Check out the green planets. Stop squinting, you’re gonna hurt those eyes. Get the large PDF here.

Ok... one more exercise. We’re going to cycle around just the key centers (the suns) using the same format. Take a look below and also get the large PDF here.

Ok.... I think you’ve had enough. Good job. I hope that this is making some sense to you. I suspect I might be overdoing it a bit. Maybe I’m entertaining myself at the same time learning about all this graphic stuff? Can’t go back now... “straight ahead”, as one of my favorite music teachers used to say.

In the next post, I’ll be covering one of the moon’s that pull toward the planets. This will cycle us back to the first post on the subject. Then, we will have a complete understanding and working modal for the most important chord progression in pop & jazz harmony.... the (II) (V) (I) progression. And....

There will be many, many examples of how all this is used in tunes. I’ll be showing and recording a ton of sound files along with PDF’s so you could follow along. Thanks for listening!

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POP AND JAZZ CHORD PROGRESSIONS #1

PREREQUISITE: Intermediate/Advanced: Knowledge of the 'Scale-Tone Seventh Chords'  This will be a series of posts.

CHORD PROGRESSION(S):

If I have to give it a definition, I would say that a chord progression is a series, or sequence of harmonic (chord & root/bass line) movement in a particular order that "feels and/or sounds right"—a system of movement (voice leading) that seems to make sense to our innate understanding of western music.

It is something that every aspiring pianist (musician) should be skilled in - that is, the understanding of, creating of, and even altering of existing chord progressions (movements) to create new ones. Once again, this is not about HOW the chords are voiced (chord quality) but, how they move and attract to one another.

Randy Halberstadt, is a top flight multi-dimensional pianist who has been a major figure on the Pacific Northwest jazz scene for many years. In his very popular book, ‘Metaphors for the Musician’ Randy explains chord movement through the use of his ‘Solar System’ metaphor. I think it’s ingenious and have asked Randy for permission to borrow parts of his system to incorporate in my teaching of the subject. RANDY’S WEBSITE

I have put some twists on it though. I haven’t made it better, that would be impossible. I’m just putting a few twists and turns on it for my purpose. I highly recommend this book for intermediate and even advanced jazz players. I’m envious of Randy’s amazing and creative mind that has approached the wide spectrum of modern piano playing with such creativity, clarity and innovation.

Put those other books down for a while and dig into this amazing approach. There will be many surprises not seen even in the other industry standard publications. I will be doing a complete and thorough review of Randy’s book very shortly.

Below is a picture of the complete ‘C major Solar System’. I will break it into smaller pieces using it many different ways, then, building it back up to its complete form step by step.

So take a peek at it, but don’t try to decipher or make any conclusions about it yet. I will take you on this fantastic journey slowly. Here’s a PDF DOWNLOAD of the chart.

For the time being, if you have to, you can associate the I chord (the sun) to the key of ‘C. It is the center of our C major solar system—which is only one of the twelve planetary systems in the harmonic galaxy. The planets, (green) that surround the sun,

are pulled

(gravitate)

toward it. These are the ‘Scale-Tone 7th Chords’. But let’s start at the beginning when first there was the sun—and the planet with the strongest gravitational pull towards it… the (V) planet. (G7)

First Steps In Learning (Understanding) Chord Progressions

In order to create, understand, and use chord movement/progressions to sound great or create your own sound, the first step in my opinion is to know the two most important notes (scale-tones) of any chord—and they would be the 3rd and 7th scale-tones of all chords. They are the two most important tones for chord recognition.

When you play a tune with the proper sequence of chord progressions, chord movement, (and good phrasing), a natural flow/pull is created - you take your listener on a journey with you. They get caught up in the flow, the pull toward other chords. They might demonstrate this by singing, humming, clapping, snapping fingers, tapping a toe, dancing, laughing or crying.

Tension and Release

Many times the feelings created in others while listening to music is caused by 'TENSION and RELEASE'. The beginnings of creating 'tension and release' in your music is knowing how one chord/planet naturally moves/gravitates to one another using the 3rd and 7th intervals.

There is NO RELEASE without first TENSION.

Tension and release is found in every part of our everyday life - physically and mentally. In nature, a beautiful warm sunny day (release) feels even more magnificent after a long dark, loud, rainy storm. (tension)

How much better do you feel (release) when the headache (tension) is gone? (release) Why does making up with a loved feel so fantastic (release) after a disagreement? (tension) When watching a frightening scene (tension) in a movie, how do you feel when is done with? A big sigh of relief? (release) There are thousands of tension and release mechanisms that exist.

The Five to One Chord Progression

One of the most common and important examples of tension and release in music is the V - I chord progression/movement. The (V) chord/planet has the strongest gravitational pull to the C Major (Sun) key center. We will discuss why when I post about the ‘Cycle of Fifths’.

G7 (V) to Cmaj (I). Let’s take a look at why and how this works. It is essential to know every V to I progression/movement in every major key center. (solar system)... There are (12) of course.

Look at the graphic below. In Bar 3, notice the 3rd and 7th scale-tones of the G7. (B-F) Play just the B-F in the right hand and notice how un-settled, un-final it sounds by itself. Not until it is resolved to the Root and third scale-tones (C-E) of the (I) chord does the tension release.

From B to F is precisely 3 whole steps in its scale. In a Dominant 7th chord, this is known as a ‘Tri-tone interval.

Looking at the Tri-tone and resolution in reverse.

The 'Tri-Tone' Interval, the B and F tones are exactly one half step away from (they surround) the Root and 3rd of the (I) chord tightly—which is a 'Major Third' interval.

So, ALL of the above is simply about how the 3rd & 7th scale-tones of a V chord, (tri-tone-tension) resolve smoothly to the R & 3 scale-tones of a I chord (major 3rd-release).

So, to summarize…

1. The V chord has the strongest gravitational pull to the key center (the sun). The V to I chord progression.

2. Why? because of the tri-tone contained within the V chord closely surrounds the R & 3 of the I chord… or key center (the sun).

Here’s part of a PDF download I made for you to practice this around the Cycle of Fifths. Download it and take it for a spin.

The next post in this series discusses the Cycle of Fifths

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The Scale-Tone 7th Chords - PRACTICE #1

I've created this post in response to Rob's question regarding practicing the Scale-Tone 7th Chords around the cycle of 5ths remaining within the key you begin.. If you do not know what the cycle of 5ths is, I suggest you read the post 'Cycle of 5ths - Introduction and Theory'.

First: Take a quick look at the Scale-Tone 7th Chords post on this subject.







Ok, as we know, the cycle of 5ths, if we start on 'C' will be...
C--F--Bb--Eb--Ab--Db/C#--Gb/F#--B--E--A--D and --G.

So, if we started playing the Scale-Tone 7ths Chord From C,

we can see that if we follow the traditional cycle of 5ths pattern we run into a little trouble trying to stay in the key of 'C'. What follows the IV chord in the chart below is a Bb chord which steps out of the key of 'C'. Now this is ok if you wanted to practice your major 7ths around the complete cycle covering all (12) tones of the keyboard because as you can see it continues to Eb, Ab, etc.







In order to stay in the key of 'C' we need to make a small adjustment to the cycle. Let's change the Bb above to the VIII (Bm7b5) of 'C'. Then we will continue going through the cycle until we get back to the (I) chord. So the Bm7b5 is not a true 5th interval after the Fma7, but this adjustment is acceptable for the purpose of practicing the Cycle of 5ths within a key signature.








So the Cycle of 5ths pattern from with a key signature is this:
I---------IV-------VIII------- III----- VI----- II-------V,------and back to I
Cma7--Fma7---Bm7b5---Em7---Am7---Dm7---G7-------------------Cma7

Practice your Scale-Tone 7ths in a cycle of 5ths pattern starting with different keys. Here they are in 'F' and in 'G'.

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Major and Minor Triad Series - #1 Beginner

This is going to be a series of posts on Major and Minor Triads. Most beginner and intermediate players view them as just simple basic chords. While this is true, it's also true that these simple chords can be used for an advanced level of play creating fantastic fills and and greats sounds. (hear the sound file below)

Beginners, if your plan and desire is to get to an intermediate/advanced level of play, do not... take these simple chords for granted. Master them well and some interesting surprises are in store. If your plan is just to play some simple enjoyable piano tunes, knowing just these will enable you to do so.

FIRST THINGS FIRST: Let's learn a simple non-theory, non-traditional way of learning all the triad chords. We're just going to use 2 simple rules to get you up and running quickly.

MAJOR TRIADS - THE 4-3 RULE:
Put your right-hand thumb (1) on middle 'C'. Using your left-hand pointer finger, count up the very next (4) notes. (4 half-steps which takes you to (E). Now put your right-hand pointer finger (2) on the (E). Using you left-hand pointer finger once again, this time count up the very next (3) notes. (3 half-steps which take you to (G). Now put you right-hand ring finger (4) on the (G). You now have the three notes of the 'C' major chord. Play all 3 notes together using the 1st, 2nd and 4th fingers of the right hand.











Now I know that the fingering 1, 2, & 4 may be a bit different than what you may have learned, or even a bit controversial for others, but I have strong reasons for keeping that (5) pinky free. We'll see why when we start to learn 'Chord Melody Playing' in future posts.

With the 4-3 rule you can immediately find the notes of all major triads. For example, if you needed to play an Eb major chord you would start with placing your thumb on the Eb. THEN... apply the 4-3 rule FROM there. Up (4) to (G). Then up (3) to Bb. You then have Eb, G, & Bb... the Eb major chord.

In the left hand, the fingering is the exact opposite, a mirror of the right-hand fingering.










MINOR TRIADS - THE RULE
This is an easy one, IF, you know your major triads. Just lower the middle note of the major chord (1) half step. C, E & G is a 'C' major chord. Lower the 'E' to and 'Eb' (1 half step) and you have the 'C' minor chord. C, Eb, & G.

Here's a sound file for some further discussion and reinforcement.



Some will listen to that simple musical excerpt and find it hard to believe that absolutely nothing more then pure major and minor triads were used. That's the power they have and why it can't be stressed enough to master them. There's much more that can be done when one knows them well. So much of advanced harmony can be bypassed using triad combinations.

Below are the PDF's of the major and minor triads in the groups you could begin to practice. They are all shown in the root (basic) position. (As opposed to the inversions - I'll explain in a sec) Pick a group per day. Know them well in this position in the left and right hand well. If you do not read piano bass clef (left-hand clef) well, just learn the right-hand then play the exact same notes and octave lower on the keyboard.

Right-Hand Major & Minor Triad Download
Left-Hand Major & Minor Triad Download

And lastly, inversions. Notice below the first chord... the 'C' major chord in the root position. If you take the bottom note 'C' and move on top of the 'E' and 'G', (the 2nd chord shown) you still have a 'C' major chord, but in the 1st inversion. If you the 'E' of the 1st inversion chord and move it above the 'G' and 'C', you now have a 'C' major chord in the 2nd inversion. And finally... back to the root position.






Inversions can be a real challenge to learning chords, but well worth the effort. The PDF download below is of all the inversions for a the groups of triad chords learned is shown only in the right hand. For the hobbyist and intermediate player it's more beneficial to learn them in just the right hand. It's where you will use them most.

Download it here. You'll see in the PDF that you will just play and hold down the left-hand root position chord while the right hand plays the inversions. And it's NOT suggested that you read them as you practice. (the chart is just for reference) Practice them using the rules you've learned with no music in front of you.

Again, if you do them in the familiar groups.. C, F, G. -- D, E, A. You will learn them faster, as they have the same look and feel of each other. Your muscles will learn faster. (Muscle Memory - 'for another post')

Just go slow and do a group at a time and over a few short weeks you will begin to run on automatic. Have fun! And if you need some extra help, just give me a shout.

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The 5-Quality Jazz 7th Chords From a Static Position

Prerequisite: You've got to know your major & minor triads well... and know your major scales. (check out the posts on these subjects) This post is primarily for intermediate players who wish learn and play more advanced chord voicings. This is the foundation on which all those modern, beautiful voicing's are based. In some circles it's called the '60 chord system'. What follows is the steps for 'voicing' them with two hands and then applying those voicing's to tunes. I'll be posting examples of that.

What follows is readily available from a variety of sources; but I have a problem with most of them... there's no follow-up on the application of this info. (or I just can't find it) Just the theory and presentation of this chord system will note be of much help. I will be posting HOW to use these chords on real tunes.

This is just 'One Way' of looking at... approaching... the jazz 7th chords. Another way would be the Diatonic 7ths. This is where we learn the relationship of one chord to another. This will be the subject of many more posts. But for now... I think this might be a good intro into the learning of the 7th chords.

Also, no highly technical or theoretical explanations here. I'll leave that to the academics. I just want you to have the basic foundation so we could move on. At the end of the post are a couple of links for some PDF reference charts that I have created. You can download them gratis.

Jazz Harmony is primarily concerned with 4-note chords called 7ths. With 3-note chords, we have only a simple triad chord. Triad chords are rarely used in jazz voicings. The 4-note 7th chords are formed from major scales.








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THE 1st QUALITY 7th CHORD WE LEARN IS THE MAJOR 7th CHORD.

We build/form the Major 7th chord by playing the 1st (Root), 3rd, 5th, & 7th intervals of the major scale or, (Every other note of the scale starting with the root)

I'm showing Cmaj7 as the 'Chord Symbol', but other common symbols might be CM7, Cma7, or just 'C' which is always interpreted as more than just a 'C' major chord.

THE 2nd QUALITY 7th CHORD WE LEARN IS THE DOMINANT 7th CHORD.

We build/form the Dominant 7th chord by lowering (altering) the 7th interval one half step - thereby playing the ROOT (1), 3rd, 5th, & b7th intervals.

THE 3rd QUALITY 7th CHORD WE LEARN IS THE MINOR 7th CHORD.

We build/form the Minor 7th chord by lowering (Altering) the 3rd & 7th intervals one half step - thereby playing the ROOT (1), b3rd, 5th, & b7th intervals.

THE 4th QUALITY 7th CHORD WE LEARN IS THE MINOR 7b5 CHORD.

We build/form the Minor 7th(b5) by lowering (Altering) the 3rd, 5th & 7th intervals one half step - thereby playing the ROOT (1), b3rd, b5th, & b7th intervals. Another common 'Chord Symbol' for this chord is seen above the Cm7b5.

THE 5th QUALITY 7th CHORD WE LEARN IS THE DIMINISHED 7th CHORD.

We build/form the Diminished 7th by lowering (Altering) the 3rd, 5th intervals one half step, and lowering the 7th interval by a two half steps. Thereby playing the 1st (ROOT), b3rd, b5th, & 6th intervals.

When the 7th is lowered (2) half steps shown with the symbol (bb) it just becomes the 6th. It simpler just to think of this chord as the 1, b3, b5, and 6th. As you can see, another common symbol for this is the small subscript circle next to the name of the chord. You may also just see (dim) after the name.

EVERYTHING ABOVE ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS 5-CHORD SUMMARY

THERE ARE TWO MORE CHORDS USED QUITE OFTEN THAT ARE NOT IN THE 7th FAMILY. They would be the C6 and Cm6 - Let's just say they're in the family. We build/form the Major 6th by playing the 1st (ROOT), 3rd, or (b3rd for minor) 5th, & 6th intervals of the major scale.







HERE ARE THE C6 & Cm6 INTEGRATED INTO THE 5-CHORD SUMMARY






Here's the link for a complete summary in all keys..........
Here's the link for a complete summary of all inversions.....

Now, how do you practice these? The audio above used the 'C', 'F', and 'G'. Practice these on one session. On another practice session pick 2 more... maybe 'Bb' and 'D'. And another time maybe 'Eb and 'A'. I just picked them by thinking in keys...... 'F' & 'G' have (1) accidental. 'Bb' and 'D' have (2). And 'Eb' & 'A' have (3) accidentals.
Don't overdue it, don't overload the brain. Just take a couple a day and it will all sink in over weeks. You have to allocate 'x' amount of time to each category of study. Organization is the key. I'm in the middle of writing some practice articles that discuss this very important factor. Ok... see ya shortly.

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