What are jazz chords?

Post date: 2023-03-24 19:05:08 Category: How to play chords
Jazz chords are chords used in jazz music that often incorporate extended harmonies and altered notes to create a more complex and sophisticated sound.

Some common characteristics of jazz chords include:

  1. Extended harmonies: Jazz chords often include additional notes beyond the basic triad (root, third, and fifth) to create richer and more complex harmonies. Examples of extended harmony notes include the 7th, 9th, 11th, and 13th.

  2. Altered notes: Jazz chords may also alter certain notes within a chord to create tension or dissonance, which can be resolved into a more stable sound. Examples of altered notes include the flat or sharp 5th, flat or sharp 9th, and flat or sharp 13th.

  3. Voicings: In jazz music, chords are often played in specific voicings or inversions that highlight particular notes within the chord and create a unique sound. Jazz guitarists, for example, often use complex fingerings and chord shapes to play voicings that span several octaves on the fretboard.

Examples of common jazz chords include the major seventh (Maj7), dominant seventh (Dom7), minor seventh (m7), and half-diminished (m7b5) chords, among others. By learning and incorporating these types of chords into your playing, you can add more depth, color, and sophistication to your musical vocabulary.

Here are some famous jazz songs that have become classics over the years:

  1. "Autumn Leaves"
  2. "Fly me to the moon"
  3. "My Favorite Things"

These songs represent different sub-genres of jazz, including swing, cool jazz, hard bop, bebop, and modal jazz. They are known for their intricate melodies, complex harmonies, and improvisational solos, and have influenced many musicians across different genres of music.