Tag: piano chord progressions

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Jazz Piano Chords: II-V-I Progression

Jazz-Piano-ChordsDuring our last lesson that focused on jazz piano chords, we took a look at a very popular way to voice that II-V chord progression among the pros. It’s interesting to note that this II-V chord progression is the most common chord progression in all of jazz and pop harmony. Well, let’s take a look at an extension of this progression…

The II-V chord progression often resolves to the I chord of the key. Actually, you might even say that these three chords played in succession define the key that you are in. Let’s explore the diatonic 7th chords in the key of C Major:

The II chord is Dmin7

The V chord is G7

The I chord is Cmaj7

This is how we voiced the II-V chord progression in our last lesson:

Jazz-Piano-Chords

Before we resolve this progression to the Imaj7 chord, let’s take a look at the spelling of the Cmaj7 chord in its basic form:

C  E  G  B

In relation to the corresponding C Major scale, these chord tones represent the 1, 3, 5, and 7, respectively.

C  D  E  F  G  A  B  C  D  etc…
1  2   3   4  5  6  7   8   9   etc…

Above, we can see that, if we extend the scale beyond an octave and continue building in thirds, we arrive at the 9 (which is the same letter name as the 2):

C  E  G  B  D

Now, remaining consistent with our progression of rootless voicings, we can create a Cmaj9 chord voicing by playing the upper four tones, which are E, G, B, and D. Looking at our illustration below, we can see (and hear) how nicely this progression resolves with smooth voice leading using this voicing:
Jazz-Piano-Chords
Within this II-V-I chord progression, we have three of the most commonly played jazz piano chords or voicings played among the pros. If you make it a point to eventually learn these voicings in all the keys, imagine the confidence you will have gained with three of the most important chord qualities in music!

It would be a good time to browse through some of those favorite standard songs of yours and see how often you see both the II-V and II-V-I chord progressions occur. The very doing of this will increase your awareness of songs are put together since, again, it is the most often used progression that exists, especially in jazz standards.

You are on your way to really enhancing your understanding of music. In addition, as you actually commit to playing these examples in different keys, your cocktail piano playing confidence will soar like it never did before!

Remember,

Always…

ALWAYS…

PLAY WITH PASSION!

Musically,

Dave
www.PianoAmore.net
www.ProProach.com

 

 

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Jazz Piano Chords: II-V Progression

Jazz-Piano-ChordsAs our fun with jazz piano chords continues, here we will make reference to a previous lesson that focused on turning a minor 7th chord into a minor 9th chord. Specifically, we will use the same Dmin9 chord voicing for our purpose. You will see that lesson here.

From that position, we can easily progress to a V chord, using a very tasteful voicing… and it’s “easy as pie” to achieve this!

Simply play that Dmin9 voicing and then take that 7 of the chord (in this case, the C) and lower it one half step. The resulting voicing combination looks like this:

Jazz-Piano-ChordsThese are two of the most popularly played jazz piano chords of all time. Again, it’s that one little “switch” that turns the Dmin9 into a G13 chord.

Let’s just back up a little and look at a basic G7 chord here:

G  B  D  F

If we relate this chord to its corresponding Mixolydian scale, we see that it consists of the 1, 3, 5, and 7 of this scale:

G  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  A  B  C  D  E
1   2  3   4  5   6  7  8   9……………. 13

Extending the scale beyond an octave shows that the 13 is the same as the 6. When we play dominant 7th chords, we refer to that 6 as the 13. Hence, our symbol for this chord is G13.

What we are playing is a II-V chord progression. This works great as a left hand chord voicing combination when playing with a bass player since he or she will be playing the root of the chord. However, if you are playing cocktail piano, you are performing as a soloist. Often, you will want to compliment these chord voicings by either preceding them or following them with their corresponding roots ( in other words, Root > Voicing > Root > Voicing or Voicing > Root > Voicing Root)

Is it necessary to always accompany these voicings with their corresponding roots? Not really. Actually, often is the case when a jazz pianist, even when playing solo, will simply play the voicings with the left hand while playing the melody or improvising with the right hand. It’s interesting because this actually sounds good when you do so. You see, it’s the nature of that 3 and 7 of each chord that really defines each of them. Adding the roots certainly adds significant “bottom” or substance to these chords.

By all means, explore these two popular jazz piano voicings in other keys. You’re on your way toward chord mastery!

Remember,

Always…

ALWAYS…

PLAY WITH PASSION!

Musically,

Dave
www.PianoAmore.net
www.ProProach.com

 

 

 

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Piano Improvisation Tips: Chord Tones & Scale Tones

Piano-Improvisation-TipsWhen it comes to playing cocktail piano, of the many piano improvisation tips I could offer, a favorite to promote that is most conducive to getting satisfying results is using chord tones. However, this approach can take on a more mature flair when your mind set is that of combining chord tones with thinking and playing in a linear fashion as well.

Let’s say that you are improvising over the chord changes to a standard song like Jerome Kern’s I’m Old Fashioned (lyrics by Johnny Mercer). The beginning in the key of F would look like this:

/  Fmaj7  Dmin7  /  Gmin7  C7  /

Here we have a I – VI – II – V chord progression. The chord tones for each of these chords are:

Fmaj7 = F  A  C  E

Dmin7 = D  F  A  C

Gmin7 = G  Bb  D  F

C7 = C  E  G  Bb

Consider using these chord tones in an arpeggiated fashion. Mix it up, changing the order from ascending to descending. In addition, start your improvised lines on a chord tone in the middle of the chord and work yourself outward, to the left… to the right… etc.

Perhaps you have already had some experience doing this. If so, you know the possibilities are unlimited, especially when you start using the inversions of these chords as well. One of the most important piano improvisation tips I ever learned was to not take this simple strategy for granted. Remember, it’s one thing to “know” a technique or strategy. It’s quite another to implement it.

In addition, take note that the four chords in this progression are diatonic chords in the key of F Major (Chord Progressions and How They Work #1 offers a good introduction to the diatonic system). This means that their chord tones are all members of the F Major scale. This being the case, the F Major scale serves as a good resource for improvising over these two measures. Play up and down the entire scale over this chord progression. If you play it in eighth notes, one time in either direction, you will fill up one measure. So, if you play in order (in eighth notes)…

F  G  A  Bb  C  D  E  F…

…you will have played through the scale over the chords Fmaj7 and Dmin7. Do this for the next measure as well. Now, while maintaining the duration of these chords, play half of the scale for half a measure and use only chord tones for the other half of one of the measures. Mix it up!

Naturally, you can begin the scale beginning on different tones. You will find that certain chords lend themselves to starting on different notes of the scale. There is a gold mine of discovery just within what was mentioned in that last sentence.

As you come up with your own ideas using this improvisation strategy, your confidence will soar since you will be the one creating. The sky’s the limit here, so have tons of fun with this! As you do so, remember…

Always…

ALWAYS…

PLAY WITH PASSION!

Musically,

Dave
www.PianoAmore.net
www.ProProach.com

 

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Piano Chord Progressions: This One’s Easy And Fun

Piano-Chord-ProgressionsAs you have fun with different piano chord progressions, one that is easy and yet conducive to achieving some interesting sounds on those keys is shown here:

I-II-III-II-I

We are looking at the first three diatonic chords of a key. Let’s use the key of C Major for our purposes here. In this case, we will be playing:

Cmaj7 – Dmin7 – Emin7 – Dmin7 – Cmaj7

So, we are climbing up to that III chord and back down to the I chord in a stepwise fashion. Now, this is one of those piano chord progressions that you can have a lot of fun improvising with. Actually, if you’re sitting in the corner of a restaurant or club with the lights dim and want to compliment the ambience with something delicate and tasteful, you can really make this sound like something.

The chords in their basic root positions are:

Cmaj7 = C  E  G  B

Dmin7 = D  F A  C

Emin7 = E  G  B  D

However, let’s apply that 1-7-3-5 piano chord voicing to this progression. So, what we will be playing is as follows:

(The Root and 7 of each of these chords are played with the left hand and the 3 and 5 are played with the right hand. Begin with the C below middle C as the first root and simply climb up in steps)

C  B  – E  G  (Cmaj7)

D  C – F  A   (Dmin7)

E  D – E  G   (Emin7)

Begin by playing up and down as you play all the chord tones of each chord at the same time. Then play the 1 and 7 of each chord together while you play the corresponding 3 and 5 in a melodic fashion, playing each note separately. As you do this and become more and more comfortable with it, you’ll begin to see that you can really get a nice cocktail piano sound climbing up and down this progression.

Play through this progression delicately and, as you do so, create some simple improvised melodies with the 3 and 5 of each chord. You’ll become more creative with this. Also, consider playing everything up one octave. Then come back down to the original octave. Then play the voicings in a “rolled” fashion, playing from the bottom chord tone (Root) to the top (5th), too!

Naturally, this chord voicing structure works well in your tunes. However, just using it as you play through this progression really lends itself to complimenting a quiet setting. In addition, just by playing these three chords, you can explore your potential improvising with just these few notes. Experiment with your dynamics as well, using crescendos and decrescendos.

As you really set the scene with this simple yet great sounding combination of chords, remember…

Always…

ALWAYS…

PLAY WITH PASSION!

Musically,

Dave
www.PianoAmore.net
www.ProProach.com

Enhance your cocktail piano chords and voicings with ProProach