One of the most notable characteristics of jazz is that it uses extended harmonies in the chords for notes of melodic interest. Many classical and pop pieces strongly emphasize chord tones (the root, major or minor 3rd, 5th, occassionally 7th) for the melody and use non triad notes or extended harmony notes as passing tones (the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th and sharped or flatted scale tones). Jazz frequently reverses this tendency and is frequently the reason that a song sounds "jazzy".

In this variation tutorial we will take the piece we learned in the Beginner's Jazz tutorial. We will find ways of playing extended harmony notes with each of the chords in that piece. This will make our jazz piece sound even more jazzy!

First up is the C major chord. By playing the regular chord in the left hand we maintain a solid C major sound. But in the right hand we play E, G and B making a C major 7 chord. Notice that the right hand by itself is an E minor chord. This happens frequently with extended chords. Look for ways to quickly, efficiently organize chords like this in your mind. It will help a great deal in the long run.

Beginner Jazz in C Variation Lesson 1

Christopher Schlegel

Tutorial 015 - Beginner Jazz in C Variation (Page 1 of 9)

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