If you want to adapt popular music to jazz, the best approach is to think of the harmonic functions (rather than just the chords) and then use techniques of tonal harmony. In the following video we show how to turn a very basic piano version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" into a jazz... Continue Reading →
There are many ways to expand and develop a chord-voicings vocabulary. A standard approach is to stack simple structures (triads, quartals, dyads) on top of other simple ones, thus creating a richer color palette for your voicings. These structures are usually called Upper Structures. In the Upper Structures over complete Jazz Standards Progressions book collection... Continue Reading →
Starting on version 7.8.8, Mapping Tonal Harmony Pro macOS now offers two incredible and unprecedented add-ons: Upper Structures & Target Notes These are two powerful features to study and practice tonal harmony. View Mapping Tonal Harmony’s webpage The new add-ones are also available in Mapping Tonal Harmony Pro for iOS (iPhone & iPad) View it... Continue Reading →
I've been asked many times "Why do I need to learn and practice scales?" or "Why do I need to understand chords-scales and tonal harmony?" Some other people complain about the chord-scale theory, saying that they don't want to play scales, meaning they wish to play in the jazz vocabulary, licks, motives, playing rhythmically or... Continue Reading →
Here's a song by Billy Strayhorn that I've always loved and never fully analyzed until writing The Jazz Standards Progressions Book. I've been fascinated by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn compositions since the first time I heard an Ellington album, about thirty years ago. Since then I greatly enjoyed their rich harmonies, rhythmic vocabulary and... Continue Reading →
Here's a musical concept nobody taught me at school. While analyzing 1000+ jazz tunes for The Jazz Standards Progressions Book, I noticed a great number of songs in major keys tonicize the IV degree at the beginning of the bridge. It's usually preceded by the V/IV, landing on the IV at the beginning of the... Continue Reading →
In the process of writing The Jazz Standards Progressions Book Series I realized the need to express a very common harmonic event with a new symbol. So far we had solid and dotted arrows and brackets to express II-V relationships and their resolutions. However there isn't any symbol to show a Major 7th chord that... Continue Reading →
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