Jazz

What is jazz?

Jazz does not have an equivalent standard, typical chord progression but there are certain progressions that occur again and again. Most jazz tunes consist of a composed melody over a chord progression; after the main melody has been played, players usually improvise over the chord progression - improvising plays an important role in jazz. Jazz is usually played with a 'swing' feel, similar to the 'shuffle' feel in blues.

 There are several different genres of jazz with their characteristics harmonies and melodic techniques. It is difficult to sound convincing as a jazz player without immersing yourself in it. In terms of theory, jazz is a lot more complex than blues.

Chord Construction

In jazz, chords are rarely played based on just root/3rd/5th, but are often extended to include the 7th, and hence sound harmonically richer.(eg 'Dm' and 'Cmaj7'). In order to get a percussive sound when playing them, jazz chords are often played using fretted notes only. Compare the of the following chords: 'Dm', 'Dm7' using open strings and 'Dm7' using fretted notes. Notice how open 'Dm7' sounds harmonically 'richer' than 'Dm' and how the fretted 'Dm7' sounds tonally 'richer' than open 'Dm7' because it uses fretted notes instead of open strings. The fretted 'Dm7' involves a muted 4th string - slightly flatten the 1st finger so that it lightly touches this string resulting in an deadened note when this string is hit.

Similarly, compare the sounds of 'C', open 'Cmaj7' and a fretted 'Cmaj7' commonly used in jazz.

Play the following chord progression from above, Strumming each chord once:

Dm7///|G7///|Cmaj7///|Cmaj7///:||

The 7th chords sounds harmonically rich, but the style of playing them doesn't sound particularly 'jazzy'. In order to play in a jazzier style, play the chords staccato by relaxing the finger pressure holding down the notes as soon as the chord has been played, but don't lift the fingers from the strings.

Play the following chord progression:

A///|F#m///|Bm///|E///|:||A

You know the barréd 'Gm' chord shape. Move that shape one fret down , means at the 2nd fret. That chord will be 'F#m' chord.

You know the 'Cm' barréd chord shape. Move that shape one fret down, means at the 2nd fret. That chord will be 'Bm' chord.

 This doesn't sound particularly 'jazzy'. To make the chords sound more 'jazzy' they can be extended to include the '7th', giving 'Amaj7/F#m7/Bm7/E7'. These can be fingered thus: