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Jazz harmony - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jazzharmony
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Jazzharmonyisthetheoryandpracticeofhowchordsareused
injazzmusic.Jazzbearscertainsimilaritiestootherpracticesin
thetraditionofWesternharmony,suchasmanychord
progressions,andtheincorporationofthemajorandminor
scalesasabasisforchordalconstruction.Injazz,chordsare
oftenarrangedverticallyinmajororminorthirds,although
stackedfourthsarealsoquitecommon.[1]Also,jazzmusictends
DominantseventhchordonC:C7
tofavorcertainharmonicprogressionsandincludestheaddition
Play.
oftensions,intervalssuchas9ths,11ths,and13thstochords.
Additionally,scalesuniquetostyleareusedasthebasisof
manyharmonicelementsfoundinjazz.Jazzharmonyisnotablefortheuseofseventhchordsasthe
basicharmonicunitmoreoftenthantriads,asinclassicalmusic.[2]InthewordsofRobertRawlinsand
NorEddineBahha,"7thchordsprovidethebuildingblocksofjazzharmony."[2]
Thepianoandguitararethetwoinstrumentsthattypicallyprovideharmonyforajazzgroup.Playersof
theseinstrumentsdealwithharmonyinarealtime,flowingimprovisationalcontextasamatterof
course.Thisisoneofthegreatestchallengesinjazz.
Inabigbandcontext,theharmonyisthebasisforthewritingforthehorns,alongwithmelodic
counterpoint,etc.Theimprovisingsoloistisexpectedtohaveacompleteknowledgeofthebasicsof
harmony,aswellastheirownuniqueapproachtochords,andtheirrelationshiptoscales.Astyleof
one'sownismadefromthesebuildingblocks,alongwitharhythmicconcept.
Jazzcomposersuseharmonyasabasicstylisticelementaswell.Open,modalharmonyischaracteristic
ofthemusicofMcCoyTyner,whereasrapidlyshiftingkeycentersisahallmarkofthemiddleperiodof
JohnColtrane'swriting.HoraceSilver,ClareFischer,DaveBrubeck,andBillEvansarepianistswhose
compositionsaremoretypicalofthechordrichstyleassociatedwithpianistcomposers.JoeHenderson,
WoodyShaw,WayneShorterandBennyGolsonarenonpianistswhoalsohaveastrongsenseofthe
roleofharmonyincompositionalstructureandmood.Thesecomposers(includingalsoDizzyGillespie
andCharlesMingus,whorecordedinfrequentlyaspianists)haveamusicianshipgroundedinchordsat
thepiano,eveniftheyarenotperformingkeyboardists.
Theauthenticcadence(VI)isthemostimportantinbothclassicalandjazzharmony,thoughinjazzit
moreoftenfollowsaii/IIchordservingaspredominant.RawlinsandBahha:"TheiiVI[progression]
providesthecornerstoneofjazzharmony"[2]
TheiiVI( PlayiiVI)mayappeardifferentlyinmajororminorkeys,m7dommaj7orm75
dom9minor.[3]
Othercentralfeaturesofjazzharmonyarediatonicandnondiatonicreharmonizations,theadditionof
theV7(sus4)chordasadominantandnondominantfunctioningchord,major/minorinterchange,blues
harmony,secondarydominants,extendeddominants,deceptiveresolution,relatediiV7chords,direct
modulations,theuseofcontrafacts,commonchordmodulations,anddominantchordmodulationsusing
iiVprogressions.
Bebopor"straightahead"jazz,inwhichonlycertainofallpossibleextensionsandalterationsareused,
isdistinguishedfromfree,avantgarde,ormodernjazzharmony.[2]
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Contents
1 Chordsymbols
2 Melodicminorscale
3 Seealso
4 Furtherreading
5 Sources

Chordsymbols
AnalyticpracticeinJazzrecognizesfourbasicchordtypes,plusdiminishedseventhchords.Thefour
basicchordtypesaremajor,minor,minormajor,anddominant.Whenwritteninajazzchart,these
chordsmayhavealterationsspecifiedinparenthesesafterthechordsymbol.Analterednoteisanote
whichisadeviationfromthecanonicalchordtone.
Thereisvarietyinthechordsymbolsusedinjazznotation.Ajazzmusicianmusthavefacilityinthe
alternatenotationstyleswhichareused.ThefollowingchordsymbolexamplesuseCasaroottonefor
examplepurposes.
Equivalentsymbols
C,CM7,Cmaj7
C7
C7,Cm7
C7,CmM7,C
C,Cm75,C75

Chordtonesinexamplekey
CEGB
CEGB
CEGB
CEGB
CEGB

Name
majorseventhchord
dominantseventhchord
minorseventhchord
minor/majorseventhchord
halfdiminishedseventhchord

Audio
Play
Play
Play
Play

Co7,Cdim7
Csus7

CEGB

fullydiminished7thchord

CFGB

dominantorminorsuspended4thchord Play

Play
Play

Mostjazzchordsymbolsdesignatefournotes.Eachtypicallyhasa"role"asroot,third,fifth,orseventh,
althoughtheymaybeseverelyalteredandpossiblyuseanenharmonicspellingwhichmasksthis
underlyingidentity.Forexample,jazzharmonytheoreticianJimKnapphassuggestedthatthe9and
eventhe9alterationsarefunctioningintherootrole.
Thejazzchordnamingsystemisasdeterministicasthecomposerwishesittobe.Ageneralruleof
thumbisthatchordalterationsareincludedinachartonlywhenthealterationappearsinthemelodyor
iscrucialtoessenceofthecomposition.Skilledimprovisersareabletosupplyanidiomatic,highly
alteredharmonicvocabularyevenwhenwrittenchordsymbolscontainnoalterations.
Itispossibletospecifychordswithmorethanfournotes.Forexample,thechordC9containsthe
notes(CEGBD).

Melodicminorscale
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Muchofjazzharmonyisbasedonthemelodicminorscale(usingonlythe"ascending"scaleasdefined
inclassicalharmony).Themodesofthisscalearethebasisformuchjazzimprovisationandare
variouslynamedasbelow,usingthekeyofCminorasanexample:
Melodicminor
scaletone
IC
IID

Characteristicchord
Scaletones(chord
inCminor
tonesinbold)
Cm()
CDEbFGAB
Dm7
DEFGABC

IIIE

E(5)

EbFGABCD

IVF

F7

FGABCDEb

VG
VIA

G7
A

GABCDEF
ABCDEFG

VIIB

B7alt

BCDEFGA

Scalename(s)
melodicminor
PhrygianorDorian26
Lydian5orLydian
Augmented
Mixolydian4orLydian
Dominant
Mixolydian6or"Hindu"
Locrian2
Altered,diminishedwholetone,
orLocrian4

TheVIIchordinparticularisrichwithalterations.Asitcontainsthenotesandalterations(,9,m3/9,
M3,5/11,13,m7),itisparticularlyimportantinthejazzharmonicidiom,notablyasachordina
minorkey.ForourexamplekeyofCminor,theVchordisG7,sotheimproviserwoulddrawuponthe
G7alteredscale(modeVIIoftheAmelodicminor).AcompleteiiViprogressioninCminor7
extended9flattenedfifthmightsuggestthefollowing:
ii D
DLocrian2(modeoftheFmelodicminorscale)
V G7(alt) Galteredscale(modeVIIoftheAmelodicminorscale)
I Cm() Cmelodicminor(modeIoftheCmelodicminorscale)

Seealso
Alteredchord
Bebopscale
Chordscalesystem
Modaljazz
Tritonesubstitution

Furtherreading
Kers,Robertde(1944).Harmonieetorchestrationpourorchestradedanse.Bruxelles:ditions
musicalesC.Bens.
Nettles,Barrie&Graf,Richard(1997).TheChordScaleTheoryandJazzHarmony.Advance
Music,ISBN389221056X
Ricigliano,Daniel(1969).Popular&JazzHarmony:forComposers,Arrangers,andPerformers.
Rev.ed.NewYork:DonatoMusicPublishingCo.

Sources
1."StackingThirds".HowToPlayBluesGuitar.20080929.Retrieved20081006.
2.RobertRawlins,NorEddineBahha(2005).Jazzology:TheEncyclopediaofJazzTheoryforAllMusicians,
p.11,13,and42.ISBN0634086782.Citeerror:Invalid<ref>tagname"Rawlins"definedmultiple
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timeswithdifferentcontent(seethehelppage).
3.Spitzer,Peter(2001).JazzTheoryHandbook,p.30.MelBayPublications.ISBN0786653280.

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