arranging, Jazz piano, Music Theory, Tutorials
Jazz Piano Introduction – Five Chord Qualities
The Five Chord Qualities
From the previous exercises (scale tone sevenths) we can see that there are four naturally occurring “chord qualities” within a major scale. These are:
- Major 7th
- Dominant 7th
- Minor 7th
- Half-diminished (often called “minor 7, b5)
In addition there is another chord quality which does not occur naturally:
Diminished 7th - made up of 3 sets of minor 3rds (1,b3,b5, double b7 (or 6))
Note! These 5 chord qualities can be build upon any degree of the scale
Exercise
Practise the exercise below to become thoroughly familiar with each chord quality in both hands.
Task:
Practise the five chord qualities in all twelve keys.
Author
James trained classically in Piano & Clarinet and studied Jazz at University. He has worked as an MD & pianist at Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Jazz club Dean Street, The Hippodrome, Leicester Sq Theatre, London Palladium, & was MD for the “Rat Pack” band for David Beckham (with Elton John as support!)
