Minor Chord Voicings For Jazz Piano
This is the second lesson in the series on learning to harmonise the melody of jazz standards. In the first lesson we looked at harmonising the melody note of major chords and in this lesson we are going to focus on minor chords and focus on the different voicings that can be used under each of the 7 notes of the Dorian scale.
The majority of the time, the melody over minor chords will be one of these 7 notes so if you memorise formulas for harmonising these melody notes, you will always be able to find a rich and interesting sounding voicing for minor chords in all 12 keys.
Related Lessons
We can also achieve some really interesting sounds by applying upper structure triad theory to both major and minor chords.
In this lesson we explore how you can navigate over the minor line cliché using bass lines, two-handed chords and left hand voicings.
We have voiced minor 251 progressions with our left hand and so now it’s time to spread the notes across 2 hands to get bigger chords with more impact!
Practice Tips
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Every time you come across a chord on a lead sheet, you should analyse the scale degree of the melody in relation to the chord underneath.
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Making a conscious analysis of this when you are playing through jazz standards will help you memorise and internalise voicings. This is really important!
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By ‘internalise’ I mean remember the formula. With jazz it is far more efficient to think in terms of numbers (or scale degrees) than to think of individual notes.
- For example, with the So What Chord, from top to bottom, it contains the Root. 11th, b7th, b3rd and 5th. Knowing this formula means you can then apply it to any key (considering you know your major/minor scales... which is why they are so important!)
