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Hayden Hill
Hayden is a jazz pianist and educator from Manchester, UK. He founded PianoGroove in 2015 with the goal of making the world a more musical place. Hayden shares his love for jazz piano through his online courses and manages the community area of PianoGroove.
November 13 · 2020
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251 Progressions & Jazz Standards
We explore the many forms and permutations of the 251 progression. Starting with the most basic voicings, we then add extensions, alterations, and substitute harmonies. All examples are applied in context of the tune "Autumn Leaves".
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Great lesson! A bit beyond my comprehension here and there as a beginner still, but I like to try and grasp the more advanced concepts even if I can’t play them yet. I guess my main question would be, how do you decide which version (or upper structure) to use when you are adding passing chords like on Autumn Leaves? I get that it’s generally a 1/2 step above the following chord (and that it’s often dominant), but I’m unsure as to how you determine which type/alteration/extension you play. Thanks, Hayden!
Hi Ashton.
Great question!
This mainly depends on the melody note, so I will analyse the melody note in terms of the dominant chord, and then the tritone substitute, and often we will get different possibilities by choosing one of the other.
I would recommend checking out the following lessons:
Upper Structure Triads Intro: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/what-are-upper-structure-triads/ Slick Dominant Passing Chords: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/slick-dominant-passing-chords/ Upper Structure Triads Course: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/altered-harmony-upper-structure-triads/
and also learning the formulas in the upper structure cheat sheet: https://www.pianogroove.com/resources/upperstructure-cheat-sheet/
The other aspect is to play lots of tunes and apply the theory. I add these passing chords all of the time in my arrangements and so watching any of the jazz standard lessons will also help you to see how this is applied.
Take a look over the lessons and resources above and that should answer most of your questions.
Here to help if you need any more guidance.
Cheers, Hayden