So called "Jazz Chords," are really just extended chords, sometimes using altered tones. Let's start with extending chords.

The garden variety chord is made by harmonizing the scale.

Do re mi fa sol la ti do

Then you harmonize it with a third and fifth, like this:

Do-mi-sol; Re-fa-la; Mi-sol-ti; Fa-la-do; Sol-ti-re; La-do-mi; Ti-re-sol; and back to Do-mi-sol. In the key of C, that gives you these chords: Cmaj Dmin Emin Fmaj Gmaj Amin Bdiminished Cmaj

Notice that we use the scale and play every other note. We start with one note, skip the second, play the third, skip the fourth, and play the fifth. So we play the note we root the chord, on, the root, third and fifth.

Now let's go further and EXTEND the chords.

Do-mi-sol-ti; Re-fa-la-do; Mi-sol-ti-re; Fa-la-do-mi; Sol-ti-re-fa; La-do-mi-sol; Ti-re-sol-la; and back to Do-mi-sol-ti.

That gives us the root third fifth and seventh notes. So we add a seventh. In C it would be: Cmajor7 Dminor7 Eminor7 Fmaj7 G7 Amin7 Bhalfdiminished7 back to Cmajor7

So that takes us out to the seventh chords.

Anyone interested? Any questions? Let me know and we'll move on to the ninth chords. Pretty soon, you'll all be jazz cats.


You've got to know your limitations. I don't know what your limitations are. I found out what mine were when I was twelve. I found out that there weren't too many limitations, if I did it my way. -Johnny Cash

It's only music.
-niteshift

Mike Dunbar Music