Jazz Chords Piano - Over 50 Chord Lessons

Looking for the quickest explanation about what jazz piano chords are?

Well, I've got answers just for you. Read on to learn what they are and then check out all of our lessons on how to play jazz piano.

What Are Chords?

Chords are simply a harmonic group of notes played together (as block chords) or separately (as arpeggios).

First, a chord has a root note. The root note serves as a basis for describing the harmonic relationship between each note in the chord.

Chords are always named after their root notes.

The most basic of jazz chords is a triad. A triad consists of a root note, another note a third up, and the last note being a fifth away from the root. For example, we have the C major chord as C-E-G.

What Are Major Chords?

A major chord is any chord that starts at a particular root note, another note 4 half steps up, and another note 3 half steps above. For example, a C major chord starts at C, goes 4 half steps up to an E, and then another 3 half steps up for the G.

What Are Minor Chords?

A minor chord is any chord that starts at a particular root note, another note 3 half steps up, and another note 4 half steps above. For example, a C minor chord starts at C, goes 3 half steps up to an Eb, and then another 4 half steps up for the G.

What Are Jazz Piano Chords? What Makes Them Sound Jazzy?

Jazz piano chords are simply a triad plus a 7th and one or more extensions. Extensions are notes that go beyond the 7th.

What people tend to think of jazzy sounding chords have at least two or more of these characteristics:

1. The use of 7ths and extensions (9ths, 11ths, 13ths).
2. A preference for open voicings (i.e. notes of the chords being spread apart across the keyboard). A good example of which is quartal harmony.
3. The use of smooth voice leading to move from one chord to the next.
4. Playing the chords using rhythms associated with jazz.
5. Chromatic movement in between notes or from one chord to the next.

What Is A Suspended Chord?

A suspended chord is any chord where the 3rd is replaced by a 2nd or a 4th.

The intention of using a suspended chord is to imply a hanging feeling like its making your ears crave for the 4th or 2nd to resolve to the 3rd.

This technique is most especially used with dominant chords.

What Is A Dominant Chord?

A dominant chord is the 5th chord in any key. In many styles of contemporary or popular music, a dominant chord often has a flattened 7th. For example, a C7 chord has the notes C-E-G-Bb.

A dominant chord always functions in a tense or dissonant way. When you hear a dominant chord, it's natural for you to want it to resolve to another, more consonant sounding chord.

For example, a C7 chord can naturally resolve to F major, F minor, or an F7 chord.

Again, dominant chords give you that feeling of anticipation for the next chord to make the music satisfying to listen to.

For more details about jazz piano chords, go to our lesson on piano chord theory to learn more. We also have a detailed article on jazz chord progressions here. We also have a great lesson for you to start with some of the easy jazz chords.

We also have thousands of free lessons on our blog and many in-depth jazz piano courses with sheet music, step by step practice tips, piano playing exercises, music theory explanations and so much more. Our high quality courses are on everything from improvisation to going over all of the various jazz piano scales, helping you learn the root position, inversions, triads, licks, the most important jazz standards, and all the material you need to become the player you'd like to be.