22 Newbie Jazz Questions

Equipment & Setup Questions:

1) "What equipment do I need to learn jazz piano?"

The only essential equipment you will need is a piano and a Real Book.

2) "What is a 'Real Book'?"

A Real Book is a collection of sheet music to popular jazz songs. The songs are notated minimally - with a melody line and chord symbols above it (giving you freedom to arrange and voice the song as you like).

3) "Which Real Book do you recommend?"

I use and recommend the following Real Books:

'The Real Book Sixth Edition' by Hal Leonard.
'The Real Book Volume II' by Hal Leonard.
'The Real Book Volume III' by Hal Leonard.

Each of these books has 400 songs. To decide which one is best for you, just look at the songs listed in each, and then get whichever book has the most songs you like.

Note: Make sure you get a Real Book that is 'in C' - which means 'in the key of C'.

4) "What musical skills do I need before I learn jazz piano?"

You will need two things:

To be able to read music (treble clef only) to an okay level. This is so that you can play jazz songs from a real book. Most jazz melodies are notated simply and are easy to read (half-notes, quarter notes, and eighth notes).
I recommend having taken basic piano lessons for 5 years - so that you are confident at playing notes on the piano, chords, left hand and right hand, and holding down the pedal. This will allow you to focus on learning jazz theory, rather than trying to learn piano technique and jazz at the same time.

5) "Do I need big hands to play jazz?"

No - not at all. Almost every chord voicing that I play only requires a 7th stretch in each hand, and occasionally an octave. There's only one chord voicing I use quite often that requires a 9th stretch - which is the Kenny Barron voicing (C minor 11 = C G D / Eb Bb F). If you can't stretch this, you can always play C minor 11 using this voicing instead: C C / G Bb D F.

Free Resource: Download my '30 Beginner Jazz Songs' list.

Chord Symbol Questions:

6) "Why do chord symbols look different from one song to the next?"

There are multiple ways to write chords in jazz. Each arranger has their own preference...

For example, a 'C minor 7' chord can be written as 'C min 7', or as 'Cm7', or as 'C-7' - and the same goes for most other chords. You can expect to see slight variations in how the chords are written, depending on which arranger / publisher your sheet music is from.

7) "What does a triangle mean in a chord symbol?"

In jazz notation, the triangle means 'major 7 chord'. So 'C triangle' would mean C major 7 (C E G B), or 'F triangle' would mean F major 7 (F A C E).

There's one other 7th chord that uses the same triangle symbol (much less common) - which is the 'minor-major 7 chord'. So 'C minor' followed by a triangle would mean 'C minor with a major 7th' (C Eb G B).

8) "What does 'ø' mean in a chord symbol?

The ø symbol means 'half-diminished chord'. So 'Cø' means 'C half-diminished' (C Eb Gb Bb). This is the same chord as a 'C minor 7 flat 5'. Some arrangers write 'Cø', while others prefer to write 'C min 7 b5'. They're both the exact same chord, just notated differently.

9) "What are 'Chord Extensions'?"

In jazz, chords are built upwards from the root in 3rds - 1 3 5 7 9 11 13...

'Chord Extensions' are the higher notes in the chord - specifically the 9th, 11th, and 13th...

The lower 4 notes are called 'Chord Tones' - 1 3 5 7 - because they are the notes of the chord (whereas the extensions just get added on top of these to add color).

10) "When can I add chord extensions to a chord?"

You can add chord extensions to any chord - whether it's written in your real book, or not. You don't have to wait for your real book to tell you 'C7#11' to add a sharp 11. As a jazz pianist you get to add chord extensions to every chord.

Most chords in your real book will be written simply as 7th chords - 'C min 7' - 'F7' - 'Bb maj 7', etc

This is so that you can read the chords quickly and easily. It would slow you down if you had to process 'C min 11' - 'F7 #9 b13' - 'Bb maj 7 #4'. So usually arrangers only specify chord extensions for really special chords - where a specific chord extension is really needed.

11) "How do you find a chord extension correctly? (9, 11, 13)"

You have to be precise when adding chord extensions above a chord. To find the 9th, 11th or 13th and add it to a chord - just imagine a major scale starting from the chord's root note, and take your extension notes from that scale...

So over a 'C major 7' chord - you would build chord extensions from the notes of C major scale:

The 9th is the same note as the 2nd - which in C major scale would be D.

The 11th is the same note as the 4th - which in C major scale would be F.

And the 13th is the same note as the 6th - which in C major scale would be A.

The chord extensions are always built from the major scale - regardless of what type of chord it is. So whether you have a C minor 7, C7, or C major 7 chord - the 9th, 11th and 13th will always be taken from the notes of C major scale (and not C minor scale, or any other scale). It's very simple - as long as you understand this.

The same applies when adding 6ths, 4ths, and 2nds to a chord.
These numbers are sometimes used instead of 9, 11 and 13 - but once again, you will find them by counting up the notes of the major scale.

12) "What about 'altered chord extensions'? (b9, #9, #11, b13)"

Chord extensions can be altered too - which means 'sharpened' or 'flattened'.
To add a sharp 11th above a chord, just find the natural 11th first (by counting up to the 4th note of the major scale), and then sharpen it.
So the #11 above a C chord would be F#...

Or to add a flat 13 above a chord - you would find the natural 13th first (count up to the 6th note of the major scale), and then flatten it. So the b13 above a C chord would be Ab...

Altered chord extensions are usually found over V7 chords ('dominant 7 chords') - rather than major 7 and minor 7 chords.

They are added to change up the scale in the middle of a ii-V-I chord progression, over the V7 chord.

That's where you'll usually see 'flat 9', 'sharp 9', 'sharp 11' and 'flat 13'.

13) "What does a slash sign mean '/' in the middle of a chord symbol?"

Sometimes an arranger will put a slash (/) in the middle of two note names:
e.g. 'Bb / C', or 'Gm7 / C'...

These are called 'slash chords', and they're used to specify an unusual bass note for you to play below the chord (i.e. not the root):

The letters before the slash tells you which chord to play in your right hand
(e.g. 'G min 7'), and the letter after the slash tells you the bass note you should play in your left hand (e.g. ' / C')...

So 'Gm7 / C' would mean to play a G minor 7 chord in your right hand (G Bb D F) over C in the bass...

Or 'Bb maj 7 / C' would mean to play a Bb major 7 chord in your right hand
(Bb D F A) over C in the bass...

Or 'C / D' would mean to play a C major chord in your right hand
(C E G - because 'C' is shorthand for 'C major chord') over D in the bass.

Free Resource: Download my 'Chord Symbol Reference Guide'

Shows you all types of Jazz chord notated clearly on one page - including 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, 13ths.

Song Form Questions:

14) "What does 'A section' and 'B section' mean?"

Most jazz songs follow the same form (more or less) which is A A B A:

First there is an 'A section' - which means the song's verse or starting melody (usually 8 or 16 bars long)...

Then there is a 'B section' which is a second section of music.
The B section is considerably different to the A section - it creates contrast with the A section.
The B section is usually played louder, and the A section quieter.

After the B section - most jazz songs return to the A section and play it once more to end, just half as long as before (8 bars).

To hear this A A B A song form in action, listen to songs like 'Misty', 'Cry Me A River', 'Stella By Starlight', 'In A Sentimental Mood', 'Georgia On My Mind', 'Girl From Ipanema', and most other jazz songs.

15) "What does it mean when I see chords that are in brackets?"

Look through the songs in your real book and you'll see that most songs end with 2 or 3 chords that are in brackets in the final 1-2 bars - for example 'Eb maj 7 (C7 - Fm7 - Bb7)'...

These are called a 'turn around' - you only play these chords if you're going to repeat the song another time.
Whereas if you're ready to end the song - simply play the final chord and ignore the chords that are in brackets.

16) "How many times should I repeat a song when I perform?"

You can repeat a song as many times as you like. If you're playing with a jazz trio or ensemble - it's normal to repeat the song two or more times.
For example - the first time you'll play the original melody.
The second time you might play an embellished version of the melody (with some melodic variation).
The third time you might play an improvised solo. And at some point, you'll end by playing the original melody one last time...

However, if you're playing solo piano to friends, then playing the song once through, or possibly twice through is usually appropriate.

17) "How do I start a song - do I need to add my own intro?"

I like to add intros to all of my songs in my repertoires. The simplest way to add an intro is to play the 'turn around', which is usually the last 2 bars of the song. These turn around chords (the chords in brackets) are designed to lead back around into the A section.

18) "How do I end a jazz song - what do I do?"

Most jazz songs I like to end the same way - I will hold down the pedal and run up the keyboard playing notes from the final chord and the scale that goes with it.

If the song is a major song (i.e. it ends on some type of major chord - e.g. 'C maj 7' or 'C maj 6') then I will run up notes from the lydian scale
(C lydian scale = C D E F# G A B), in some fashion.

If the song is a minor song (i.e. it ends on some type of minor chord - e.g. 'C min 7', 'C min 6', or 'C min-maj 7') then I will run up notes from the melodic minor scale (C melodic minor = C D Eb F G A B), in some fashion.

When running up the keyboard, I usually start with the chord's root and 5th in the bass (to give a strong foundation before I add any colorful notes above). Then in the mid-range I'll play mostly chord tones (1 3 5 7 of the chord). And as I get to the high-range, I can play up the notes of the scale in any combination (1 2 3 4 5 6 7) and it won't sound muddy.

Or a simple ending you can use for any major song is to play 1 5 3 7 of the chord (e.g. C G E B if the ending chord is 'C major 7') - and then to
repeat the '3 7' up an octave, and then again '3 7' up another octave', and again one more time: C G E B / E B / E B / E B.

Recommended Lesson

'Jazz Theory Explained in 20 Minutes'

All the essential Jazz theory you need to know in one video:

Free Resource: Download my 'Chord Symbol Reference Guide' sheet music.

(All Jazz chords notated on one page - including 7ths, 9ths, 11ths and 13ths).

Understanding Jazz Harmony:

19) "How do I know what key a song is in?"

The short answer is - look at the starting chord (the first chord of the song's A section), as well as the ending chord (the last chord in the music - ignoring any chords that are in brackets). In most cases, a song will start and end on 'the I chord' ('the one chord') of the key that it's in:

So a song that starts and ends on 'Eb major 7' is most likely in the key of Eb major...
A song that starts and ends on 'F minor 7' is most likely in the key of F minor, and so on...

Now bear in mind - virtually every jazz song changes key (or 'modulates') multiple times throughout the music.
So when we talk about the key of a song, we're just identifying 'the home key' - which means the key that the music starts and ends in.
Most jazz songs start and end in the same key - which is called 'the home key' - but the music will likely change key several times throughout the song.

20) "I don't understand Roman Numerals - how do they work?"

In music theory, chords are often written using Roman Numerals (like 'I - IV - V - ii - vi - vii', etc). This is useful because the numbers tell you where the chord belongs within its scale...

So the 'I chord' tells you that it's the first chord of the scale. Or the 'ii chord' is the 2nd chord of the scale. The 'iii chord' is the 3rd chord of the scale, and so on. It's more useful to understand where a chord belongs within the scale - than to simply say 'D major', which could be in many different keys.

Important: Roman Numerals that are written in UPPER CASE means that the chord is major (e.g. 'I - IV - V')....

Whereas lower case Roman Numerals are used to specify minor chords (e.g. 'ii - vi - vii').

21) "What does 'ii-V-I' mean?"

'ii-V-I' is Roman Numerals for '2-5-1'. The '2-5-1' is the most common chord progression found in jazz...

The '2-5-1' is a three-chord progression, which is most often built from the major scale. Here's the 2-5-1 within C major scale:

D minor 7 (D F A C) - G7 (G B D F) - C maj 7 (C E G B)

D minor 7 is the 'ii chord' - because it's built from the 2nd note of C major scale.
G7 is the 'V7 chord' - it's built from the 5th note of C major scale.
C major 7 is the 'I chord' - it's built from the first note of C major scale.

All three chords are played as 7th chords - they have a root, 3rd, 5th and 7th - since that's normal in jazz.

Notice the upper case / lower case letters I use when I write 'ii-V-I'. The last two chords are written in UPPER CASE ('V' and 'I') - because they are major chords (or at least, the bottom 3 notes of each chord form a major triad), whereas the ii chord I write in lower case, because it's a minor chord.

22) "What about the minor ii-V-i?"

The major ii-V-I is most common in jazz (90% of ii-V-Is in your Real Book will be the major ii-V-Is, built from the major scale)...

However there's also a minor ii-V-i progression - which builds its three chords from the harmonic minor scale (C harmonic minor scale = C D Eb F G Ab B ... think 'minor scale with a major 7th').

So a minor ii-V-I in C minor looks like this:

Dø (D F Ab C) - G7 (G B D F) - C min-maj 7 (C Eb G B)

The three chords above are a 'true' minor ii-V-i. However, it's quite common for jazz musicians to change the i chord to a regular minor 7 chord (instead of the minor-major 7 chord) since the minor 7 chord sounds more casual within a song - like this:

Dø (D F Ab C) - G7 (G B D F) - C minor 7 (C Eb G Bb)

The minor-major 7 chord can sound a bit dramatic, and is best played on minor song endings. However within the song's A section or B section, playing a simple minor 7 chord is usually preferred.

Again, notice my upper case / lower case roman numerals when I write 'ii-V-i'. For the minor ii-V-i I write both the ii chord and the i chord in lower case - because these are minor chords, or diminished chords (both should be written using lower case numerals).
While the V chord still remains in UPPER CASE because it is major (the bottom 3 notes form a major triad).

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