The Biggest Misunderstanding About Jazz Chords And How To Quickly Fix It
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- čas přidán 5. 06. 2024
- The way you think about Jazz chords is most likely wrong, and that is because you have been taught to think about chords in the wrong way from probably the first guitar lesson you ever had. Joe Pass has some advice, and if you use that, then you can get VERY far!
3 Reasons You Will Regret Not Working On Chord Soloing
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Joe Pass: The PERFECT Jazz Blues:
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Content:
00:00 Jazz Chord Problems
01:06 Making Jazz Chords Simple!
02:55 Adding Melody Not Extensions
04:47 Making Chords Into Music
05:52 Chromatic Chords - Melodic And Visual
07:18 It Is Already A Chord Solo!
08:21 Like the video? Check out my Patreon page!
My name is Jens Larsen, Danish Jazz Guitarist, and Educator. The videos on this channel will help you explore and enjoy Jazz. Some of it is how to play jazz guitar, but other videos are more on Music Theory like Jazz Chords or advice on how to practice and learn Jazz, on guitar or any other instrument.
The videos are mostly jazz guitar lessons, but also music theory, analysis of songs and videos on jazz guitars.
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I’ve been a professional jazz guitarist for 35+ years, have taught tons of guitarists, teach at a university, etc - and I want you to know that I have shared some of your videos with my students with the words “here is a very clear example of what I showed you”… thank you, you are a terrific resource, and you are appreciated.
Thank you! I really appreciate that, and it's great to hear that the videos are useful
It is very usefull!
Alright!!
He’s a hack. I feel sorry for your students. If you knew what you were doing, you wouldn’t be “showing”, a dead giveaway that you are simply lording your advance playing technique over your students, not explaining the underlying principles as you should. You wouldn’t need to show them these videos to explain what you are “showing” them. My college theory instructors VERY rarely set their hands on an instrument. What you are subconsciously doing is trying to intimidate the next generation of players out of challenging your technique.
@@5400bowen first off - you know nothing about how I teach, or obviously what I mean by “showing”, which includes lessons that include teaching principles, techniques, bigger concepts, and yes, sometimes playing for and with them. I have no idea how good a performer Jens Larson, I don’t even care, but sometimes he puts things in a particular way, or arranges certain materials in bite size chunks, that has helped some of my students.
I feel sorry for you that your teachers never played for you, you must be a poor sad soul as a result of them not feeling you worth sharing their gifts with you. Sorry.
If I had the light bulb moment I think I had, this is the jazz version of rock "power chords"= two note chords played on the 5th and 6th strings. Instead, you play the jazz two-note cord on the 3rd and 4th strings, and add your "color" with the 1st and 2nd strings. Amazing!! Love this.
Glad it was useful! 🙂
Interesting video! I agree with this concept. But here's my 2 cents about this:
Any musicians should be able to understand that a C13 or C7b9 or C7#11 and so on is basically a C7.
Any extension added in a chord chart is just a guide for anyone not familiar with the tune to avoid playing notes that would clash with the melody. Or sometimes the melody would require a specific extension in a chord. There are so many ways of harmonizing a melody. For example, when I see a C9, it doesn't mean that I have to play the 9th in that chord. That just tell me that I might want to avoid playing a flat 9th.
When you see a chart with extensions on the chords, it just quickly helps to figure out the harmonic structure of a song (what scales the melody is based on, etc...). As I said, chord charts are just a guide. In the end, it's always the ear that decides what to play. When a chord chart is complete and accurate, it gives a better overview of the song's harmonic content. From this, it's up to the musicians to decide what to do with it
Boy, did I ever need this lesson. I spend all my time fretting ( excuse the pun) about my fingers being too short. These more compact chords will help.
Go for it 🙂
i've played jazz for 8+ years, but in these past 2 years it finally came together all the chords and scales etc. and now i can play anything and I can't get off the Piano its so fun.
LOVE this!! Use the Bass Player - he or she is there for a reason!! I have to say, having started to think like this - as a BAND member, not a guitarist - a few years ago has simplified and improved my playing noticeably! I used to think like a solo pianist - I have to play EVERYTHING in EVERY song. Then I learned to hear my band, to listen to what they were doing, to realise that the audience hears an ENSEMBLE piece, nit individual instruments, so started to focus on what I NEEDED to do to add to my spectrum of sound, if you will, and using the bass player was the absolute core to this. It totally freed up my playing and I stopped all worries about barre chords and even my bass string notes, and learned simple chord inversions like this video, to minimise me jumping all over the neck, and to add the right colour to the song in the right place! It's not perfect by any means, and does tax my amateur brain 😂 but I LOVE the results so far! GREAT video Jens 😎
Been playing bass in church for about the last 25 or so years, and put guitar (my 1st love way on the back burner). But this makes me want to pick up my strat and start learning diad and triad riffs!
Moocho thanks.
8 concise minutes of good info, no filler. thank you for thinking more about music and not youtube.👏👏👏
Glad it was helpful!
Despite earning a degree in jazz guitar and music education, I’ve struggled with chord solos because I used to see them as thousands of individual ideas rather than groupings. That screenshot of the fretboard with 2 bass strings, 2 chord strings, and 2 melody strings is one of the most profoundly simple and effective approaches I’ve ever seen. I love everything about your recent videos after discovering your channel from the Paul Davids collaboration. Well done!
Thank you! That is really great to to hear 🙂
partial chord if it's jazz. power chord if it's rock. double stop if it's bluegrass. or an interval if it's classical. But they are all dyads(2 note chords). Is this correct?
@@punky1534 no not really. Are you referring to the same place in the video?
@@JensLarsen I don't think so. I kinda focused in on the 1:30 mark. I don't understand music theory very well.(self taught)☹️ but the idea of finding the simplest version of a chord and learning how to color it in to make it fit the context of the piece as a whole is the route I went. I started with rock and roll power chords and then figured out how to build triads off the root and fifth. Then I realized If I drop the fifth to a fourth and add a sixth it makes it more somber. Then I discovered that I can invert the triads to create interesting bass lines. And on down the path I went. I'm just trying to make sense of what I am doing. Thank you for your time.
@@punky1534 yes, that is all ok, but your attempt to force it on to genres is not so useful 🙂
"get to the main sound of the chord, envision the chord without the bass strings"...a lot of good information here for all players even if they're not playing Jazz
As the floyds said once, "the gold is in the" Jens Larsen's channel. THANK YOU !!!
I am a grunge player by heart, soft acoustic player when i go acoustic...
However, i always try and experiment with chords, sometimes i figured out jazz chords just by experimenting...
I just cannot do a bar, with a string pushed 2 frets up, completely impossible for me. However. Bossa Nova has simple and nice chords!
I love jazz, i just cannot play it sadly :/
4:45 “But you probably already know that.”
Oh…Sir….you give me too much credit! Just when I think I’m a pretty good guitarist, I come here and you thoroughly dissuade me of that notion!
Back in 1994 I met Joe at the Sheraton on the beach in Waikiki ! At first I didn't recognize him. Very wise man!
Musicians!
Pay very close attention! Larsen Is knocking it out of the park with this music lesson! Save the post ! This is the good stuff! 🎸😎👍
Thank you!
I remember sitting down with a Joe Pass LP in 1975 and trying to figure out this cool sounding move he used on the IV chord in a Bb blues. Took me FOREVER, at least in my memory. The melody was just C, B, Bb with a chord on each note. After exhausting my recently acquired knowledge of "jazz chords" I stumbled on the actual line: the top 4 strings of an Eb13, 5th fret, moved the chord up a fret, released the 4th finger for an E9 and moving that back a fret to an Eb9. It was an excellent way to internalize the keep it simple principle. Thanks for the reminder and your extremely clear explanations.
Figuring it out by ear was probably still worth the work though! Glad you like the video 🙂
Pure gold. I hope they’re paying you well cause you are an excellent teacher. My comments on here always sounds like flattery but I’m really being sincere. Ty so much Jens. You’ve really enriched the musical lives of me and my kids.
Thank you Ira! I am lucky to be able to reach this many people and be a part of this community!
Hear, hear!
as a sax player trying his best at jazz guitar this has changed everything
Glad it was helpful 🙂
Thsnks for the inspiring lesson!
You are a great teacher . I've actually learned a lot in the last 10 days from watching you videos.
This, and learning to organize the chord by bars, was what made learning jazz easier for me.
The information is gold, but I also really appreciate your video production edits. Thank you
Thanks for a beautiful lesson as always! Caused real light bulb moments
You're so welcome!
The clarity in your teaching has gotten so good! Stuff that can be directly used and also transposable with minimum brain and maximum fun is hard to come by and harder to articulate sometimes. Thank you for this excellent video and I'm looking forward to all your upcoming videos!
You're very welcome!
You are the best jazz teacher on CZcams!
This is a wake up call!. Makes so much sense. Thanks.
It is important, when accompanying a singer, to be very careful about passing tones. As a singer, I've had keyboard players who were fond of their ability with passing tones drop them while my ear is trying to hear another tone. That's a bit like hitting a giant pothole in the road at high speed. It's also true that often the chord extension is really just the melody note added to a simpler chord. So you don't necessarily have to play that extension as long as the chord you play doesn't interfere with the singer. And one last thing; if you are accompanying yourself on guitar, as a solo performer, you do need that bass note in the chord (most of the time).
Yes, you have to listen to the soloist when you play chords, also when it is a singer 🙂
You shouldn’t be distracted by passing tones. It mistakes by other players, which are much more distracting. You are focusing on controlling the other players. Pay attention to your own parts, then you won’t be distracted by incidentals.
You have been posting some amazing stuff recently as always, but recently there has a been consistent quality uploads with loads of jazz guitar wisdom and I would confidently say your the most reliable and seemingly caring jazz guitar teacher on all of the internet. It’s easy to tell that really want to help people learn without any ego.
Glad you like the videos 🙂
It makes me really happy to still see your videos Jens... Nice editing :)
Awesome video! Never realized how simple this was to understand.
Truly a treasure of music teaching. Blew my mind. Much thanks for your continued contributions.
Hope all is well!
I comp by leaving off the 5th usually, but i never thought to leave off rhe root. This is very useful.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you Jens! Very useful. Going to start using this right away.
Awesome! Lots to unpack here Jens 🏆
Thank you Christian!
It can be difficulty to understand the purpose of jazz chords, especially with how many there are around the fretboard. It's truly important to never overthink, and with practice it becomes natural. Cheers
super useful stuff, thanks Jens!!
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome video as always Jen! Thank you for the many years of lessons 🙏
Thanks for watching! 🙂
This is so mindblowingly simple…I’ll start with that right away!
Go for it! 👍😎
Love how simple and practical your lessons are! Thank you so much
You're very welcome!
an amazing lesson! i've been playing for almost 60 yrs. these principles are so basic and simplify everything. certainly will take my playing to the next level. thank you!!
Jens, thank you for this video! I'm not a jazz guitarist (I really like Joe Pass, but I'm more folk/rock, classic rock), but my quest for harmonic enrichment and phrasing brings me very regularly to watch your videos. And this one, I think it unlocked something huge in my play, and only in 8 minutes! Thanks again Jens!
I love you!! You are so wonderful to share such knowledge!!
You are very welcome
I’ve been taking more a dive into music theory, and have been working through a book called “Guitar Chords in Context”. This video nails some of the concepts I’ve been working on in under 10 minutes! I love music in that it can seem so complex until you look at it in a different way and BLAM, it just makes perfect sense. Superb video, thank you so much!
I have got an old VHS Video by Jimmy Bruno called "No Nonsense Jazz Guitar". At the very beginning he says something like: "There is no 7/#9/#5 Chord to me. There are only 3 kinds of chords to me: Major, Minor seventh and a Dominant chord." It is really worth thinking about that. Thank you for this video.
Glad you like it!
Finally, after your clear explanation, I understand the secrets of chord soloing. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
your great Jens .... what a great channel you have created ..TY
Glad you enjoy it!
Great advice! Thank you!
Great lesson. This makes reading chord progressions much easier, indeed, as there is no longer a question of "why is there this extension in this place?", but rather - an indicator of how the melody is built. Very useful!
Wow, what an action packed episode! This is all stuff I have been waiting to hear! Thank you so much for such a strait forward approach! This info is golden!
Glad you enjoyed it!
this is a really good video. Thanks Jens
Glad you liked it!
This was one of the first lessons I stumbled upon as a classical guitarist studying jazz arranging during my undergrad. Man, did it make playing chords easier!
Excellent breakdown. Keep ‘em coming!!!
You got it!
Great teaching skills!
Thanks for this video Jens ! A lot of great stuff here. There's some homework for me - in playing chord voicings without playing the Root. It makes Musical sense and keeps the Bass player happy. I especially liked the 'Chords with melodies on top' and 'Chromatic Chords.' I always have a number of Music projects on the go - and 'Chord Melody types of things' get placed on the back burner. This video will help chip away at my 'Chord Melody Phobia.' Cheers Jens. 😁
Top 4 strings = ukulele. I've been suffering from guitarists' tennis elbow, and the uke is a great recovery tool. Now I can stop strumming silly luau songs and get back to jazz using this brilliant approach. I also don't have to spend my life savings to pay an orthopedic surgeon to fix things (it's U.S. healthcare y'know).
This is Clarity and the first time I’ve ever been able to access Jazz chords on a guitar at a fundamental level. Thank you !
Who needs Rick Beato!? 😂
Excellent video, Jens. Thanks.
Brilliant, thank you.
This information helped me greatly in understanding why some chords suddenly fit into songs so well. Will have to get you a coffee, Jens. Have a great Sunday.
You're such a legend and you articulate so well. Beautiful
Thank you very much! 🙂
This took me so long to figure out on my own! My musical upbringing was mainly theoretical and it's only in recent years I figured out that a lot of things that are really complicated to explain with theory are really easy if you just go where your ears tell you.
Brilliant simplification Jens. Heading to the woodshed!
Go for it!
Been trying to find new ideas for my intermediate guitar students learning basic jazz improv. This lesson will be an interesting direction for us to explore. Thanks!
One of the best explanations I’ve heard. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
This is so great. This is one of the best videos on chords I've seen in a while. I love chords. Thanks for this!
You're very welcome!
You explained this concept so clearly and simply that I know it will stick with me forever in my guitar playing. Great teaching.
Glad it was helpful!
This is exactly the video content I needed to progress my playing. Thank you!
Glad it helped!
What a well edited, well done, well instructed, video. Thank you. Such great info.
Glad it was helpful!
Brilliant! That is hands down one of the best guitar tutorials on CZcams 👏🏻
Glad you think so! 🙂
I learned this from your past videos! I used to do that, looking at chords and colors individually. But following your advice, I actually find it easier now to be more familiar with the chord changes and the flow of standards, because it's simple!
Wonderful!
Benn following for years but never commented because I'm not used to ... but this time, man ... unbelievable lesson, super clear, excellent examples, super inspiring material. Well done. Thank you Thank you !
Brilliant explanation Jens and in keeping with the KISS principle. Many players seem to forget that 2 notes make a chord and pianists can play enough notes for an orchestra and it's best to not get in the way.
Thank you!
been watching your channel for 3 years. i've played guitar for 18 years self taught since i was 8 and always thought jazz was out of my grasp. with your help, some great books (Ted Greene's Chord Chemistry, and Tim Pettingale's Modern Jazz Chord Concepts), and my ear I've finally just finished learning Chet Baker Sings in its entirety. Thank you so much for your free lessons, I hope to pay it back to future jazz guitarists of my generation.
Joe Pass's assertion that the ii chord doesn't exist was mindblowing. Then I picked up my guitar and realized the ii chord is just the V suspended with a 9 and 11!
This! the first 3/4 of this video (i’ll learn to get used to the chromaticisms, later) came at a great moment in my getting reacquainted with the guitar.
It’s so simple and feels refreshing to see chords this way.
One of the few music ‘tubers that I welcome flooding my feed, especially with Joe Pass thumbnails.
My instructor in 1976 taught me this style of comping with the jazz band. It kept me in the mix without trying to be a star.
Your best lesson yet! Thank you Jens!
Glad you think so!
Wow. This is absolute gold.
Wow! Great lesson, immediately digestible and actionable. Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Such a simple concept, but this has so much insight! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
This is a great video Jens! Thanks sooo much!!!!
Glad it was helpful!
I like your way of simplify Jazz into essentials that makes Jazz to living music that returns joy for musicians and auditors, unlike than theoretically music stuff that musical institutes are often using that overloads the brain and take out any joy…
Man I love your stuff. Thanks for all the effort you put into your work.
My pleasure!
I play keyboards but I tried this technique and it's terrific. Just played a simple one note walk-up and walk-down in my left hand with the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th in my right and I love it. (The high 13th is a stretch for me). Thanks for a simple yet great sounding tip!
Sounds great!
I must remember to slow down and take some deep breaths! Your last couple of videos have been pure gold - concise, simple explanations of things that have ‘worried’ me for a long time; it’ll probably take months to get comfortable with them… but that’s better than the alternative. Please keep them coming - I now have something to look forward to each week!
Thank you Rebecca! Once you get started it gets a lot easier 🙂
Brilliant! Very helpful. I was already somewhat familiar with most of these concepts, but this is explained in an easily understandable way. 👍
Glad it was helpful!
great, these tips are very helpful for me as a non-notist and autodidact. thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
My jazz teacher would agree. Top 2 strings for base notes (or bottom depending on how you look at the strings). Middle 2 strings for the guide tones and the last two strings for extensions
Exactly 🙂
These videos are amazing lessons. My main instrument is the drum set, but I have been playing blues/metal guitar as well as for around 10 years and have always loved studying theory. Your videos have changed the default setting on my amp to a much cleaner, jazzier tone. Thank you for making these lessons. They are very appreciated.
This is fantastic!!
Thank you 🙂
great video, Jens. the more sensational editing (I imagine it’s mostly for making shorts and good soundbytes) didn’t jive with me before, but I’ve come around to it and this video strikes a great balance of information and humor. Thanks for your work!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Been trying to learn some jazz cords for rockabilly and psychobilly. Due to the damage on my left hand I was having a hard time holding and moving to the next cord, until now, thank you so much. This way is a lot easier and cleaner.
Glad you can put it to use 🙂
This one is really helpful, thanks. So when I was a teen about 50 years ago I played guitar for my high school jazz band and was really in angst about charts that had lots of chromatic passing chords. I learned then that really, you let the bass and piano handle those and then you just keep up the Freddie Green quarters (we had a lot of Basie-type charts) with shell chords. Now I see from this presentation how I can move this into higher level comping, if I live long enough.
Nice! Gonna try to work on this in the future as I get more into guitar. Thanks for the great video.
Go for it 🙂!
Excellent wisdom. Also getting used to recognising when the added notes are extant in melody (so you don't have to worry about playing them).
Hey, I'm so glad I found your channel. I play on 10 dif instruments since my childhood had students myself and never really went for learning jazz, cause everytime I tried to do it on guitar, I had an anxiety thinking about chord shapes and concept, but your video just opened up my mind and told me to trust my ears and take it easy and slow. Thank you for your lessons and wisdom, everytime I see your video, I actually learn something new and this helps a lot ❤
Glad the video was helpful 🙂
Very informative! Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Treasure trove here! Also Peter Berenstein is a BEAST!!
Thanks! Yes he is!
So much to learn. Thank you so much Jens. Love your accent too. It’s awesome
You are very welcome 🙂
I have been a rock guitarist since I first picked up the guitar and started to take it seriously. However, I also have roots in jazz as well as I played in my high school jazz band for three years and loved every minute of it because of the lush and layered chords. However, the first time I was handed a guitar chart, I thought what the hell is this? But, as I went through my usual process of breaking things down and walking through it, I soon discovered that, hey, I only need two notes to voice the chord. So, the endeavor was then to find creative ways to voice the chords, while always trying to match pieces of the melody with my free fingers. This video is great! I wish I'd had it back then. lol 😄
Mind blown
Thank u for the great videos
And especially for demystifying jazz 🤘
Glad you like them! 🙏
Jens, every time I see your videos I learn so much! I usually want to say, "Wow, this was the most insightful video..." And then, I watch your next video, and it's somehow even more inspiring!! This video is SO GOOD --- I probably SHOULD toss out my several dozen books on jazz guitar; but I won't because I love books! ( I know I'll donate them to my local library, though, because you've given us so much to work on). And I've never specifically mentioned this but you're also an awesome filmmaker/editor! Your videos come off as simple and breezy, but I know you've put a lot of work into them. Thank you so much, Jens, you're such a great teacher!
Thank you George! I actually wrote two books as well 😁
@@JensLarsen Wow! Just assumed you hadn't! Two more books to happily add to my collection.
@@georgeknightley8828 Thank you George 🙂