Gospel jazz chords pdf

From a music theory perspective, jazz, gospel and funk are probably the most technically advanced genres, with exotic chord names like ‘minor seven flat five’ and ‘augmented seven sharp nine’ thrown about with abandon. We’re not going to go too deep down the rabbit hole here - there are entire books dedicated to the subject on its own - but
essentially, jazz is all about altering the chord in some way to make it sound different, while at the same time maintaining the basic harmonic progression of the tune.Occasionally, just one note - usually a fifth or ninth - will be altered, or maybe a chord will be swapped out for a totally different one that has the same function in the progression - a
tactic known as substitution. On this page, you’ll find formulae to some of the more common altered chord types you’ll need to be aware of if you intend to start exploring this type of sound.For more genre-spanning music theory advice, check out the September issue of Computer Music (CM246).The minor seven flat five (m7b5) chord is the jazz
muso’s secret weapon. It’s derived from a regular minor seventh chord but with the fifth moved down in pitch (flattened) by one semitone. The formula for a regular minor seventh chord is 1-b3-5-b7, which in the key of C would give us C-Eb-G-Bb. However, if we also flatten the fifth, we get 1-b3-b5-b7, or C-Eb-Gb-Bb - Cm7b5. Jazz chordsWe’ve
composed a short progression using some of the more common chord types in jazz, funk and gospel styles.The first four bars are alternating Cm9 (C-Eb-G-Bb-D) and Fm9 (F-Ab-C-Eb-G) chords. However, just before the second Fm9, we’ve inserted a passing chord - F#6 (F#-C#-D#-F#-A#. Passing chords are chords that you ‘pass’ through to get from
one chord to another - the F#6 works because its notes are nearly all one semitone away from those of the target chord (Fm9).Following this, we have Dm7b5 (as detailed above), then a Gaug7 in bar 6 - this is a G7 chord with a raised fifth (G-B-D#-F), but with the G removed from the right hand and played only in the bass. Bar 7 contains another
Cm9, then we ramp up the tension in bar 8 with a Gaug7#9 (G-B-D#-F-A#).

To make this stonker of a chord, simply form a regular ninth chord (1-3-5-b7-9), then raise both the fifth and ninth by one semitone. Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here. Gospel has had an influence on Jazz. Many Jazz pianists started off playing Gospel piano at church before
transitioning to Jazz (for example, John Hicks). And naturally they brought many Gospel piano techniques to their Jazz playing. So in this lesson we will discuss a few of these techniques and apply them to rehamonize the song Amazing Grace. First, let’s see the basic version, in the key of C for convenience. In this lesson we explore a range of gospel
chord progressions that can be used for introductions to gospel songs, church services, and also in jazz and blues music. Gospel introductions set the mood for the whole performance and well-crafted introductions lead smoothly into the 1st chord of the song to set up the vocalist or church choir. Gospel Chord Progressions & Formulas There are a
potentially infinite number of ways to play a gospel piano introduction. In this lesson we examine some of the most common gospel chord progressions that are used for introductions in churches and for solo piano performance. These gospel chord progressions include many stylistic elements of gospel piano playing such as walk ups, walk downs, sus
chords, passing chords, and turnarounds. The first example contains the 2, 4, and 5 chords and then moves into a turnaround. We introduce the concept of ‘gospel walk up chord progressions’ which is further developed in the next examples. 36251 Gospel Chord Progressions The 36251 is a common progression found in most styles of improvised
music.
When playing gospel piano it’s common to play most of the chords in the 36251 progression as a string of dominant chords. In the following example, 3 of the 5 chords are voiced as dominant chords: It’s important to understand the construction of this common gospel chord progression. If the 36251 progression is new to you, check out the related
lessons below.
Gospel Walk Up Chord Progressions When playing chord progressions in a gospel style we can use ‘walk ups’ in our bass line to accentuate the chord changes and add more interest into the lower registers of our playing.

It’s common to walk up from the II chord to the IV chord, or from the II chord to the V chord. We also discuss walk ups over a plagal cadence for example D7sus to D7. This walk up is used to accentuate a leading tone which we discuss in the next lesson. Gospel Walk Down Chord Progressions Just as we can walk up with our bass lines we can also
walk down. In the demonstrations we walk up and down in the same gospel chord progression using octave bass lines and also creating a moving bass line from the root of the chords that we are playing. Sus Chords, Plagal Cadences, & Tritone Substitutes All of the chords in this progression can be played as sus chords to create additional interest
and movement.
The V7 chord and the VI7 chord are particularly good candidates to apply sus voicings. We can experiment with plagal cadences & tritone substitution to open up more creative ways to play these simple 36251 gospel chord progressions. A plagal cadence movement could be for example D7sus to D7. The other option is to move from D7sus to the
tritone Ab7 which creates a chromatic approach into the G7 chord.

Study the examples in the lesson.