Jazz musicians use more than the standard guitar chords such as major and minor triads; they also employ extended chords – which add notes to basic shapes – such as adding an extended chord like an Emin7 with minor seventh interval or an extended fifth chord with an augmented fifth interval.
If intervals are unfamiliar to you, read through this site’s article about them first; this will make understanding the concepts discussed easier.
Major Seventh Chords
Seventh chords are an essential element of jazz music, providing the sonic backdrop for melody lines and chord progressions. There are five varieties of seventh chord qualities (maj7, min7, dom7, m7b5 and dim7) each with their own sound and purpose.
Major seventh chords (abbreviated maj7) are four note chords consisting of a major triad and major 7th, joined together. Commonly seen in jazz music, these chords can easily be recognized because the notes can be stacked into thirds similar to traditional triads.
One of the most common techniques for creating major seventh chords is drop 2 voicings. Drop 2 chords are constructed by dropping the second highest note from a close major seventh chord down an octave, creating the formula 5-1-3-7 and creating an open sound ideal for comping. They also work well as transitional chords between diatonic chords such as major seventh and diminished seventh.
Minor Seventh Chords
These chords are commonly found in minor ii-V-i progressions in jazz music and comprise of a major 9th chord with either a sharp 11th or major 3rd interval added on top. You may also see them written Caug7 or C7(#11).
Like triads, seventh chords can be stacked into thirds for easy compositional flexibility and come equipped with either a flattened fifth (Cm7b5) or raised fifth (Cm7+5) to add some variation and dimension. When placed closely together on a staff they resemble an extra-long snowperson!
Be sure to put this chord shape under your fingertips and explore its inversions, as this chord provides great color and variety for chord melodies.
Dominant Seventh Chords
Finding your way home on the New York subway system can be stressful; so finding a color-coded map to show you which direction and route to take is always welcome relief. Dominant seventh chords provide similar guidance.
Dominant Sus4 chords offer an intriguing musical instrument, adding tension and ambiguity. A great example is Wayne Shorter’s tune Iris which utilizes this chord. Additionally, The Rolling Stones use this chord in their song (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction which you may also recognize from Wayne.
Aspiring jazz musicians should aim to understand how these chords function and explore all of their various possible forms. Doing this will enable you to craft more harmonically cohesive sounds and make improvising more natural.
Scales
Jazz musicians employ many chord shapes when performing chord solos. From those based on triads containing an additional seventh to scale-derived shapes, all offer new opportunities to your chord soloing skills.
C major is a triad with a major seventh, while an mD7 chord can be understood as being similar but with an added B natural (the triangle symbol signifies this).
Most chords are movable, meaning that they can be adjusted up and down the neck to alter their tonality. You must learn each shape physically as well as aurally so as to internalize its pitch relationships and internalize each chord’s tone.
Musicians utilize different kinds of scales to set a certain atmosphere; whole tone scales tend to sound dreamy while blues scales are lively. We will also encounter some modal chords which appear intimidating but have an easygoing sound.