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Jazz chord
Jazz chords refer to chords, chord voicings and chord symbols that jazz
musicians commonly use in composition, improvisation, and harmony. In
jazz chords and theory, most triads that appear in lead sheets or fake books
can have sevenths added to them, using the performer's discretion and ear.
For example, if a tune is in the key of C, if there is a G chord, the chord-
playing performer usually "voices" this chord as G7. While in a strict
CΔ7, or major seventh chord on C.
classical music context, the notes of a G7 chord would be G–B–D–F, jazz
often omits the fifth of the chord—and even the root if playing in a group.
However, not all jazz pianists leave out the root when they play voicings: Bud Powell, one of the best-known of the
bebop pianists, and Horace Silver, whose quintet included many of jazz's biggest names from the 1950s to the 1970s,
included the root note in their voicings.[1][2]

Omitting the root and fifth gives the improvising chord-playing musician the option to play other notes. Also, if a
seventh chord, such as G7, appears in a lead sheet or fake book, many chord-playing performers add the ninth or
thirteenth to the chord, even though the lead sheet does not specify these additional notes.

Jazz players can add these additional, upper notes–seventh, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth–because they are an
important part of the jazz sound. Lead sheets and fake books often do not detail how to voice the chord because a lead
sheet or fake book is only intended to provide basic guide to the harmony. An experienced "comping" performer
playing electric guitar or piano adds the extra notes using their ear and taste.

In voicing jazz chords, performers focus first on the seventh and the major or minor third of the chord, with the latter
indicating the chord quality, along with added chord extensions (e.g., ninths, elevenths, or thirteenths, even if not
indicated in the lead sheet or fake book) to add tone "colour" to the chord. As such, a jazz guitarist or jazz piano player
might "voice" a printed G7 chord with the notes B–E–F–A, which would be the third, sixth (thirteenth), flat seventh,
and ninth of the chord. Jazz chord-playing musicians may also add altered chord tones (e.g., ♭9, ♯9, ♯11, ♭ 13) and
added tones. An example of an altered dominant chord in the key of C, built on a G would be to voice the chord as "B–
C♯–E–F–A♭"; this would be G7(♭9♯11).

Contents
Nomenclature
Intervals
Compound intervals
Extensions
Voicings
Chord types
Basic chord types
Major chords
Basic dominant chords
Minor seventh chords
Complex chord types
Complex dominant chords

Sources
Further reading
External links
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Nomenclature

Intervals
Each chord is described as a series of intervallic relationships to the root of the chord. This provides an accurate and
easily understandable basis for working out these chords in each key.

The terms used to describe intervals are as follows:

r = root of the chord (while the root is widely used in classical music, pop music and rock music chord voicings, in
jazz, the root is often omitted by the chord-playing performer(s))
♭2 = minor second = 1 semitone(half step) above root
2 = major second = 2 semitones above root
♯2 = augmented second = 3 semitones above the root
♭3 = minor third = 3 semitones above the root
3 = major third = 4 semitones above the root
4 = perfect fourth = 5 semitones above the root
♯4 = augmented fourth (tritone) = 6 semitones above the root
♭5 = diminished fifth (tritone) = 6 semitones above the root
5 = perfect fifth = 7 semitones above the root (while the fifth is widely used in classical music, pop music and rock
music chord voicings, in jazz, the fifth is often omitted by the chord-playing performer(s))
♯5 = augmented fifth = 8 semitones above the root
♭6 = minor sixth = 8 semitones above the root
6 = major sixth = 9 semitones above the root
7 = minor seventh = 10 semitones above the root
M7 = major seventh = 11 semitones above the root
All root chords are described starting with the lowest note, and ascending in pitch. For instance, a chord described as

r 3 5

contains the root, a major third above the root and a perfect fifth above the root (major chord). If this chord were built
on B♭ (with B♭ as the root), it would contain the notes

B♭ (root) D (root + a major third) F (root + a perfect fifth).

Compound intervals
Compound intervals are those intervals greater than an octave. They can also be described as an octave plus a simple
interval. Note that this is not a complete list of compound intervals, but only those that are commonly used in jazz
chords.

♭9 = compound minor second (minor ninth) = 1 semitone + an octave = 13 semitones above the root
9 = compound major second (ninth) = 2 semitones + an octave = 14 semitones above the root
♯9/♭10 = compound augmented second/minor third (augmented ninth/minor tenth) = 3 semitones + an octave =
15 semitones above the root.
10 = compound major third (tenth) = 4 semitones + an octave = 16 semitones above the root
11 = compound perfect fourth (eleventh) = 5 semitones + an octave = 17 semitones above the root

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♯11 = compound augmented fourth (augmented eleventh) = 6 semitones + an octave = 18 semitones above the
root
♭13 = compound minor sixth (minor thirteenth) = 8 semitones + an octave = 20 semitones above the root
13 = compound major sixth (thirteenth) = 9 semitones + an octave = 21 semitones above the root

Extensions
Optional extensions to the chords are written in parentheses, e.g. ( ♯ 11). These notes are not necessary to define the
function of the chord, but are included to add colour or fill out the sound according to the tastes of the performer.
Extensions may be written into the chords when a specific colour or texture is warranted, or the chords in a lead sheet
or fake book may simply state "C7 – A7 – D7 – G7". This does not mean that the chord-playing performer can only
perform four-note dominant seventh chords. Chord-playing performers can use their ear, their sense of good taste
acquired from listening to jazz, and their knowledge of the style of the tune being played (e.g., is it a Bebop tune or a
jazz fusion tune) to help guide her use of extension notes, altered extensions, and added tones. In a band, the
bandleader might request that certain voicings be used (e.g., ♭9/♯11) or request that certain other voicings be avoided
(e.g., ♭13), due to the bandleader's taste.

Voicings
Chords are described here in terms of intervals relative to the root of the chord, arranged from smaller intervals to
larger. This is a standard method used when describing jazz chords as it shows them hierarchically: Lower intervals
(third, fifth and seventh) are more important in defining the function of the chord than the upper intervals or
extensions (9th, 11th, 13th), which add color. Although it is possible to play the chords as described here literally, it is
possible to use different orderings of the same notes, known as a voicings, or even by omitting certain notes.

For instance, the dominant 7th ♯11 or Lydian dominant (C7♯11) comprises the notes:

root (often omitted) 3 (5) 7 (9) ♯11 (13)

Thirteenth chord: C13(♯11) .[3]

Basing this chord on the pitch, C, results in the pitches:

C (often omitted) E G B♭ D F♯ A

The same chord type may also be voiced:

C (often omitted) E B♭ F♯ A D F♯

This voicing omits both the root and the perfect fifth (G) and raises the major ninth (D) by an octave. The augmented
eleventh (F♯) is also played twice in two different registers. This is known as "doubling".

Chord types
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Basic chord types

The above chords, despite their differences, share the same harmonic function and can be used interchangeably.

Major chords

Major seventh chord on C .

Major seventh (CM7, CΔ7, CΔ,Cmaj7)

r 3 5 M7 (9)

M7, Δ7has the same meaning as maj7 or CΔ. Often melody notes or other pitches influence an improviser's
choice of chord types. For example, if the melody note is the root of the chord, including a major seventh can
cause dissonance.

Added sixth chord C6 .

Major sixth (C6)

root (often omitted) 3 5 6

C6add9 chord .

Major 6-9 (C6/9 or C6add9)

root (often omitted) 3 5 6 9

Lydian chord: CΔ♯11 .

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Lydian (CΔ♯11)

root (often omitted) 3 5 M7 (9) ♯11 (6))

The Lydian chord has a strange quirk, where if you put the root both above and below the augmented eleventh it
creates an unpleasant dissonance of a tritone. This is not usually a problem in a jazz context, as chord-playing
musicians often omit the root.
The interval of the sixth is used, even though it is described after other compound intervals, and perhaps should
also be a compound interval (i.e., 13th). However, a convention in jazz dictates that when describing the major
sixth, generally use the simple interval, i.e., 6 is often used instead of the compound interval, i.e., 13. This helps
avoid confusion with the dominant thirteenth (see below).

Basic dominant chords

Basic describes dominant chords based on the major scale. In many instances, dominant chords written as a basic
chord (e.g., C13) can substitute for a more complex chord, as long as it remains part of the same group (i.e., dominant
chords) and does not clash with the melody note.

Dominant chords are considered to sound unstable in a classical music harmony context, and so in a classical piece,
these chords often resolve down a perfect fifth or up a perfect fourth (e.g. C7 tends to resolve onto chords based on F,
such as F major or F minor). However, in a jazz context, particularly in music from the 1940s Bebop era and later
decades, dominant chords were no longer treated as "unstable" chords. Some Bebop tunes use a dominant chord as
the tonic chord and also use dominant chords for the chords that would typically be minor chords in a Classical piece
or a Swing arrangement. For example, while a Classical piece and a Swing arrangement might use the following chord
sequence in the key of C major: "C – Am – Dm – G7", a Bebop bandleader might reharmonize the same progression as
"C7 – A7 – D7 – G7", making a sequence of dominant seventh chords, so long as the new dominant chord harmonies
were compatible with the tune's melody. For more details, see chord progression.

Many of the chordal alterations used in jazz are derived from minor scale modes, as opposed to the major scale modes.
(See musical mode). If the performer retains the 13th in the chord and/or avoids playing a ♭13th, it can be substituted
for a C13♭9. Likewise a C9 can often be substituted for a Cmaj9♯5, as long as the 9th is retained or the ♭9th and ♯9th
is avoided.

Dominant seventh chord on C .

Dominant seventh (C7)

root (often omitted) 3 5 (often omitted) 7 (9) (13)

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Dominant ninth
chord C9 .

Dominant ninth (C9)

root (often omitted) 3 5 (often omitted) 7 9 (13)

Dominant thirteenth chord C13 in

four-part writing .[4]

Dominant thirteenth (C13)

root (often omitted) 3 5 (often omitted) 7 (9) 13

This particular symbol is often used if the 13th is found in the melody.

Sus chord C7sus4 on C .

Sus, or suspended chord (C7sus4)

root 4 5 7 (9) (13)

Minor seventh chords

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Minor seventh chord Cm7 .

Minor seventh (C−7, Cmin7, Cmi7, or Cm7)

r ♭3 5 7 (9) (11) (13)

Minor ninth chord Cm9 .

Minor ninth (C−9, Cmin9, Cmi9, or Cm9)

r ♭3 5 7 9 (11) (13)

Minor eleventh chord Cm11 .

Minor eleventh (C−11, Cmin11, Cmi11, or Cm11)

r ♭3 5 7 (9) 11 (13)

Minor thirteenth chord Cm13[5] .

Minor thirteenth (C−13, Cmin13, Cmi13, or Cm13)

r ♭3 5 7 (9) (11) 13

Complex chord types

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Complex dominant chords

These chords can be voiced in a great variety of ways, including building the chord on the 7 (minor seventh). They
usually, but not always, lead to a minor chord built on an interval 4th up from the root. It is also not unusual to
express either the ♯9 or ♭9 or the ♯5 in the melody. For expediency, musicians may use the abbreviation "alt"—as in
C7alt—to describe the family of dominant chords with "altered" tones (including the ♭ 5, ♯ 5, ♭ 9, ♯ 9, or ♭ 13).
Coincidentally, all altered tones mentioned above are present in the melodic minor scale whose root is a half-step
above the root of the alt chord (i.e., E♭ melodic minor for D7alt) In the previous dominant chords, it was noted that the
perfect fifth is often omitted. When the fifth is augmented, as with the chords below, the fifth is played by chord-
playing musicians.

Augmented seventh chord C7(♯5).

Dominant ♯9/♯5 (C7(♯5♯9))

root (often omitted) 3 ♯5 7 ♯9

Altered chord on C.

Dominant ♭9/♯5 (C7(♯5♭9))

root (often omitted) 3 ♯5 7 ♭9

Sources
1. "Bud Powell Chord Voicings - The Jazz Piano Site" (http://www.thejazzpianosite.com/jazz-piano-lessons/jazz-chor
d-voicings/powell-voicings/). The Jazz Piano Site. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
2. "5 Ways to Play Like Horace Silver | Jazz | Piano" (https://www.scribd.com/document/259793476/5-Ways-to-Play-
Like-Horace-Silver). Scribd. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
3. Benward & Saker (2009), p.185.
4. Benward & Saker (2009). Music in Theory and Practice: Volume II, p.179. Eighth Edition. ISBN 978-0-07-310188-
0.
5. Kostka & Payne (1995). Tonal Harmony, p.493. Third Edition. ISBN 0-07-300056-6.

Further reading
Nettles, Barrie & Graf, Richard (1997). The Chord Scale Theory and Jazz Harmony. Advance Music, ISBN 3-
89221-056-X.

External links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_chord 8/9
29/10/2019 Jazz chord - Wikipedia

Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary (https://www.jazzguitar.be/blog/jazz-guitar-chord-dictionary/) Comprehensive

overview of jazz chords for guitar
The Jazz Resource (http://www.thejazzresource.com) Jazz chords and theory

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