Beginning jazz pianists often feel overwhelmed with the seeming vast world of chords available to them. How can they manage to learn all of these chords? The answer is that there aren't that many chords- 60 of them to be exact. You can learn to play 60 chords and once you do you will be able to play >99% of any jazz tune. They key is to know how to spell each of the 12 major scales. More on that a little later.
What are the 60 chords? The chords are broken down into 5 categories: major 7th, dominant 7th, minor 7th, minor 7thb5 and diminished 7th chords. Each of these 5 groups has 12 chords in it (12x5=60).
Major 7th chords The major 7th chord is the easiest to spell. It is the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th of the major scale. So the Cmaj7 chord is C, E, G, B. Spell each of the remaining 11 major7th chords.
Dominant 7th chords The dominant 7th chord is spelled 1, 3, 5 b7 of the major scale. So Bb7 is Bb, D, F, Ab.
Minor7th Chord The minor 7th chord is spelled 1, b3, 5, b7 of the major scale. Ab-7 is Ab, Cb, Eb, Gb.
Minor7b5 This one is self explanatory: the same as the min7th chord with a flatted 5th.
Diminished 7th This chord is spelled 1, b3, b5, bb7. Cdim7 is C, Eb, Gb, A.
Now what you need to do is spell all 12 of each of those 5 types and you have mastered the 60 chords that will allow you to play virtually any tune.
Thank you to Bill Rinehart
Jazz piano online lesson
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