Lounge/Cocktail Bar Piano Jazz Course

In this lesson I'll show you the altered scale, one of the most powerful harmonic tools in Jazz, and how to create dominant 7th chords from it, that bring you back to the main key. I'll introduce you to some more jazz standards that you can try putting these chords into.

Tritone Substitution, and the power of the tritone link in adding colour to chords, especially dominant chords. I give some examples of tunes to try playing, and include some tritone alternatives. Get used to the sound of a chord where the bass is shifted by a tritone.

Also get to know the terms; Lydian 4th, Augmented 4th, Flat 5th, Diminished 5th, that are used for this interval. I demonstrate that the tritone is not just important because it is halfway across the harmonic circle of 4ths; it is also the driving element in a dominant 7th chord, present in all of them, because it is an unstable sound and naturally wants to resolve to a normal 4th or 5th.

In this lesson we look at Octatonic Scales and their use as dominants. This section will be useful later on when we look at dominant improvisation based on these chords.

This lesson teaches you about upper structure chords, which are simply the result of adding two triads together to make new, subtler harmonies; some work well, others not so well! A later lesson picks up this concept again with West Coast Chords.

This lesson introduces you to the concept of chords organised according to stacks of fourths: either adapted to fit a scale, where some become lydian 4ths, perfect 4ths stacks, or with the bottom or top interval a major third, making a 'So What' (or a 'Cyril Scott'). This lesson also introduces the top-down thinking of fourth chords and gives an idea of how and when to use them.

This lesson is split into two parts, as it's a biggie. We've covered the harmony, so this lesson is all about the tips, tricks and 'jazz licks' that make things sound a bit more jazzy. I also give a selection of vamping techniques to fill in time under melodies. I also outline the added 6ths/diminished 7ths scale that allows you to harmonise every note of a scale in a lush, jazzy manner and lastly I cover melody doubling with no bass which gives a very cinematic 1930s feel.

This lesson continues to look at further tips and useful ideas for completing your jazz style.

This last technical lesson covers impro patterns on West Coast Chords (Upper Structure pt 2), how to do classy, professional sounding improvisation runs over dominant II-V-I shifts, and some further information about fourths, which brings us full circle.

Some final thoughts on where to go from here; also some ideas on how best to perform in a venue, headcharts and chord sheets, some general thoughts.