Tenderly Tutorial – Jazz Piano Lesson
Tenderly is written in the key of Eb Major and has an impressionistic character similar to that are early Debussy. The tune has a 32 measure A-B1-A-B2 form which repeats the same melodic figures and motives throughout.
There is a melodic motive that repeats throughout to give the tune its character. A motive is a musical idea, usually a recurring idea which contains a short succession of notes. The motive in Tenderly rises up and then drops by a minor second interval.
The melody of tenderly contains many extended and altered tensions making this a great tune for exploring the upper extended and altered harmony.
We start off with simple voicings and then gradually increase the complexity of the chords we choose to play.
Related Lessons
This lesson applies upper structure triads to the tune Tenderly and also discuss ways to add fills and runs in between the chords of this great tune.
In a minor 251, the 5 chord will be an altered dominant chord. In this lesson we apply altered dominant chords to the major 251 progression.
Upper structure triads are complex sounding altered dominant chords. They will add texture and sophistication to your playing.
Practice Tips
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Tenderly has been recorded by many notable jazz musicians so have a search around the web and find some records that you can draw inspiration from.
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It's also often played in 3/4 which adds a different dimension to the tune. Check out the Bill Evans recording of this tune as an example.
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Once you are familiar with this simple arrangement, move onto 'Tenderly Improvisation Tutorial' where we add upper structure triads and improvise over the form.
Hi, nice lesson. I would like to learn the version that you are playing a the intro witch has a lot more runs, unfortunately you just played the first few bars. Do you think a more elaborated version of the tune would be possible?
Thanks!
Hi Leonardo, yes sure thing – I can create an updated version of the tutorial. Check out the lesson on the major modes – that’s where the notes in the runs are coming from so it’s important that you understand which modes correspond to which chords. Cheers, PianoGroove
Hi, if you create an updated version can you make it an additional lesson and leave “this version” on the site? I think this version is great for beginners to get up and running without having too many complex things to work on before being able to play a tune.
-Ty
I.e. Tenderly part 2
Yes great name – thanks! It has been added to the lesson schedule and will be ready over the coming weeks. All the best, PianoGroove
Hi Ty, yes that was exactly my thinking – it will be a more challenging arrangement that leads on from this one. We can also look at things like upper structure triads and chord substitutions which we did not cover in this lesson. Cheers, PianoGroove
Great lesson! Thanks
what is the theory behind changing the Fmin7 bar to Abm9-Db13. why does that work
thank you
Hi Sam, this is just a reharmonisation. Reharmonisation is when you change the chords that are written on the lead sheet. Ab-7 – Db13 is a 25 in the key of Gb Major. This works because Bb is in the melody and Bb is the 9th of Ab-9 and the 13th of Db13. The easiest way to think about rehamonisation is to ask yourself “what voicings do I know that contain that melody note on top” Then just experiment and listen to your ears. Does that make sense? Cheers, Hayden
Hayden,
I was thrown for a loop by the Db7 in bar 6, then I read someone’s analysis saying that the Db7 is a flat VII7, which is borrowed from the parallel minor of Eb, which is Gb minor. I understand this to be a “modal interchange”, where the V7 chord of the parallel minor is used in the major key as the flat VII7.
So, is something like this also going on with this reharm? You have a ii-V in Gb (the parallel minor), followed by a ii-V in Eb, the major key of the song.
Or am I overthinking this? It sounds good, so I don’t really care. But I’m a theory geek, so I guess I do care…
Dave
Hi Dave,
What you are looking at here is a variation of a 251 progression. It is sometimes referred to as the ‘backdoor 251 progression’.
Effectively this is a 251 in Eb Major.
The backdoor 251 progression uses the following formula:
IVmaj7 → bVII7 → Imaj7
In the key of Eb Major that would be Abmaj7, Db7 and Ebmaj7.
The F-7 that you see before the Db7 is the relative minor of Abmaj7. That explains the first chord.
But what about the Db7, how is this related to the 5 chord (Bb7) you may ask? And how does this function as a V-I into Ebmaj7?
Well the Db7 is very closely related to the Bb7 (V) and E7 (tritone sub) that you would normally associate with a 251 in Eb Major.
If you play the following 3 dominant chords with a b9 and then drop the root:
– Bb7b9
– E7b9
– Db7b9
You will see that each time you end up with the notes of Ddim7 (D-F-Ab-B).
Furthermore, these 3 chords can be used interchangeably. You will already be aware of the tritone sub option you have. Well another option you now have is
the bVII7 into Imaj7.
Here is a nice way to visualize this relationship on the piano…
Instead of playing Db9, play Db7b9, so you are basically just flatten the 9th in the chord.
Now look at the notes you are playing… you have the 3rd and 7th of Bb7 and also the b9. If you play Bb in the bass instead of Db7 you are now playing Bb7b9 which is the normal V chord of Eb.
So effectively the Db7 is just a substitution for Bb7.
Look out for this progression in other tunes:
– Bars 4 – 5 of “Misty”
– Bars 9 – 11 of “There Will Never Be Another You”
There are many other examples too that you will come across.
Hope this helps 🙂
Hayden
Got it. Thank you. So much to learn…
Thanks Dave. I think it’s really great that you are trying to analyse and understand harmony… it sounds like you are certainly on the right path!
Jazz theory is very challenging to begin with but i can guarantee that with time and focused daily practice you will see improvements with my teaching method.
There is no ‘finishing point’ with learning jazz…. there is always more to learn and so I like to look at it as a journey that I’m taking for the rest of my life.
I find that thinking like this takes the pressure off, as sometimes it can be frustrating when progress is slow… as it often is with learning jazz harmony!
If I can help you with anything else you are working on, just let me know 🙂
Cheers,
Hayden
Thank you for this explanation. Reharmonizing using the chord tone of any key has greatly improved my playing.
Please I want to learn how to play jazz music… How do I start…tnx
Hi hayden
I just start tenderly and I have a question about the fingering . What is the best fingering of the first measure Bb C Eb and D of the second measure ? I think I must have the little finger on the D because I must do at the right hand D A D (Eb maj7) ? Have a good day .
Marc
Hi Marc,
I use the following fingering:
Bb(2) C(3) Eb(5) D(5) – so yes you are correct – the little finger is best.
Notice that I play both the Eb and the D with my little finger… so I slide off the black note (Eb) onto the white note (D) all with my little finger.
Congratulations that you are now playing jazz standards… you should find that your practicing becomes much more enjoyable!
All the best 🙂
Hayden
Hi hayden
What are the main lessons of theory that you recommend to start well “tenderly”. I think that there is “chord extension 9,11, 13 ”
And what else ?
Have a good day.
Marc
Hi Marc,
Yes you are correct… the lesson on chord extensions is important.
We apply the theory from the major 251 lesson so it may be worth watching that one again if you haven’t already: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/major-251-progression/
Also check out this lesson which introduces alterations: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/altered-jazz-chords-major-251/
Cheers,
Hayden
Hi hayden
Have you resources for the lesson which introduces alterations ?
Have a good day .
Marc
Hi hayden,
I start a little bit tenderly with chord extensions (first video for the beginners).
And at the measure 9, we have Eb maj 7
You play at the left hand :
– root and 7th : Eb and Bb : i is OK.
You play at the right hand :
– 9, 3, 13, 7 : F G C D
I don’t understand the right hand because in the melody, we have Bb and not D. Bb must be at the top of the chord in the right hand. Can you explain me ?
Thank you very much.
Have a good day.
Marc
Hi Marc,
You need to understand that you do not have to play the melody exactly as it is written on the lead sheet. You are free to change the notes, change the rhythm, add notes in, take notes away etc… this is what makes jazz sound unique. Often, if you play the melody exactly as it is written, it sounds quite plain and boring.
This is part of the creative freedom you have as a jazz musician… you can change chords, change the melody notes, and even change entire progressions with rehamonisations.
If you listen to 2 different jazz musicians play the same tune, you will hear that they both play it very differently… this is because you are allows to change things to make it your own.
I hope this helps 🙂
Hayden
Hi Hayden,
I think your lesson are pretty clear, is easy to understand your approach and how you use chords etc… I am quite new to Jazz so maybe my question is very basic.
How do you choose the extension to play? Is just matter of taste? Or there are rules in it? (or the combination of both). If I remember well I read somewhere that not all the chords accept all the extensions. Maybe you have a lesson on this that I didn’t find yet. Can you please explain the process of choosing extension or eventually point out some resource that explain it?
Thanks a lot for any help
Alessandro
Hi Alessandro,
Good question!
Here is an important point that you need to understand with regards to chord extensions:
If the chord is G-7, as a jazz arranger, you need to decide how to play a G-7 to produce a nice sophisticated jazzy sound. You need to understand that with any chord, you have the creative freedom to choose what notes to include, your options for minor chords are root, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th & 13th (if you add another 3rd on top of the 13 you are back to the root so 13 is the highest extension).
Generally speaking, the higher the extension you include, the richer and ‘more complex’ the sound will be. Complex doesn’t always mean good, sometimes just a plain chord with the root, 3rd, and 7th will sound just fine. Variety is the key.
Another important point:
Jazz musicians often abbreviate chords to just ‘7’, eg. G-7 or C7 – even if the chord contains higher extensions such as 9, 11 or 13. This is like shorthand.
It also applied to lead sheets…. just because the chord symbol says ‘7’ … you have the freedom to add in extensions and alterations. That is the beauty of playing jazz music… you have a lot of freedom to interpret chords how you want to.
To answer your question:
Yes it is a matter of taste, your ears will gravitate towards certain sound that you like and this will then become characteristic in your playing.
There are ‘general rules’ that you can follow. But no rules are set in stone. When playing solo jazz piano, you have the creative freedom to change the melody, change the chord quality, or change the chord completely (rehamonisation).
At this point, I think it would be beneficial for you to simply copy the arrangements, note-for-note, even if you don’t understand what you are playing. The full understanding will come with time.
Download and print the transcriptions if this will help you but don’t become over-reliant on the notation… make sure you are looking at each chord you play, and look at the individual notes and say ’that’s the root, that’s the major 3rd, that’s the 9th etc…’ this is important for you to gain an awareness of where everything is located, and also an aural appreciation of what the different extensions and alterations sound like.
I would recommend that you complete this course on “Extended Chords & Voicings” and then I would recommend that you move onto the course on “Altered Harmony & Upper Structure Triads”: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/altered-harmony-upper-structure-triads/
In this course, we introduce the concept of chord alterations, and then we explore the common ‘upper structure triad’ formulas. Print out the Upper Structure Cheat Sheet, and keep this by the piano for reference.
I hope this helps.
If I can be of any further assistance, just let me know 🙂
Cheers,
Hayden
Hi Hayden,
thanks a lot for theanswer. This is clarifying many things. The difficulty for me is really understand these mechanisms. I played the piano for 20 years but only classical music and as you know, plenty of rules there.
I will follow the lesson you have indicated and hopefully gradually I will get used to the sounds and voicing positions__
thanks again
Hi Alessandro,
My pleasure… glad to help out.
Yes it is difficult to begin with for classical students moving into jazz piano. There is so much freedom, it can sometimes be intimidating!
The more jazz standards you learn, the deeper your understanding will become, so make sure you are learning the jazz standard arrangements in each course.
Cheers,
Hayden
Hi Hayden, in bar 7 there is a Db9#11 chord, if this is a Dominant chord, should the Bb be raised up a semitone ? It’s the same as bar 23 ? Thanks, this transcription is very useful, even though I work through it at a snail’s pace 🙂
Hi Natasha 👋
Yes that’s correct… it should be a B natural which as you quite rightly point out is the b7…. thanks for spotting this, I will correct and re-upload, this transcription could also be tidied up in my notation software so I will do that whilst I’m at it.
Over Db7, You can actually play the B natural which is the 13th. Try this voicing…
Left hand: Db – F – B (Root, 3, b7)
Right hand: Bb – Eb – G (13, 9, #11) this is an Ebmaj triad but in it’s second inversion so put the top note of the triad on the bottom.
The thumbs in each hand should overlap slightly when playing this voicing. Your left hand thumb is playing B natural and your right hand thumb playing Bb. The important thing is that the #11 remains at the top (the #11 is the melody note and so if you can keep this intact and make it work with the voicing, then big win! ).
This type of voicing is called an “upper structure triad”… the formula is “a major triad built from the 9th” of the dominant chord to give you a 13#11 sound… works in any key.
When making these beginner tutorials, I omitted this information to keep things simple, but the next course I’d recommend for you Natasha would be the “Altered Harmony & Upper Structure Triads” course where we cover these concepts in detail: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/altered-harmony-upper-structure-triads/
I’ll reply to this comment to notify you when the transcription has been updated and re-uploaded 🙂
Cheers,
Hayden
Thanks Hayden. The extra information is very useful too. 🙂
Hi Hayden, which rule did you apply when you reharmonized Fm7, Bb7 at 13:19 with Abm7, Db7, Fm7, Bb7? Some sort of IV-VI-II-V-I progression?
Hi Martin,
That passage is simply a reharmonisation.
Sometimes reharmonisations don’t make harmonic sense from a diatonic standpoint.
Often when reharmonising, I will look at the melody note, and ask myself, “what chord voicing do I know that contains that note at the top”. Then I try different things out.
Ab-9 sprang to mind.
Then I turned it into a II-7 / V7 (Ab-7 to Db7).
The interesting thing with dominant chords is that they are tense, unstable and transitional, ie they want to move somewhere.
You will find that you can play seemingly unrelated dominant (or sus) chords, one after another, and it sounds fine.
So despite Db7 and F-7 having no obvious harmonic connection, the Db7 wants to resolve somewhere. F-7 with the 9 in the melody is a consonant place to resolve and so it works and sound great!
Ultimately, that reharmonisation adds unusual harmonic interest to a bar that would otherwise have been harmonically plain and static.
You will come across reharmonisations that make no sense whatsoever, but still sound great. Keep that in mind!
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
hayden
Thank you very much Hayden, just one question – do you create such reharmonizations directly during improvisation or it is a part of analyzing and preparations for playing a tune? I understand that e.g. tritone substitutions can be played without any preparations, but I assume that in some cases you need to spend some time if you want to create something ‘special’, am I right?
Hi Martin,
There is a misconception with jazz that it’s all completely spontaneous and improvised music.
Whilst this is true to an extent with an actual solo, the soloist will have spent hours on end practicing the scales, chords, patterns, lines and licks… all to the extent when they can initiate them almost subconsciously.
Don’t get me wrong here, there is always an element of pure improvisation and spontaneity, but I’d say 85%+ is material that the soloist is completely familiar with, and then there will be small elements of a solo that is created purely on impulse.
Now, in terms of arranging the head of a tune which is what you are referring to (the head is the basically the lead sheet, before everyone takes a solo) – jazz musicians will often create an arrangement. It won’t be exactly the same every time and it will have subtle differences, but generally it will have similar chord and voicings.
I listen to a lot of Bill Evans, and if you listen to his performances of the same tune on different albums or live performances, the head is often identical, and then the solo is where the improvised element comes into action. The solo is never the same. But the head is often identical, or near identical.
I have digressed there slightly but answer your question:
Yes I spent some time to discover that reharmonisation, it didn’t come to me on impulse, it perhaps took a few minutes of playing around to discover it and now it is part of my arrangement of the tune.
Hope this helps 🙂
Cheers,
Hayden
Hey hayden.
When you subtitute the fm7 whit A9 and Db13 you say two five.
Two five of which scale?
Tenderly is in Eb major/C minor scale.
The A,D are not the two and five of this scale
Am i miss somthing
Thank you
Hey אוראל יעקב 👋
That is a 25 in Gb Major…
Ab9, Db13 which would take you to Gbmaj7.
But it’s just a 25, not a 251 and so there is no Gbmaj7.
You are correct, it is not in the key of Eb Major…. It’s a reharmonisation.
I’ve actually just answered that exact question below… read Martin’s questions and my extensive answers to his questions.
If you’d like me to elaborate further please reply to this comment and I’ll happily explain further for you…. But I think my explanation below should help you.
Let me know 🙂
Thanks!
Hayden
Ok,i understand.
But i have another question.
In 14:14
And 14:40
You aplly the so what chord to Gm7.
But you teach us that we should aplly the so what chord when we have the 5 of the chord in the melody.and its not the 5 of G…so whay do you play the so what chord here?
Thanks
Hi אוראל יעקב,
That is a reharmonisation technique where you move the same chord voicing under each melody note.
It works particularly well with 4th based voicings. Remember the So What chord is built from 4 perfect 4ths and a major 3rd on top.
This is a very versatile type of reharmonisation and you use it virtually anywhere. Just be careful not to overuse it.
I cover this example in more detail here: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/so-what-chord-voicing/
Check out the chapter on “Rehamonisation” at 7:39.
Thanks should answer your questions 🙂
Hayden
I’m new to jazz and have been working through early parts of the Jazz Foundations lessons. For Tenderly I’ve spent about 4 weeks learning and have memorized it based on the transcription provided. I feel like I have to play songs a bunch of times, ultimately memorize them, and then start thinking about the chords and chord variations I’m using as I play them. It’s difficult for me to approach learning a new song from thinking about the chords and numerically. I don’t know if my approach is a good idea or not, and I’m struggling as it’s taking me a long time it seems.
Hey,
Yes if you are new to jazz, it’s completely normal to find it difficult to play jazz standards.
Ultimately, you will not have been exposed to extended and altered harmony before, which makes it difficult to visualise the chords and voicings. You are also required to read from a single staff which is challenging if you come from a classical background.
Yes it’s a very good idea to think about the chords numerically. This will help you identify common chord progressions when playing from lead sheets. Always analyse what you are playing.
I’d recommend you split your practice time up, broadly split it in half, start with theory lessons and exercises, and then move onto jazz standards. The jazz standards are the vehicle you use to apply the theory, and so when you see and apply it in context, it will make much more sense and you will retain the information much better than from theory drills.
Don’t worry if something in the lesson does not make sense. This is a good thing because it means you are exposing yourself to more complicated topics. At this point, I think it would be beneficial for you to simply copy the arrangements, note-for-note, even if you don’t understand what you are playing. The full understanding will come with time.
Also understand that you will be playing these tunes for the rest of your life… you can always add to the arrangements when you learn new theory, that’s the beautiful thing about jazz.
Progress is slow to begin with but don’t be disheartened by that!
Cheers,
Hayden
That’s helpful, thanks. I’m planning to be patient with it and to keep playing.
Another effective way to work with the repetitive melody is by call and response, nearly an ideal setup for that…
Hey TJ!
Great suggestion… I agree the repetitive melody of Tenderly, and also lots of space both harmonically and melodically, makes this tune a great candidate for Call & Response technique.
This is more of an intermediate/advanced technique and a very effective one to add to your playing.
We discussed this concept in the following 5 Minute Masterclass: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/questions-answer-call-response/
Cheers,
Hayden
Só i dont get it ..to construct a voicing you should have the melody note on top..in the case of the só what voicing is the 5th of the chord..but somehow when reharmonazing in the minute 19 we can get pass that rule and make all melody notes a só what voicing..how is that?
Yes you have a lot of freedom in jazz to change the chords, change the melody etc…
All I am doing there, is playing the same voicing under each melody note. This changes the harmony (rehamonisation), and it works because there is still an aspect of consistency, ie, the exact same voicing shape being used.
The So What voicing creates a modern and ‘angular’ sound which really adds a punch to the melody.
You could do this same thing with another voicing, try it out yourself, harmonise a melody line with the same voicing and see how it sounds. Sometimes it will sound better than others…. experiment and you will learn lots in the process of discovery.
Cheers,
Hayden
Só now i understand a bit more…in this case the reharmonization sounds great because the melody is using the same notes of the Ebmaj chord..But what i dont know is that they can work with alterations and extensions who escape the root 3 5 7 chord construction..I m going to test it myself but would like to hear your toughts
Só if i want i can use the kenny or hancock voicings instead of the só what and it would be valid too?
Let me see if i get it…You Said that i can do it with another voicing só..if i wanna use the kenny or hancock voicings its cool because it will bê all the same reharmonization of all the melody notes(consistensy) . .So i have all this freedom in jazz to reharmonize etc…Só im not forced to follow the rules ..I do not need a 5th for a só what voicing or a 11 for a kenny Barron etc..i m a bit confused.
But what confuses me is the fact that there are rules that we have for each voicing..the 5th for só what or the 11th for the kenny Barron..mas the 9th for hancock. so if i have all this freedom..why would i follow this rules in the first place?
Hi Ivan,
There are 3 things to understand here:
1) If you move the exact same voicings shape around, it can sound really great. Understand and accept that. It just sounds good, and yet there is no theoritical reason why, apart from the fact that it is the same shape, the same sound, just in a different key.
2) You can do this with any voicing shape, but quartal voicings (voicings made of 4th intervals) are very effective for this.
3) For any melody, in any song, you can rehamonise the melody with whatever you want. This is just one example of how you can rehamonise a melody (there are many others!!). This is advanced so try not to get too caught up on it right now. Just accept and understand that it works, and that it sounds good.
Do not worry about the 5th, the 11th, etc… that is now irrelevant. You have **changed the harmony**. The rules you are talking about, ie. “5th in the melody … So What chord will work” that is when we want to play the original harmony.
In this example, I thought to myself “this melody could sound more interesting, and so I’m going to play a So What chord under each melody note” – that’s all.
I play this kind of thing all of the time in my jazz standard lessons. Whilst there are basic rules, in jazz, you can break any of those rules. So nothing is ‘set in stone’.
Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Hayden
This reply has cleared my mind!Thks
When given a lead sheet, Jazz musicians will rarely play exactly what is written on the page. Otherwise every jazz player would sound the same.
Jazz is about improvisation and personal expression. A Jazz musician will generally take the written-out chords as a base from which to build a more interesting progression. Or in this case, take the written-out melody, and insert new chord underneath. This is reharmonisation.
Reharmonization is a large and complex topic. There are techniques and ideas which you can use – and this is just one of those ideas.
I have introduced a complex topic here (Rehamoinsation) – if it doesn’t make sense right now, then don’t worry about it – keep thinking about it and it will eventually make sense.
In bar 13 you have the wonderful Bb13 to Bo7 in the video. But the score shows Dm7 to G7. I’m crushed… 🙂
Hi Tim 👋
Great question!
Which part of the video are you referring to? Please send me the time stamp in this format 0:00
In the meantime, try this out…
Play Bo7 with your right hand – and you will have the notes B-D-F-Ab
Add a G lower down in your left hand, and then you will have G7b9…. in terms of G7, the B is the 3rd, the D is the 5th, the F is the b7, and the Ab is the b9.
Diminished chords are often functioning as dominant chord in disguise. There are other functions, but this is the most common.
Dm7 and G7 is a 25 leading to the 1 C.
A Bo7 chord can function as a rootless G7 (we have B and F which are the essential chord tones 3 and b7 of G7 which give the chord it’s dominant quality, and then the b9 adds colour and flavour) and so Bo7 can be seen as another route to get to the 1.
Does that make sense? Might be tricky to understand at first but visualising it on the piano is the best way to see this relationship.
Diminished is a deep and fascinating subject. What I have just explained is perhaps the most basic relationship/application of diminished chords…. That relationship is that ‘every diminished chord can function as a dominant b9 chord in disguise’. In this case the Bo7 is functioning as G7b9 which leads you very nicely to C.
A nice trick to understand is that for any dominant chord, you can build a diminished 7th chord off the major 3rd of the dominant chord, and that will give you a rootless b9 dominant flavour. And you can add the root if you desire.
Check out the lesson on diminished chords here: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/understanding-diminished-chords/
Hope this helps, and if I can be of further assistance just let me know.
Enjoy playing around with the above.
Cheers!
Hayden
What!? What kind of dark magic is this?! I will experiment during my 30 min of free time tonight. Thanks for the response.
Welcome to the clan Tim…. lots more dark magic coming your way 😀
Enjoy!
Hayden
Yeah I need to chime in on this one again, Bb13 is not the same as Dm7(b5)
If we’re just including 3 and 7, and G being the melody note
Dm7(b5) would D F Ab C G
Bb13 would Bb D Ab G
The only 2 common notes are D and Ab excluding the melody note.
If you’re including the 5th, then that would be
D F Ab C G
Bb D F Ab G
Even though they are close, you are substituting a C for a Bb.
I understand the function, but I would’ve included this in the reharmonization part.
I feel that you shouldn’t have written it differently on the printable sheet music, I was confused at first for a bit.
I would argue that to follow your lesson more smoothly and easily it would be best to have the exact same sheets to work with.
I won’t ramble on about the Bo7 and G7 #5 #9, because it’s the same story.
And to be perfectly honest, writing it as Bb13 and Bo7 is much faster to read and improvise on, as I learnt to associate Bo7 in my head to the notes, based on your exercises, I seldom decompose it into b5 and bb7 etc…
Anywho my 2 cents
Great 2 cents James…. I will take this account for future downloads.
If you play Ab-C-D-F
that could be a voicings for D-7b5, or rootless Bb9
There is so much overlap between voicings. I find it mind blowing stumbling across this kind of stuff.
I think the main point of this thread is that Bo7 can be used to replace G7, and take you to C as a V7-I progressions.
So Bb7 —> Bo7 —> C
Sounds great.
Cheers!
Hayden
Finally got time to stare at these chords. It’s at 7:02 in the video. Also, I should have said bar 12 in the score (first bar is not counted). I see how the Bb13 is a Dm7 and a Bo7 is also a G7. I think the score would confuse me as I would add D & G bass notes instead of Bb and B. But I concede defeat; The score is technically correct. 🙂
Hi Hayden:
I love your lessons, but I’m having trouble integrating them. For example, I’m working on learning scales, extended voicings, and 251s. Then I try to learn songs (so far, “Just Friends” and “Tenderly”). I can identify the key changes and 251s, etc., in the lead sheets, but I don’t see how to apply this as I try to learn the songs. I’m just memorizing the notes and trying to gain muscle memory until I eventually know them without needing the lead sheets. But it’s a long and laborious process and I find that when I work on a new song, I start to quickly forget the previous song I had worked on. I’m about to start learning “My Foolish Heart” and I’m wondering if there are things I should be thinking about that will help me learn and retain the song faster and better. Thanks!
Hi Alan,
Good questions here.
It is natural to find learning and memorising jazz standard difficult to begin with. The more that you learn, the easier it gets.
Firstly, watch this lesson on common jazz forms: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/common-jazz-forms/ – you will see that virtually all jazz standards follow one of small number of common forms.
“Tenderly”, “Misty”, “Over The Rainbow”, are all AABA for example. That means that if you memorise the first 8 bars, you actually know almost 75% of those tune.
“Just Friends” follows an ABAC Form, and so when you memorise the first 8 bars, you already know half of the tune. The B and C section also share similarities in the ABAC Form.
Remembering these details will help speed up memorisation because you are simplifying what you need to remember. As you dig deeper into harmony, you will see that the jazz standards contain lots of similarities in their harmonies which again makes them easier to remember. The more you learn, the better your understanding will become.
My second tip is to be listening to the recordings of these tunes. I made this mistake myself and did not listen to enough jazz when I was starting out.
You should spend a good proportion of your day just listening to jazz music. Create playlists for each of the tunes you are learning with many different versions from different musicians and instruments. This will help you become familiar with the melody, and keep those tunes fresh in your memory. To be able to play this music we must spend the time to listen.
A final tip would be to quiz yourself whilst away from the piano. Perhaps download the iRealPro app on your phone, and try to remember the chord changes to the jazz standards. Then check your answers using the iRealPro app. Or perhaps try to quizz yourself on the melody of a standard whilst away from the piano, can you sing/hum it to yourself, then can you remember what chords go underneath. Memorising the form of the song is key. That simplifies 75% of the tune in many cases! Again make sure you watch this lesson: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/common-jazz-forms/
On a final note Alan, I’m going to move “My Foolish Heart” into another course. I created the PianoGroove syllabus in the order that I built my own repertoire. However, that arrangement is a tricky one and I think it is better suited later in the syllabus. Instead, I’d recommend learning the following these tunes:
– Over The Rainbow – https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/over-the-rainbow-tutorial/
– My Funny Valentine – https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/my-funny-valentine-lesson/
– In a Sentimental Mood – https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/sentimental-mood-tutorial/
Remember to search for lots of different versions on YouTube/Spotify too. Often before attempting to play a tune, I will just listen to all the different versions for a week or so.
The listening element is very important.
I hope this helps and if you’d like me to elaborate just let me know.
Cheers,
Hayden
Hi Hayden.
First of all, thank you so much for this website!! I have always wanted to learn to play jazz piano, and this is the first time I have come across a resource which can help me do just that!
Try as I may, I have not been able to find the link to the real book. Can you tell me exactly where it is in the resources section?
Thanks,
Mary
Hi Mary,
Apologies for the late reply here.
This tutorial was one that I originally put on YouTube in 2016 and recommended students to download the real book to access the chord charts.
For all of the tunes that we cover on PianoGroove, you can find the chord chart in the “Downloads” section of each lesson page.
If you still want to buy a RealBook, there are many versions to choose from, here is the index: https://www.halleonard.com/series/REALBK?dt=item#products
Be sure to buy the “C Instruments” versions as these are for piano, the “Eb instruments” are for horn instruments.
Please let me know if I can help further and enjoy the lessons!
Cheers,
Hayden
My comment has been “awaiting moderation “ for one week.
What is moderation?
Hi Mary,
I didn’t receive a notification of your comment, which was why it was placed in the ‘moderation queue’.
I have answered your question above. Please let me know if I can help you with anything else.
Cheers,
Hayden
Hi Hayden,
I enjoy learning this tune with you, but I have a question regarding the Abm9 and Db13 replacing the Fm7 In at 13:00. I don’t really understand the theory behind this. could you help me out a bit in there, please?
Loke
Hi Loke,
Great question.
That section is a reharmonisation which adds more interest to the F-7 and Bb7 which is spread over 2 bars.
This works for a few reasons:
1) Firstly the melody is static. Notice that the note “Bb” is tied throughout the last 2 bars in the section. This gives us the opportunity to insert our own harmony to create more harmonic interest.
2) The main reason that the Ab-9 to Db13 works so well, is that it keeps the melody note intact, ie, the note Bb is the 9th of Ab-9, and the 13th of Db13, and so we are not changing the melody, but simply finding voicings that fit underneath the original melody note.
3) Finally, 25s progressions are dynamic in the sense that they want to move somewhere. For example, we can play random 25s using those voicings (extended minor9 to dominat13) and it sounds fine. For example play the same voicings in the key of C (D-9 to G13) and then move to åny other 25 using the same voicings. The V13 chord is full of tension and wants to move somewhere, and so I am simply taking advantage of this.
All 3 of these things are at play here. Keeping the melody note intact as on the lead sheet is perhaps the most important area.
With this kind of analysis we are jumping into the realms of chord substitution which sometimes doesn’t follow any rules of traditional harmony, and you will often see that as long as we keep the melody note intact and play nice voicings underneath, we have a lot of freedom to choose seemingly unrelated chords and harmony.
I hope that helps Loke and enjoy the lessons!
Cheers,
Hayden
ps. I recommend new students to start with the course on “Cocktail Piano Improvisation” which focuses on the tune “Misty” -https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/cocktail-improvisation-for-beginners/ – this course will help you to understand the many ways that we can interpret a tune for solo piano and give you a template to follow for improvising over jazz ballads. Also check out the seminar on this course: https://www.pianogroove.com/live-seminars/cocktail-improvisation-seminar/
I recently added a similar course on “Georgia On My Mind – Bluesy Stride” which will allow to see the many steps to learning a new jazz tune: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/bluesy-jazz-piano-beginners/ – This should be a good fit for you to see the process of learning a tune in jazz starting with diatonic harmony and then slowly introducing more sophisticated voicings and harmonies.
Hi Hayden,
Thank you for your quick reply to my question and appreciate your detailed explanation, which is helpful for me to understand what is going on there!!
But there is a small question, maybe you already covered in your answer. but I kinda wanna just make sure that I understand it correctly.
so, my question is: how can we know if a 25 progression works well before the next 25 progressions? In other words, how do we know that the Ab-9 and Db13 before the Fm7 and Bb7? Is it all by how we feel?
Any tips for that?
Thank you in advance!
Loke
Hi Loke,
In this case, the Ab-7 and Db7 works because it fits with the melody note Bb. For example if you try to play a 25 in C major (D-9 and G13) in that bar, it will not work with the melody note Bb. So for me the melody note is always the most important consideration.
Harmonically, the Ab-7 and Db7 can be used to resolve into Ebmaj7, this is known as the ‘backdoor 251 progression’. We see this in many tunes (think of the 4th bar of Misty which is Ab-7 to Db7 moving to Ebmaj7 in bar 5). This is quite advanced if you are just starting out with jazz theory, but you can read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backdoor_progression
You will also find the backdoor 251 progression in the tune “Over The Rainbow” and I replied to a student on that topic here in the comments: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/over-the-rainbow-tutorial/
Ultimately, in the Tenderly arrangement, I am using the Ab-7 to Db13 as a reharmonisation, mainly because it works with the melody note. The more tunes that we learn, the more familiar we become with these little pieces of harmonic vocabulary such as the backdoor 251 and how we can use them to fill in space.
For now move onto the next jazz standard lessons so that you are extending your repertoire and exposing yourself to new harmonic situations.
Let me know if I can help further!
Cheers,
Hayden
I was a bit surprised at the consecutive use of so what chords in the reharmonisation. What is the theory behind this? I mean, as far as chord progressions go.
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
Good question!
This reharmonisation technique is when we move the same chord structure around to fit under the melody note.
It works particularly well with 4th voicings, because 4th voicings are harmonically ambiguous
There is no harmonic relationship at play, other than that we are moving the same chord structure in parallel which in itself creates a connection in terms of the sound.
This device is very useful when harmonising step-wise melodies, see chapter 5 of this lesson for example: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/harmonising-step-wise-melodies/
You can use reharmonisation device anytime, but I would use it sparingly and tastefully, as it can sound quite angular and jarring if overused.
I hope that helps Bruce – check out the lesson above and it should make more sense and help you to understand how this can be used for step-wise melody lines as an alternative to other devices such as block chords, drop 2 voicings, and passing chords.
Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Talk soon,
Hayden
hi hayden.
if you could – i was wondering what the rules are on reharmonisation:
eg. why we can change the first e flat maj 7 to a g min 7 so what chord? is this just because the D is a note within the g min chord, so it works? is this logic how i should think about all reharmonisation ie. what chords have that top melody note in it. and these will all sound OK? or is there more to consider here?
and also why so what chords too? are these a good choice for reharmonisation?
thanks a lot 🙂
Hi Jannah,
Great question.
For this technique, we are using the So What Chord which has the desired melody note on top. This works because we are moving the same chord shape around which creates a sense of cohesion – even if the chords and chord tones clash with the original harmony. We are basically reharmonising the melody.
Reharmonisation is a vast and very unusual topic, and so no this is definitely not how you should think about all reharmonisation. This is just one technique for reharmonisation. You can learn other common reharmonisation principles in our course on this topic: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/chord-substitution-reharmonisation/
Finally the reason So What Chords sound so good with this technique is that they are quartal voicings, ie. they are built mainly from 4th intervals. Chords built from 4th intervals are often harmonically ambiguous which makes them more versatile; particularly in the context of reharmonisation.
Also check out this lesson where we use the same technique: https://www.pianogroove.com/jazz-piano-lessons/harmonising-step-wise-melodies/ (see chapter 5 “reharmonisation”).
In summary, simply look at this technique as 1 tool in your toolbox of reharmonisation and arrangement techniques. Don’t use it all the time, but you can use it sparingly to create a modern, fresh, angular, and unexpected sound when harmonising a melody line.
I hope that helps Jannah and have fun practicing this stuff :–)
Talk soon,
Hayden
AH! Thank you so much. I so appreciate the effort that goes into answering all these questions! Makes for such a great learning experience. So much to learn!