Learning and memorising a wide range of chords and voicings is an essential skill for the jazz pianist. This resource page contains a selection of downloadable PDF files containing the most common chords and voicings in all 12 keys.
The 5 Types of 7th Chords
Start by learning the five types of 7th chords – most chords you will come across in jazz piano will be one of these five types of chords so it is vitally important to memorise them and understand their function in harmony.
Diatonic 7th Chords
Each major scale contains 7 diatonic 7th chords. These chords are built exclusively from the notes of the scale and are used to create common progressions such as major 251s, 36251s and 1625 turnarounds. Learning and memorising the diatonic 7th chords will give you a much greater harmonic understanding of the major keys.
Extended Chords
Extended jazz piano chords occur when you extend the chord above the octave. As a jazz pianist you’ll need to use 9ths, 11ths and 13ths to create the rich, full-sounding chords that are a staple sound of jazz piano. You will find documents below on well-known extended voicings such as the So What Voicing, the Kenny Baron Voicing and the Herbie Hancock Voicing.
Kenny Barron Voicing – Minor and Major Variation
Upper Structure Triads Cheat Sheet
Upper structures, also called upper structure triads, are triads that have been superimposed above a tritone. Incorporating upper structures into the tunes you play will really take your playing forward and make your dominant chords sound much more interesting and colourful. The upper structure cheat sheet is useful for learning how to practise upper structures in the context of jazz standards:
