Knowing your 2-5-1s in and out helps you to play countless tunes and solo over them.

Make sure to practice it if you want to play jazz piano. If you create the 2-5-1 progression from these seventh chords, it looks like this, with the sevenths marked in blue:Ī better way to voice the chords is to play an inversion for the C7 chord:īecause this chord progression appears so often in jazz music, it is good to know it in all twelve keys. The diatonic seventh chords in the key of F major So if you are in the key of F major, for example, the diatonic chords are the following: These seventh chords are taken from the diatonic chords for the respective key. It’s basic version consists of the ii minor seventh chord, followed by a V dominant seventh chord and the I major seventh chord. See also Mixo-blues Scales.The 2-5-1 (or ii – V – I) chord progression is the most used building block in jazz music. Here are pictures and notes of the Major Pentatonic Blues scales. A nice combination are the chords Am7, Dm7 and E7 together with the Am Pentatonic Blues Scale. You can improvise blues in minor keys as well.

Once 7th chords have been mastered we can add chord extensions on top of the 7th chord. Learning these chords and understanding their function in harmony is essential for building the major 251 progression which is the next step in your jazz piano journey. Or, in the same way, the G Blues Scale with the chords G7, C7 and D7. The vast majority of chords you will come across in jazz will be one of these 5 chord types. Learn about major and minor scales, chord intervals, and check out the piano chord chart. You can, for example, combine the C Blues Scale with C7, F7 and G7 chords. Find out all about piano chords with this guide for beginners. Because of this, we often describe these chords as more colorful compared to more basic jazz guitar chords. A tip is to use the left hand for a chord and play notes from the scale with the right. Extended chords use intervals outside of the root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th in their construction. So how can you improvise on the piano with blues scales? By learning these scales you will earn great tools for improvising in the musical style of blues (these scales can also be used in jazz improvisation). There is a close correlation as you can see.

(C7) C, E, G, Bb – (F7) F A C Eb – (G7) G B D F.

We can see the relationship when comparing the notes in the scale: So the 1, 3, and 5 in the C major scale is C-E-G. Now the major chord formula is the root or first note, third, and fifth. Even if you don’t have your Circle of Fifths that formula will help find all major scales. In the case of C Pentatonic, the three chords are C7 – F7 – G7. All major scales have the formula W-W-H-W-W-W-H, the H being a semitone and the W two semitones or a whole tone. The Pentatonic Blues Scale is built upon three dominant chords. Formula: Whole and a half, Whole, Half, Half, Whole and a half, Whole Theory and tips for improvisation

Jazz chords piano chart