This is going to be a bit abstract but I need some help if possible. So I was pointed towards this site by a guy call mrclay

https://mrclay.org/common-chords/C-major

It's chords you can fit in keys, helpful for a beginner like me trying to get more rich harmony. Anyway, on the C major page there's the chord F#o7 (idk how to type the half diminished symbol). If you click on the chord it plays a sample progression which is

C6/G - F#o7 - Fmaj7.

When I listen to this progress I imagine a chord following the Fmaj7, but I can't find what I hear in my head. I basically hear what sounds like the same chord, but with a bite to it. Like there's a little more pain and tension, but it's mostly the same feeling.

The one note I know for sure is that top C is still played, it's something under that changes. My first thought was Fm, nope, feel like drama, but not the bite I hear. Maybe F6, nope. So I try playing it just shifting each single note up and down, trying everything I can possibly think of, cannot find it

Try holding that top note and trying the different chords of C, nothing.

I have absolutely no idea what I'm looking for, I am just throwing this post out there to the harmony experts in the hopes you can help me figure out what the damn chord I am looking for is. I know I haven't given much info to work off of but its the best I've got.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsmojSMxSO4

Victor Bailey on the bass!!

This are the chords I got:

Gbmaj7 - Gmaj7#5 - Ab-7 - Bb9b5
Amaj7 - Ab-9 - G-7b5 - Gmaj9
Gbmaj7 - F9#11 - Emaj9 - Eb-9
Ab-7b5 ....

I would like to know how do you analyze this harmonic progression.

Hi! I know most of this thread is a lot of harmonic knowledge for improv/alt changes, but I hope rhythmic content is also fair game to geek out over.

I'm interested in training my ears to hear tunes in 5/8 (or 10/8) more clearly. I feel completely comfortable playing in 5/4 time because the quarter note pulse is consistent throughout. What's tricky for me is when the tune's pulse is divided into 3+2 or 2+3 eighth notes. Something about the unevenness of it still hasn't sunken in to that "feel it" level, and I'm curious to know what are some of this community's favorite tunes in 5/8.

I guess this post could really open up into a conversation of how one "hears" or "feels" music based on alternating note groupings rather than an even pulse, and that's okay too! Stoked to hear what you're listening to!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-WdqZdP8S8

Made this brief vid showing you how I like to play the tune. Let me know in the comments what part of this song is your favorite, like your favorite chord change. Mine is the chorus, when they say "Stella By Starlight" going to that backdoor dominant with the b5 in it. So mysterious. Anyway hope you enjoy the vid!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYboIWvDT7g

Hey, I made this vid because I kept playing along to the original Snow White 1939 version of the song, and it didn't seem right at the C section. The original is in Gmaj, and the chords for the lines

"And the birds will sing/And wedding bells will ring" are actually

[Gmaj7 B7#5 C7#5 Bbdim7] instead of the

[Dm7 G7 C C#dim7] suggested in every single real book and app I've ever seen.

Don't believe me? Try it out yourself

I have a great book by Ted Giola that acts as a sort of reference for jazz standards. Every time I'm learning a new tune, I look it up and read about it.

The book includes anecdotes and notable things about the song, such as the setting in which is was written/recorded, notable versions, and so on.

Are there any references like this that focus instead on harmonic analysis? As a beginner, I'd like to learn a bit of how the chords function harmonically, or if it's a modal tune, some discussion of that. Either a book or something online would be great.

Conceptually I can see how they are different but they essentially contain the same notes in the chord, and as a pianist would I play these two voicings differently?

For the experienced players, was there a defining moment or concept that you can explain in “laymen’s terms” where you had a realization that you were beginning to understand and express the jazz language? Has there been any “Ah ha!” Moments that you can remember distinctly along your journey?

Hi!

I’d like to share an analysis of a section I always loved from Gershwin's tone poem An American in Paris. It has an interesting blend of popular American idioms (blue notes, extensive use of Mixolydian sonorities, etc.) with more traditional European concert music procedures (melodic unfolding, functional harmony, etc.)

Differently from passages by Ravel and Debussy where the European modernist traits seem to dominate over the Americanism—making these almost a mere coloristic resource—Gershwin seems to do the exact opposite.

I would love to hear your thoughts about this!

https://youtu.be/UMI1UGEo0DU

I want to learn how to improv but I just don’t know where to start. I try to play scales and such over chords but nothing seems to work. Basically, how would you learn how to start?

Hello all.

I'm a student of jazz piano who is off for the summer. I will be returning to lessons with my teacher in the fall. Along with my instructor, I've worked through several tunes (Autumn Leaves, Take the A-Train, and a few more).

I'm looking at learning a few more tunes over the summer on my own, and decided to start with Indiana since I love the tune and it doesn't seem too complicated.

Currently, I'm just focussing on the A section and I don't know what's going on functionally in a few places. I recognize the 251s in Fmaj and in Bbmaj. What confuses me the most is the first four bars which contain the progression: Fmaj7 Eb7 D7 G7. This is followed by a 251 in Fmaj.

So we have a tonic chord, then a really surprising (to me)Eb7 chord. The D7 seems to make sense if I consider it to me a dominant leading into G (which is the next chord). The dominant G7 that follows then becomes a minor and acts as part of the 251 in Fmaj. Does this all make sense?

I'm still confused about the function of the Eb7 chord. Am I overthinking this? Can someone explain.

Hello I am a piano player and I have been sight reading a lot of hymns lately. I was looking for something focused around four voices with jazz harmonies to sight read. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Hi!

I would like to share with you a recent analysis of the jazzy interlude from the first movement of Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major.

Besides the obvious timbral choices, the use of octatonic chords with split thirds (or augmented ninths!) are an interesting point of contact with Jazz idioms. However, the passage is still a prototypical Ravelian moment with a modal melody over chromatic harmony.

Do you remember any other passages like this where a concert piece in an “abstract” form (piano concerto, sonata, etc.) so blatantly evokes American popular music?

https://youtu.be/vx3uh0zFek8

Bb blues subs

All levels and scopes: introductory, niche, soloing, harmonizing, composing, etc.

What are your favorite theory books, regardless of scope and level?

In the time I have spent trying to teach myself how to improv

There is probably a lot more y’all can think of, but I think the single most important things you can do are

1. Be able to prolong a single harmony in a way that still tells a musical story.

2. Know everything you can play over any ii-V-I or any other really popular chord sequence.

3. Let the info that the harmonic movement/groove give you dictate what and when you play.

4. Know how to say something musically coherent instead of shredding.

5. Most importantly: be able to listen to other people, communicate with them, and let your ear guide you.