Amsterdam Conservatory

 
 
HARMONY AT THE PIANO (jazz)

 
 
WORKBOOK  

 
 

 
  

Copyright 1997,2007 Amsterdam School of the Arts

All rights reserved. No part of this publication

may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form,
or by any means, electronic, mechanical or otherwise,
without the express written permission of the publisher.  

 
Foreword

You can compare jazz music to a language, where harmony functions as grammar. When
using a language, you will always find that you need to use certain rules. But at the same
time these rules don’t always apply, which seems to make them lose their necessity.

This didn’t stop us from trying to describe these rules; with the above in mind, it becomes
like a game! A beautiful sound is much more valuable than a good rule.

To be able to use this book requires a basic knowledge of music notation and general music
theory (intervals, key signatures, chord symbols and scales). You don’t have to be able to
play the piano, but piano lessons are recommended.

We have chosen to use the notation from the easily accessible “Real” and “Fake” books
when we cite passages from known pieces. Though these books sometimes have inadequate
notation, you must learn to interpret these in music practice.

We would like to thank our colleagues, who contributed greatly to the completion of this
book with their advice and feedback. Special thanks go out to Frans Elsen, Jan Faas,
Erik Gieben, Jan Huydts, Clemens Kemme, Nico Langhuijsen, Boudewijn Leeuwenberg,
Rob Madna, Kenny Napper and Wanja van Winsen. Thank you to Corien Unger for
developing the manuscript. Thank you to Emily Coombler for her splendid translation in
English.

Berend van den Berg Amsterdam, September1997

Christine Schneider
Rindert Meijer

In this revised edition, I have re-edited the text, changed the order of the notation
examples and added an appendix with new exercises. Dirk Keizer has introduced
several new exercises. This time our special thanks go out to Rindert Meijer, Jan Faas,
Henk Huizinga, Bram Strijbis, Patrick Schenkhuis and Boudewijn Leeuwenberg, who
once again contributed their feedback.

Berend van den Berg Amsterdam, October 2007  

 
  

    Harmony at the piano (jazz)

Contents

Introduction 2

Studying 3

1. Getting to know the keyboard 4

2. Three-voice harmonic connections 8

3. The melody with three-voice harmonization 15

4. Four-voice exercises with and without melody 19

Summary of standard exercises up till now 24

5. Exercises with melody and chords 28

6. Dominant seven chords 33

7. Diminished seven chords 38

8. Five-voice exercises 40

9. Chord symbols with a slash 46

10. Melody and chords part 2 50

Appendix

A. More exercises with voicing’s and cadences in all keys 52

B. More harmonization exercises with given melody and chords 57

C. First steps in piano accompaniment 61

Introduction
 
 

The piano is an instrument on which a piece of music can be performed completely

(that is to say, with a bass line, chords, inner voices and melody). The piano gives you
a concrete insight into the build up and structure of harmony and harmonic connections.

That is why Harmony at the Piano (HAP) is a compulsory subject in the first 2 years of
study at the jazz department of the Amsterdam Conservatory. There is an exam at the end
of each year.

Every student will learn several ways of accompanying in the HAP lessons.

One important part of the HAP lessons is that you learn to find your way through the
labyrinth of differing and sometimes illogical chord symbols that are used in various
Real- and Fake-books.

Harmony at the Piano will clarify the content of other lessons such as music theory,
solfège and your main subject. It will teach you to use these skills practically.

This work book is full of practical advice, important basic exercises, study assignments,
and excerpts of pieces from the jazz standard repertoire.    

 
 -2-

Studying

You can learn to play the piano in 5 ways:

Physical: Your hands learn the positions and remember them

Visual: You can see the combinations of black and white keys and learn to
associate them with notes, scales and key signatures.

Aural: You learn to recognize sounds.

Rational: You learn to understand sounds analytically and theoretically.

Intuitive: You learn to trust your own musicality.

The model listed above is probably incomplete and possibly not in the right order (you
can describe a learning process in different ways), but it is very practical; it’s important
to focus on one of these aspects while you’re studying.

For example: Play with your eyes closed every once in a while. You will direct all your
attention to feeling the keys and positions of your hands, and hearing the sounds that
belong to them. Or try to visualize a chord before you play it. In this way, you become
aware of the combination of the black and white keys. It’s also very helpful to sing the
melody, a second voice or a chord tone along with what you’re playing. This will clarify
the logic of the harmonic connections.

When studying, always remain calm and concentrated. Start slowly and always be aware of
trying to produce a nice sound from the piano. Work with this book mainly while you’re at
the piano; mentally understanding the material doesn’t mean you can play it.
 - 3 -  

1. Recognizing the keyboard

 

In this chapter we will focus on getting to know the keyboard. This involves:

-­‐ Becoming familiar with triads, scales, arpeggios and their chord symbols

-­‐ The build up of four-voice chords (major 7, minor 7, dominant 7, half diminished 7
and diminished 7)

-­‐ Inversions of minor- and major-7 chords in the way they are most often used in jazz.

Exercises

C-triad and inversions in the right hand (r.h). Because the bass note is the tonic, and stays
that way, these can also be called diversions.

Assignment

- Do this with all the major triads (12)

- While playing the piano, the thumb is indicated as (1), index finger as (2) etc. Use the
position (135) or (124) for the root inversion, (125) for the 1st inversion and (124) or (135)
for the 2nd inversion. The root inversion and 2nd inversion can be played perfectly well with
a (124) finger position, especially when the triad involves black keys. Swap between these
finger positions in such a way that your hand feels comfortable. Never use (123) because
this can encourage your pinky to be lazy or stick out.
-­‐ Change the bass note. Eg C/A = Am7. C/D = D9sus4

-4-

C-minor triad and inversions in the right hand:

Assignment

- Do this with all the minor triads (12)

- Change the bass note: Cmi/A = Am7b5. Cmi/Ab = Abmaj7

We can also approach this assignment, and the assignment on page 4, in the following way:

Play a C in the left hand and a random triad in a random inversion in the right hand, then
name the chord. This is more of a searching game than a systematic exercise; You will
often recognize the new chord immediately; Sometimes the bass note is not the root of the
chord; Sometimes you have to put the bass note up an octave to be able to hear better.
Sometimes this game leads to incomplete chords.

The degrees of the C major scale (4-voice chords)

To prepare for the next exercise, play the C major scale SLOWLY in the right hand. Then
play the exercise:

-5-
The degrees of C major in mixed positions:

Assignment

- Say the chords out loud

- Play the inversions of the triads in the right hand

- Play this exercise descending (going down) as well as ascending (going up)

- Play it in other keys in the following order: F, G, Bb, D, Eb, A etc.

Another way to find 7th chords:

Play the C with your left hand, and a C triad (major or minor) in your right hand. By
shifting your right thumb and/or right pinkie, you will discover other C chords.

-6-
Assignment

-­‐ Play this in the other 11 keys

-­‐ Play inversions of the triads in the right hand

-­‐ Take one of the above 7th chords and play it chromatically up and down. This requires
much patience, but is very helpful!

-­‐ It is very important that you say the chord names OUT LOUD when you have played
a chord. Play and say!
 -7-

2. Three-voice harmonic progressions

The next step is to connect 7th chords with the root, third and seventh. You play the root in your
left hand, and the third and seventh in your right hand. If you apply these
positions to a tune, while you sing the melody, then you will hear what a pleasing result
this delivers! The fifth is the least necessary note, and therefore is the first note that can
be left out.

Exercises

The II – V – I cadence:

Assignment

- First play it slowly and not in time, then in a slow tempo.

- Say the chords out loud.

- You can also start from: | Gm7 C7 | Fmaj7 || Fm7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 || etc.

Observations

In this cadence, with “authentic” progressions (the root drops a fifth or goes up a fourth),
the voice leading is as follows: The 3rd becomes the 7th, the 7th becomes the 3rd, and the
root becomes the root.

-8-
Voiceleading in numbers:

1 ------ 1
3 ------ 7
7 ------ 3

Swap the voices in the right hand and the voice leading will not change:

The interval of a major-seventh in a Maj7 chord is very dissonant and has the tendency
to resolve to the octave of the root of the chord (in classical music) or to resolve down
to the major 6th. This dissonant doesn’t sound very good when the root is in the melody.

That’s why we will practice the suspension to the 6th:

And then with an inversion in the right hand voices:

-9-
We will continue to practice the II – V – I cadence in a different order:

Assignment:

- Play exercise 2 – 4 from | Gm7 C7 | Fmaj7 || etc

- Skip the resolution to the tonic in exercises 5 and 6. By skipping the 3rd bar you will play a
chromatically descending II – V progression.

- 10 -
We will practice the seven steps of the scale ascending (going up) and also
descending (going down):

And now with a chromatic approach note:

- 11 -
We will practice the “Zig zag” cadence: IV – VII – III – VI – II – V – I

And variations:

- 12 -
Ensure that you play all the exercises in as many keys as you can. It becomes more difficult,
but keep it up! Practice exercise 11 and 12 and try to combine them:

- 13 -
Observations:

In the previous exercises we left out the 5th, and therefore also the diminished 5th of the
half diminished seventh chord. Although this does sometimes occur when playing music,
in this case it’s due to the fact that we are practicing three-voiced seventh chords
(incomplete, in other words). A seventh chord is usually made up of 4 voices.
You can see the F# in the Bm7b5 chord as a melodic note.

Later we will see that the 5th of a dominant seventh chord is usually replaced or left out.

These 3-part voicings are incomplete but are still very useful because they form the frame
for 4 voice chords and extended 5 and 6 voice chords.

That’s why there are more of these types of exercises listed below, with the exception that
they are now all of the same type of chord. So there is no tonal center, and no final tonic
chord to end the progression.

- 14 -
 3. The melody with 3-part voicings
Practice these 3-part voicings over the chords of “All the Things You Are” (J. Kern),
with the root in the left hand and the 3rd and 7th in the right hand.

- 15 -
Observations:

If you don’t jump up an octave in bar 17 (bar 1 of the bridge), then you will end up too low.
The melody (which we will add later) also makes a leap of more than an octave at this point,
so it fits well!
Don’t confuse the term “voicing” with the term “inversion”. They are two different things.

We are still not playing the 5th of any chord, so we’re not playing any diminished or half
diminished chords either.

Take a look at the minor third and the major sixth of the Dbm6 chord in bar 30 (the 6th bar
of the last A section). If you change the root of the chord to Gb, you get the chord Gb7:
A useful replacement for (or as an added extension to) IV moll dur. This chord is also
known as flat seven moll dur (bVII).

Adding the melody

First play the melody in the right hand without accompaniment. Look at a lead sheet to
get the right notes.
Then sing the melody while playing a 3-voice accompaniment. This way, you learn
to play the melody confidently and without sheet music. Now add the melody to
your right hand:

And from the bridge:

- 16 -
Observations:

Mixed voicings are mixed with doubled-up wide voicings in the first two A sections.
Remember this rule: You can always double a melody note! In this case you have to double
the melody every other bar, otherwise the voice leading won’t make sense anymore.
You can hear this. You could also say that the high Db in the second bar is a melodic 3rd
without harmonic function.

The third is not played at all on the first beat of bar 17 and 21 (the bridge). The melody note
functions as a suspension of the minor third in both cases (the 4th of the chord resolving
to the 3rd, written as sus4)

Up till now, the left hand has played nothing but the root. But now we move on to:

The so called “Thumb swap”

Play the last A section of “All the Things You Are” with the melody. See the result of the
thumb swap in this exercise:

- 17 -
Observations:

The chord, in combination with the melody, becomes too wide for the right hand in bar 30.
That makes this the perfect opportunity to introduce the Thumb swap. It takes place in
bar 29 between the right hand and the left hand.

Another Thumb swap takes place in bar 35, a reversal of the “swap” that took place in
bar 29, for the people who find the interval too big.

It’s logical that there is a constant exchange between the two thumbs when playing the
piano, because these are the fingers that are constantly next to each other on the keyboard.
This can be “mechanically” challenging, because it involves both sides of the brain, but we
will pay extra attention to this (see page 19).

The thumb swap:

Replace the C of Dbmaj7 (played with the right hand) with the thumb of the left hand.
Do this relatively quickly, so that the left thumb has time to play the sixth of Dbmi6 and
the seventh of the following chord.

In the meantime, the thumb of the right hand will go to the Fb of Dbmi6 in bar 30, to the
D in bar 32, the Db in bar 34 and will finally swap with the left thumb again and play the C.
(To avoid too much thumb “shifting”, you can play the repeating Eb in the melody of bar 31
with your index finger).

There are many other ways to play this piece, but you can see this example as a schematic
method of showing how the thumbs swap roles between playing the thirds and sevenths
of the chords.

In conclusion:

- Sometimes melody notes can be more beautiful if you double them (especially if they
happen to be the 3rd of the chord)
- Melody notes can sound like part of the harmony
- The left hand can also play the seventh or sixth, as well as the root.
- This way of studying (only playing the melody, root, third and seventh) is always a
helpful first step to getting to know and arranging a piece.

- 18 -
 4. Four-Voice exercises with and without the melody

Exercises

The four-voice II – V – I cadence:

Play this by ear in all keys (also starting from: | Gm7 C7 | Fmaj7 || etc).
You can also apply the Thumb swap here:

Observations:

The lower you get with the seventh of the minor- and major-seventh chords, and the third
of the dominant-seventh chord, the muddier the chord will sound.
Make sure that you can play exercise 1a just as well as you can play exercise 1b. This may
cause some motorical confusion in the beginning. This thought will help: You are making
an outward motion with the right thumb in exercise 1a. You are making an inward motion
with the left thumb in exercise 1b.
You play the thirds in your right hand with a static thumb and middle finger.

- 19 -
The rules of the voice leadings from page 9 will now be expanded. In a cadence-like
progression, the fifth (which can also be b5, 13 or b13 in dominant chords) becomes
the ninth. In numbers:

1-------1
3-------7
7-------3
(13)5-------9
9-------5(13)

We will use these voicings while playing “Satin Doll” by Duke Ellington. See the lead
sheet on the next page (page 21)

Observations for Satin Doll:

The original lead sheet gives us the chord Cmi6/Eb (which is the same as Ami7b5/Eb)
instead of Ami7, in bar 5. You don’t hear this very often, but it is very beautiful so I
recommend that you give it a try.

When the melody comes after the beat, it’s usually best to play the root of that chord on
the beat with the pinkie or index finger, and the rest of the chord plus the melody, after
the beat. (see bars 2, 4, 5 and 6)

If the melody comes before the beat, you should play the chord together with the melody.

In the first 4 bars, the voice leading in the left hand is as follows: [1, 7] à [1, 3]

In bars 5 and 6, and the rest of the bridge, this voice leading is reversed: [1, 3] à [1, 7]

It is very important that you play the root with the index finger when playing the
third in the left hand!!!

If you do this consistently, you will notice that your pinkie will be ready for the next
chord.

- 20 -
- 21 -
In bar 5 and 6 of the bridge, you probably noticed that when playing the mi7 chord, there
is a new possible voicing for the left hand. Namely: [1, 3]. In previous exercises we played
[1,7]. This leads to a new build up of the II – V – I cadence. We will begin by playing just
the root in the left hand, otherwise it will be so high that it won’t sound like a bass note.

Play this progression in all keys.

And when you play the root up an octave, apply the Thumb swap – even though the root
may sound a bit high:

Observations

Try playing a doubling of the third or seventh in a minor chord, instead of the ninth. You
can also try the eleventh.
The fifth of the dominant chord is replaced by thirteen. Originally it was meant as a
suspension to the fifth. Voice leading: 9------13------9

- 22 -
We can approach the next exercise with the last comment in mind:

Assignment:

What do you do if you notice that your right hand is beginning to get tired from all this
work? Or if you want to play a high G on the 2nd beat of bar 2, but your hand is too
small? Aaaah... And also...transpose!

It’s either our lack of patience, or lack of time, that disables us to play All exercises in all
keys! Therefore I give you this tip: Play an exercise twice in the written key, then play it
one or two tones down, and lastly, transpose it to a random key and play it in that key.

For example:

Step 1) ||: Dm7 G7 | Cmaj7 :||

Step 2) || Cm7 F7 | Bbmaj7 || Bbm7 Eb7 | Abmaj7 ||
Step 3) || Fm7 Bb7 | Ebmaj7 || Ebm7 etc…

Try to play a new exercise immediately in a different key!

- 23 -
Summary of Basic Exercises

- 24 -
Assignment

Play these standard voicings starting from: | Gm7 C7 | Fmaj7 || etc… This is to avoid
playing the same six keys. To spice up your exercises a bit, you can also try the following
variations:

- | Gm7 C7 | Fm7 Bb7| etc…

- | Gm7 C7 | Gbm7 Cb7 | etc…

- | Gm7 C7 | G#m7 C#7 | etc…

- | Gm7 C7 | Cm7 F7 | Fm7 Bb7 | etc…

NB! People with bigger hands and more playing experience can play the [1, 3] in the left
hand, an octave down, resulting in [1, 10]. This creates a nice wide effect, but be critical
and aware of the sound in horizontal terms throughout the whole piece. This shouldn’t
become too heavy.

When you have had some more experience, you will notice that the intervals [3,7] and [7,3]
nearly always appear following one another, with or without notes in between. Make sure
that your finger positions remain flexible and vary these as often as you can.

II – V – I exercises with possible alterations on V

- 25 -
In Minor:

Assignment:

Play the following common chord progressions with the voicings we have practiced up
till now:

1) | Fmaj7 | Em7b5 A7 | Dm7 G7 | Cm7 F7 | Bbmaj7 | Am7 D7 | Gm7 C7 | Fmaj7 ||

2)| Fmaj7 | Bm7b5 E7 | Am7 D7 | Gm7 C7 | Fmaj7 ||

3)||: Fmaj7 | B7 | Bbmaj7 | Bbm7 Eb7 |

Abmaj7 | Gm7b5 C7 | Fmaj7 (D7 | Gm7 C7) : ||

4)| Fmaj7 Bb7 | Am7 Ab7 | Dbmaj7 Gb7 | Fmaj7 ||

Tips:

-­‐ Play in a slow tempo and start with three-part voicings without the 5th. Then with 4-part
voicings. Trust your ear, and lower the extensions in the dominant chord when you think
it sounds good.

-­‐ Transpose the exercises by sight (!) and use different finger positions. Think about using
the thumb exchange. Sing or hum an extra melody line.

-­‐ If you want to play progressions off by heart, you need to hear them in your head first.
Say the chord names out loud. You can also do this while sitting in the train, for example,
while singing the bass notes. Studying mentally and without an instrument is very important!

-­‐ You can make up similar chord progressions by yourself, or use chord progressions from
existing pieces as an exercise. If you make some rhythmical variations in the left hand and
add some fifth’s changing with the roots, or passing notes, a nice bass line will appear of its
own accord. The right hand will respond rhythmically. This way you can already begin to
accompany “simple” pieces such as:

- 26 -
There is no greater love (Bb)
There'll never be another you (Eb)
Blues (F),(C),(Bb),(Eb),(G),(Ab)
I've got rhythm (Bb),(F),(Eb),(Ab)
Bluesette (Bb)
Weaver of dreams (C)
I'll remember april (G)
Blue in green (Dmi)
Loverman (F)
Shiny stockings (Ab)
Tune up (D)
This masquerade (Fmi)
Yardbird Suite (C)
Solar (Cmi)
Tea for two (Ab)
Out of nowhere (G)
Alone together (Dmi)
How high the moon (G)
Wave (D)
Body and soul (Db)
Lady bird (C)
Goodmorning heartache (Bb)
Pennies from heaven (C)
After you've gone (Bb)
The girl from Ipanema (F)
Love me or leave me (Cmi - Eb)
's Wonderful (Eb)
I can't give you anything but love, baby (G)
Here's that rainy day (F)
Black Orpheus (Ami)
Yesterdays (Dmi)
Confirmation (F)
Nardis (Emi)
Lullaby of Birdland (Fmi)

It’s great to regularly open up any Real- and fake- book and play bits of songs. You don’t
necessarily have to study a whole piece in tempo.

- 27 -
 5. Exercises with the chords and the melody

Up till now we have used the “standard voicing” as a starting point, and slowly worked
towards incorporating the melody. This was the case with “All The Things You Are”
and “Satin Doll”. This leads to reasonably basic interpretations of the pieces.
Arranging a piece with the piano is a different story. The amount of notes in a voicing, and
the type of voicing you use, can vary greatly. Unlike that of the saxophone section in a big
band for example. This could result in a monotonous and possibly very boring rendition of
a piece.

The number of voices between the melody and the bass line depends on how big the
distance between the two is. Another point to remember is that our harmonic ear is very
sensitive to voices that appear out of nowhere or vanish into thin air. This is too distracting.
It is possible to use this as an effect, however.

That is why it is important to know and be aware of the horizontal line of the melody.
While you’re playing, it might help to think of a close harmony choir, where the voices
mix and bend towards one another, and then suddenly leap and grow away from
each other.

You could see the melody, harmony and bass-line like this:

Keep in mind that the third, seventh or fifth can also be the bass note (inversions). And the
melody does not always have to be the highest note.

The melody is the thread that we follow, so it shouldn’t be modified. Changes in the harmony
can often lead to changes in the bass-line, and vice-versa. The more colors you use in the
harmony (alterations and extensions), the less movement the bass-line is likely to have and
vice-versa. The result should always be a balanced harmonic rhythm, where the bass-line
is an integrated part of the harmony.

- 28 -
So in this chapter we will change our perspective and use the melody as a
starting point:

- 29 -
Assignment for exercises 1 – 8

- Start by playing the melody by itself in the right hand and sing along.
- Play the melody in the right hand and the bass-line in the left hand.
- Now you can add the correct chord tones, and decide which hand they can be best played
with; here you can use the “Thumb swap”
- Exercises 1, 2 and 3 are constantly moving one tone higher, whereas exercises 4 and 6 are
constantly moving one tone lower. After 6 key changes you should be “home” again. Start
a half tone higher or lower to cover the other 6 keys.

Observations:

The dominant-seventh-sus4 chord in exercise 6, and the diminished-seventh chord in exercise

4 and 6 are “new”. For a more comprehensive explanation of these chords see page 37-39.

Practice the following exercise in the same way. The melody has much more movement
than the previous exercises.

- 30 -
Observations:

The “Thumb swap” can be used in several places (in bar 1 or 2, and in bar 4 or 5).
This results in the following: the 3rd or 7th resolve to another octave. The ear doesn’t
hear this as a disturbing jump.
Play a beautiful 5-voiced chord wherever you can. Remember the voice-leading rules
when you come across a “cadence” progression, from page 20: (the bass jumps up a
fourth or down a fifth).

1-------1
3-------7
7-------3
(13)5-------9
9-------5(13)

If you replace some progressions with passing chords, the above rules do not apply. In
this case you have to make sure that the voice-leading to the next chord is as close as
possible! The main principal of learning about harmony! This can result in parallel
voicings, which can give a more (or less) beautiful result, depending on the melody.

Follow the same procedure with the next exercise.

- 31 -
Play and sing the melody a few times, without the bass-line or any other accompaniment.
A strong melody should make it possible for you to hear what the harmonic possibilities
are. Without playing them!

Observations:

When playing strictly 4-voiced chords, you have to choose between the 3rd or the
diminished 5th of the Gm7b5 chord, in the second bar.
Eb/Bb is a triad with a doubled voicing. If you want to add a fifth chord tone, you
can add the ninth. The chord symbol will then become: Ebadd9/Bb.

- 32 -
 6. Dominant 7th chords

Extensions and alterations are mostly used in combination with dominant 7th chords.
But how are they translated to chord symbols? It’s apparent that there is no singular
way of notating chord symbols. I have therefore included 3 short examples from one
of the Real Books: “557 Jazz Standards”.

1.“Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You” – D. Redman and 2.“Yesterdays” - J. Kern

Assignment:

To start off with, play the melody (and play it well!) with one hand, and then work out
some voicings based around the melody in the same way as the previous chapter. Play the
chords without keeping the melody as the highest note, as if you were accompanying
someone else.

- 33 -
Observations:

In example 2, (as opposed to example 1) the melody is indicated in the extensions of

the chord symbols. The +5 in A7 (second bar of example 2) should actually be written
as b13 – The minor 3rd in the key D minor is an F and that’s why it is the b13 in A7.

3.“Nice Work If You Can Get It” – G. Gershwin

Keep working in the same way; harmonize the melody with the chord symbols given and
play the added extensions. D9 and F13 are shortened versions of D79 and F713
respectively. These are dominant 7 chords with an added 9 or 13!

Be aware of the fact that the extensions given in this example actually indicate an inner
voice. Together with the melody, you should be playing a 5-voiced chord progression.

Conclusions:

- How chord symbols are written out are everything but logical and systematic!
- More often than not, only the basic structure of the chord (with the seventh) is given. When
the melody is notated and you’ve had a bit more experience, you can start to play what you
think is best. The extensions are meant to give extra color to the melody, and eventually it
will be up to you to decide what color you like best. If you are having difficulty remembering
the voicings, it is very useful to write them out. As an arranger you want to hear and see the
colors you have chosen!
- The melody note is often translated in the chord symbol as an extension. This is very useful
if you have a lead sheet consisting only of chord symbols, especially if you are accompanying
someone else. You can follow the melody more easily, even though it is not written out.
- Sometimes chord extensions are written to suggest an extra chord tone. (see the above
exercise, and page 29 (bar 3 and 6)). Be critical of these extensions, and don’t be afraid to
try other options.
- The melody is the most important factor in deciding what extensions to add! They should
support and add color to the melody, and definitely NOT be in the way.

- 34 -
Exercises with dominant chains:

Don’t forget to use the “Thumb swap”.

- 35 -
Observations:

The fifth is not played in a dominant-13 chord, because the 13 is originally a melodic
suspension of the 5th. Just like the 9 is an (independent) suspension of the 8. (listen to
the beginning of the melody of “Yesterday” by P. McCartney).

The Tri-Tone Dominant 7 Chord

- 36 -
The Dom7-sus4 chord:

Observations:

The G79sus4 chord can also be notated as F/G, Fmaj7/G or Dm7/G.

The fourth (sus4) of the chord does not always resolve to the third of the dominant 7 chord.
The following exercise demonstrates this very well (with thanks to K. Napper):

Dominant chains, Tri-tone dominants and sus4 chords can all be found in the following
pieces: There’s No Greater Love, I Thought About You, Prelude To A Kiss, Jordu,You
Took Advantage Of Me, Girl From Ipanema, One Note Samba, My Little Boat, Satin
Doll, Peace, The Island, Dolphin Dance. And you can also add them to many other pieces,
where you think it sounds good.

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 7. Diminished-seventh chords

Practice the following B diminished chord with inversions, and then play the exercise
half a tone higher and half a tone lower.

- 38 -
Apply the “Thumb swap” in exercise 3; this makes it technically easier to play.
Find some suitable voicings for the following melodic fragments:

You should also try starting exercise 7 a minor 2nd higher. That way you will play the
“other 6 keys”.

Compare the following: It Could Happen To You, Easy Living, Memories Of You,
Everything Happens To Me, Night And Day, That’s All, Body And Soul, Someone To
Watch Over Me, How Long Has This Been Going On.

- 39 -
 8. Exercises for chords with five voicings

We will start this chapter with 4-voice chords and inversions, similar to what we did in
chapter 1:

In these exercises you are playing the inversions of C6, Cm6, Cmaj7 and Cdim.

- 40 -
Now change the bass notes in the left hand so that you play five-voice chords with a
new root. Listen very carefully to the sound of the chord, and try and figure out the
chord symbol and the function. Once you’ve done that, play the inversions with the
right hand (going up and then back down). For example:

Observations:

Gm6/C = Em7b5/C = C79

Gdim/C would be better notated as Edim/C.

This exercise makes it very obvious how important it is to practice 4-voice chords in
all inversions, in all keys. In the following chord progressions you will benefit greatly
from this:

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The finger positions in the right hand (1235) has to be exchanged with (1245) and every
now and then with (1234). This depends on the combinations of white and black keys.

You can alter and add extensions to the dominant 7 chords yourself!

- 42 -
Now we will come back to the “Zig-zag” progression*): IV – VII – III – VI – II – V – I

Observations:

In some chords, the major 9 doesn’t sound good. This is the case with many (not all!)
half diminished chords and very often with minor 7 chords on the 3rd degree of the scale.
For example, the F# in Em7 in the key of C. The reason for this is that the major 9 is not
part of the scale of that key. Therefore it falls outside of that particular tonality. In these
cases, you can double the root or the melody note (lead).

II – V – I with five voices in mixed positions

In exercise 6 on page 42, you can apply the “Thumb swap” and play the 9 an octave
higher. Or bring the 7 of Dm7 (from exercise 5) an octave down. (called “drop two”).
This gives the following result:

*) © Patrick Schenkius

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Observations:

This voicing (the so-called “Jeepers Creepers” progression) is applicable to many pieces.
The 9 of the Dm7 resolves to the 5th of G7. So you’ll here the parallel inner voices.

The top two notes of the dominant 7 chord are the extensions; you can alter these
systematically. (Tip: take ONE type of alteration/extension and then practice this
systematically in all keys, otherwise you run the risk of getting confused).
For example:

Take a look at the following pieces and try out what you just learned about the “Jeepers
Creepers” progression. Here is the bridge of “Cherokee” by R. Noble:

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In this voicing, the 9 sits on the top as the lead above the minor-7 chord. This is what
makes this voicing very appropriate to play in pieces such as Jeepers Creepers, Laura,
Speak Low, Along Came Betty, etc.
But this voicing can also be used very well in pieces where the 3rd of the chord takes the
lead: You simply have to shift the pinky of the right hand from the 9th to the 3rd. For
example: Autumn Leaves (see below), All The Things You Are, and Here’s That Rainy
Day from bar 9. The question that remains is: can the 9 be played, and if so, then how?
This question arises because the 9 and the 3rd are only a minor second apart.

Here are a few more II - V - I - exercises, with among others, the eleven as an extension
of the minor 7 chord

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 9. Chord symbols with a slash

So-called “Slash” chords can cause a lot of confusion because they can be used in
many situations for many different reasons. The following examples are from various
Real Books and the chords can be interpreted in other ways.

Observations:

The chord symbols here are used to describe the inversion in a classical way; with a
bass note that is not the root of the chord. Don’t double this note!
Jobim wrote Dbdim instead of A/C# and Cm6 instead of F7/C. Compare the following:
Con Alma, Here’s That Rainy Day, Like Someone In Love, Darn That Dream, Waltz
For Debby.

The Cmaj7 chord is not a maj7 chord, but a D7sus4 chord: D7sus4/9/13.

- 46 -
This way of writing the chord has been chosen so that it becomes clear exactly which
extensions appear in the voicing. Aside from that, Cmaj7/D is easier to read than
D7sus4/9/13. Cmaj7 in the chord symbol Cmaj7/D doesn’t explain the harmonic
function, but rather the build-up of the voicing.
In this way, you can see that Db/Eb is actually an Eb7sus4/9 chord. Add a 13 to this
chord, so that you end up playing the same voicing as the D7sus4/9/13 chord in the
previous bar. In a leading chord, you shouldn’t lose any of the voices.

The D7sus4 can also be written as Am7/D

The D in the bass replaces the A. So: there is no A in the chord! Compare the following:
Naima, Dolphin Dance, Infant Eyes.

Observations:

The Eb in the bass acts as a pedal. The harmony moves chromatically, and this in
combination with the bass, creates a special sound.
The chord progression continues independently of the pedal point in the bass. The E
in Fmaj7 is even a “wrong” note.
Be careful of the maj7 in the first bar.

- 47 -
The original chords are:
|| Eb | % | Gb/Eb | % | F/Eb | Fb/Eb | Eb | % ||

We even come across:

|| Eb | % | Ebm7 | % | F7/Eb | E/Eb | Eb | % ||

To learn more about slash chords, you can take a look at Dolphin Dance, Naima, and
A Child Is Born.

Now we have an example where a slash chord is not often used, but where there should

be one!

Observations

The Fm7 chord in the fourth bar suggests the possibility of playing the C (fifth) and the
G (ninth). But the C doesn’t sound good with the melody, and the G is not part of the scale.
The melody points to the 1st inversion of the Db triad. That’s why you should use the chord
symbol Db/F in this spot. We would rather not say it, but Fm7 is wrong. In the 2nd bar of the
bridge, exactly the same thing happens (but a half tone higher = D/F# instead of F#m7). The
chord on the 3rd degree of the scale is often an inversion, rather than a minor 7 chord. See Joy
Spring (bar 5) and Shiny Stockings (bar 7).

Here is another example that can lead to difficulties:

- 48 -
Observations:

The Cm/B chord contains a strong dissonant (C-B). Doesn’t G7/B or Bdim or G7
sound better? The chord symbols in bars 2, 3 and 4 suggest a descending bass line,
but what’s actually descending is the tenor line. So, the notation should be:

| Cm | CmMaj7 | Cm7 | Cm6 ||

Compare the following: In a Sentimental Mood, Blue Skies, This Masquerade,

The Summer Knows, What are you doing the rest of your life?

Conclusion:

Know what the purpose of the chord symbol is, and ask yourself what the function of
the chord is, or should be.

The bass note in a slash chord could be:

-­‐ A chord tone

-­‐ The real root with a special voicing/sound on top. For example: G/C is a C chord
with no 3rd, and is possibly a better way of writing Cmaj7 (no 3.)

-­‐ A pedal note under a series of harmonies

Very often, the original recording or performance is your only real reference. Knowing
the real, original melody almost always gives a definite answer.

- 49 -
 10. Melody and Chords…Again

In this chapter, there will be a summary of all the guidelines we have been through till
now. These can help you with playing and arranging a piece.

As long as you are playing the piano and singing the melody, the melody can be lower
than the chord tones. When you are playing the melody – as well as the harmony – then
the melody must be the highest voice. This is where the following points arise:

- You should be able to exchange a middle voice from your left to your right hand and
vice versa. The “Thumb swap” is the first step.

-­‐ If the melody and the bass get too far away from each other, you can’t play all of the
voices at the same time. You can solve this problem by leaving out the root, for
example, or rhythmically changing the place of chords (or parts of chords). Or you can
let the accompanying voices jump octaves.

-­‐ You have to search for a good-sounding solution when the melody gets very low. You
can leave out voices (the 5th). Remember to avoid going lower than a D below middle C
with the tenor voice.

-­‐ The number of voices in a chord progression doesn’t always have to stay the same.
3 or 4 voice chords can easily and naturally evolve into 5-voice chords or more.

-­‐ You should connect the middle voices with as short a path as possible. Often this is
chromatic and/or descending. (see the voice-leading rules). The exceptions to these
rules are:

If the melody makes a very big jump,

If you end up in the very low range of the keyboard,

If you have thought of some technically difficult things, or you can’t get the result to
sound good (often the same)

-­‐ Extensions or alterations that have been written down don’t always have to be played.
Try to let your ears do the thinking, and listen to lots of beautiful examples. Trust your
own good taste and feel for style.

- 50 -
Steps to keep in mind while learning and studying a piece:

-­‐ Play the key and the scales of the key (the chords) that the piece is in.

-­‐ Where are the modulations? Identify them.

-­‐ Sing the melody and play (the melody) along with your right hand. In tempo.

-­‐ Play the root with your left hand while playing the melody in the right hand and try to
imagine the rest of the harmony. (the “filling”)

-­‐ Play the root in your left hand and the 3rd and 7th in your right hand, while singing the
melody. Eventually play it in tempo.

-­‐ Play the bass line and the melody as the outer voices, and place the 3rd and 7th in the
middle.

-­‐ Add some other voices. Keep the voice-leading rules in mind. Don’t play in tempo to
begin with! Dare to make mistakes and take your time to find good solutions. A
beautiful mistake can lead to unexpectedly beautiful results. Realize that you are
actually arranging. The piano playing will come later.

-­‐ Write the melody in the treble clef, with the specific chord symbols above it, or in the
bass clef. If you do this very precisely, it’s easier to remember the voicings you have
chosen.

-­‐ If you have doubts about the chords or the melody, you can always look up the lead
sheet from a songbook. These are often published by a music publishing company,
and consist of a vocal part (the melody) and a piano part (the written out
accompaniment). Sometimes they also have the guitar symbols written out above the
melody. Usually the lyrics and the verse are also included. These songbooks are
often the closest to the original version.

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 Appendix

In this appendix, I will expand on 3 different sorts of exercises.

Appendix A Cadence-based exercises with or without melody, which are

meant to be played as sequences in all keys.

Appendix B Exercises where you are required to add voicings to a leadsheet

with just melody and chord symbols. Sometimes you will have to
transpose these exercises.

Appendix C You are required to make a piano accompaniment from a normal

lead sheet.

Appendix A

We will start with a voicing which has 2 doubled notes, and go through the seven scales
of the key:

After this you can do several II – V – I progressions, where the left hand should play [1,7]
and [1,3] consecutively:

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In the next exercise we will combine the left-hand techniques described above:

Despite the rule that the melody note can always be doubled, it could be slightly disturbing
for your ears when they hear the doubled third in the G7 chord on the 3rd beat of bar 1 in
exercise 2. This particular situation involves what is called a “Parallel Octave”. This voicing
will become more bearable if we move the root down an octave. This results in a 10th in the
left hand, and it is not possible for everyone to play this large interval.

However, the “Thumb swap” offers a solution! In this case, we can swap thumbs every bar.
This solution is used fairly often. It’s not absolutely necessary, but by doing so we can avoid
the doubled third and therefore the parallel octave. You can achieve this by suspending the
harmonic third in the left hand with a sus4 or sus2 chord, for example. These solutions might
not be very necessary or nice-sounding, but you can see them as an “Experiment around the
third”:

- 53 -
Transpose these exercises to several other keys.

- 54 -
Now we will do some cadence-like exercises, where the eleven (11) will be used as an
extension in the minor 7 chord. These exercises should be played in all keys:

Observations:

A doubled melody note occurs again here: The seventh of the minor 7 chord. As you
probably heard, it sounds good to let these notes resolve in different directions (to the 3rd
in the left hand and the sharp 11 in the right hand).

And now a minor 7/11 chord, but this time the 11 will be played in the left hand:

And now we will combine several different things in a progression of altered chords:

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Here are several other interesting progressions, where the 4th or the 5th is sometimes
played in the left hand:

Observations:

There is a ninth (the note A) added to the Gm7b5 chord in exercise 9. This is a note that
doesn’t belong in the scale of F minor in the following bar. In other words it’s a major
element in a minor scale. That’s why it should resolve as quickly as possible to the b13
of C7 (the Ab).
The 11 is often a better extension to use in a minor 7 chord, which is what happens in
exercise 10.
Fifths in the left hand often sound good. Listen to Thelonious Monk. The lower the better.
But be careful using this in dominant 7 chords. And in cadence-like progressions, it’s
easy to play parallel fifths, which can have a nice effect.

- 56 -
 Appendix B

In appendix B, we will cover some more exercises on voicings, which include

melodies and chords.

These exercises are a continuation of what we covered in chapter 5.

Here is an 8 bar exercise, which you should learn off by heart. This means that you
should sing the melody while analyzing the chords, so that you can hear and visualize
the chords while singing. Start off by just playing the melody!

In exercise 1, you can add some more color to the voicings by adding a fifth voice. If you
write it in with the chords (Dmaj79 or C7/9/13 for example), it’s easier to remember.

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Here are two new exercises, where you will have to “set” the melody inside the voicings
of the given chords:

As I already mentioned on page 32, there is no logical or systematic notation of chord

symbols. Sometimes the melody is indicated by the extensions in a chord symbol, but
extensions can also dictate colors. Sometimes chord tones can be left out, for example
the 3rd in the Cmaj79, or the 7th in Cadd9.

In the next example, all extensions (both melody notes and color tones) will be written out
in the chord symbols. Because of this, you can easily add a nice second voice. Look at the
path of the Db (in Gm7b5) to D (in C79) to Eb (in Am7b5) in bars 7 and 8. Or the
D (in C79) to Db (in C7b9) to C (in Fmaj7) in bars 9 and 10.

In the bridge (similar to “Daydream” by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn), the melody
makes some big leaps. This results in a “Thumb swap” feast! Otherwise it would be
unplayable. You might notice that voice leading becomes less clear, because the 3rd resolves
to the 7th in a different octave and vice versa.

In this case, it makes it much clearer to write everything down on two staves.

- 58 -
- 59 -
Several substitute chords will be shown in the following exercise. Try out all the
possibilities, and think of a few yourself.

Appendix C

In the last part of this appendix, we will look at ways to learn how to accompany a piece.

The melody is our starting point, because we want to support the melody as much as
possible and definitely not get in the way!
That’s why it’s a good start to add some voicings to the melody, just like we did in
appendix B. Then we can see which colors (extensions) we want to play, and whether or
not we want to change the bass-line (by adding substitute chords or, more importantly,
leaving out chords!).

- 60 -
Even though it may seem a bit far away from our goal (accompanying is, of course,
playing an accompaniment without the melody), it is essential to create some voicings
which are set around the melody in order to be able to accompany a piece well. By
doing this, you learn all of the harmonic and rhythmic angles of a piece. That is why
we will start off with a voicing exercise:

Start off by playing the melody by itself, and then just the melody with a bass line. As I
have mentioned earlier, this can sound a little bit strange. After you’ve done this, play the
full chords together with the melody and try to elaborate a bit. This may involve adding
extensions to the chords already there, or adding some new/alternative chords, or even
leaving out some chords. You could end up with the following result:

- 61 -
- 62 -
Now that we have a gained a full understanding of the piece, we can go back to the
leadsheet in exercise 1 on page 61. And now when you play an accompanying part on
the piano, you won’t get in the way of the rhythm and melody.

Here are two possible ways of accompanying that have already been worked out:

- Exercise 3 = Voicings that have been distributed over both hands, which means that
you can’t play an independent bass-line.

-­‐ Exercise 4 = The right hand plays voicings with all the chord tones and extensions. The
left hand plays an independent bass-line.

- 63 -
When you are finishing the exercise (the last A), try to create some rhythmic and
phrasing variation (long – short).

Here is the exercise with the more-or-less independent bass line in the left hand, and
the rootless voicings in the right hand. You can compare the function of the right hand
with that of a Rhythm guitar. By doing so, you will automatically create variations.

- 64 -
Observations:

It’s possible for the bass line to end up in a much lower register, where it will start to
sound a lot more like an actual bass. In the 2nd A, the bass is playing in 4, a “walking
bass-line”. Sometimes this can sound a bit thin on the piano, and to be able to play a
good bass-line requires a lot of knowledge and experience (from a bass player). However,
it’s still very good to practice this in order to develop independence of the hands.

The right hand should be rhythmically flexible and able to play different rhythmic patterns
with different phrasing. You can develop this by practicing a set rhythmic pattern while
playing a chord progression. Then move on to the next pattern. You should always start
slowly and play the bass line in two. Practice various styles: swing, latin, bossa nova, ballad,
funk, straight 8ths feel, 16th feel and rubato.

Hopefully you’ve noticed that you don’t hesitate much when adding the right extensions to
the chords. Certain things should almost “play themselves”. This has everything to do with the
fact that you started off by creating the voicings around the melody.

But you probably also noticed that what we worked out in bar 8, 9 and 10 of exercise 2
on page 60, are not appropriate to use while accompanying. They are beautiful, but only
succeed in complicating or slowing down the rhythm of the piece.

You may experience all of this as the long way round, but the more often you repeat this
procedure, the faster the results will appear. In some cases, the melody will be so clear in
your mind that you can even skip the harmonization of the melody. Sometimes it can also
work well to turn the process around, and start accompanying immediately. Sometimes you
have to do it this way around. But even in these cases, I strongly recommend you to arrange
and harmonize at the piano.

When you start accompanying on the piano, it’s best to choose pieces with melodies that give
you a lot of freedom when it comes to choosing chords. So: Practice the chord changes for
“Rhythm changes” (I’ve got rhythm etc.) in Bb and the blues in C and F. When you know
these keys well, transpose the chords to less common keys! Good minor pieces to practice
are: Blue Bossa, Love Me or Leave Me, You Don’t Know What Love Is, and of course
Autumn Leaves.

And one last exercise in G minor……

Good luck!

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