Chords for 10 Master Jazz Standards You Need to Know

[Eb] Alright, what's up?
Brent here [C] from LearnJazzStandards [Db].com and in today's video [Ab] I'm going to be talking to you about [Eb] 10
Master [Bb] Jazz [Eb] Standards that every [Bb] Jazz musician [A] needs [B] to know.
[Eb] You know when it comes to becoming [Bb] a better [B] jazz
improviser, better jazz [Bb] musician in [C] general, [Bbm] we have to be learning [G] jazz standards because jazz [Bb] standards are the [A] vehicles in which jazz musicians use
to [Db] improvise.
If we want to go to jam sessions, if we want to play at gigs, even if we want to improve [G] in the
practice room, we have to be working on jazz standards.
And like [A] one of my favorite jazz musicians, [G] jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein once said to me,
let the tunes teach [B] you how to play because within the tunes is [D] all the music theory, all the [C] improv lessons, all the different
harmonic and [A] rhythmic elements that you need to learn [Ab] how to navigate as a jazz musician.
So I believe that if we hone in on just several or a [Eb] couple
jazz standards and really get inside of those, we can actually learn how to play
hundreds of more [Ab] standards and understand how to play them better,
learn them easier if we just hone [Bb] in on a few.
And so [C] that's why I'm giving out today [B] my 10 Master Jazz
Standards, the ones that I think [Db] you should all study and get inside of those and in return
it's gonna be so much easier to play all the rest of them.
Okay, [B] here we go.
All right, number one, [Eb] Autumn Leaves.
Autumn Leaves is a classic jazz standard.
[A] Everybody has to know this one and I always like to start [G] my students on this one because [Ab] it teaches us some very
[B] important lessons.
And not only that, if you want to play at a jazz jam session or a gig,
[Db] it's likely gonna be [Bbm] called so it's important to know.
Now the two [Ab] lessons that are really important is the study in relative
keys.
So [B] you have the relative major key and the [Ab] relative minor key.
And [A] also on top of that,
it's the great study of
2 [C]-5-1 chord progressions, both in a minor key and [Ab] both in a major key.
And 2-5-1 chord progressions are by [B] far
the most important chord progression [G] that you need to work on in jazz because they [Bb] will come up [Ab] time [A] and time again.
[Dbm] So number one is Autumn [Bb] Leaves.
Make sure [Fm] you know that one.
Now number two is [G] All the Things You Are.
Now All the Things You Are,
it's one of my personal favorite jazz standards.
I [Bb] love playing it in multitude of different ways, in different settings, [B] in different bands, different groups and [Eb] feels.
It's a lot of fun to play.
And one of [Db] the greatest lessons it can [Bb] teach us is the cycling [B] of
fourths with chord progressions.
It starts on a concert F minor, which is the sixth chord of the key center,
[A] which is concert A [Bb]-flat major, and it [Ab] cycles in fourths throughout the tune.
Not only that, it travels through a bunch of different key [Bbm] centers,
which is a great practice for navigating those [Ab] kind of tricky passages and tricky key [B] center transitions.
But [Ab] definitely the main takeaway there is it's [Db] a great [Bb] study in cycling chords in [A] fourths,
which comes up time and time again in jazz [Eb] repertoire.
All right now, jazz standard number [C] three is So What by Miles [D] Davis.
It can be heard on his
[B] classic album Kind of Blue.
It's that really important record that everybody needs to check out.
And the [Ab] reason I have So What on my master standards [Eb] list is
because it is a great introductory into [A] modal [E] harmony.
Now modal harmony,
[Db] that means that it's not [C] tied down and it's not related [Ab] to functional harmony with a key [Eb] center.
It's more based on the modes [C] like Dorian, Phrygian, Locrian, all this [Dbm] stuff.
So in the case of So What, [Ab] it's starting in D Dorian and then eventually goes to E-flat
Dorian.
[A] And that's kind of how you
[Ab]
improvise is off of the modes.
[Eb] And it's a different kind of harmony, different kind of function.
And so So What is a great [A] introduction tune into modal harmony.
[Dbm] All right, number four is Blue [Ab] Bossa [B] by Kenny Dorham.
Now, this is a great tune [D] because [C] I kind of consider it a little bit of an entry-level tune.
The melody [B] is really simple.
Melody is really nice.
It's just a simple 16 [E] bar form.
And it's also a good introduction into bossa novas.
It's [C] not a true bossa nova like [Bbm] a composition by Antonio [Ab] Carlos Jobim,
[Gbm] but it's a great kind [B] of way to get your feet wet into that realm.
And it's a great way to [A] start navigating minor keys as well.
So Blue Bossa
must learn [Db] that song.
And number five is [B] It Could Happen to You.
Now [Dm] this song, it really covers a lot of diatonic [Ab] functional harmony.
1-6-2-5 [A]-1 chord progressions, 2-5-1s.
It takes a trip into the relative minor.
It really covers all the harmonic elements that you need to know.
So that's why I highly suggest [G] It Could Happen to You.
So number five, It Could Happen [Eb] to You.
And [Dbm] number six is Sweet [Gbm] Georgia Brown.
Now Sweet Georgia [A] Brown is a really classic song.
It was written back, like way back in the [Ab] early jazz days.
It was used [Db] in the swing [Bb] era, gypsy jazz, and it's still used today,
even in modern [Bbm] jazz scenes and on jam sessions.
Now the great [G] study of this one that you should really pay attention to [A] is
cycling dominant seventh chords.
It starts on an F, [Bb] concert F7,
goes to a Bb7, to an [Ab] Eb7, into the key center, which is [Bb] Abmaj7.
And really being [Ab] able to navigate these dominant seventh chords [Am] is really important.
It will [G] come out time and time again in other kinds of jazz songs,
such as Rhythm Changes Tunes.
Now number [Ab] seven is All of Me.
Now All of Me,
[C] I suggest learning this one because it's [G] impossible to [Ab] play at a gig or a jam
session without [G] knowing this song.
[C] It's so classic.
It's [G] so called upon.
In fact, on our YouTube channel,
[Ab] of all the play alongs that we have listed up there,
it's one of the top viewed play along videos for people to practice along [Db] with.
So no matter what, you have to learn All [G] of Me.
And just for that reason, I have it in my [E] master's list.
Number eight is On [G] Green Dolphin Street.
Now,
[Bb] On Green Dolphin Street is a really unique song,
has a lot of pedals in the first eight bars.
And so for that reason,
there's some unconventional harmony going on [A] there.
That's great to study.
[G] But the main reason I think it's great to study this [B] is that it's a great
example of moving up a minor third to a new key center.
[A] And that happens [Ab] at a lot of other jazz standards.
So you want to be able to recognize that harmony when it happens.
And that's what's going on in On [B] Green Dolphin Street.
Now, number nine,
we're almost at the end here is Stella by Starlight.
Now Stella by Starlight is an incredibly complex harmonically speaking tune.
And a lot of beginners [Gb] learn this song for some reason right away.
And I think it's odd because it is so [Db] complex, but it has a beautiful melody.
It's so common that you really do have to know it.
And just by exploring this tune with this complex harmony and sometimes
non-functioning harmony,
it can [Abm] really open up things for you and help you understand [Am] how everything
works in music in general.
So that's definitely one to learn number [G] nine Stella [C] by Starlight.
Now,
last but not least, number 10 [A] is Have You Met Miss Jones.
Now the reason I say [Bb] Have You Met Miss Jones,
it teaches us a couple of different things.
First,
there's the passing [Ab] diminished chord that happens [A] when the first four bars,
it's in concert F major.
Then it goes up to [E] a F sharp diminished seven [Ab] to a two chord, the G [Eb] minor seven.
And that F sharp diminished seven [Ab] is actually a substitute for the dominant
sixth chord.
[C] So instead of going [Bb] a one, six, two, five,
it goes [D] one sharp [G] one [B] diminished two, five.
So [A] it's a lesson there with the passing diminished chord,
but also the bridge [Db] is incredibly complex.
And in fact,
the key centers are moving in thirds.
And some [B] say that John Coltrane actually got his inspiration [A] for his Coltrane changes.
Like we hear in Giant Steps and [Db] Countdown from the bridge of [Ab] Have You Met Miss
Jones.
So that's a really important [G] jazz standard to study.
Okay.
So [C] that's my 10 master jazz standards.
Now here's the question of the day that I want you to answer.
What [Bb] is your favorite jazz standard and why?
Let me know in the comments [B] below.
Love to hear, love for everybody to share their thoughts.
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