It might sound a little complicated to understand right now, but it’s actually quite simple once you understand the reasoning behind it, and why it works. I am taking the melody note, and building a So What chord underneath each melody note. Yes this is a very useful reharmonisation technique that I use a lot in my jazz piano playing. This is a good thing because it means you are exposing yourself to more complicated topics. Don’t worry if something in the lesson does not make sense. We apply some of the basic theory: major 251s, chord extensions and we touch upon chord alterations. This is because you are given a lot of creative freedom to interpret (or completely change!) the melody, chords, voicings, phrasing etc… If you are coming from a classical background, learning to interpret lead sheets will be an initial challenge. The chord symbols are notated above the stave to indicate what chord should be played. Unlike classical piano notation, lead sheets usually just contain one stave of music containing the melody. It’s a great tune for beginners because the form is short and there are a number of major 251 progressions for applying basic jazz theory. This lesson provides an introduction on how to read lead sheets for jazz piano. The first jazz standard lesson in the PianoGroove course is Miles Davis’ ‘Tune Up’.
