Welcome to Jazz-School

basic chords

Introduction
previous lesson next lesson
CH
/
Speed 1.00 x

The first jazzy chords are of little help if you can't put them into some meaningful context. A wonderful exercise is to practice the different types of chords that will be explained to you in this course in the circle of fourths. Not only does this train you to effortlessly grasp chords that are still unknown to you, but it also creates a very helpful overview of your fretboard. We practice this progression, which takes you through no less than all twelve keys, with the chord types maj7 and minor7, which are a good start to Jazz School.

Lesson 1Introduction

Duration: min

Let me introduce you to the topics covered in the course "Basic Chords".

Lesson 2From the campfire-chords to the maj7

Duration: min

You can enrich the five campfire chords C, G, D, A and E with the additional note maj7 (major seventh). This tone is the seventh tone of the respective major scale. Instead of thinking your way through seven scale tones up to the maj7, you can think of it being a semitone below the root of the respective chord. The maj7 of C is B, in G it is F#, in D it is C#, in A it is G# and in E it is D#. In the video I show you where you can find all these notes.

Lesson 3maj7 chords in the circle of fourths

Duration: min

Here, you will learn how to play the maj7 chords through all twelve keys with just two different fingerings.

Lesson 4minor7 chords in the circle of fourths

Duration: min

In contrast to the maj7, the minor seventh, which is given the abbreviation 7, is two semitones below the root note of the respective chord. Here I'll show you how to play minor 7th chords. Then we play m7 through the circle of fourths with just two fingerings and reach all twelve keys.