We’re going to call this C note the root of the chord. Middle C is the C key located directly in the middle of the keyboard. On your keyboard, move your right thumb to the Middle C. Major chords are simple chords that can be built from any key on the piano. Chords, by the way, are defined as two or more notes being played at the same time. We’ll start with how to build Major chords. There are three categories of basic chords: Major, Minor, and Diminished.

Like most elements in music theory, chords are built off of simple formulas. If you want to learn how to play the complex chords in jazz music, you’ll need to start with basic chords. Many great jazz musicians learned how to play the piano without a trace of music theory training, but we’re going to explain the music theory behind jazz to give you a better understanding of things. We’re going to cover some basic music theory terms, so be sure to check out our article on music theory for musicians if you need some extra information. To get started with beginning jazz piano, you’ll need a keyboard and a sheet of paper. Getting Started with Beginning Jazz Piano Ragtime composers like Scott Joplin began incorporating sophisticated chord voicings into their work, and this paved the way for blues and then jazz.

Ragtime was developed by black musicians playing in bars, brothels, and clubs in the early 1900’s. Western European music contributed what would become the blueprints for modern song as well as hundreds of years of harmonic influence and complex instrumentation.īefore there was jazz there was blues, and before there was blues there was ragtime. African music brought hugely-impactful ideas to American jazz music like call and response phrasing and the unique harmonic influence of African spirituals that later became hymns. Early jazz is often said to be the combination of complex African rhythms and western European harmonies, but it in reality both cultures contributed much more to the art form than that. During the turn of the 20th century, African American folk songs began to intertwine with traditional European music in cities like New Orleans, St Louis, and Chicago. The history of jazz is as vast, complicated, and sprawling as the music itself. Today we’re going to walk you through some jazz piano basics to help get you started, but first let’s talk about what jazz music is and the impact it’s had on music today. But beginning jazz piano doesn’t have to be intimidating. After all, jazz music contains some of music’s most sophisticated approaches to chord and rhythm structures. For beginning piano students, taking on the task of learning how to play jazz might seem like a monumental task. Jazz music has changed and informed the world’s musical landscape in subtle and seismic ways. Without a doubt, jazz music is one of the great American art forms.

Jazz chord piano chart