Harmonic Motion for the Modern Jazz Pianist

By George Colligan
Wed, 23 Apr 2014

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French composer Claude Debussy was quoted as saying, “There is no theory. There is only sound.”
In many ways, he was right. The rules of musical harmony are a wonderful thing indeed, but music
is a place where it can be safe to break rules. I believe that a combination of foundation and
experimentation is the best approach when it comes to musical creativity. Jazz pianists often learn
typical chord progressions that can be used to play standards, compose tunes, and learn how to
improvise. But how do we get beyond these typical progressions to create new sounds of our own?

1. Chord Scales

Ex. 1 looks at chord-scale relationships. Which came first, the chord or the scale? Well, early Greek
and Medieval music was based on scales. (The Greeks called them modes). Harmony occurred
only as a byproduct of contrapuntal melodies. It wasn’t until the 17th century that the idea of tonal
harmony or “chords” began to develop. From Bach to Mozart to Beethoven to Debussy and then to
jazz, we can look at harmony as a “vertical” structure. However, bebop (e.g., Charlie Parker) is often
analyzed more “horizontally,” that is, in terms of its scalar melodies. So essentially, a chord is a
scale . . . is a chord. You can use the same chord scale with different bass notes. For example, take
the D Dorian mode (the minor scale with a natural sixth and flat seventh). If you put D in the bass,
your chord is a Dmin7 (voiced with the flat third, sixth, and ninth). But when you put a G in the bass,
you get a G7 (or the G Mixolydian mode). If you put an F in the bass, you get an Fmaj7#11 (or the F
Lydian mode). With an A in the bass, you get an Amin7b6 (or the A Aeolian mode). And so on. So
one scale can lead you in many different directions, depending on which bass note you choose.
2. Disguised Progressions

Jazz education spends a lot of time dissecting progressions like the ubiquitous ii-V-I. But we can
alter these standard chord movements in many ways by using disguised progressions, like those
seen in Ex. 2. Try making the progression minor (Dmin7b5, G7b9, then Cmin maj7). Make it
suspended (D7sus11, G7sus11, C7sus11). Combine the two (Dmin maj7, G7sus4b9, Cmaj7#5).
Use tri-tone substitutions (Ab7, Db7, Cmaj7). Now mix and match all those! There are endless
possibilities within even the “known” harmonic universe.

3. Non-Functional Harmony

Want to go even farther into the great unknown? The first step is to get away from standard motion
like the “cycle of fourths,” chromatic chordal movements, ii-V-I, or common chord substitutions, and
try employing non-functional harmony like that illustrated in Ex. 3. Try using whole-steps, minor
thirds, or major thirds in your progressions. Here, harmony is more about color than function.
4. More with Bass Notes

On my latest album The Endless Mysteries, the tune entitled “Her Majesty” begins with the chords
Db/F, Amaj7/E, B/D#, and Gmaj7/D. The bass motion is chromatic, but the chords on top are non-
functional, as seen in Ex. 4. You can almost think of these chords as inversions. Note how different
the progression sounds when played in a more traditional manner: Dbmaj7, Amaj7, Bmaj7, Gmaj7.

5. Density and Polytonality

Before the piano was invented, counterpoint and then harmony was a product of multiple voices or
instruments playing different melodic lines. These days, we have incredible access to sounds that
our musical ancestors couldn’t have dreamed of. So why not explore them? As long as you’re
consistent in the types of sounds you use, you can’t go wrong. Many 20th-century European
classical composers have also used bitonality or polytonality in their work, illustrated in Ex. 5. (Note:
In jazz, polytonality is sometimes confused with “slash chords.” However, there’s a big difference
between simply using a different bass note and truly using two keys at once).