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Wow Chris. That's amazing. Now I don't remember. Did we ever make notation for the shell voicings with melody, or the 1/7,3/5/9 voicings? If we did I don't think I made a link at the Index section.

We should probably do that so Keystring and our many new participants can learn the 'Traditional' notation. You're a great help Chris! Thanks a bunch.

Thanks again, Chris. Another welcome addition to my AL practice folder. (Edited in the spirit of camaraderie with our sister forum.)

Well actually I'm trying to understand the language and relate it to what I already know.

So Am7 - AG (Root + b7) is the chord plus the explanation?
Then Am7 is the actual chord and whatever follows is not something new but just explaining it?

I understand that Am7 is a minor 7th chord starting on A. If that is correct, then my notes are A C E G, because that is what it would be as a minor 7th chord. So for my understanding, I need to know that Am7 means minor 7th chord.

So "root + b7" explains that this is the root chord of the A minor scale and "b" must mean it is diminished by a 2nd, or flatted, perhaps (b is flat?) but I don't need to look at that part if I know what a minor 7th chord is. I just need the Am7 part. No need to change your explanations for me - I just have to understand the language. Thanks.

What I've done is look at the chord info from GMM1 and play with the first chapter, see what it means according to what I know. That's the one that says I IV V covers all the notes of the scale. I played around with the notes of a scale seeing which of the chords fit with which and so got the idea. I'm already doing that in harmony theory but not as freely. I'm just going to get familiar with the language and seeing music from this angle before doing anything in this thread for a while. I think the main thing will simply be what things are called that I know already in a different way. I'm going to figure out some things on my own and then ask questions as they come.

A first one would be, if you are writing down a I, IV, or V chord (triad) do you just call it I, or A, or what?

Keystring: the first chord in Autumn Leaves is a IV-chord. The key of Autumn Leaves (in the version we are working on)is Em.

root + b7 is ( ex) root=C and b7=Bb
which you can play on any m7 or 7 chord.

root + 7 is (ex) root=C and 7=B
which you can play on any Maj7 chord

(keep them a seventh apart)

Ok. At Jazzwee's request, here's the melody with 1-7 voicings. pdf

Here's the LH 1-7, RH 3-5-9 voicings: pdf

and to really bake your noodle's, here's a pro-version of LH voicings: pdf
these are voicings I would use for playing w a trio.

Chris, does Am7 mean that it is a minor 7th chord, which means my notes are ACEG?

Do I need the additional information "root + b7", or is that only for those who need to learn what a minor 7th is?

I am not working on Autumn Leaves yet. I want to get familiar with the language first. I'm exploring the info gmm1 gave to get a feel for it.

What does "b" mean in b7. Is it the same thing as "flat" i.e. reducing a note by a semitone?

"root" as I understand it is the bottom note of a triad in root position. Are you using it to mean the triad as a whole, i.e. AC#E, where A is the root?

I think I'm getting bogged down by the explanation of a concept I already understand, and the explanation is throwing me. That's why I need the vocabulary. For example, if there is just a thing as AM7, and if that means a major 7 chord with a root triad of A major, then I know what that means and how to form it.

The first thing I'm doing is to explore theory presented in the other fasion so that I can catch the language. I should get most of it that way and then I'll come in with any questions.

double post

Yes. Am7 means= A minor seven = A C E G

root+b7 is shorthand for playing an interval of a minor seventh.

b means flat as in Bb, Eb, Db, etc
b7 means a minor seventh; b3 is a minor third, etc.

Yes a root is the bottom note in root position

Yes there is such a thing as a AM7. :-)
AM7 = A Major seven = A C# E G#
A major seven comes in many different spellings: AMaj7, AM7, Amaj7, A(pyramid)7. sorry i don't have any pyramid symbols :-D

Look through the pdf's I just posted, it should get you up and running (or down and playing).

At first glance, of the three, the pro voicings make the most sense to me. In the first, a seventh is indicated, but there are only three notes. I don't want to just be able to play by reading the score, or I'm not doing much different from classical music. I want to understand what the chord names mean so that I can play with them. With what you have posted I can extrapolate what they mean so that I can understand any chord name. I'll play with all of that a bit until I get a picture and then I'll pop up again with questions. Thanks a lot!

Jazzwee, again thanks for your further lessons. I particularly like your clear simple explanations, giving the reasons behind them & which certainly are assisting me in understanding, what we are all trying to do. I have just one problem & that is putting it all into practice & sounding half decent. But I'm working on it!

Just a little further clarification on Part 3, the notes for AL. Are there a couple of typos or is my own theory incorrect?

Chord Am7 should it be G,B,C, E (7+9+b3+5)?

Should D7 be F#, B,C, E (3+13+b7+9)?

Finally in Em7 should the D# be F#? (9)?

Also a big thanks to ChrisBell for the pdfs.

as i interpreted jazzwee's chords it's as it's written.
nothing wrong with having the fourth in instead of the fifth. it just adds another colour.
:-)

same thing with the other chords.

in fact putting a D# together with a D-natural makes for a wicked sound!

remember this all interpretations of a basic chord symbol. depending on the setting, tempo, etc I would choose one or the other voicing.
that's one of the reasons that i love about jazz - and not to ramble on it too much . . . once upon a time this was valid in playing, for instance; barock music.

Thanks Chris, I understand, what you are saying. However, I was relating it to the theory in Part 2 & the suggested composition of the different chords.

When playing the rootless voicings with the occasional root in the left hand, is it correct to play with no pedal, when playing the root & then the chord?

What is the recommended way of playing say 2 measures,(e.g. Am7, D7). Would you play first with root on 1 (quarter note), the rootless chord over 2 to 4 (dotted halfnote) & then simply the next rootless chord over the second measure from 1 to 4 (semibreve) or would you play shorter note with additional stabs on the offbeat? Finally would the notes be played for their full lengths and would any be accented?

Thanks.

Aha, you are correct in that they are different.
I interpreted that Part 3 is a suggestion of another voicing (we pianists sure like our voicings!) :-)

As for playing with a pedal or not, it depends on the piano, what sound I want to create, the tempo I'm playing at and my mood for the day.
My tip is to experiment consciously. And listen really hard.
In my early jazz years I used to pedal all the time until one lesson at Newcastle College with a great jazz piano teacher he asked me "why?". A really good question which woke me up to the fact of what sound do I want to create, not just bang away at the keyboard.

Kanga, Many thanks for spotting the typos. You got it all correct so that's extremely good. I made the corrections up top.

Keystring, regarding the chords, in Jazz, there's an issue of

A. Chord Spelling
B. Chord Voicing

You are absolutely correct that you SPELL 'Am7' as 'A C E G'.

However, there's the issue of 'Voicing' the chord, how to distribute the chords between the two hands, and what extensions to add to generate color to the harmony. So in Autumn Leaves, we are teaching first to 'Voice' a chord using only two notes, the root and the 7th of the chord (which is A and G in Am7). This is then voiced lower on the keyboard, so the entire interval is below middle C. This is the foundation of the BASS voicing of Jazz solo piano.

Later in the lessons, we add more notes in the bottom and then more notes on the RH to arrive at a full voicing. By teaching in this manner, we are enabling you guys and gals to play any tune given a 'Leadsheet'.

In Jazz, tunes are published in a book such as the REAL BOOK series, available at any bookstore, and it's chock full of leadsheets for any tune. Given the exact lessons we've done here and lots of practice, you could play a shell/simplified version of any tune. Then as you analyze it, you enhance it with a fuller sound. But that comes later.

The techniques taught here are no different than what would be played by a professional jazz musician when trying out a tune for the first time. I use these techniques every day.

This is so funny. I realize this is just a typo, but in SOME WAYS it is not! I actually voice the D7 in Autumn Leaves with no root and a D# But let's not go there. This was not my intent at this stage.

When we get to an advanced level, there's some pretty exciting sounds with substitutions like this.

Chris, sorry for messing you up but please make the corrections if you used by unintended voicings. Thanks man!

Hm, it sounds a bit like harmony minus the middle, only in real time. Thanks, I'm more oriented now.

The middle is filled in the RH, as you will find out later. Voicings allow you to use the full range of registers of the piano as well as add extensions.

In the advanced level of voicing Am7, it is voiced two handed as
Left Hand: A, G, Right Hand: C, E, B.

Or Rootless Left Hand only, as
C E G B.

Now these are advanced lessons (Lesson 6 and 7). Since you're familiar with classical theory, notice that the Am7 when voiced in Jazz LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE A 'C MAJOR 7'! These are the discoveries one will make in the study of Jazz and will expose one to a fuller understanding of Harmony.

Ah so much for interpretation, it just shows that knowing to much is to much sometimes.
I've corrected the pdf.

But I still like the D# together with a D-natural.

Don't get me started on that subject!