Jazz Piano Sheet Music for Beginners

This article is a collaborative effort, crafted and edited by a team of dedicated professionals.

Contributors: Andranick Tanguiane, Fred Lerdahl,

Contents

Looking for some quality jazz piano sheet music for beginners? Look no further! We’ve got a great collection of pieces that will get you started on the right foot.

Start with the Basics

As a beginner, you should start with the basics when it comes to jazz piano sheet music. The good news is, there are a lot of resources available online and in libraries to help you get started. In this section, we will talk about some of the resources that you can use to help you get started with learning jazz piano.

Choose the right jazz piano sheet music

When you are a beginner jazz piano player, choosing the right sheet music to learn from can be a daunting task. However, it is important to remember that there are many different ways to approach learning jazz piano, and that each person will have their own preferences.

One of the best ways to find good jazz piano sheet music is to ask other musicians for recommendations. If you know any experienced jazz pianists, they may have some suggestions for pieces that they think would be suitable for beginners. Another option is to look online; there are many websites that offer sheet music for sale, and some of them specialize in jazz piano music.

Once you have found some potential pieces of sheet music to learn, it is important to take some time to listen to recordings of them before you start learning. This will give you a better idea of how the piece should sound, and will also help you to get a feel for the rhythm and flow of the piece. If possible, try to find a recording by a well-known jazz pianist; this will give you an idea of how the piece can be played at a high level.

Once you have selected some pieces of sheet music, it is time to start learning! Remember that practice makes perfect; the more you play, the better you will become at jazz piano. In addition, don’t be afraid to experiment with the pieces you are learning; improvising is an important part of playing jazz piano, and it is often through experimentation that great musicians find their own unique sound.

Understand the different clefs

In order to understand how to read sheet music, you need to be familiar with the different clefs. The clef is a symbol at the beginning of a line of music that denotes which note corresponds to which line or space. The three most common clefs are the treble clef, the bass clef, and the alto clef.

The treble clef, also known as the G clef, is used for high-pitched instruments such as the violin, flute, and oboe. The bass clef, also known as the F clef, is used for low-pitched instruments such as the cello, trombone, and bassoon. The alto clef, also known as the C clef, is used for middle-range instruments such as viola and tambourine.

Once you know which clef is being used, you can begin to read the sheet music. Notes on the treble and bass clefs are represented by lines and spaces. The notes on the alto clef are represented by lines only. These notes correspond to specific pitches on a piano keyboard. For example, middle C on a piano keyboard is represented by a note on the space in between the treble and bass clefs.

Once you know how to read sheet music in oneclef, you can begin to learn other clefs as well. This will allow you to play a wider range of instruments and pieces of music.

Learn the Basic Chords

Major chords

There are three types of chords, which are distinguished by their root notes:
-Major chords: These contain a root, major third, and perfect fifth. To construct a major chord, take the first, third, and fifth notes of a major scale. For example, the C Major chord contains the notes C (the root), E (the third), and G (the fifth).
-Minor chords: These contain aroot, minor third, and perfect fifth. To construct a minor chord, take the first, flattened third, and fifth notes of a major scale. For example, the A Minor chord contains the notes A (the root), C (the flattened third), and E (the fifth).
-Diminished chords: These contain a root, minor third, and flattened fifth. To construct a diminished chord, take the first, flattened third, and flattened fifth notes of a major scale. For example, the B Diminished chord contains the notes B (the root), D (the flattened third), and F (the flattened fifth).

Minor chords

There are three main types of chords: major, minor, and dominant. Each type of chord has a different sound, and the type of chord you use will determine the overall tone of your chord progression. In this lesson, we’re going to focus on minor chords.

Minor chords are one of the most commonly used types of chords in jazz. They have a darker, more melancholic sound than major chords, and are often used to create moods of sadness, longing, or introspection. Minor chords are typically made up of a root note, a minor third, and a fifth. For example, the C minor chord is made up of the notes C, Eb, and G.

If you’re just starting out playing jazz piano, learning how to play minor chords is a great place to start. In this lesson, we’ll show you how to play three essential minor chords: C minor, A minor, and G minor.

Seventh chords

Seventh chords are chords that have four notes: the root, third, fifth and seventh. The seventh note of the major scale is added to a triad (a three-note chord), forming a four-note chord. The intervals between the root, third, fifth and seventh of a seventh chord are major 3rd, perfect 5th and minor 7th.

Seventh chords are often simply called “sevenths.” They can be either major sevenths or minor sevenths. Major sevenths have a bright sound, while minor sevenths tend to be darker sounding.

Here is an example of a C Major Seventh chord:

Get Familiar with Jazz Standards

Jazz piano sheet music for beginners can be overwhelming. There are so many great jazz standards and it can be hard to know where to start. A great way to get familiar with jazz standards is to listen to them. You can find a list of jazz standards and listen to them online. Once you have a feel for the tune, you can start to look for sheet music.

“Autumn Leaves”

One of the most popular jazz standards, “Autumn Leaves” was originally a French song called “Les Feuilles Mortes.” It was composed by Joseph Kosma with lyrics by Jacques Prévert and Georges Pelletier. The song became popular in the United States in the 1950s after it was recorded by artists such as Johnny Mercer, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra.

There are many different ways to approach playing “Autumn Leaves.” For beginners, one option is to start by learning the melody. Once you have the melody down, you can begin to add in some basic chords. As you become more comfortable with the song, you can start to experiment with different voicings and embellishments.

Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced jazz musician, “Autumn Leaves” is a great tune to add to your repertoire.

“Fly Me to the Moon”

“Fly Me to the Moon”, originally titled “In Other Words”, is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. Kaye Ballard made the first recording of the song the year it was written. The song was made popular by Frank Sinatra and has since been recorded by many other artists. It has become a standard and is sometimes referred to as a “jazz standard”.

The song is 36 measures long and is played in the key of F major without any modulation. It has a 4/4 time signature and a slow, bossa nova-like groove. The melody is simple and consists of only 16 notes in total. The lyrics are just as simple, consisting of only three different verses.

“Fly Me to the Moon” has been recorded by dozens of artists over the years, including: Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Diana Krall, Michael Bublé, and many others.

“Summertime”

“Summertime” is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by DuBose Heyward. The song was first published in 1934. It was introduced in the 1936 opera Porgy and Bess. The lyrics are full of imagery related to the hot summer days and nights of the South Carolina Sea Islands, where Heyward lived and set his novel Porgy, on which the opera was based.

The song became a pop standard, appearing on numerous jazz and pop albums from the 1930s onward. It has been covered by many artists such as Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, Wes Montgomery, McCoy Tyner, Oscar Peterson and Regina Carter.

Experiment with Improvisation

If you’re interested in playing jazz piano, one of the best things you can do is experiment with improvisation. This means learning to play by ear and developing your own style. Jazz piano sheet music can be a great resource for beginners, as it can help you learn the basic chords and progressions used in jazz.

Learn the 12-bar blues

The blues is one of the simplest and most popular forms of jazz piano. It’s a great style to start with if you’re new to improvisation because the chord progression is easy to remember and there are many possibilities for embellishing the melody.

The 12-bar blues is a chord progression that follows a specific pattern of chords, usually lasting 12 measures (bars). The lyrics of a 12-bar blues often tell a story of hardship and heartache, which is reflected in the minor key tonality and slow tempo of the music.

While the structure of a 12-bar blues is always the same, there is a lot of room for creativity in how you improvise over the chord progression. In this lesson, we’ll explore some basic improvisational techniques that you can use to make your blues playing sound more authentic.

Try out some scat singing

Scat singing is a great way to experiment with improvisation. It’s a style of singing that uses nonsense syllables to create a melody. You can use any combination of sounds, but it’s often helpful to start with vowel sounds like “ooh” and “aah.” Once you get started, you can add in consonants and other syllables to create more interesting melodies.

One of the best things about scat singing is that there are no rules. You can make up your own melody, or you can follow along with a piece of jazz piano sheet music. Either way, you’ll be able to practice your improvisation skills and have a lot of fun in the process.

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