How to Play Jazz Standards on Piano

A comprehensive guide on how to play jazz standards on piano. Includes tips and tricks on how to make your playing sound more authentic.

Introduction

In this article, we’ll give you a brief introduction to playing jazz standards on piano. Jazz standards are musical compositions that are widely known, performed and recorded by jazz artists as part of the genre’s musical repertoire.

A jazz standard can be a pop song, Broadway tune or even a classical piece that has been adopted by the jazz community and given a new life. Some well-known examples of jazz standards include “Summertime,” “My Funny Valentine” and “Body and Soul.”

Playing jazz standards is a great way to not only improve your skills as a pianist, but also to gain a deeper understanding of the genre itself. When approaching a jazz standard, it’s important to listen to as many interpretations as possible in order to get a feel for the different ways the tune can be played.

Once you have a good understanding of the tune, you can start to add your own personal touch, making the piece your own. In this article, we’ll walk you through some tips on how to approach playing jazz standards on piano.

The 12-Bar Blues

The 12-bar blues is one of the most commonly used chord progressions in popular music. It’s used in countless songs in a variety of genres, including rock, pop, jazz, and country.

If you’re a beginning piano player, the 12-bar blues is a great place to start. In this post, we’ll show you how to play a basic 12-bar blues chord progression in the key of C.

First, let’s take a look at the chord progression we’ll be using:
“`
| C – – – | – – – – | C – – – | – – – – |
| F – – – | C – – – | F ˈ-ˌ- ˈ| C-ˌ- ˈ|
| G7-ˌ- ˈ| F-ˌ- ˈ| C-ˌ- ˈ| G7-ˌ- ˈ|
“`

The 2-5-1 Progression

The 2-5-1 progression is by far the most common chord progression in jazz. If you learn just this one progression, you’ll be able to play a huge number of jazz standards. The 2-5-1 progression is so common that it’s often referred to as “the heart of jazz.”

The 2-5-1 progression is made up of three chords: the 2nd, 5th, and 1st chords of a major scale. In the key of C, these chords are Dm7, G7, and Cmaj7. You can see how these chords are related to the C major scale in the following diagrams.

Other Progression

There are countless ways to play jazz standards on piano, but one of the most popular progressions is the ii-V-I progression. This progression starts on the second chord of the scale (the ii chord), then moves to the fifth chord (the V chord), and finally resolves on the first chord (the I chord). This progressions is found in countless songs, including “Autumn Leaves,” “All the Things You Are,” and “Fly Me to the Moon.”

Other common progressions include the I-vi-ii-V progression (found in “Someday My Prince Will Come” and “My Funny Valentine”), and the I-vi-ii-V-I progression (found in “How High the Moon” and “Misty”). Experiment with different progressions to find what sounds best for each tune.

Conclusion

Jazz standards are a key part of every jazz pianist’s repertoire. They provide a great opportunity to practice your improvisation skills and to develop your own style.

There are many ways to approach playing a jazz standard. In this article, we’ve looked at three different approaches: the “lead sheet” approach, the “fake book” approach, and the “ transcribed solo” approach. Each of these approaches has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it’s up to you to decide which one is right for you.

No matter which approach you choose, remember that the most important thing is to have fun and enjoy the music!