What is Side-Slipping?

Side-slipping is a technique used by Jazz pianists. It works by transposing the chord voicing you're playing up or down by a step (either a half-step or whole-step).

By transposing the chord voicing like this, ' in parallel', you almost always move out of the key you're in, into a new key. This creates an interesting sounding modulation - which is perfect for Jazz.

When can you use Side-Slipping?

Side-slipping can be applied to any type of Jazz piano chord. That includes major 7 chords, minor 7 chords, dominant 7 chords, half-diminished chords, major 6 chords, minor 6 chords, minor-major 7 chords.

You can apply Side-slipping to any type of chord voicing. That includes shells (shell voicings), rootless voicings, open voicings, upper structure triads, 4th voicings, and more.

Just make sure you're transposing every single note in the chord voicing accurately, every note by the same precise interval (either a half-step or whole-step).

What do you do after you've Side-slipped the chord?

After you've moved away to the new chord, it usually works best to come back to the original chord. So you'll play the original chord, then side-slip up or down by a step or half-step, and then to return to the original chord again.

Side-slipping is ideal for Jazz piano.

Side-slipping can be used in other genres, but it works perfectly in Jazz piano, when playing a Jazz standard.

You don't need to play the Side-Slipping technique loudly or make a big thing of it. I like to play quietly when I use Side-slipping, because it already sounds so good. It's effortless.

What will I learn in this lesson?

In this lesson I explain the dos and don'ts of 'Side-Slipping' for Jazz piano.

I'll show you when to use Side-Slipping when playing Jazz Standards, and the trigger I look for in a melody to use Side-Slipping.

I'll also show you how to practice Side-Slipping at the piano.

Is there anything to help me learn Side-Slipping?

To go with this lesson, I've written a free chord voicing ebook for Jazz piano. It shows you 5 types of chord voicing, each of which you can apply Side-slipping to. Download it at:
https://jazztutorial.com/podcast

You can also download my free '29 Jazz Piano Licks' sheet music at:
https://jazztutorial.com/podcast

What should I learn next?

Watch my beginner Jazz piano lesson, where I show you all the essential Jazz theory you need to know in under 20 minutes. Watch it here:
https://jazztutorial.com/start

For more Julian Bradley Jazz piano lessons, go to https://jazztutorial.com

Copyright 2024 (C) Julian Bradley

What is Jazz Reharmonization?

Reharmonization is when a Jazz musician changes the original chords of a song, and plays a different chord or chords of their own choosing.

Reharmonization is a subtle form of composition, where the Jazz musician adds their own take to a well known Jazz standard.

Reharmonization is a great way to add an interesting twist to a Jazz Standard, and give an old song a new modern sound.

When can I use Jazz Reharmonization?

As a Jazz piano player, you have the freedom to change any chord, in any song.

You can reharmonize as little as one chord in the entire song, or all of the chords.

How often is Jazz Reharmonization used?

Usually, reharmonization is used sparingly. It's typical for a Jazz musician to change one or two chords in a song, based on their own personal preference and how they want to play the song.

Are there different Reharmonization techniques?

There are many reharmonization techniques you can use. Tritone substitution is probably the most common reharmonization technique of all.

In this lesson I show you 3 more Jazz reharmonization techniques you can use.

Do I have to change the melody notes?

When you use Jazz reharmonization, you sometimes have to change the melody notes as well as the chord.

Since the melody is always related to the chord (because both melody and chord are built from the same scale), that means that when you change the chord, you're also changing the scale that's implied by the chord.

So if the original melody notes no longer fit with the new chord and the scale of the chord, then you will have to shift some of the clashing notes up or down by a half-step, so that they fit with the new chord and its scale.

What will I learn in this lesson?

I'll show you when to use reharmonization in a Jazz Standard.

I'll show you 3 reharmonization techniques for your Jazz piano playing.

And I'll show you how to practice Jazz reharmonization.

Is there anything to help me learn Jazz reharmonization?

To go with this lesson, I've written a free chord voicing ebook for Jazz piano. It shows you 5 types of chord voicing which you can use to play Jazz standards. Download it at:

https://jazztutorial.com/podcast

You can also download my free '29 Jazz Piano Licks' sheet music at:

https://jazztutorial.com/podcast

Where can I learn more Jazz piano techniques?

If you're new to Jazz piano, you can watch my beginner Jazz piano lesson where I teach you Jazz theory from the ground up. Watch it here:

https://jazztutorial.com/start

For more Julian Bradley Jazz piano lessons, go to https://jazztutorial.com

What is an Upper Structure Triad?

Upper Structure Triads are a style of chord voicing used by Jazz pianists.

Upper Structures are large voicings, consisting of 5-7 notes, and require two hands to play.

In the left hand, the pianist plays the chord's root, 3rd, and 7th.

And in the right hand, the pianist plays a major or minor triad (usually major), built from a specific scale degree above the chord's root - for example a major chord built from the 9th.

What type of chord are Upper Structures used for?

Upper Structure voicings are used primarily for dominant 7 chords.

Occasionally they can be used for other types of chord, like the minor-major 7 chord.

How many different Upper Structure Triads are there?

The most common Upper Structure triad is to play a major chord in your right hand, built from the dominant 7 chord's 9th.

So over C dominant 7, you would build a major triad from D (the 9th), which would be a D major triad (D F# A). Your complete Upper Structure would be C E Bb in your left hand, and D F# A in your right hand.

Next, it's common to build a major triad from the dominant 7 chord's 13th (6th), which over C7 would be A. So you would play an A major triad in your right hand (A C# E) over the left hand (C E Bb).

What are all the Upper Structure Triads Jazz pianists use?

Here are all the triads Jazz pianists can use over a C dominant 7 chord:

- Major triad built from the 9th (D). That would be D major played over C7: C E Bb / D F# A.

- Major triad built from the 6th (A). That would be A major played over C7: C E Bb / A C# E.

- Major triad built from the #9th (Eb). That would be Eb major played over C7: C E Bb / Eb G Bb.

- Major triad built from the b13 (Ab). That would be Ab major played over C7: C E Bb / Ab C Eb.

- Major triad built from the #11th (F#). That would be F# major played over C7: C E Bb / F# A# C#.

- Minor triad built from the #9th (Eb). That would be Eb minor played over C7: C E Bb / Eb Gb Bb.

- Minor triad built from the #11th (F#). That would be F# minor played over C7: C E Bb / F# A C#.

Can I use chord inversion for an Upper Structure triad?

It is common for Jazz pianists to invert the Upper structure triad, which means to rearrange the 3 notes of the triad into a different order.

So instead of playing the triad in root position (1 3 5), you can invert the triad and play it in first inversion (3 5 1), or second inversion (5 1 3).

Using chord inversion in your Upper Structure triads can be useful when you want to lower the notes of the right hand's triad, so that your right hand has less of a gap above the left hand's notes.

Chord inversion is also useful when you want to have a specific note at the top of your chord voicing, like when you want the melody note to be at the top of your voicing. Use chord inversion to rearrange the Upper structure triad in your right hand.

Is there anything else that can help me learn Upper Structure Triads?

To go with this lesson, I've written a free chord voicing ebook for Jazz piano, which shows you Upper Structures in action and shows you how to use them on Jazz Standards. Download it at:

https://jazztutorial.com/podcast

You can also download my free '29 Jazz Piano Licks' sheet music at:

https://jazztutorial.com/podcast

Where can I learn more Jazz piano techniques?

If you're new to Jazz piano, you can watch my beginner Jazz piano lesson where I teach you Jazz theory from the ground up. Watch it here:

https://jazztutorial.com/start