Music theory isn't worth the hassle?
You'd like to add a jazzy flavour to your tracks anyway?
Look no further...
The seven easiest-to-use jazz chords
In this short guide I'll present seven different jazz chords that don't require any knowledge about music.
What you need:
- Something to play chords on, for example a piano, guitar or a MIDI-capable sequencer
- A VSTi of your choice to hear the chords (if you go the MIDI way)
Number one
This one is simply a D bass and a C chord:
It sounds like this: EXAMPLE
Number two
Start on a D note and skip every second white key and you'll get something like this:
It sounds like this: EXAMPLE
Number three
Same as number two, but with a B added:
It sounds like this: EXAMPLE
Number four
Start on a D note and always skip two white notes, then press one. Except the highest note where you have to play A instead of B, but you'll hear it if you are wrong:
It sounds like this: EXAMPLE
Number five
Start on a D note (as usual) and go five up two times. Then do the same starting on an F note:
It sounds like this: EXAMPLE
Number six
This one consists of a A bass and a C chord, but with two added B notes:
It sounds like this: EXAMPLE
Number seven
It is a C chord and a F chord:
It sounds like this: EXAMPLE
What about some variation?
The reason why I just showed you these chords is their ease of use, especially when making a chord progression.
To make a progression with any of these chords, just sample them and pitch them up and down. Start with the source chord, followed by a up-pitched one of, say, 3 semitones, the next one pitched down for five semitones.
Just make sure you don't pitch too high or low, unless you have a very good pitch shifter.
Nice pitch progressions are: (in semitones)
0 / -2 / 0 / +2 / +3
0 / +3 / -5
But it heavily depends on which of the seven chords you are using. So I'll leave it to your creativity and inspiration!
The same goes for the inversed one, but thanks anyway for the advice.
