Chapter: Harmony

This is a preview of the educational program A Jazz Improvisation Almanac which is under development for the Outside Shore Music Online School. Feel free to browse this preview and learn what you can from it. For a more completed product, though, check out the original freely browsable jazz textbook, A Jazz Improvisation Primer.

The harmonic language of Western classical music has much in common with that of jazz: the use of the major scale as a basis, the way chords are usually built from intervals of thirds, and the way chords lead from one to another. This harmonic language is referred to as tonality. This chapter discusses how chords function in tonal music.

While classical music does not generally require understanding of harmony in order to play the music, some understanding of harmony is usually needed in order to compose it. In jazz, an understanding of harmony can also help you improvise over chord progressions. As was observed previously, some jazz is atonal, and it is not necessary to learn about tonal harmony in order to play this music, but it can nonetheless be useful to add some of this language to your vocabulary.

Note that the use of terminology often differs between classical and jazz musicians. The harmony discussed in this chapter corresponds roughly to what is generally covered in college music theory courses, but here it is presented in terms that are used among jazz musicians.

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Chapter: Harmony