Jazz chord
Jazz chords are the chords, voicings, and symbols jazz players use for harmony in tunes and solos. Most jazz chords start as a triad and add a seventh, making a dominant seventh like G7 when the tune is in C. The notes of G7 are G–B–D–F, but players often omit the fifth, and sometimes the root, especially in a group. Some players, such as Bud Powell and Horace Silver, did keep the root in their voicings.
To add color, players include extensions like the 9th, 11th, and 13th, and may use altered tones such as ♭9, ♯9, ♭5, or ♯5. Lead sheets usually show just the basic chord, so the pianist or guitarist chooses the exact voicing to fit the music. In any voicing, the essential tones are the 3rd and the 7th, which show whether the chord is major, minor, or dominant; extensions add color.
A common example is voicing G7 as B–E–F–A (3rd, 13th, flat 7, 9th). Musicians also use altered dominant chords like G7(♭9♯11), or simply write G7alt. Altered tones come from the melodic minor scale, especially for dominant chords.
Dominant chords are central in jazz and can resolve to other chords or be used in place of other chords during bebop. For example, a tune that might be C – Am – Dm – G7 in classical harmony can be reharmonized in bebop as C7 – A7 – D7 – G7, as long as the melody fits.
Chords are described by intervals from the root, and extensions are often optional. In short: jazz chord voicings mix the root, 3rd, and 7th to define the chord, then add color with extensions and alterations. Musicians freely choose voicings to suit the tune and the band.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 17:04 (CET).