Have you ever heard someone saying the word”Jazzy chords” or ” Can you make this chords jazzier?” Well, if a jazz player is in the room, you know he is gonna play something cool! 

Jazz players have such an amazing understanding of music theory and chord functions. Almost everything they play sounds beautiful, complex, and impossible to play.

So, what are the elements that we have to master to make our chords “Jazzy?”

Before we get into this, let me tell you something right away, guys! We don’t have to become Jazz players to play a few jazzy chords. 

I am saying this because I know that many guitar players feel intimidated by anything that is labeled as Jazz music. And even though it is true that Jazz music can be extremely complex, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a way to grasp a few ideas here and there and use them in our playing. 

I am not a Jazz player. But I learned the chords that I always wanted to learn. The ones that inspired me the most, and I am happy this way because I am not forcing myself into trying to learn all the Jazz rules that are way too complex for the type of music I play.

 Here are a few elements that make your chords Jazzier.

• Subdominant and dominant chords.
• Extended chords.
• The phrasing. 
• The chromatic approach.

In this lesson, I am going to combine these elements in one chord progression, and I am going to break down the chords and notes choice so that you can understand the process I use. 

We are going to be using quite popular Jazzy chords such as Min7, Dominant 13, and Maj9 chords. 

The chord progression is this one. 

|A | Em7 A13 | Dmaj9 | Dm G13 |

| Cmaj9 | Bm7b5 E7 | Am | Dm Fmaj7|

| G11 | Amaj7|

Now, as you can see from the chart, there is always a bar with one chord followed by a bar with two chords. 

The bar with one chord gives you the Tonic chord, which is the chord that establishes the key or the tonal center. It’s the chord built on the I degree of the major or minor key. 

The bar with two chords gives you the subdominant and dominant chord, which are the chords that set up tension that needs to resolve.   

The subdominant is the chord built on the II degree of the major key; the Dominant chord is built on the fifth degree. 

I made a video where I talk about chord functions, which explains in detail the role of the subdominant and dominant chords. I recommend that you check it out if you want to know more about this type of chords.

So, now you realize that this chord progression is a bunch of II V I in different keys. 

After the first chord A, we play a II V I in D major key. Then a II V I in C major key followed by a ii V i in A minor key. And the last II V I that resolve on a different tonic chord. 

As always guys, take it step-by-step.

Enjoy this lesson.