Advanced Jazz Theory

Deepen your understanding of jazz harmony with this advanced theory course. Explore melodic minor harmony, dominant bebop scales, and upper structure triads to unlock rich, modern jazz sounds. This course covers essential concepts such as minor ii-V-i progressions, tritone substitutions, quartal voicings, and reharmonization techniques.

Lessons break down each mode of the melodic minor scale and show how to apply them in real musical contexts. You’ll also learn how to use rootless voicings, subdominant chords, and upper structure triads to enhance your comping and soloing. With examples from jazz standards like Misty, Days of Wine and Roses, and A Foggy Day, you’ll see how these concepts work in practice.

Designed for intermediate and advanced players, this course provides the harmonic tools needed to elevate your jazz improvisation and arranging. By the end, you'll be able to integrate advanced jazz theory seamlessly into your playing, creating sophisticated, expressive sounds with confidence.

Mastering Advanced Jazz Harmony: A Deep Dive into Modern Chord Concepts

Jazz is built on rich harmonic structures, and understanding advanced jazz theory is key to developing a sophisticated sound. The Advanced Jazz Theory course focuses on some of the most powerful harmonic tools used by professional jazz musicians, including melodic minor harmony, upper structure triads, and dominant bebop scales.

The course begins with a breakdown of each mode of the melodic minor scale, showing how it can be used to build interesting chord voicings and unique improvisational ideas. You’ll also explore minor ii-V-i progressions and how they differ from their major counterparts. Moving forward, the lessons cover tritone substitutions, quartal voicings, and reharmonization techniques, all of which can be applied to standard progressions for a more modern sound.

One of the course highlights is upper structure triads, which help create complex, yet playable, chord voicings. With real-world applications from jazz standards like Misty and Prelude to a Kiss, you’ll see exactly how to use these concepts in professional arrangements. Whether you're a jazz pianist looking to refine your harmonic knowledge or an improviser aiming to add more color to your solos, this course provides the essential tools to expand your musical vocabulary.

Is this course suitable for intermediate players?
Yes! While the concepts are advanced, intermediate players will find clear explanations and real-world applications that make them easier to understand.

Will I learn practical applications for these theory concepts?
Absolutely! You'll apply melodic minor harmony, upper structure triads, and bebop scales to real jazz standards, ensuring you can use them in your own playing.

Do I need to read sheet music to follow this course?
Not necessarily. While sheet music is provided, the lessons focus on demonstrations that make the concepts accessible to both ear-trained and notation-based players.

Can these techniques be applied to improvisation?
Yes! Many of these harmonic tools will help you create richer, more colorful improvisations over standard chord progressions.