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251 Mastery

Course Workbook

Lesson 1: The Theory Behind a Major 251

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Here’s a C major scale:

If we build a diatonic triad from each note of the scale, this is what we get:

If we take chords two, five and one from the above, we get this:

That is the entire foundation behind a major 251 progression. There are many ways to develop this further but this is the underlying theory behind it all. One very common way to develop this progression further is to turn each chord into a 7th chord. In fact, you wouldn’t be able to find a 251 in jazz that doesn’t have 7th chords. If we add a diatonic 7th onto the top of each chord, this is what we get:

Lesson 2: Major 251 Drills: 3rds & 7ths

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The 3rd and 7th are without a doubt the most important chord tones since they are what define the quality of the chord. With this in mind, it makes sense to create some exercises using the 3rd and 7th. These chord tones also create some very interesting movements within the progression. To begin with, we must use a different inversion of the 5 chord to create better voice leading.

If we extract the 3rd & 7th from each chord, we get this:

It’s important to understand the movements around the 3rd & 7th within this progression. The two things to remember are:

1. The 7th drops a half-step to become the 3rd of the next chord 2. The 3rd stays the same and becomes the 7th of the next chord

We can also invert the 3rd & 7th to give us a different way of playing the same progression.

Action Steps Practice the 4 exercises which are explained and demonstrated in the lesson.

Lesson 3: Major 251 Drills: Chord Extensions

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When playing 251s in jazz, we almost exclusively use rootless voicings. A rootless voicing is a voicing which does not contain the root note. We use these for many reasons including:

• They create a much more sophisticated sound and provide the opportunity to add more extended chord tones.

• They avoid clashing with the bass player or backing track since they prevent us from

doubling up the root note – which sounds very muddy!

There are two common ways of playing a major 251 progression. We’re going to label them Type A and Type B. When the 3rd below the 7th, it’s a Type A. When the 3rd is above the 7th, it’s a Type B. Eg: If we add an extra chord extension to both Types, we can develop it into this:

Action Steps Practice the 4 exercises which are explained and demonstrated in the lesson.

Type A

Type B

Type A

Type B

Lesson 4: Common Major 251 Voicings

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If we combine both of the extra chord extensions we added from Type A and Type B in the previous lesson, we end up with the following voicings:

Type A

Type B

These are the most common ways of voicings a major 251. These rootless voicings are what you should spend a huge amount of time practicing and internalizing.

Action Steps Practice playing both the Type A and Type B voicings in all 12 keys. A great way to do this is by taking it through the circle of fifths. Use the backing track to play along with and make sure you’re practicing these voicings with your left hand as well as your right hand.

Lesson 5: Sneaky Tricks for Major 251s

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At this point you should have spent a fair amount of time practicing the exercises in the previous lessons. What you might find is that you become familiar with the movement and pattern of the progression, but you may have trouble identifying which key you’re playing it in. The purpose of these tricks is to help you quickly identify which key you’re playing a 251 in, and also to easily be able to play the 251 progression in any key you like.

Type A

“The lowest note of the first voicing must be a

4th above the root note of the key.”

Type B

“The lowest note of the first voicing must be

the same as the root note of the key.”

Action Steps Practice playing the 251 progression in randomly chosen keys, using these tricks to help you quickly identify your starting position. Practice separately for Type A and Type B.

Lesson 6: Altered Major 251 Voicings

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A very common way to spice up the 251 progression is to add extra tension to the dominant 5 chord. One way we can do this is by turning the 5 chord into an ‘altered dominant’. Altered dominant chords must include the 3 and b7 to keep it a dominant chord type. They also contain altered chord extensions. Eg, b5, #5, b9, #9, b13, etc… For the purpose of this lesson, we’ll be playing altered dominant chords as dominant 7 (b9, #5).

Type A (with altered dominant)

Type B (with altered dominant)

Action Steps Practice the exercises which are explained and demonstrated in the video.

Lesson 7: Two-Handed Voicings

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So far, we’ve learnt how to play the major 251 progression with rootless one-handed voicings. Whilst these are extremely important to know, it’s also very useful to know how to play a 251 using two-handed voicings. These two-handed voicings create a very rich and full sound – perfect for accompanying a soloist or playing solo piano! Option 1

Option 2

Action Steps Take both sets of two-handed voicings through the circle of fifths, along to the backing track. Make sure to only learn one of these at a time – it makes it much easier to internalize.

Lesson 8: Major 251s In Context

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One of the best ways to practice is to put whatever you’ve learnt into the context of tunes. It makes sense to practice these 251 progressions by putting them into the context of a jazz standard. I’ve chosen Tune Up because it’s almost entirely written using major 251s.

Tune Up (Lead Sheet)

Lesson 9: The Theory Behind a Minor 251

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The harmony in a minor 251 is far more complex than a major 251. It’s important that you are familiar with major 251s before learning about the minor variation. The method of constructing the minor 251 is very similar to the major 251. The only difference is that we build the chords using the harmonic minor scale instead of the major scale. Here’s a C harmonic minor scale:

If we build a diatonic 7th chord from each note of the scale, we get this:

If we take chords two, five and one from the above, we get this:

We have a few options for the minor 1 chord. The most common way of playing it is with a straight minor 7. Another very common way is to use a minor 6.

Lesson 10: Minor 251 Drills: 3rds & 7ths

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Doing exercises with the 3rds & 7ths is a great way to get to know a chord progression. We’ll be extracting the 3rd and 7th from each chord and isolating them, along with the root note, to practice playing through the minor 251s in all 12 keys. For our Type A voicings, the 3rd and 7th will look like this:

For our Type B voicings, the 3rd and 7th will look like this:

Action Steps Practice taking these through the circle of fifths using the methods & exercises explained in the video.

Lesson 11: Common Minor 251 Voicings

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Just like the major 251s, there are two very common ways of voicing a minor 251. Each of them is built upon the different 3rd and 7th variations we learnt in the previous lesson.

Type A

(and with the minor 6/9 option for chord 1)

Type B

(and with the minor 6/9 option for chord 1)

Action Steps Practice taking these voicings through the circle of fifths, along to the provided backing track. Start with the straight minor 7 option for the 1 chord, when you’re comfortable with this you can play around with the minor 6/9 variation.

Lesson 12: Sneaky Tricks for Minor 251s

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At this point you should have spent a fair amount of time practicing the exercises in the previous lessons and you should be relatively comfortable with playing minor 251s. When you’re learning this material, you often end up remembering the formulas and movements within the progression before you actually start to associate what key you’re playing it in. The purpose of these tricks is to help you quickly be able to play a minor 251 in any given key, as well as being able to easily identify what key you’re playing it in. Type A

“The top note of the first voicing must be the

same as the root note of chord two.” Type B

“The lowest note of the first voicing must be

the same as the root note of the key.”

Action Steps Practice playing the minor 251 progression in randomly chosen keys, using these tricks to help you quickly identify your starting position. Practice separately for Type A and Type B.

Lesson 13: Altered Minor 251 Voicings

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A very common way to develop the minor 251 progression is to turn the dominant chord into an ‘altered dominant’. This creates more tension and release within the progression. There are many different ways in which we could play an altered dominant, but for the purpose of this lesson, I’ve chosen an altered dominant voicing for Type A and Type B which work very well. Type A (with altered dominant)

Type B (with altered dominant)

Action Steps Practice taking both Type A and Type B around the circle of fifths – with an altered dominant! There is a backing track which I recommend you use to supplement your practice.

Lesson 14: Two-Handed Voicings

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So far, we’ve learnt the most common and useful ways to play a minor 251 using one-handed voicings. In this lesson, we’re going to learn a set of two-handed voicings which are going to be great for accompanying a soloist or playing solo piano. Because we’re using two hands, we can take advantage of the extra fingers and use them to play interesting chord tones and reach a wider span of notes. Here is the set of two-handed voicings we’re going to learn:

Action Steps Familiarize yourself with these two-handed voicings in all 12 keys. Practice them by taking it through the circle of fifths along to the provided backing track.

Lesson 15: Minor 251s In Context

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In this lesson we’re going to be practicing our minor 251s in the context of a jazz standard. I’ve chosen the tune Blue Bossa since it has a couple of minor 251s in there, as well as a major 251. Make sure you try to incorporate every element we’ve learnt in this course into the context of this tune, including things such as altered dominant voicings and two-handed voicings. Keep it as simple as you need though!

Blue Bossa (Lead Sheet)