Minor Chords In Major Keys - The Most Beautiful Chords In Jazz! 😍

The most beautiful chords we have: Minor Subdominants! Modal Interchange and borrowed chords are not the best descriptions of what is going on, so discover how minor subdominants work, and how you can use them in your own playing!
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Content:
00:00 Beautiful Jazz Progressions in the Key
01:55 A Simple Explanation (that almost works)
02:55 When Is Something A Minor Subdominant chord?
04:09 It Isn't Really About Scales
05:16 Why Is That Better?
07:36 How To Use The Chords
08:59 Where They Sound The Best!
09:19 Like the video? Check out my Patreon page!
My name is Jens Larsen, Danish Jazz Guitarist, and Educator. The videos on this channel will help you explore and enjoy Jazz. Some of it is how to play jazz guitar, but other videos are more on Music Theory like Jazz Chords or advice on how to practice and learn Jazz, on guitar or any other instrument.
The videos are mostly jazz guitar lessons, but also music theory, analysis of songs and videos on jazz guitars.
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[@JensLarsen]

What do you think is the most beautiful chord in C major? 😎 Check out how Joe Pass thinks about chords: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hl6zXpqDbLt9rpY

[@kevindonnelly761]

Ab with extensions ? 🙄

[@slatebook2384]

@@kevindonnelly761 Same here :) For example, Fminor 6/9 without the F (piano: left hand Ab - right hand Ab/D/G leading to C triad, with or without extension).

[@guitarcoyote]

G7b9b13 resolving to Cmaj7

[@helveticahotline]

Hi Jens, Your channel is the best! Anyone who wants to save a lot of time in understanding the art of jazz and it's application who does a deep dive into your channel will be happy they did. I studied Jazz guitar performance at Berklee College of Music starting in 1987 and have been playing professionally ever since. At that time the "Swing" feel was a mystery to me simply because people would criticize each other with an on or off switch. "That player CAN swing or CAN'T swing.Years later the mystery was lifted instantly when the term "swing percentage" popped up in a discussion. I realized that I had actually been playing the "Swing" feel the whole time but I had never experimented with that feel in percentage. The scale from 0%= no swing straight time to100%= charactatured over the top maximum sauce swing and it's application in the context of specific arrangements as well as sets of arrangements for ensemble is a topic I'd love to hear you explore. I could have saved ten years of asking myself the question "am I swinging or not?" when I was the whole time. I just never consciously played with the percentage of the feel. Keep up the incredible work you are doing and know that this information is having sigfnificant positive results in people's lives. Thank you Jens!

[@omen3766]

"Scales? Where we are going we don't need scales!" Dr Jens...in Back to the One-ture... Thank you for another enlightening class.

[@JensLarsen]

Haha! Thnaks 😎😂

[@user-fj2tt4qx8q]

For me, this is the best lesson ever. I have 20? Chord Melody arrangements, and finally am motivated to make a new one. Or maybe just improve some existing ones. A million thanks.

[@LoJahn]

You’re a legend..I don’t even play guitar, I play piano but I still learn from your teachings…thank you

[@JensLarsen]

Happy to hear that!

[@robinfawcett7973]

I love to watch your videos Jens. Most of it is way above my pay grade but I do pick up some crumbs of knowledge!! Been listening to some wonderful jazz guitar from your recent list so.. Thank you.

[@martifingers]

+1

[@gabrie406]

Of all the complicated lessons on your channel this one definitely fried my brain 😅

[@made_from_the_frequences]

This is such a great lesson! Every time I learn something new from you. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, Jens!

[@johnpowers1963]

Very useful! I checked out a video you made in 2014. OMG, you have come so far in your strength as a teacher. Keep it up!

[@mikkelhenrichsen9459]

Thank you for a great and informing video. I really love how you use you graphics for better understanding.

[@dominicklawrence3726]

beautifully explained, jens

[@Sandytuck]

Hi Jens, This is really nice sounding Jazz . The type of jazz chord progressions I love . Jazz is so involved the more you learn there is a never ending source to learn. you do a great job explaining all the technical versions Thanks Les.

[@ramilak]

Great Video Jens. I've listened to a lot of Caetano Veloso, Djavan, Gilberto Gil, etc over the years and your video illustrates how incredibly gifted those composers are. Their songs are full of these sorts of voice leadings and I believe they came about mostly through composition and discovery.

[@bumrecordingstudios]

Oh man great video. I’ve been learning some standards and wondering about non-scale chords but I was recognizing the melodic descending pattern and now it is clear and I have some recognition. You’re the best!!!!

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was helpful!

[@user-zb7co4zj2c]

as always so well explained! great stuff, Jens!!!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you, Arnulf! I really appreciate that!

[@andrewkratz226]

Great lesson, thx Jens

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you liked it!

[@YeLLGoYeLLGo]

Sounds fantastic again when you play it😅👌🎧✨🤍💫I'll try it. And thanks for the tutorial ✨🤍💫

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like it 🙂

[@Talisk3r]

Great video. A exhaustive list, example in context/in jazz standart a great analysis. Of course the playing is always beyond fault.

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you!

[@shalomshalom735]

Great video. Very refreshing.

[@santibanks]

Thanks for this, it makes way more sense now to view it from the perspective of voice leading instead of "modal interchange"

[@JensLarsen]

Glad it was helpful 🙂

[@StratsRUs]

Great.Thank you Jens.Travelling through a key really opens the mind.

[@JensLarsen]

Absolutely! 🙂

[@donnybeeyt]

Great presentation Jens! The melody and inner lines define the momentary scales(horizontal) and chords (vertical) within the overall "home" key of a piece.

[@RC32Smiths01]

Really enjoy the perspectives you have put forth here. Makes you learn more about chords beyond the straightforward 7ths. Beautifully sounding chords for sure.

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@RC32Smiths01]

Of course!@@JensLarsen

[@fabianreyes237]

Great vid doc!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you 🙂

[@hecateswolf6007]

Excellent lesson really helpful.

[@JensLarsen]

Glad to hear that!

[@hommedemystere]

This is a very nice take on modal interchange that has helped me a lot in understanding how these chords function, thanks! I’m also quite impressed by the quality, clarity, and sharpness of the produced videos you create. If it isn’t confidential could you share the type of camera , key light, and microphone you’re using? Thanks again, and happy new year, Jens!

[@JensLarsen]

Thank you! Happy New Year 🙂

[@jumemowery1050]

I love your videos, Jens. It's way over my head, but I'm learning a little here and there.

[@jimyoung9262]

Just listen and try not to tell yourself you don't get it. Each time a little more sticks.

[@jumemowery1050]

@jimyoung9262 Thanks!. At age 61, I am the second best guitar player I know (Johnny Rose, who played with Steve Gaines from Lynard Skinner, is the best guitar player I know.) I'm pretty good with the chords, playing by ear, technique, etc. But understanding the music theory itself has always been elusive.

[@unsatura]

great vid again

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you enjoyed

[@mer1red]

I had the luck to be exposed very early in my exploration of jazz harmony, composition and arrangement to what you call modal interchange. I was fascinated by it and know it inside out. What I have in my head is different from your explanation. First the minor subdominant is not a good example, because it was used much earlier in tonal music in a way that looks the same as a borrowed chord but it isn't. True modal interchange is one of the techniques of extended tonality that works very different than the explanation in the video.

[@12fold]

Nice stereophonic gallop! I’ll use this to show off the hi-fi in my den to my grandkids🤣

[@h0tsex0r]

Great vid. 👍

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@user-sq8vu7wr7q]

很美好的聲響❤感謝你的教學🙏

[@JensLarsen]

Glad you like the video 🙂

[@damonshanabarger2604]

I like you, and I appreciate your videos.

[@triguna7692]

Hello Senei Jens clear for me, now only work and make it nice to sound good.🙏

[@JensLarsen]

Glad to hear that!

[@ChristopherOrth]

"Key and scale are not the same thing". Wow.. yeah... I "knew" this, but thanks for highlighting something I didn't realize I was unknowingly locking together

[@kateguitar]

Thank you🙂

[@JensLarsen]

You're welcome 😊

[@jamescuttsmusicjcm5013]

Backdoor Dominance... I knew jazz could get a bit raunchy sometimes but damn. 🤣🤣🤣

[@cbolt4492]

3:58 This

[@WiebeMusicClass]

Thank you for all your wonderful knowledge on substitutions and voicings etc. I'm a guitarist joining a small stage band that will play with charts. I'll probably be playing 3rds and 7ths and other extensions , trying to compliment the piano and making sure my playing doesn't clash with the horns block harmony and passing chords etc. We might have discussions about changing a few things. I can't see me making changes unless everyone is on the same page so to speak. Do you have any other advice about playing guitar in this kind of ensemble?

[@slatebook2384]

Very clear-sighted view. Sometimes I'm a bit confused when I listen to jazz musicians. It seems that they think chords as separate entities when, as you properly expose here, some very complicated chords names of the jazz vocabulary are just in fact due to a simple melodic mouvement idea. It's confusing, isn't it? Well no harm done, I can modify the name as I see fit. However, the problem arises when they use it without realizing that. It often leads to pretty nasty "musical" sequences that, to my poor ear, sounds wrong. This happens when some notes that are obviously part of a melodic mouvement (added "leading notes" most of the time) are moved to another place without any logic. For me it's a bit like a forced move in chess. In some case you don't have choice. Unless there's a compositional justification to volontary break the voice leading logic, of course, but that's another story.

[@MaxSchranner]

Wow a great sound. Can you do the same things with these substitute chords you would do with other chords? Ad 9th, 11th, and so on, if they are in the scale of Cmaj or better Abmaj? And can you play 6/9 Chords in stead of Maj7? I tried it and it sounds good to me (also some leading notes).

[@JensLarsen]

Yes, it is really beautiful. You can treat these like other chords and add extensions 🙂

[@onthesearch5]

Hallo Jens thanks for interesting video! DbMaj7 comes from F harm. Minor VIb ? bII is a little bit confusing .

[@SnowAngelfish]

3:30 question. You said the Bb7 was a secondary dominant taking us to the A7?? Im confused.. i thought secondary dominants had to be a fifth scale higher than the target dominant? Like E7 - -> A7

[@11lunasea]

I have the same question..can someone answer it? Please!

[@RobKandell]

Will this replace all the listening to Wes Montgomery albums backwards that I’ve been doing? 😎

[@JensLarsen]

We'll have to wait and see, but I feel positive about it! 😁

[@RobKandell]

@@JensLarsen - Fair enough. 😎

[@marksartori7846]

Man I loved Lucky Luke as a boy❤

[@matt_greene]

Your hand on that AbMajor7(9,13) looks AI generated

[@JensLarsen]

I only exist as a virtual being, so that is not so strange

[@Whatzzzz999]

When I was a cowboy, my horse never came to save me. Not once. Ah well, such is life.

[@JensLarsen]

Well, if you believe in re-incarnation you might get a 2nd shot at it?

[@sergeybogdanovich7019]

Hello 🙏🍀🎼🎶🎵✌️👌❤️🎸🍁🍂

[@user-fj2tt4qx8q]

0:29

[@jimconnelly2851]

But how strange the change from major to minor.

[@JensLarsen]

Who was a master of using this in his songs! 😎

[@dontgoout1434]

Easy to do in 30 minutes

[@RobKandell]

As a matter of nuance, there *is* a difference between country and western music, even if no one has cared for 30+ years. 😎

[@JensLarsen]

What is the difference?

[@RobKandell]

@@JensLarsen - To oversimplify: Western is just that, music from the American West, particularly the Southwest, and includes some Mexican folk traditions such as Ranchera. The guitar came to this country through this tradition and overtook the banjo in popularity when the invention of the truss rod allowed for steel strings to create more volume to compete with banjo. “Cowboy Music” is western. It also includes Western Swing like Bob Wills and “Bakersfield Country” like Buck Owns, amongst others. (Marty Robbins, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings) Country is Eastern, particularly Appalachia. The root of this is the Scots-Irish fiddle tunes accompanied with the African American banjo, though the steel string guitar took over in the 20th Century. Bluegrass came out of this tradition, though it’s now regarded as separate. This tradition is centered mostly in Nashville and gave us The Carter Family, Chet Atkins, Johnny Cash… the list goes on. Again, oversimplifying for space and time and there is a lot of overlap. The old categorization was called “Country & Western”, but it just became shortened over time to country music. Not to be pedantic, but my senior project at university was on Chet Atkins and I guess I never got over a 1971 appearance Buddy Rich did on the Mike Douglas show where he shit on country music. That’s my problem. 😎

[@JensLarsen]

@@RobKandell Not everything Buddy Rich said was important 😂

[@RobKandell]

@@JensLarsen - It took a decade or three, but I finally figured that out. 😎

[@JensLarsen]

@@RobKandell Thanks for the breakdown! :)

[@7riX7er]

4:09 everyone knows the boring chords from the minor scale

[@CatrinaDaimonLee]

these chords came from the subcontinent of asia minor from themystical land of S I N G A P O R E ...legend has it that those in this land never age nor die nor use money nor eat food...these harmonies are celestial and belong to the brahma shiva mr magoo trinity and is said to bestow upon the user paying jazz gigs at the holiday inn.

[@MrJking1962]

A♭maj7(9,13) seems more painful than beautiful.

[@JensLarsen]

With a bit of practice that will probably change 🙂

[@MrDeevo]

Eb/Ab

[@MrJking1962]

@@MrDeevo more painful physically, not interpretatively.