Harmony 101 - getting to the 'good stuff' fast
CoursePianoJazzIntermediatePart 1 of 2
Part ofPiano

Harmony 101 - getting to the 'good stuff' fast

$13/month

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Duration1h 50m
Modules11
LevelIntermediate
LanguageEnglish

Lesson Plan (1h 50m)

About this course

Darius Brubeck - jazz pianist, son of Dave Brubeck, and a harmony teacher of more than 25 years - gives you a fast track to understanding how music harmony actually works. He starts from the absolute basics (how a C scale is built) and takes you through to chord inversions, alterations and voicings.

This isn't a jazz course, and you don't need to be a pianist, though a keyboard is handy since Darius uses one throughout. By the end you'll be comfortable with scale, chord and key; chord function and symbols; extensions and alterations; voicing and inversion; and common progressions illustrated with jazz and blues examples. Crucially, you'll have the shared vocabulary to talk harmony with other musicians. Darius teaches it all through 'Summer Song', written by his parents Dave and Iola Brubeck, and includes bonus chart downloads: cycle of 4ths/5ths, triads and 7ths, chords with extensions, and a Summer Song worksheet.

Many thanks to Steinway Hall in London for hosting this recording in such a magnificent setting.

Who it's for

  • Self-taught musicians filling gaps in harmony basics
  • Returning players who want the theory to finally click
  • Intermediate musicians who want to talk shop with bandmates

What you'll learn

  • Read and use chord symbols with confidence
  • Build triads, sevenths and extended chords from any root
  • Spot common progressions in jazz and blues tunes

What you'll need

  • A keyboard or piano nearby for reference
  • Comfort reading basic notation and finding notes
  • A few minutes most days to absorb each concept

Explore the series · Jazz Harmony with Darius Brubeck

  1. Harmony 101 - getting to the 'good stuff' fast
    01
    Harmony 101 - getting to the 'good stuff' fast
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  2. Mastering Odd Times
    02
    Mastering Odd Times

Meet the Guru

Darius Brubeck

Darius Brubeck

Darius Brubeck is a noted jazz pianist and educator. He has released numerous albums as a leader, toured internationally with his own groups, and collaborated with his brothers on Brubecks Play Brubeck.

Darius has served as a Fulbright visiting professor in Romania and Turkey. He initiated the first degree course in jazz offered by an African university, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, where he taught until 2005.

Darius often collaborates with Mike Rossi, saxophonist and Professor of Music at the University of Cape Town. Mike's achievements include numerous recordings and international stage appearances as leader, soloist, and sideman with Tony Bennett, Dave Liebman, Winston Mankunku Ngozi, George Russell, Clark Terry and Alessio Menconi, among others.

With Darius as your guide, you'll get straight to the "good stuff". In Harmony 101 he demystifies jazz harmony so you can start putting it to use fast, and in Mastering Odd Times he breaks down how to play and improvise confidently in unusual time signatures.

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