Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 14 hours ago
Stop memorizing chord shapes. An eleven chord is nothing more than two ordinary three-note chords stacked on top of each other, and a nine chord is two chords stacked that share their middle note. Once you see that, the big scary jazz chords stop being symbols you look up and start being two things you already know.
Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
This is from my SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course, built on "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio.
"Whenever you have an eleven chord, it's like two chords stacked on top of each other. Anytime you have an eleven, it's like two regular three note chords stacked on top of each other. When you have a nine chord, it's like two chords stacked, but they share the middle note."
DO THIS AT THE PIANO TONIGHT
- D minor 11. Play a D minor triad in your left hand: D, F, A. Now put a C major triad on top of it: C, E, G. That is the whole chord -- D F A C E G. Two chords you already know, one on top of the other.
- Name what each note is doing: D the root, F the third, A the fifth, C the seventh, E the ninth, G the eleventh. Nothing in there is exotic.
- Now a nine chord. Stack two triads again, but let them SHARE the middle note. That shared note is why a nine sounds tighter and warmer than an eleven -- there is less air between the two chords.
- Try it in three keys before you stop: D minor 11, G minor 11, A minor 11. Same recipe, different starting triad. This is how you learn a chord once instead of learning it twelve times.
- Then split it between the hands the way a jazz pianist voices it: lower triad in the left, upper triad in the right.
WHY THIS ONE IDEA CHANGES EVERYTHING
Most adult players stall on jazz and worship music at exactly the same place: the chord symbols get bigger than triads and the sheet starts to look like code. It is not code. Every extended chord -- ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, the ones that make a song sound like a record instead of a hymn -- is built by stacking simple chords you learned in your first year. Learn the stacking rule and you can build a chord you have never seen before, in any key, without looking anything up. That is the difference between reading chord symbols and understanding them.
WHAT IS IN THE SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ COURSE
PART ONE is the full song, hands together, line by line, from my annotated sheet music with the letter name printed inside every notehead, and my hands on camera from directly overhead.
PART TWO is seven eight-bar chord progressions pulled out of the tune: quartal minor 11 shapes, the stubborn A pedal, slash chords, half diminished, borrowed major 13 color, the Lydian sharp 11, and the minor four chord that makes a major song ache. Every bar gives you the chord for two beats and then two beats of silence, and that silence is yours to answer in.
PART THREE is over fifty jazz licks, one over every chord in those progressions, with play-along tracks and printable sheet music.
Start the Smooth Piano Jazz course on your $1 trial: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
#jazzpiano #pianochords #chordtheory #smoothjazz #pianolesson #learnpiano #pianotutorial #adultpianostudent #jazzlicks #minor11 #ninthchords #extendedchords #pianoteacher #jazzpianolesson #chordsandscales
👍 Try 1,000 free lessons today on webpianoteacher.com ✅ Learn to play piano with Shawn’s revolutionary method
Read Google Reviews by Shawn’s actual students google.com/search?sca_esv=5009c1303de011b0&sca_upv=1&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS1008US1008&hl=en-US&q=web+piano+teacher+reviews&uds=ADvngMgvgkdrPGdvQSDLpEVP-ZodsumYvHbzDCPdZxu7y1dxdo5qqAYWcbG74nStvB1P7oPuKgMFxvRIzd_DZN3tMyxEyrPXSMvg62M7DhKnaOoXRrvMRlR2qOzpuVB5MFvbzhVxfpnLmeUii_UEMspRA9Sb2_UNlNmYcxD8gSa_9Y-ZrAhmC7PMo4dC-3yAW2NaRCTwbTkIJFF0zACFe0MmWygbXUnSyy4URj5yYn7f6Y92qL5F7C65sP-AwHchpQ_w3yruheB24nu-AvcfFQo-ckINkBqWAeio4R0dm9r8cmVn2A7RlUhPAPOZyHpYJ2DontEmnoCi9_eEmhwW9RpGrsajaR7u8_U58p0eD_M4AQtnaQce2g4_3U4ECJVG1OOQrlRFwR4byywOQYKXK-PF9b_wDOJ4wtlppDpfX1FhULjD2H_jbmF3keFLT-JjbHx5mU1wYAbm&si=ACC90nwjPmqJHrCEt6ewASzksVFQDX8zco_7MgBaIawvaF4-7tVxiqnhHYhqKwDDsP2tv6FAZ1fBoW06Zy-5I4bv_4sVUMNgTvp0JS4qCRvaokEGreiT-RV-opIxhvzKSE6856yE4kgwpddtdtU31HEpdWwEdq8gXg%3D%3D&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwik1uakreOIAxVxKkQIHU2mGhQQk8gLegQIKRAB&ictx=1&biw=390&bih=657&dpr=3
🎹 #learntoplaypiano #learnpiano #pianocover #pianolessons #pianoteacher #pianotutorial #easypiano #howtoplaypiano http:webpianoteacher.com
🎹 Testimonials from Shawn’s actual students: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bI83Iun0tmCk-4IOSVAxm6S
🔥Billy Joel Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bKGJ1HDqNoqdQ02-o579MQk
🔥Elton John Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bJV-8LhjXDcX5W4XRLhFhQZ
webpianoteacher.com
instagram.com/webpianoteacher
facebook.com/shawncheekeasypiano
twitter.com/webpianoteacher
tiktok.com/@shawnthewebpianoteacher
Stop memorizing chord shapes. An eleven chord is nothing more than two ordinary three-note chords stacked on top of each other, and a nine chord is two chords stacked that share their middle note. Once you see that, the big scary jazz chords stop being symbols you look up and start being two things you already know.
Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
This is from my SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course, built on "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio.
"Whenever you have an eleven chord, it's like two chords stacked on top of each other. Anytime you have an eleven, it's like two regular three note chords stacked on top of each other. When you have a nine chord, it's like two chords stacked, but they share the middle note."
DO THIS AT THE PIANO TONIGHT
- D minor 11. Play a D minor triad in your left hand: D, F, A. Now put a C major triad on top of it: C, E, G. That is the whole chord -- D F A C E G. Two chords you already know, one on top of the other.
- Name what each note is doing: D the root, F the third, A the fifth, C the seventh, E the ninth, G the eleventh. Nothing in there is exotic.
- Now a nine chord. Stack two triads again, but let them SHARE the middle note. That shared note is why a nine sounds tighter and warmer than an eleven -- there is less air between the two chords.
- Try it in three keys before you stop: D minor 11, G minor 11, A minor 11. Same recipe, different starting triad. This is how you learn a chord once instead of learning it twelve times.
- Then split it between the hands the way a jazz pianist voices it: lower triad in the left, upper triad in the right.
WHY THIS ONE IDEA CHANGES EVERYTHING
Most adult players stall on jazz and worship music at exactly the same place: the chord symbols get bigger than triads and the sheet starts to look like code. It is not code. Every extended chord -- ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, the ones that make a song sound like a record instead of a hymn -- is built by stacking simple chords you learned in your first year. Learn the stacking rule and you can build a chord you have never seen before, in any key, without looking anything up. That is the difference between reading chord symbols and understanding them.
WHAT IS IN THE SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ COURSE
PART ONE is the full song, hands together, line by line, from my annotated sheet music with the letter name printed inside every notehead, and my hands on camera from directly overhead.
PART TWO is seven eight-bar chord progressions pulled out of the tune: quartal minor 11 shapes, the stubborn A pedal, slash chords, half diminished, borrowed major 13 color, the Lydian sharp 11, and the minor four chord that makes a major song ache. Every bar gives you the chord for two beats and then two beats of silence, and that silence is yours to answer in.
PART THREE is over fifty jazz licks, one over every chord in those progressions, with play-along tracks and printable sheet music.
Start the Smooth Piano Jazz course on your $1 trial: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
#jazzpiano #pianochords #chordtheory #smoothjazz #pianolesson #learnpiano #pianotutorial #adultpianostudent #jazzlicks #minor11 #ninthchords #extendedchords #pianoteacher #jazzpianolesson #chordsandscales
👍 Try 1,000 free lessons today on webpianoteacher.com ✅ Learn to play piano with Shawn’s revolutionary method
Read Google Reviews by Shawn’s actual students google.com/search?sca_esv=5009c1303de011b0&sca_upv=1&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS1008US1008&hl=en-US&q=web+piano+teacher+reviews&uds=ADvngMgvgkdrPGdvQSDLpEVP-ZodsumYvHbzDCPdZxu7y1dxdo5qqAYWcbG74nStvB1P7oPuKgMFxvRIzd_DZN3tMyxEyrPXSMvg62M7DhKnaOoXRrvMRlR2qOzpuVB5MFvbzhVxfpnLmeUii_UEMspRA9Sb2_UNlNmYcxD8gSa_9Y-ZrAhmC7PMo4dC-3yAW2NaRCTwbTkIJFF0zACFe0MmWygbXUnSyy4URj5yYn7f6Y92qL5F7C65sP-AwHchpQ_w3yruheB24nu-AvcfFQo-ckINkBqWAeio4R0dm9r8cmVn2A7RlUhPAPOZyHpYJ2DontEmnoCi9_eEmhwW9RpGrsajaR7u8_U58p0eD_M4AQtnaQce2g4_3U4ECJVG1OOQrlRFwR4byywOQYKXK-PF9b_wDOJ4wtlppDpfX1FhULjD2H_jbmF3keFLT-JjbHx5mU1wYAbm&si=ACC90nwjPmqJHrCEt6ewASzksVFQDX8zco_7MgBaIawvaF4-7tVxiqnhHYhqKwDDsP2tv6FAZ1fBoW06Zy-5I4bv_4sVUMNgTvp0JS4qCRvaokEGreiT-RV-opIxhvzKSE6856yE4kgwpddtdtU31HEpdWwEdq8gXg%3D%3D&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwik1uakreOIAxVxKkQIHU2mGhQQk8gLegQIKRAB&ictx=1&biw=390&bih=657&dpr=3
🎹 #learntoplaypiano #learnpiano #pianocover #pianolessons #pianoteacher #pianotutorial #easypiano #howtoplaypiano http:webpianoteacher.com
🎹 Testimonials from Shawn’s actual students: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bI83Iun0tmCk-4IOSVAxm6S
🔥Billy Joel Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bKGJ1HDqNoqdQ02-o579MQk
🔥Elton John Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bJV-8LhjXDcX5W4XRLhFhQZ
webpianoteacher.com
instagram.com/webpianoteacher
facebook.com/shawncheekeasypiano
twitter.com/webpianoteacher
tiktok.com/@shawnthewebpianoteacher
