Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Until you understand these core principles of building jazz chords on the piano, you'll never fully understand more complex chords.
Stripping it down to the fundamentals, learning about major 7, minor 7 and dominant 7 chords is where you should start when approaching jazz piano. I wish I had learned this first before trying to grasp more complex harmony because everything else makes so much more sense once you understand this.
Being able to play through any jazz standard using only the root, 3 + 7 of each chord is unbelievably useful. Especially when you also learn the inversions and start thinking about voice leading.
Master this before learning anything else about chords. Thank me later.
Grab a free trial to PianoPig Academy: go.pianopig.com/yt232
Download free resource sheet: go.pianopig.com/yt232-vault
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Stripping Chords Down To The Fundamentals
00:42 - The 3 Types Of 7th Chords
01:19 - Major 7 Chords
02:26 - Dominant 7 Chords
03:05 - Minor 7 Chords
04:18 - Learning Them In Another Key
05:31 - Using Them Over Jazz Standards
06:57 - Inversions
08:02 - Voice Leading
08:50 - Summary
Let's connect...
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/PianoPigLessons
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/Piano_Pig
Until you understand these core principles of building jazz chords on the piano, you'll never fully understand more complex chords.
Stripping it down to the fundamentals, learning about major 7, minor 7 and dominant 7 chords is where you should start when approaching jazz piano. I wish I had learned this first before trying to grasp more complex harmony because everything else makes so much more sense once you understand this.
Being able to play through any jazz standard using only the root, 3 + 7 of each chord is unbelievably useful. Especially when you also learn the inversions and start thinking about voice leading.
Master this before learning anything else about chords. Thank me later.
Grab a free trial to PianoPig Academy: go.pianopig.com/yt232
Download free resource sheet: go.pianopig.com/yt232-vault
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Stripping Chords Down To The Fundamentals
00:42 - The 3 Types Of 7th Chords
01:19 - Major 7 Chords
02:26 - Dominant 7 Chords
03:05 - Minor 7 Chords
04:18 - Learning Them In Another Key
05:31 - Using Them Over Jazz Standards
06:57 - Inversions
08:02 - Voice Leading
08:50 - Summary
Let's connect...
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/PianoPigLessons
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/Piano_Pig
