◤ ComposerDeck · Jazz

How to make Jazz music with creative constraints

Swing, extended chords and a form you can improvise over. A short guide to writing jazz under constraint, then 187 jazz cards to draw from.

▲ Draw a Jazz brief

What makes Jazz tick

Jazz is a harmony-first genre with a rhythm-first feel. The chords carry sevenths, ninths and thirteenths by default, they move in cycles of fifths (the ii-V-I is the atom of the language), and almost everything sits on a swung eighth note that a grid cannot reproduce. Tempo is wide open, from a 60 BPM ballad to a 300 BPM burner, and the form is usually a repeating chorus (12-bar blues, 32-bar AABA) that exists to be soloed over.

Because the form repeats, a jazz sketch is small: one chord sequence, one melody, one groove. The craft is in voice leading (each note of a chord moving as little as possible to the next) and in leaving room. A jazz trio has three instruments and more space than most ten-track productions.

Three constraints that work in Jazz

ii - V - I (Major): write eight bars that contain nothing but this cadence in two keys, then a melody that only uses chord tones. That is a jazz tune.
Half-diminished (Min7♭5): use it as the ii of a minor ii-V-i. It is the chord that makes a minor cadence sound like jazz instead of rock.
IV - iv - I (Minor Plagal Cadence): the bittersweet ending. Put it in the last two bars of the form and every chorus lands somewhere.

Mistakes that flatten a Jazz track

Every chord in root position, stacked as a block. Spread the voicings and let the bass have the root alone.
Quantised swing. A swing setting of 60% is a caricature; real swing changes with tempo and with the player. Play it in, or at least humanise it.
Extensions without a reason. A 13th on every chord is not more jazz, it is less contrast. Save the colour for the chord that needs it.

How to use the 187 Jazz cards

Draw a jazz brief and keep the whole hand: a progression card sets the changes, a chord card decides the colour, a rhythm or tempo card sets the feel. Twenty minutes, one chorus, bounce it. The chord progression guide explains most of the Roman numerals you will pull.

Every card below is tagged Jazz in the deck. The button above opens the studio with the Jazz fader already set; the hand you pull is your brief for the next twenty minutes. Pull cards, accept the brief, ship a sketch.

Jazz constraint cards

Chord Major 7th Create a major triad with an added major 7th interval. This smooth, jazzy sound appears in many genres.
Chord Minor 9th Compose using a minor triad with added minor 7th and major 9th. Creates richness with a darker quality.
Chord Dominant 7th Incorporate a major triad with an added minor 7th. This creates tension seeking resolution.
Chord Diminished Use a triad with two minor 3rds stacked. Creates tension and instability.
Chord Augmented Incorporate a triad with two major 3rds stacked. Creates a suspended, floating quality.
Chord Sus4 Use a triad with 4th instead of 3rd. Creates an unresolved, open sound waiting to resolve.
Chord Half-diminished (Min7♭5) Compose with a minor triad with diminished 5th and minor 7th. Often functions as ii in minor keys.
Chord 6/9 Use a major triad with added 6th and 9th. Creates a bright, contemporary sound without 7th tension.
Chord Add11 (Major Add11) Incorporate a major triad with an added 11th (often ♯11 for Lydian sound, or natural 11). Adds color without 7th/9th complexity.
Roman Numeral ii - V - I (Major) Compose using the fundamental jazz progression in a major key. Can be elaborated with 7ths and extensions.
Roman Numeral I - vi - ii - V Use this common progression found in jazz "rhythm changes" and doo-wop progressions. Often loops or leads back to I.
Roman Numeral iii - vi - ii - V Implement an extended jazz turnaround, often leading back to I. Creates a sense of harmonic motion and resolution.
Roman Numeral IV - iv - I (Minor Plagal Cadence) Implement this cadence featuring a major to minor subdominant resolution to tonic. Creates a bittersweet quality.
Note F♯ (as Tritone or Lydian ♯4) Incorporate F♯ prominently, perhaps as a tritone against C, or as the ♯4 in G Lydian or C Lydian Dominant.
Note B♭ (as Dominant 7th or Blue Note) Feature B♭, perhaps as the ♭7 of a C dominant chord, or as a blue note in F major/D minor.
Note E♭ (as Minor 3rd or Blue Note) Incorporate E♭, perhaps as the minor 3rd in C minor, a borrowed chord in C major, or a blue note.
Note A♭ (as Borrowed ♭VI or Chromatic Color) Use A♭, perhaps as the ♭VI chord from C minor borrowed into C major, or for chromatic color.
Note B (as Leading Tone) Emphasize B as the leading tone resolving to C, or as part of a G major chord.
Chord Maj13 Incorporate a major 7th chord with added 9th, (often ♯11th), and 13th. Creates a lush, colorful sound.
Chord Min11 Use a minor 7th chord with added 9th and 11th. Creates a rich, atmospheric minor quality.
Chord 7♯9 (Hendrix Chord) Feature a dominant 7th with a sharp 9th, famously used in rock and blues. Creates bluesy tension with an edge.
Chord 7♭9 Employ a dominant 7th with a flat 9th, common in jazz for V-i cadences. Creates strong resolution tension.
Chord Augmented 7th (AugMaj7 or Aug7) Use an augmented triad with a minor 7th (Aug7) or major 7th (AugMaj7). Creates an exotic, colorful tension.
Chord Maj7♯11 (Lydian Chord) Implement a major 7th with an added sharp 11th, implying a Lydian sound. Creates bright, modern color.