I've been trying to make a piano jazz song for the last few days, and it seems to be going pretty well, however, I often get the feeling that it sounds a bit too much classical at times, and at other times I get the feeling it sounds a bit more like just a simple soul background track (not that there's anything wrong with that, I just didn't aim for that feel).

I don't think it's an issue of scale, more of chord progressions. I've also been looking at some jazz masters on YouTube, and have been trying to catch "the groove", and it helped a little, but I could use any help I can get.

TL;DR: How would you define piano jazz in comparison to other piano-only styles, apart from the scales used?

seventh chords

In swing pieces, I tend to comp on chords in a long short pattern: like legato eighth to stacc. eighth. I use a fair amount of space in between establishments of the chords; that helps me distinguish my playing from classicalesque piano playing a little.
Also, when picking chords, I try to have some type of ascending/descending line in the chord progression. But that comes from writing horn parts for my jazz band's trombone section, cause a chromatic descending line in the middle of a progression makes me happy :) Hope my insights were useful. If not, then I can try again later :D
P.S. 7th and 9th chords are your friends, from my experience.

what kinds?

Any kind of 7th chord, hell try using 9th and 11th to see what you get, but I'd stick with 7th.

For me the main thing about jazz is to play around the Chord, not the scale, and get out of scale (something that as a standalone would be horribly dissonant) just for a short amount of time to get a bendy quarky jazzy feeling. Know what I mean?

Also, listen to complicated jazz (Cherokee will do the trick).

I'm trying to learn a bit of Jazz on the Piano at the moment. I'm using this website:



Hope this helps

http://www.learnjazzpiano.com/citadel/scotcit.mvc?room_desc=1&room_id=1074922438&hall_id=1074921458

Lol the link didn't work xD. Also this has a full list of tutorials:

http://www.learnjazzpiano.com/citadel/scotcit.mvc?h_desc=1&hall_id=1074921458&room_id=1

You don't necessarily need to focus on chords. Miles Davis' "Kind of Blue" was all modal. If you want a minorish sound use Dorian. "So What" is written solely in D Dorian and Eb Dorian. If you want a major-ish should try Mixolydian. Using these modes will create chords with flat nines and sharp elevens and shit like that.

The easiest way is to listen to jazz pianist and mimic them: Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson

And if you want something more jazz-fusion and electronic: Chic Corea, Herbie Hancock.

Ive got a solo jazz piano only album by Peter Martin that's amazing (he plays with Christian McBride). You want to listen, I can send you a song or something.

PS: I'm going to be majoring in jazz studies. I play trumpet :) If you have any questions about jazz I'd be more than happy to answer them

Also, Blues scales are almost impossible to make sound classical.

From a major scale, the steps of a blues scale are:

1, b3, 3, 4, b5, b7
(C, Eb, E, F, Gb, Bb)

Laceration makes good points





Use key changes, more than you usually would use lots of ii-V-I based progressions or similar and use voice leading. use less triads and functional harmony (hence how your piece may sound classical)but use chord extensions (7ths,9ths, 11ths, and 13ths) and non chord tones. The fifths are generally worthless unless the 5th sets the quality of a chord (if its diminished or augmented). Use open voicings, for example root, 7th, and then the third (voiced as a tenth).




writing anything in FL can be a pain. no writing is done when you pick up your instrument and just play....of course that takes too long learn ;)