Learn Jazz Standards By Heart In 3 Easy Steps

[00:00:00]Have you ever practiced a jazz standard for days, maybe even weeks, and the second you remove the lead sheet, your brain completely crashes?

[00:00:09]The problem usually isn't memory. The problem is that most people try to memorize jazz standards as random chord names and isolated melody notes. But jazz tunes are actually full of patterns.

[00:00:23]Today, I want to show you three ways to memorize jazz standards much faster using structure, your ears, and basic jazz theory.

[00:00:32]My name's Sandra Sherman, and I simplify jazz for you.

[00:00:40]>> [music] >> Before memorizing details, first learn the road map of the tune. Most jazz standards are built from repeating sections and recognizable forms. So, instead of looking at 32 individual bars, you start seeing larger structures. You should immediately ask yourself, "What is the song form? Is it the usual AABA, or something else? What key are we in?" The key signature already gives you useful information before you play a single note. And usually, the ending chord tells you where home is. If you know where the music wants to go, memorization becomes much easier.

[00:01:22]A lot of jazz standards only look complicated because we focus too much on individual bars instead of the overall structure. This is probably the most important part. Instead of immediately playing full jazz chords, first reduce the harmony to bass notes. The goal here is to find and hear the chord movement and understand the song better. Let's apply this quickly to the first A section of Autumn Leaves. So, we have these chords here.

[00:01:54]>> [music] >> And now we memorize the bass notes only.

[00:02:00]>> [music] [music] >> This already reveals a lot about the tune. Now sing along.

[00:02:17]That's a little too low for me, but you guys will be able to sing that or sing it an octave higher maybe.

[00:02:25]>> [singing] >> Then do something extremely powerful.

[00:02:32]Sing the next bass note before you play it. So the first one you sing along because unless you have perfect pitch, I don't, so but the next one And that's too low for me.

[00:02:54]Now you're no longer relying on finger memory. You're actually hearing the harmony internally. Your fingers forget, but your ears remember. Now pay attention to the emotional quality of the chords. Every chord family has its own emotional character.

[00:03:11]Major chords sound stable and bright.

[00:03:16]>> [music] >> Minor chords sound darker and more melancholic.

[00:03:23]Dominant chords create attention.

[00:03:28]>> [music] >> Altered dominants creates a strong tension and drama.

[00:03:34]>> [music] >> Half diminished chords sound unstable and mysterious.

[00:03:40]>> [music] >> Here's a very important tip for you. Use guide tone voicings, also known as shell voicings, to memorize jazz standards.

[00:03:50]Guide tone voicings are very minimalistic chords that only consist of the root, third, and seventh. Root, seventh, third.

[00:04:00]The same with minor chord, root, seventh, third.

[00:04:04]Or dominant chord, root, flat seventh, third, >> [music] >> and so on. Simplify as much as possible when memorizing songs. It's less about color tones and big sounds than the harmonic and melodic movement of the song.

[00:04:19]For a systematic approach to jazz guitar, check out my jazz starter packs.

[00:04:24]The link is in the video description or bio. Now, let's talk about melodies. A lot of jazz melodies are also built from patterns.

[00:04:33]>> [music] >> Notice how much of this melody simply moves down the scale. We're in the key of B flat here. And we have three ascending notes. And then we jump a fourth up on the last note. Then we go to the next scale note. So, we started on G, now it starts on F. Again, three notes up, 1 2 [music] 3, and a fourth up.

[00:05:09]Then the next scale tone. We were on F, now we're on E flat. Three notes up.

[00:05:14]>> [music] >> And we jump a fourth up.

[00:05:20]And then the last one is a different scale, but still we go to one down.

[00:05:24]Different scale, three notes up.

[00:05:27]And >> [music] >> not quite a fourth up. That's um >> [music] >> That's a third.

[00:05:38]The melody is very sequential. A lot of jazz songs are built this way, actually.

[00:05:43]Once you start recognizing scale movement, melody becomes much easier to memorize.

[00:05:49]Instead of memorizing 20 separate notes, your brain now hears this melody simply walks down the scale. This is where theory suddenly becomes very practical.

[00:05:59]The most important progression in jazz is the two >> [music] >> five one.

[00:06:08]Jazz standards are full of this sound, but don't only recognize it visually.

[00:06:12]Hear it. Notice the bass and sing it.

[00:06:19]Notice the tension and release even in guide tone voicings.

[00:06:23]>> [music] >> Builds up tension Listen to that and resolution.

[00:06:31]This sound becomes deeply familiar over time.

[00:06:34]Minor two five ones have a different emotional color.

[00:06:39]>> [music] >> Very much tension [singing] here from the unstable half diminished [music] to and to the minor resolution.

[00:06:51]>> [music] >> You can help to keep the free videos of this channel running by donating via the thanks button below the video or become a paying member and enjoy perks. Autumn Leaves is basically a collection of two five one movements. Major two five one and minor two five ones. Between these two, there's an E flat major seven chord. The fourth degree which I call the connector chord because it often connects the major and the minor two five one of the scale. Once you recognize that, the tune suddenly stops looking scary. And look at the bass movement.

[00:07:29]It's all ascending fourths respectively uh descending fifths.

[00:07:35]After the fourth uh chord, there's a tritone >> [music] >> and then the pattern continues.

[00:07:43]So.

[00:07:44]>> [music] >> Now add the shell voicings. So, this is the root [music] and we need a minor chord in the 2-5-1.

[00:07:55]So, we have these three notes.

[00:07:58]>> [music] >> Then the next one is a fourth up and it's a dominant chord because 2-5-1, the five is a dominant chord.

[00:08:06]>> [music] >> Then you go down a fifth.

[00:08:10]That's the one chord and it's always major.

[00:08:13]>> [music] >> So, that's just shell voicings here.

[00:08:17]Then the connector chord, the fourth, is a fourth up and it's a major chord.

[00:08:23]You got the shell voicing is actually this one.

[00:08:27]1-3-7 of the chord.

[00:08:30]This would be a full chord with the fifth [music] included. Both are good.

[00:08:35]And then you go down a tritone and [music] you play a 2-5-1 in minor. And the 2-5-1 in minor starts with a half chord. We can't use a shell voicing there because we need the flat fifth, otherwise it's like a minor seven chord.

[00:08:49]>> [music] >> Then the five chord is always dominant.

[00:08:55]And the one chord, of course, [music] a fifth down is a minor chord.

[00:09:03]>> [music] [music] >> Memorize this by ear and visually. If you memorize things this way, it's also super easy to transpose a song to another key. You're no longer memorizing 20 chords, you're memorizing a few familiar harmonic ideas. Like if you move this up, I could move this to E flat now.

[00:09:32]>> [music] >> Doesn't matter.

[00:09:37]>> [music] >> I could move this to any key because I know the pattern. All the things you are is another fantastic example. The tune constantly moves through key centers using very logical harmonic movement.

[00:09:51]Advanced sounding, long song form, yes.

[00:09:55]Random, not at all. That line is very strong. So, if you want to memorize jazz standards faster, stop trying to memorize isolated information. Instead, learn the structure, hear the bass movement, recognize chord qualities, understand melodic patterns, and recognize 2-5-1s and harmonic movement.

[00:10:18]The more patterns you recognize, the easier jazz standards become. And after a while, you notice something amazing.

[00:10:26]New tunes start feeling familiar much faster because jazz standards are really a language. And languages are learned through patterns, not through memorizing random words. Please give this video a fat thumbs up, subscribe my channel, and hit that little bell notification to never miss a new video of mine. I see you next time. Servus. Bye-bye.

[00:10:51]>> [music]