Glossary

Diminished approaches use diminished chords as passing or common-tone colors to connect harmonies smoothly, increase tension, and improve voice-leading motion without changing the tonal center.

The harmonic motion from tonic (I) to subdominant (IV), foundational in gospel and gospel-adjacent jazz, often decorated with sus chords, passing movement, and chromatic inner voices.

Guide tones are the 3rd and 7th of a chord; they define chord quality and function, and they are the most important notes for clear voice leading in progressions.

The core jazz cadence moving from predominant (ii7) to dominant (V7) to tonic (Imaj7), establishing direction, tension, and release in one compact movement.

The minor-key counterpart to the major ii-V-I, using a half-diminished ii chord and an altered dominant V that resolves to a minor tonic.

Modal interchange (borrowed chords) means using chords from a parallel mode to add contrast and direction while keeping the same tonal center.

Applied dominant chords that temporarily intensify motion toward a non-tonic target chord, creating stronger arrival without permanently leaving the home key.

A reharmonization technique that replaces a dominant V7 chord with a dominant chord whose root is a tritone away, creating chromatic bass motion into the target chord.

A short harmonic phrase, usually two or four bars, placed at the end of a section to generate momentum that carries the music back to the top of the form.

A practical method for choosing the next chord voicing with smooth movement, clear function, and musical color — prioritizing guide tones and smallest-interval motion over shape memorization.

Minimal chord shapes built around root, 3rd, and 7th that outline harmony clearly with the lowest cognitive load.

A voicing approach where the left hand states chord function and the right hand plays a triad above it to control harmonic color and tension independently.

Color tones added above the basic shell — primarily 9ths and 13ths — that expand harmonic richness without changing chord function.

A comping technique where a chord arrives one eighth-note early — on the “and” of 2 or 4 — creating a leaning sense of forward motion and a stronger sense of arrival.

A foundational comping pattern in 4/4: one hit on beat 1 and one on the "and" of 2, creating a long–short feel that drives forward and leaves space.

A time-feel training method where metronome clicks represent beats 2 and 4 in 4/4, forcing you to internally maintain beats 1 and 3 and exposing weak pulse immediately.

The simplest comping approach in the Day 2 Rhythm Bank — long chord holds (whole or half notes) that build stable time feel and harmonic clarity before adding any rhythmic complexity.

A steady “one chord per beat” comping approach — the Freddie Green feel — that locks the rhythm section and creates a deep, uncluttered groove.

Harmonic rhythm is the rate at which chords change over time; it shapes musical momentum, phrase direction, and emotional pacing as much as the chords themselves.