Hey Indiana,
If you want to learn how to play jazz, you will need to learn jazz standards. Period.
The jazz language is built around the harmonies, melodies, and rhythms of jazz standards. So, to truly get the hang of jazz, you'll need to get comfortable with the common chord progressions found throughout jazz tunes.
I know what you might be thinking—there are so many jazz songs out there, and many of them sound pretty difficult. What are the best jazz songs to learn for beginners?
Luckily, that's exactly what we will cover in this email. By the end, you'll know 20 easy jazz standards that you can use to learn jazz and accelerate your jazz playing.
We've picked these jazz songs because they are harmonically, rhythmically, and melodically simple and contain many important progressions shaping jazz music.
As a result, the following tunes are perfect for beginner improvisers who want to start learning the language of jazz, build their jazz repertoire, and learn the music theory behind jazz.
And, if you are committed to becoming the best jazz musician you can be and enjoy learning jazz standards, then you need to check out the Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle.
Together, we learn a new jazz standard in detail every month. Plus, you'll have access to powerful courses taught by professional jazz musicians and designed to help you become the best jazz player you can be.
Come see what the Inner Circle is all about.
20 Easy Jazz Standards for Beginner Jazz Musicians
1. "All Blues" by Miles Davis – Kind of Blue (1959)
All Blues is a great beginner jazz song because it is a unique take on the blues form that allows improvisers to develop ideas over long stretches of dominant chords (this tune blurs the line between blues and modal jazz, where songs sit on a single chord for a while).
2. "Autumn Leaves" by Joeseph Kosma
Autumn Leaves is excellent for learning about major and minor ii-V-I progressions, voice leading, and practicing improvisation over changing chords.
We have an entire study on this tune in our Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle.
3. "Blue Monk" by Thelonious Monk – Thelonious Monk Trio (1954)
Blue Monk has a fairly simple melody compared to other jazz songs. However, the melody's rhythm is syncopated and complex, which is typical of Monk's unique compositional style.
4. "Blue Bossa" by Kenny Dorham – Page One (1963)
Blue Bossa is a great introduction to playing jazz with a Latin feel. Also, Blue Bossa is a great practice vehicle for major and minor ii-V-Is.
We have an entire study on this tune in our Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle.
5. "Bag's Groove" by Milt Jackson – Wizard of the Vibes (1952)
Bag's Groove is a 12-bar blues with a catchy, syncopated melody. It's perfect for learning swing feel, phrasing, and blues harmony. The most notable version can be found on Miles Davis's 1957 album called Bag's Groove.
6. "C-Jam Blues" by Duke Ellington (1942)
C-Jam Blues has one of the easiest melodies of any of the jazz standards in the jazz world. The melody only has two notes alternating between C and G.
7. "Cold Duck Time" by Eddie Harris – Swiss Movement (1969)
Cold Duck Time is a funky, straight-eighth 12-bar groove with a simple chord progression. This tune is great for learning how to play over a straight-eighth track. The harmony is simple and mostly consists of a I-IV chord progression.
8. "Doxy" by Sonny Rollins – Miles Davis with Sonny Rollins (1954)
This jazz tune is made up entirely of dominant chords and is a great vehicle to practice using the blues scale, the minor pentatonic scale, the Mixolydian scale, and various other jazz scales.
We have an entire study on this tune in our Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle.
9. "Fly Me to the Moon" or "In Other Words" by Bart Howard (1954)
This 32-bar AABA tune is excellent for practicing longer song form tunes. It features all the chords in the key of C major, with a few non-diatonic surprises, making it an excellent tune to practice jazz improvisation.
You can get away with the C major scale when soloing for most of the tune. That's why this is one of the first standards students learn.
10. "Mack the Knife" by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht – The Threepenny Opera (1928)
Despite being a 32-bar form, this jazz standard only has four chords and is in the key of Bb.
11. "Lester Leaps In" by Lester Young – Lester Leaps In (1939)
Lester Leaps In is a rhythm changes tune written by Lester Young and recorded by Count Basie's Kansas City Seven in 1939.
"Lester Leaps In" is a fairly simplified version of rhythm changes, has a simple melody, and is a great place to start for those looking to learn jazz.
12. "Mr. P.C." by John Coltrane – Giant Steps (1960)
Mr. P.C. is the first minor blues tune on the list. The original John Coltrane version is fairly fast, but you can take the tempo down when practicing this tune. The catchy melody is fairly simple, and, as you'd probably expect, John Coltrane's solo is awe-inspiring.
We have an entire study on this tune in our Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle.
13. "My Little Suede Shoes" by Charlie Parker – Swedish Schnapps (1951)
My Little Suede Shoes is another AABA song form built entirely from ii-V-Is. It is a great introduction to learning Charlie Parker's tunes. The whole song is nearly diatonic in the key of Eb (in the b section, there is a brief dominant VI7 chord).
14. "Song for My Father" Horace Silver – Song for My Father (1964)
Song for My Father is a modal jazz tune in F- written by Horace Silver. This tune has an infectious Latin feel and a minor tonality.
We have an entire study on this tune in our Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle.
15. "St. Thomas" by Sonny Rollins – Saxophone Colossus (1956)
St. Thomas is a fun, energetic 16-bar Latin tune written by Sonny Rollins and based on several folk tunes from the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands, and England. The chord progressions in this tune are fairly repetitive, and the jazz harmony is fairly repetitive, making it easy to memorize.
We have an entire study on this tune in our Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle.
16. "Summertime" by George Gershwin – Porgy and Bess (1936)
Summertime is another song originally composed for theater when jazz was popular music. It has since become a contender for the most recorded jazz standard of all time.
Though mostly in the key of A minor, this 16-bar tune briefly visits the relative major key of C at the end.
17. "There Is No Greater Love" by Isham Jones – Isham Jones and His Orchestra (1936)
There Is No Greater Love is another AABA 32-bar form. The A section is in the key of Bb, and the B section is in the relative minor key of G-. Like Autumn Leaves and Fly Me To The Moon, this tune is longer than most other tunes on this list and is typical of other longer songs in this art form.
We have an entire study on this tune in our Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle.
18. "Watermelon Man" by Herbie Hancock – Takin' Off (1962)
Like the other 16-bar bluesy songs on this list, Watermelon Man doesn't have complicated harmony, allowing players to get comfortable playing ideas in one tonality before changing to the next chord.
19. "Work Song" by Nat Adderley – Work Song (1960)
Work Song is a bluesy 16-bar modal tune by Nat Adderley that mostly sits on a single F- chord for the whole thing and doesn't hit many more chords. As one of the modal jazz tunes on this list, it's a great tune to stretch out on and develop ideas over.
20. "What Is This Thing Called Love" by Cole Porter – Wake Up and Dream (1929)
Like Autumn Leaves, this tune gets called often, and you'll want to know it. What Is This Thing Called Love is another AABA 32-bar form made up of both major and minor ii-V-Is.
We have an entire study on this tune in our Learn Jazz Standards Inner Circle.
That wraps up our list of 20 jazz standards!
Make a goal to learn one or two of these, and remember, the more jazz standards you learn the better you will get.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.