Berkman’s approach is fundamentally functional and auditory. He emphasizes that players must learn to hear the tension and resolution of chords, rather than just calculating them on paper. The text is designed for intermediate to advanced musicians—including pianists, guitarists, composers, and arrangers—who already know basic music theory but want to develop a professional jazz vocabulary. Core Theoretical Concepts Covered
David Berkman, an acclaimed jazz pianist, composer, and educator, designed this book to bridge the gap between classical theory and real-world jazz performance. Many traditional harmony books focus heavily on voice leading rules from the 18th century. While valuable, these rules often fail to explain how a modern jazz rhythm section operates.
Injecting chromaticism into standard progressions to create stronger pull toward target chords. 2. The Art of Reharmonization
Anyone looking to write original jazz tunes or arrange standards for small groups to big bands will find the chapters on non-functional harmony invaluable. The Jazz Harmony Book By David Berkman Full
He expects you to be at the piano (or your instrument) doing the exercises. He provides hundreds of musical examples, but the magic happens when you take his "Model Tune" ( All the Things You Are ) and apply his 15 different harmonic frameworks to it.
See visual examples of (like Rootless or Fourth-voicings).
Before diving into the book, it is crucial to understand the author. David Berkman is not just a pedagogue; he is a working jazz pianist and composer with a distinguished discography on the Palmetto Records label. He has performed with legends like Tom Harrell, Cecil McBee, and Billy Hart, and he is a long-time faculty member at the prestigious Queens College Jazz Studies program in New York. and harmonic minor scales.
As the book progresses into its final chapters, Berkman steps away from traditional functional harmony (where chords always resolve to a tonic home base). He dives into the harmonic innovations of the 1960s and beyond, exploring:
To help tailor this overview or delve deeper into specific areas of jazz theory,
The initial chapters establish the baseline rules of the jazz idiom. Berkman ensures the reader thoroughly understands how traditional functional harmony operates in a modern context. Before diving into the book
Why This is the Most Practical Guide to Jazz Harmony for the Serious Musician
Mapping the chords built on the major, natural minor, and harmonic minor scales.
