No music theory will make you play this solo

[Joseph Maynor]

6 hours ago, Rigel said:

All 12 notes are usable on any chord. It’s just the function that changes. In -> Out -> In.

You are dead on. That’s the bedrock of jazz right there. If you look at the holy ii-V-I. That’s what’s happening. The V chord is the tension point you speak of in that scenario. Jazz people usually alter the five with any number of chromatic notes to increase the tension even more before going back to one but chromatic notes can and do happen on every chord, at times.

As long as you dance around and lend on notes that tell your story you can get there in infinite ways and use all the notes to do it.

I almost never alter the V chord when I play Jazz, but that is just me.  This lets me play the same scale over a Major 251 progression.  In a Blues I will alter the V chords because it is a 145 progression.  

[Joseph Maynor]

On 9/17/2026 at 3:31 AM, Rigel said:

Damn I’m realizing you guys just don’t know what music theory is.

If your theory is limiting your playing in anyway you just have the wrong theory.

 

I spent a lot of time studying music theory years ago.  Nowadays I don't need much theory.  It depends on what genre of music you play too.  As a Jazz trumpet player, I don't need to know the level of theory that a Jazz piano player needs to know for example.  I need enough theory to look at a chart and decide how I am going to take a solo over the changes for a tune that I haven't played before.

[Carl-Richard]

On 17.9.2026 at 0:31 PM, Rigel said:

If your theory is limiting your playing in anyway you just have the wrong theory.

You will tend to play more consonant than dissonant, hence it will limit you that way. You're not necessarily limited in what you are technically able to play, but you are limited in what results you will be most inclined to produce.

Edited 46 minutes ago by Carl-Richard