(Almost) all the Jazz theory we have covered up to this point can be labelled 'Standard Jazz Theory' or 'Tonal Jazz Theory'. It relates to Jazz up until about the late 1950's and covers genres like Swing and Bebop and Hard-bop and Cool Jazz.
But from the late 1950's onwards, Jazz became more experimental and...well, weird. Jazz started exploring modal harmony (Modal Jazz), and atonality (Free Jazz), and non-functional chord progressions (Modal Jazz and Post-bop), and songs without fixed chord progressions (Modal Jazz) or even chords (Free Jazz and Post-bop). Jazz started breaking all the rules.
But, of course, you have to know the rules in order to break them. And so, having now learned all the 'Standard Jazz Theory' rules, it's time to discuss how 'Modern Jazz Theory' began bending, breaking and eventually abandoning them.
After concluding this module, you should feel comfortable with both Standard and Modern Jazz Theory. So then, in the final module of this website we will discuss the many Jazz Genres that exist and the characteristics that make each unique, disparate and recognisable.
