Learn some simple but sophisticated Christmas cocktail-piano chords and try them out with a full jazz quartet behind you. In this tutorial I’m working in C major and using Quartet, a play-along app that gives you a live-feeling rhythm section you can improvise and comp with. It’s a lovely way to explore harmony, practise voicings, or just disappear into that late-night-hotel-lobby mood.
After a quick playthrough, I break down the progression, show the chord shapes on screen, and then do a step-by-step walk-through of how everything fits together. If you enjoy cosy ballad-style jazz, this one’s for you.
*Get Quartet 5 (Christmas) for Mac/iOS today:*
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/quartet-5-christmas/id6753187188
*Quartet Bundle (Volumes 1–5 – over 550 songs, discounted):*
https://apps.apple.com/us/app-bundle/quartet-bundle-volumes-1-5-the-live-jazz-standards/id1853028785
If you want more cocktail-piano tutorials, improvisation tips, and chord-based walkthroughs, there’s a whole playlist on the channel. Enjoy the chords — and may your Christmas playing sound suitably suave.
00:00 Let's talk Christmas piano chords
01:50 Playthrough
03:59 The big picture (bass, extensions, substitutions)
05:02 Building and using chord extensions
07:53 Some basic chord subsitution
10:02 Taking it to the piano