Why the following example is Fm7 ?

[rcy]

Hello,

I have got the book "The Jazz Theory" by Mark Levine. In the following example (attach) the chord is Fm7 (Key Eb). I am a guitar player, and I don't have enough experience with reading music notes.

I would appreciate if you could help me to understand why its Fm7 and not Fm9?

Thank you.

[paulkogut]

Fair question. A lot of times, the chord symbols are meant to be a general guideline, and don't reflect what's exactly played in the staff notation. F-7 Bb7 Ebmaj7 on a lead sheet can easily become F-9 Bb13 Eb (add 2) in practice, and then something similar but not exactly the same on the next chorus.

Best wishes for your music,

PK

[Jimmy blue note]

Ab makes it an E-7, so its function is fulfilled. Minor 7th does make it an F-7 as you point out and the G is a nice extension that adds a nice colour to the chord, don't you think? Chord symbols, especially in jazz, aren't requirements or dictates but rather harmonic guidelines where the extensions are used by the player as an optional colour. They can also be specified if a particular sound is desired but more essential symbols are often used as functional guidelines.
Meat on the bun makes it a hamburger. If you add salt, mustard, catsup and lettuce to it, you can still call it a hamburger.

[mr. beaumont]

Think of Fm7 and Fm9 as "F minor."

[Cunamara]

Well, I would look it as "that's the melody note" rather than a part of the chord. The old Real Books made the error of naming the melody notes as part of the chord, often. When using those chords for comping after the head, the extensions box in the soloist and create clashes if the inexperienced player uses them (ask me how I know...).

[rpjazzguitar]

If you play the G in the chord you're playing Fm9.

As written, those notes spell Fm9.

If you don't play the G (that is, you play a straight Fm7) but somebody else does play a G, the band, as a whole, is playing Fm9.

Cunamara's post explains why you might see this.

[Christian Miller]

Hello,

I have got the book "The Jazz Theory" by Mark Levine. In the following example (attach) the chord is Fm7 (Key Eb). I am a guitar player, and I don't have enough experience with reading music notes.

I would appreciate if you could help me to understand why its Fm7 and not Fm9?

Thank you.

I think he’s basically saying ‘this is an Fm7 type of chord’; so you can see Fm7 as a family of chords Fm7, Fm9, Fm11 that can be swapped out for each other. All are common as the ii chord of a ii V I depending on the tune’s melody.

[Jonah]

The simplest explation to me that in jazz theory (and in Mark Levine's book in particular) 7th chord is often considered as minimal harmonic element, integral entity.
And the extentions - they are optional, additional elements that do not change the main harmonic function of the chord in the language.

Disclaimer: jazz theory is a bunch of different approaches, and one can really operate with triads and consider 6th or 7th to be an extention. And also one can use a particular big extended chord a specific integral element of the language.
Much depends on the context and how one hear things.

[ecj]

Well, I would look it as "that's the melody note" rather than a part of the chord. The old Real Books made the error of naming the melody notes as part of the chord, often. When using those chords for comping after the head, the extensions box in the soloist and create clashes if the inexperienced player uses them (ask me how I know...).

Bumping this point for emphasis. Watch out in chord charts that the extensions indicated aren't just melody notes. It's jazz, you don't have to play the chords the same way every time through!

[Tal_175]

Also notice that Bb7 has a C and Eb has an F on the staff. You could've asked this question about any of the other chords as well.
The chord symbols represent what you'd typically see on a lead sheet. The staff shows one way that they can be realized.

[rcy]

Thank you all. Appreciate the help.

I wasn't sure if this book is the right approach for me to get into Jazz since it confused me. Your comments gave me more confidence.

[Tal_175]

Thank you all. Appreciate the help.

I wasn't sure if this book is the right approach for me to get into Jazz since it confused me. Your comments gave me more confidence.

Giving you confidence that the "Jazz Theory" book is the right approach to get in the jazz might be an unintended consequence for some of the commenters. Ha ha.

[ragman1]

Just to be irritating, I always thought the m9 chord does sound significantly different to the m7... especially if the melody stresses the 3rd over the 9.

So there :-)

[ARGewirtz]

Hello,

I have got the book "The Jazz Theory" by Mark Levine. In the following example (attach) the chord is Fm7 (Key Eb). I am a guitar player, and I don't have enough experience with reading music notes.

I would appreciate if you could help me to understand why its Fm7 and not Fm9?

Thank you.

The comments in the book about the example that you reference is that "Figure 2-1 is a ii-V-I in the key of Eb from Victor Young's "Stella by Starlight." So that emphasizes the previous responses to your question in that the F-7 notation is not intended to indicate the actual notes that are played but instead suggests the tonal quality of the chord for the player to consider for that measure.

[ragman1]

rcy -

What the others have said. Sometimes the chord names reflect the melody, often they don't. As the melody in this instance was a long G they might well have put Fm9 but it's possible the example was chosen from a source that didn't. Or a source recording plainly using an Fm7.

But the thing is that the Jazz Theory Book is instructional and also mainly for pianists. It's probably better to wait till you're dealing with the actual lead sheet of a tune; it'll probably be much clearer.

Anyway, if you were playing the tune solo (by yourself) you'd probably want to play an Fm9 chord in order to incorporate the melody. It might amount to that.