We don’t want to double the root C or even the 3rd E, but what about the 9th D? Sounds good:Īnd there we have the classic rootless voicings. C: we could play the 7th B, but the 6th is already making the chord sound at rest, so let’s see what else is possible.We could play the 5th D, but there’s a more interesting sounding option – the 13th (or 6th) E. G7: we avoid the natural 4th C on a dominant chord because it’s dissonant.Dm7: the root D is taken care of, and we’re already playing the 3rd F, so that just leaves us the 9th E.So what can we stick on top to give the thumb something useful to do? It’s easy enough to take what we’ve got here with the LH fingers, in which case we’ve got a thumb flapping about doing nothing. Notice how the voices move smoothly from one chord to the next – so all well and good so far. This only leaves us with the 5th G, which is fine, so let’s put that in: C: we avoid the natural 4th F on a tonic major chord because it’s dissonant.G7: we don’t need the root G, so that leaves us the 9th A, which sounds good.Dm7: the 4th G doesn’t add much, nor does the 6th (or 13th) B, so let’s put the 5th A in there.We’ve got another two fingers’ worth, though. First up, what can we put between these two essential notes? Let’s try out the possibilities: Here are the strong chord tones (minus roots): Let’s build things up, step by step, over a plain unaltered Dm7 G7 C progression. So the bassist is taking care of the root. We want to aim for the smoothest voice-leading we can find over the commonest cadences – and by far the commonest cadence in jazz is the II-V-I progression.Ideally, we don’t want to double chord tones – it’s more efficient and harmonically cleaner if we don’t.The compass of the human hand makes a four-note voicing the optimum natural choice.5ths will always sound okay, but aren’t essential (particularly since the bassist will often be referencing the 5th as well as the root). You don’t need to play the root (the bass has it) and this means you have the luxury of adding more interesting chord tones.The strongest chord tones are R37 on m7 and 7 chords and R36 on tonic chords.There’s a bass player who is taking care of the root notes and this frees you up from having to play roots on the piano.Īctually, even when there isn’t a bass player, and even when you aren’t playing the root notes on the piano, these voicings are often used to support a melody or solo in the right hand. ![]() The bass has got your back… WHY ROOTLESS VOICINGS? But even if they’d been locked in a hermetically sealed “jazz room”, it’s almost inevitable that they’d have come up with these voicings anyway. Now even the hippest, “streetest” jazz legend was always interested in music as a whole and most of the greats loved classical music and studied theory every chance they got. ![]() Maybe that was indeed an influence, and you do find these structures in works by Ravel, Debussy and their contemporaries. Some would say they are a borrowing from the Impressionists in classical music. And while these voicings came to prominence in the period these three players were at the height of popularity, they had already been used widely by earlier players such as Bud Powell, Tatum and Ellington. While they evoke an Evansish sound and he certainly did use them, he used a lot more besides. These voicings are usually credited to Bill Evans, Wyn Kelly and Red Garland. We’ll get on to where they came from in just a minute, but the answer to the second question is simple: because they are not just the best choices of notes, but arguably they are the only choices… Where did these voicings come from and why did the people who introduced them choose these particular notes? They’re often taught in the spirit of just “this is what you play, now get on and learn it”. Four-note voicings you need to know so well you can play them while doing something elseīut the shapes and choices of notes can be a bit confusing when you’re first learning them.
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