4 Basic Chord Voicings Every Jazz Musician Should Know

1) 2 plus 3/Rooted: 0:58
2) Block chords/Close: 4:56
3) Fourths/So What: 6:34
4) Spread Voicings: 8:11

Today, Adam hosts the first ever solo YHI and shows off some simple voicings you can add to your repertoire. You can get our podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[Manzie]

So it’s like this...
1) chord shell with left hand, pretty notes on top, try not to repeat any notes in chord.
2) left hand and right hand are closed in an octave, then add sweet/spice within the octave.
3) Chords built by 4ths, sometimes altering the interval of a 4th to a 3rd or the like.
4)Chord shell with the left hand and right hand plays octaves, add an interval between the octaves if you’d like.
Awesome man, thanks : )

[giocoso]

1:00 3+3
5:02 Block chord
6:36 Fourth voicing
8:15 Spread voicing

[pogchamp]

Man that locked hand octave thing that's a sound I've heard but never really knew how to get, thanks!

[jacktrades]

Made perfect sense to me, too! And there's a difference between a complaint and an observation. Adam covered a WHOLE lot of material in a very short time -- well done! I think Michael Bonner had a point (which might have been more precisely expressed). Without question, Adam knows the content of the block chords he was speaking about, but didn't go into much detail. In fact, a whole 12 minutes could have easily been spoken on each of the voicing types and how each applies to different chord types, progressions, etc. Nonetheless, what he did here is excellent!

[davidgilbert]

I'm a relative beginner jazz theory player... This was extremely helpful!!! Thank you!!

It helped that I've never understood voicings before, and this explained how to get into it. It also helped that I've improvised around So What doing the 4ths thing on the white notes... This is a really good easy place to start understanding what he's talking about, and to feel the ease and wonderful thing that happens when you keep your hands exactly the same and bash around the white notes imagining Miles soloing around you trying to keep up.

[jeffrey]

2:15: First / 6:13: Second / 7:51: Third / 9:28: Last

[michaeldunagan]

What a Maestro!

Giving away all the secrets!

I thank him so much because my piano playing is boring and commercial and not jazzy.

Also helps me read jazz scores like Vinve Gurauldi's "Christmastime is Here".

[ArthurRosch]

There are dozens of easy permutations from F to B flat. What a rich landscape!

[joeflowers]

Great info. A bit heady for most but the best teaching material that I''ve seen yet. I have to go over it a few times and work on it but these basic movements are exactly what I'm learning.
This is probably a bit too advanced for the average player that hasn't studied jazz. You really know your theory and 11's and 13's. I'm still a bit slow on that. Thanks I appreciate the knowledge.
Now it's time to digest it.

[hernannieto]

Dude I really like your syle, just a little tip, If you could be more precise about wich notes to play en each voicing, even if that means limiting posibilties, that would be awesome. Mainly cause thats usually how I practice em, just same exact thing over and over. Also if you can get one of those graphic things that show the keybed on screen, thats awesome also. Nice vid ! Cheers

[mannycepeda]

I am so glad I bumped into you. Great insights. I am a composer/arranger. I will ask you the same question I ask everyone (still don't have an answer), what are the left hand voicing for improvisation? I can solo with my right hand but I don't know what to do to comp with my left hand. Hope you can either answer my question or maybe do a video on chord prog with right hand simple solos. Thanks in advanced!!

[ngoles]

I love that you mention that these voicings work in ensembles too. R 7 3 is such a hip voicing and there's a lot of purists out there who're only into rootless for ensembles 😁

[reynaldomadridi]

Building from that Fmin7 @ 2:15 - 5:45 is dynamic!

[yakdothan]

I am a bass player trying to learn beginner jazz piano, this is very helpful. Thank you!

[ryanaudy]

This is one of the best YouTube videos I've watched on jazz piano, thank you!

[nardafargotstein]

This was an awesome lesson! I loved the reading out of the notes and their placement. It was so clear and slow that I could write down the transcription so I could learn this in all keys. I beautiful lesson.

[CharlesMoore]

Super informative. Excellent discussion of the concepts, plus relevant details and tips. Many thanks, Adam!

[ArthurRosch]

Adam, your hands are HUGE! I've been working this vid for a week and I think I"ve got it. I think...

[MattParkerMedia]

Adam!!!! You are a beast! So glad to see you on here sharing all of this great information. I'm super excited to get these voiceing under my fingers. Thank you

[shanjayaweera]

Awesome lesson. The forth voicing sounds a lot like Red Garland (who is one of my favourites