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How to 'standard' voice tunes

hi all,

i was just wondering, when you start on a tune. when you play the head how do you voice your chords. i mean the melody is on top in the right hand. but what do you mostly play in the left hand:

1 and 3rd of the chord or 1 and 7th of the chord - left hand????

and what do you standard play in the left hand?

i mean not like something you should always do... but more like where do you start with which always sounds hip...

by ayolt on 07/23/2006, 06:05

There are 17 comments, leave a comment.

correction:
"and what do you standard play in the left hand"
should be
"and what do you standard play in the right hand"

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by ayolt on 07/23/2006, 06:06

one of several ways:

left hand:
root and 7th or root and 3rd of the chord

right hand:
3rd and melody if left hand is play 7th, or 7th and melody if left hand is playing 3rd

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by Jazz+ on 07/23/2006, 14:47

maybe i am playing too many notes. i play the entire chord in the left hand, (1,3,5,7 or 9). melody in the right hand or scalar runs.

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by jmkarns on 07/24/2006, 15:28

yes, sounds like too many notes in the left hand. experiment with sharing the notes of the chord between both hands, and see what sounds good to you.

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by Gordon on 07/25/2006, 07:24

good tips at albetan's area in files:

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by albetan on 07/25/2006, 10:11

very good. albetan to the rescue! thanks again mr. betancourt.

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by jmkarns on 07/25/2006, 11:52

here are a few articles on many of the lh's roles in jazz:

https://www.jeff-brent.com/lessons/lessonshome.html#jpl

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by 7 on 07/25/2006, 16:34

basically the root chords of the maj.,min. and dim. keys. but i am trying to think like scot and use both hands like one big hand.

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by jmkarns on 07/25/2006, 17:28

so apparently i am doing closed root voicings according to your material 7.

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by jmkarns on 07/25/2006, 17:30

there is a chord system taught in the mohegan books called the rootless a and b voicings. mohegan attributes this left hand chord system to bill evans. i believe albetan has these voicings available in his room.
this system is also the fundemental system taught at berklee college of music. you learn these voicing so you can play them in your sleep. that way these voicings as a bear minimum are available too you. then mohegan also teaches the shell voicings for the left hand ... ie root, 7 and 3 7 systems ... this is another left hand system that you learn and ingraing for instant recall. this system mohegan credits to bud powell as its inventor. this is a system that lends it self particularly well to faster music ie be bop. there are other systems for the left hand but these i consider to be the most basic and most essential for any developing jazz pianist. for my students i make sure they have mastered these two systems before i introduce anything any other voicings for the left hand or the right hand for that matter.

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by Mike on 07/26/2006, 05:26

thanks mike for promoting my room.
the file you are mentioning is a & b forms of voicing.
first time i saw this stuff was in mehegan's books.
this is a very jazzy sound in left hand.

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by albetan on 07/26/2006, 09:06

my teacher showed me a pretty easy way. just voice the root in left pinky a tenth away from the note in your right hand thumb. works for me and i'm able to play many standards quickly.

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by nate_smith on 07/29/2006, 19:20

the method i teach for playing standards from fake books is always just play single-note melody in rh with single note bass line in lh, first time round. that way you can memorise the melody and bass line as quickly as possible and get rid of the music. it is then possible to upgrade this basic material in several ways:
1. upgrade the lh to a two-feel bassline (half-notes - eg: r and 5 for a chord lasting one bar).
2. upgrade the lh to a walking bass line (quarter notes - if in doubt play triad patterns, eg: r353).
3. with either of the above, upgrade the rh to play 3- or 4-note chords - which must have the melody note as top note (choose the correct inversion). only the main melody notes need be played as chords.
the above is good for solo piano. instead of bass lines you can also play shells in the lh (r7 or r3), as mentioned in several of the above posts. the technique here is to choose a shell that complements the melody note (eg: if the melody is 3rd of chord choose r7, and vice versa). play the melody as single notes as in step 1, with lh shells. then upgrade it as follows:
1. analyse each bar and check to see if 3 and 7 are both present, if one is missing, add it in the rh below the melody note. aim to play two notes in both hands, keeping the melody uppermost as always. if 3 and 7 already both present, add another note such as 9, 6, 5, whatever, experiment! avoid doubling any notes.
2. upgrade step 1 by playing three notes in the rh (still r7 or r3 in lh). there are several classic two-handed voicings that it makes sense to learn, which can be adapted so that the top note is the melody note:
r7 / 359
r7 / 369 (for dominant chords)
r3 / 795
r3 / 695 (for major or 6/9 chords)
r3 / 7#9#5 (for altered dominants)
this method avoids using rootless voicings, which are more commonly used when playing with a bassist. personally i don't agree that you should use them the first time you learn a melody. the two-handed approach is much more suitable for solo piano and will be another string to your bow when mastered.

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by DrJazz on 08/09/2006, 21:56

in my opinion, when the melody is always on top, the music starts to sound boring and like a "so-what" (yawn) standard. i like the sound of having an upper (top note) pedal point in the same hand as the melody which is under this note, as the chords change. it's just amazing what you can "get away with". this sounds amazingly full and is quite easy to learn and put into practice.

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by SolArt on 08/10/2006, 06:23

good point solart, although i wouldn't go so far as to say that having the melody on top is boring - as with most things it depends on how you do it and what voicings you choose. adding an unchanging note above a moving melodic line is another way of thickening the right hand, and is often used with blues or pentatonic scales. try adding the root or 5th of the blues scale above a blues melody, so you're playing double notes in the rh. this is a standard blues piano technique!

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by DrJazz on 08/10/2006, 19:06

well, it's just that when you mainly hear the melody on top all the time (as most pianists always play this way) it then sounds refreshing when you hear playing when it's under or inside. also as the top note "sticks out" it's interesting what it does as the melody is underneath.

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by SolArt on 08/11/2006, 05:02

thanks dr. jazz, solart (and the others). these are some pretty good tips for a beginner like me. dr jazz, when you say to add the r or 5 above the blues melody, should you be playing it in synch with the melody note, or as wholes, halfs, quarters, etc.? (or what ever sounds the best for the song)

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by cflat on 08/17/2006, 11:08

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How to 'standard' voice tunes

There are 17 comments, leave a comment.

by ayolt on 07/23/2006, 06:06

by Jazz+ on 07/23/2006, 14:47

by jmkarns on 07/24/2006, 15:28

by Gordon on 07/25/2006, 07:24

by albetan on 07/25/2006, 10:11

by jmkarns on 07/25/2006, 11:52

by 7 on 07/25/2006, 16:34

by jmkarns on 07/25/2006, 17:28

by jmkarns on 07/25/2006, 17:30

by Mike on 07/26/2006, 05:26

by albetan on 07/26/2006, 09:06

by nate_smith on 07/29/2006, 19:20

by DrJazz on 08/09/2006, 21:56

by SolArt on 08/10/2006, 06:23

by DrJazz on 08/10/2006, 19:06

by SolArt on 08/11/2006, 05:02

by cflat on 08/17/2006, 11:08

Reply to Thread

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How to 'standard' voice tunes

There are 17 comments, leave a comment.

by ayolt on 07/23/2006, 06:06

by Jazz+ on 07/23/2006, 14:47

by jmkarns on 07/24/2006, 15:28

by Gordon on 07/25/2006, 07:24

by albetan on 07/25/2006, 10:11

by jmkarns on 07/25/2006, 11:52

by 7 on 07/25/2006, 16:34

by jmkarns on 07/25/2006, 17:28

by jmkarns on 07/25/2006, 17:30

by Mike on 07/26/2006, 05:26

by albetan on 07/26/2006, 09:06

by nate_smith on 07/29/2006, 19:20

by DrJazz on 08/09/2006, 21:56

by SolArt on 08/10/2006, 06:23

by DrJazz on 08/10/2006, 19:06

by SolArt on 08/11/2006, 05:02

by cflat on 08/17/2006, 11:08

Reply to Thread

Jazz Piano Notebook Series

"Latinesque"

LJP Jazz Piano Blogs

Most Recent Discussions

Articles

Top Sheetmusic Picks

Jazz piano education is cool.

Rock on. Follow your passion.

Sign In