Ninth Voicings Review

Exploring Jazz Piano: Volume One - Part Two

Well, you've almost completed this. Congratulations! In summary, I think it might be useful to go over some of the chord shapes that we've used, particularly ninth chords, which has been the main subject of this chapter.

Key Voicings to Remember

You might want to remember the voicings we've used:

• Numerical Patterns:
  • We've used 3, 5, 7, 9 a lot.
  • We've also used 3, 7, 9, which works nicely if you play it lower down.
  • Additionally, we've used the inversion of that, which is 7, 9, 3, 5.

These are all C7 shapes or C9 shapes.

Major and Minor Chords

Don't forget, sometimes you have a sixth in the chord instead of the sevenths. With major or minor chords, it might be C69 down here. That would be this.

• Additional Shapes:
  • 3, 5, 6, 9
  • 6, 9, 3, 5

A lot of pianists use these shapes in the left hand. For F major or, sorry, C major, it's not such an obvious choice of notes, but it makes sense when you have the bass at the same time.

Quartal Shapes

With a C69, if you take out the fifth, you get a quartal shape: E, a D - a perfect fourth starting on the third of the chord.

This is a classic way to play C major seven. Even though it hasn't got a seventh in, you're playing a 6, 9 shape instead. You remember, we did that in the left hand when we played Still Dreaming in the solo section.

Summary of Chord Shapes

Here's a summary of all the three-note shapes and four-note shapes (rootless shapes) that we've played:

• Three Types:

  • C major 9
  • C 9
  • C minor 9

• Four Notations:

  • C major 9, 3, 5, 7, 9
  • C 9
  • C minor 9
  • In the other inversion:
    • C major 9
    • C 9
    • C minor 9

You could be playing those in the left hand if you weren't playing the root in the left. Get used to those in either hand.

Additional Shapes

Then we have the 6, 9 shapes:

• C major 69
• C minor 6, 9
• 3, 6, 9

You could put the fifth back in:

• C 69 with the fifth.
• C minor 6, 9

These shapes often sound good lower down or can be played in the middle. If you invert it, you can play it with a 6 on the bottom.

• C 69, 6, 9, 3, 5.
• Or put the minor third in, giving you that dark sound that we had in Orinoco, amongst other places.

It will pay you to memorize these configurations:

• 7, 9, 3, 5
• 6, 9, 3, 5

Two-Handed Voicings

Before we finish, I would like to go through similar configurations with two-handed voicings.

We will play shells in the left hand and I'll run through pretty much the complete set of two-handed voicings that we've looked at:

1. C major 9
2. C 69
3. C 9
4. C 9 with a sharp 5
5. C 9 with a 13th
6. C minor 9
7. C minor major 9
8. Major 7th in the left hand
9. C minor 6 9
10. C half diminished
11. C diminished
    • You could put a 9th on that as well.

These are all with root and seventh in the left hand or root and sixth in some cases.

You need to also review the ninth chords in five-part harmony again, but with root and third in the left hand.

Review of Rooted Voicings

Remember we did root, 3, 7, 9, G major 9, but we can add the fifth on top and that's going to be present in most of these shapes:

• G major 9
• G6 9
• G9
• G minor 9
• G minor 6 9
• G minor major 9
• G half diminished

This is a bit different, isn't it? We haven't got the fifth on top because we don't want the fifth. Half diminished chords have flattened fifths, and I've put that in the middle with the fourth on top.

This is a very common way to voice a half diminished chord, but you have to be careful with ninths. They don't work so well with half diminished chords.

• Just listen to this: C half diminished with a ninth. It can sound a little bit jarring.

A lot of players put the fourth instead. Lastly, G diminished again, with the flat five in the middle and the ninth on top.

Alternative Voicings

Going back to these half diminished chords, this idea of putting the fourth in is also possible in one hand.

Instead of D half diminished like this, you could move the F up to a G and play it like that.

That sounds really nice when inverted as well. It is the same chord as F minor 6, in fact.

Don't forget, all this material is basically harmony based on thirds. But we have also touched on quartal harmony, a subject which has become increasingly popular since the 60s. Players like McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, and Chick Corea have tended to voice chords more in fourths.

Example of Quartal Harmony

There's an example of that at the end of In a Sentimental Mood, which resolves to an F chord.

I did this quartal arpeggio, maybe you noticed at the time, that's all based on perfect fourths. With the pedal down, you're actually getting all the notes of the F major scale sounding at once:

• DGC going up a fifth.
• ADG going up another fifth.
• EAD.

Happy playing!