The Sharp Five Note in "St. James's Infirmary"

In this lesson, we will discuss the importance of the sharp five note and how to utilize it effectively in your playing.

Avoiding the Ordinary Fifth

When playing a sharp five as the melody, it's crucial to avoid having the ordinary fifth in the left-hand chord. For example:

• A7 Chord with F Melody Note:
  • If you include the E in the chord while playing F, it sounds pretty awful.

Simplest Solution

• Do Not Play the E:
  • Skip the regular fifth in your chord voicing to maintain harmony with the sharp five in the melody.

First Part of the Tune

You will remember that, after the solo, when I return to playing the melody:

• The backing drops out and everything slows down.
• During this section, I utilize shells in the left hand and add an extra note in the right hand to thicken the melody.

Two-Handed Voicings

I've ended up with two-handed voicings. For the A7 chord, I wouldn't bother playing the C# in the left hand; instead, I place it in the right hand.

• Spreading the Notes:
  • This allows the notes of the chord to be spread out over more than one octave.
  • Instead of playing chords in the left hand and single-note melody, I'm now distributing it between both hands with two notes in each hand.

Remembering the Voicing

It's simple to remember this voicing:

• Left Hand: Root and 7 (7th shell)
• Right Hand: 3rd and 5th of the chord

Useful for Lead Sheets

This technique is particularly helpful when playing tunes from lead sheets, which we will explore in a future lesson.

• Example: If your melody note is the fifth of the chord, you can apply this voicing.

C Major Example

• If the melody note is G:
  • Play root 735 to give you the fifth on top, resulting in a nice two-handed voicing.

"Take the A Train" Example

In the tune "Take the A Train":

• Melody Notes: Most of the notes are based on the fifth of the chord:
  • The fifth of the C chord
  • The flat five of the D7 chord (same voicing with a flat five)
  • The next part of the melody is D minor with A as the melody (again, the fifth).

Further Example: "Blue Monk"

Another example of using the third and fifth in the right hand with a seventh shell in the left hand would be the well-known blues by Thelonious Monk, "Blue Monk."

• This approach works well because:
  • The melody navigates from the third to the seventh.
  • You have all the notes of the chord between the hands: the third and the fifth in the right hand, with the root and seventh in the left hand.