Music Lesson: Understanding Shells in Autumn Leaves and Fly Me to the Moon

I'd like to talk about the shells that I've mentioned before in the context of Autumn Leaves and Fly Me to the Moon.

What Are Shells?

• A shell is either:
  • Root and seventh
  • Root and third

Characteristics of Shells

• They consist of two notes.
• The root is on the bottom.
• The term "shell" refers to the middle notes being removed.

For instance, in C major, after taking out the middle notes, what's left in the left hand is a shell. You've played those already in "open up" right at the start.

Types of Shells

Major 7th

• For a major 7th, the root and 7th in C is about the only chord that could be.
• If it had a B flat in it, that could be:
  • C7
  • C minor 7
  • C half diminished

These chords are ambiguous; it depends on what you do in the right hand to fill out the chord.

Opposite Voicing: Root and Third

• This could represent C7 or C major 7.
• If you played a minor third, this could represent:
  • C minor
  • C half diminished
  • C diminished

Shells are like a shorthand version of harmony. They provide a sketch of the harmony or a skeleton type of chord voicing.

2, 5, 1 Arpeggio Workout

When we do the 2, 5, 1 arpeggio workout, we will start with:

• Root and third
• Then go to:
  • Root and seventh
  • Then back to root and third

So, that's one way of doing a 2, 5, 1 in E minor 7, A7, D major. The other way is the opposite.

Root and Sixth

Sometimes you play root and sixth for the major. If root and seventh by itself can be a bit discordant, it's worth trying.

Applying Shells to Autumn Leaves

Let's try using these shells in Autumn Leaves, not only to play the melody (which we have already done), but to improvise now.

1. For C minor (the first chord), think Dorian scale on C.
2. This approach also works for F7.
3. For B flat, think B flat major; that works for E flat as well.
4. On A half diminished, we will play the B flat major scale starting on A, which works for all of those bars.
   • This can be referred to as the Locrian mode (B flat major starting on A).
5. We want to finish on the Dorian.
   • Note the change: We have been playing E flats so far in all those scales.
   • When we go to the G, we really want an E natural because we want to play G minor 6, for instance.
   • We can't have an E flat just before we finish.

Shells and Hand Size

If you've got big hands, like Bud Powell, he tended to play not always root and third but often root and tenth. Some people refer to these as Bud Powell voicings.

• C minor 7 could be root and 7th.
• Instead of playing F in a certain way, a big hand can stretch to accommodate that, then back to root and seventh.
• A significant stretch on E flat might not be possible for everyone.
• Some might flip it for a big stretch on D.

These are tenths, which are part of the whole shells concept.

Important Note

• You're playing the same notes; you're just playing a tenth instead of a third.
• Caution: If you have small hands, do not attempt large stretches that could lead to injury or tendonitis. If you have big hands, feel free to try those tenths, but they typically work better in slower tunes.

Next Tune: Ornithology

The next tune we're going to play is an uptempo bebop tune by Charlie Parker called Ornithology.

• We will use shells extensively in the left hand.
• Shells fit well with the bebop style.
• Any tunes by Parker, Monk, or Dizzy Gillespie:
  • Shells are probably the most suitable style for the left hand.

These tunes are often very fast, and chords may change quite quickly. You don't want to have too many notes in the left hand, so shells provide a really nice, easy, economical way of playing the chords.