Free guides written for pianists, with interactive playable examples from our voicing database.
Learn voicings in the right order: shells, rootless, drop 2, quartal, upper structures. Based on established jazz piano pedagogy.
Detailed breakdowns of every voicing style: shell, rootless, close, drop 2, quartal, stride, and more.
Learn how shell voicings strip jazz chords to their essential skeleton — root, 3rd, and 7th. Hear interactive examples and understand why every jazz pianist starts here.
Understand rootless voicings — the Type A and Type B system that changed jazz piano. Hear both types for Dm7 and learn why they alternate in ii-V-I progressions.
Voice the ii-V-I progression three ways: shell voicings, rootless Type A, and the alternating A/B pattern. Audio examples in C, F, and Bb with keyboard diagrams.
Compare shell and rootless voicings side by side. Learn when to use 3-note shells vs 4-note rootless voicings depending on your musical context.
A practical step-by-step roadmap for learning jazz piano voicings. Start with shell voicings, build to rootless, and play your first ii-V-I progression.
Learn the drop 2 technique: take a close-position chord and drop the second note from the top down an octave for a wider, more open piano sound.
Discover quartal voicings — chords built by stacking perfect 4ths instead of 3rds. Learn the McCoy Tyner sound and how quartal harmony creates modal jazz's characteristic ambiguity.
Learn upper structure triads: play a simple triad over a tritone to create rich altered dominant sounds. An advanced technique that simplifies complex harmony.
A concrete 45-minute daily routine for practising jazz voicings. Circle of 4ths, ii-V-I application, and playing with backing tracks — structured for real progress.
Explore how Bill Evans transformed jazz piano with rootless voicings, close-interval harmony, and the Type A/B system still taught in every jazz piano method today.