Stage 7 of 7

Stride & Open Voicings

Solo Piano Independence

Stride and open voicings are for solo piano — when there is no bassist, you need to cover the bass, harmony, and melody yourself. Stride alternates a bass note on beats 1 and 3 with a chord on beats 2 and 4 (Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson). Spread voicings put the root and 5th in the left hand with extensions in the right, covering a wide range.

Open voicings separate the hands by more than an octave for a full, orchestral sound. This is the most physically demanding stage — your hands cover the full range of the piano.

Prerequisites

All previous stages. Physical comfort with wide hand positions.

Voicing Styles in This Stage

Stride Spread Open

How to Practice

1.Start with stride on a simple blues (Blue Monk): LH bass on 1, chord on 2, bass on 3, chord on 4
2.Practise the stride "reach" — jumping from a bass note to a chord position accurately
3.Play spread voicings through Misty — root+5th in LH, 3rd+7th+9th in RH
4.Record yourself playing solo piano on a ballad — listen for bass line continuity