Jazz Piano Voicings:

A Curriculum for Middle School and High School

Jeff Robilliard
Johnston High School
Purpose

● Jazz piano is an expansive topic that is not familiar to most classically trained
pianists

● Many students are never taught the necessary skills to function in a jazz
combo or intermediate to advanced jazz ensemble.

● College professors are frustrated that many piano majors go to college with
little to no knowledge of chord symbols or how to create jazz voicings.

● Lack of instructional material on the subject

Typical Jazz Band Piano Part

● Student does not need to know what

chord symbols mean or how to
analyze them because voicings are
provided for them

● Students have no reason to concern

themselves with chord symbols
Advanced Jazz Band Piano
Parts

● The problem occurs when a student is

given a piece of music as shown on the
right.

● Having received no training on how to

interpret chord symbols and create
proper jazz voicings a student is setup
to fail

● Students give up quickly because the

task is too overwhelming
The Plan

This sequence of instruction is designed to

force students to create their own voicings
well before it is necessary
The Process The following curriculum was
developed from studying several
jazz piano method books,
interviewing professional jazz
pianists/educators, and from my
own experience teaching the
subject to many young musicians.
Root position chords Frank Mantooth’s
4-note voicings “A”
built on intervals in 5-note voicings
and “B” without roots
3rds (Miracle Voicings and
Polychord Fractions)

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

4-note voicings “A” and 4-note “left hand only”

“B” with roots voicings “A” and “B”
for soloing
Step 1A
Creating Triads

● The first step in learning

to create jazz voicings is
to identify the root, 3rd
and 5th in every chord

● Play them as root

position triads in both
hands.
Watch Rachel play through the root position triads on “Solar” by Miles Davis, which is one of the
charts she is currently working on in the 8th grade jazz band.

*In all of the student examples in this presentation, none of them are using written out
chords - only chord symbols.
Step 1B
Creating 7th Chords

The next step is to have

the student play all
chords as root position
7th chords (Root, 3rd, 5th,
7th) in the right hand
only.
Listen to Cameron play through the first half of the form to “In a Mellow Tone” by Duke Ellington
playing all root position chords built in 3rds up to the 7th as described in Step 1B
Step 1C
Creating 9th Chords

● Play the 3rd, 5th, 7th

and 9th in the right
hand

● Play the root in the

left hand
Watch Jesse play through a portion of “Lover Man” - by Davis/Ramirez/Sherman/arr. Stan
Kenton by playing the root in his left hand and the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th in his right hand.
 Voicing “A” in C major
Step 2A
Voicing “A” with root

● Root position chords built on 3rds

lack sophisication

● Voicings “A” and “B” reorder the

same notes the students were using
in step 1, but create a more
favorable jazz harmony.

● In Step 2A, the student will learn to

play all chords using voicing “A” as Coker, J. (1991). Jazz Keyboard. Van Nuys, CA.
shown on the right (from bottom to Alfred
top - 1, 7, 3, 5)
Listen to Kyle play “Recorda Me” by Joe Henderson using voicing “A” on all chords.
 Voicing “B” in F major
Step 2B
Voicing “B” with root

● The next step is to learn all

of the chords in their
music using voicing “B” as
shown on the right

● From the bottom up - scale

degrees 1, 3, 5, 9
Coker, J. (1991). Jazz Keyboard. Van Nuys, CA.
Alfred
Hailey playing all chords using voicing “B” over the changes to “Blue Monk” by Thelonious Monk.
Step 2C
Use both “A” and “B” voicings
to streamline chords A B A
Once both voicings have
been mastered on all
chords the student can
utilize either inversion “A”
or “B” to minimize hand
movement.
Weir, M. (2008). Jazz Piano Handbook. Van Nuys, CA.
Alfred
Listen to Julie use a combination of voicings “A” and “B” to streamline all of the chords in
“Northwest Riff” by Bob Curnow.
Guidelines for the Best Voice-Leading

According to Phil DeGreg in “Jazz Keyboard Harmony” (1992), the following

guidelines should be used to determine the inversion of each subsequent chord
(p. 4).

1. If the root doesn’t move (but the quality changes)... maintain the same
inversion.
2. If the root moves a 2nd or a 7th… maintain the same inversion.
3. If the root moves a 4th or a 5th… switch inversions.
4. If the root moves a 3rd or a 6th… either maintain or switch inversions.
 Step 3
4-note voicings without
the root

● Voicings with the root -

no bass player (solo
playing, duo with voice
or horn)

● Voicings without root -

playing with bass player The chords above are identical to the voicings created
in Step 2, except the root has been omitted at the
bottom and the 5th or 9th has been added on top.

Hughes, C. (2016, February 16). Two Beginning Jazz Piano Voicings - Learn Jazz Standards. Retrieved
November 30, 2016, from https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/blog/2-begining-jazz-piano-voicings/
Step 4
Left Hand Voicings for
Solos

The left hand voicings

create a harmonic
cushion for the right hand
to play over

● Playing the melody

● Improvising

Hughes, C. (2016, February 16). Two Beginning Jazz Piano Voicings - Learn Jazz Standards. Retrieved
November 30, 2016, from https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/blog/2-begining-jazz-piano-voicings/
Step 5
“Voicings for Jazz Keyboard”
by Frank Mantooth

Mantooth’s book on voicings has become

standard literature for intermediate to
advanced level jazz pianists.

Key Concepts

● Miracle Voicings - built on 4ths

● Suspended and Altered Dominant
Chords using polychord fractions
Keys to Success

● Students will need to have a “basic understanding” of scales and chords

before starting this sequence

● Before progressing on to the next step in the process it is imperative that

the students have a complete grasp of each assigned voicing. Rushing
through the sequence is doomed to failure.

● As Weir (2008) states, “these voicing patterns must become automatic to

you. There’s not enough time in the context of playing an actual song to
think each chord; your muscle memory needs to take over”
Once a student has gained proficiency in learning various
voicings, he/she will begin to see the enjoyment in the
creative process of playing jazz piano, rather than playing
the same written out piece of music everytime.
Scope and Sequence
A possible timeline for each step of
the curriculum could sequence as
shown on the right. However, the
teacher should ultimately move a
student through the steps at a pace
that is most appropriate for that
individual.
7th grade - Root Position triads (Step 1A)
8th grade - Root Position 7th chords (Step 1B)
9th grade - Root Position 9th chords (Step 1C)
10th grade - Voicings “A” and “B” with root (Step 2)
11th grade - Voicings “A” and “B” without
root/Voicings “A” and “B” Left Hand only
(Steps 3 and 4)
12th grade - Frank Mantooth’s “Voicings for Jazz
Keyboard” (Step 5)
Resources

Coker, J. (1984). Jazz Keyboard. Alfred Music.
DeGreg, P. (1994). Jazz Keyboard Harmony.
Aebersold.
Hughes, C. (2016, February 16). Two Beginning
Jazz Piano Voicings - Learn Jazz Standards.
Retrieved November 30, 2016, from
https://www.learnjazzstandards.com/blog/2-be
gining-jazz-piano-voicings/
Levine, M. (1989). The Jazz Piano Book.
Petaluma, CA: Sher Music Company.
Mantooth, F. (1997). Voicings for Jazz
Keyboard. Hal Leonard Corporation.
Wier, M. (2007). Jazz Piano Handbook. Alfred
Music.