251 Stride Drill With Rootless Voicings
Welcome to the 2nd lesson in this practice series on rootless voicings. In the last lesson we covered the first exercise in the PDF download.
This was drilling through major, minor, and dominant rootless voicings with a stride style left hand.
For practice slot 2, we are going to add all three of these voicing together to create the major 251 progression. We will play the root in the lower registers, and then bring our left hand up to play the
voicings.
Preparing You For Jazz Standards
If we think back to the last lesson, we looked at how these voicings can sound in the context of jazz ballads. We looked at the tune Misty, here’s the first 8 bars, and we can see that we have a 251 in Ab
Major. Again looking at the 1st 8 bars of Body & Soul, we can see there is a 251 in Db Major.
By isolating these progressions in practice drills, we will be prepared for when they come up in jazz standards. The goal is to commit them to your muscle memory so that you don’t have to focus all
of your attention on finding the voicings.
Drill Variations – Root Placement & Alterations
A variation, is to play the ii-7, then go straight to the V7 chord rootless voicing, and then hit the bass. Remember that we can always alternate the root placement.
A final variation here, if you are a little ahead of the curve, is to test some alterations. Now this is the focus of the next course in the PianoGroove syllabus, but just to give you a taster of what’s
coming we will look at the b9 over the V7 chord.
Lesson Downloads
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Rootless Voicings Practice Planner File Type: pdf
Related Lessons
We explore inner voice movement over major, minor, and dominant chords, and then we will apply this information to a well-known jazz standard.
In a minor 251, the 5 chord will be an altered dominant chord. In this lesson we apply altered dominant chords to the major 251 progression.
Misty is one of the most popular jazz ballads and the distinctive melody is immediately recognisable amongst jazz musicians.
Practice Tips
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Start by taking the 251 voicings around all 12 keys in Type A.
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Then repeat with Type B. Remember that the b7 is always on the bottom of the ii-7 chord in Type B.
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There are other inversions, but by knowing these 2, you will always be able to get the rootless voicings in the sweet spot of the piano which is the area around middle C.
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Remember that you must be applying these voicings to the tunes you are working on, otherwise this will always remain a theary exercise.
- These voicings and stride left hand will work well for most jazz ballads.
