My Favorite Things: Bill Evans Style
Welcome to this Jazzy Christmas song tutorial focusing on the beautiful waltz ‘My Favorite Things’.
In this lesson we will reharmonise the A section of the song, incorporating Bill Evans style voicing techniques such as quartal harmony and drop two voicings.
Throughout the tutorial you will see the original chords in black and reharmonisations have been added above in red.
Moving Voices & Reharmonisation
You will learn how to reharmonise the A section using moving voices which connect the chords in the harmony. These moving voices enhance the song with more sophisticated harmonies and chord voicings commonly found in jazz.
Bill Evans Style Chord Voicings
Next we explore quartal harmony which is chord voicings built predominantly from 4th intervals. Quartal voicings create a modern and spacious sound which breathes new light into an old holiday classic such as this tune.
We then explore drop 2 voicings which are a technique often used by Bill Evans to create interesting voicing possibilities for step-wise melody lines.
We also apply complex jazz rehamronisation techniques such as tritone substitutions, upper structure triads to create a harmonically rich and sophisticated arrangement.
Practice Tips
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Begin by playing through with the original changes, focusing on understanding the basic structure and melody of the song.
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Tackle each reharmonisation technique separately. Try out the suggested changes and notice how they alter the colour and texture of the harmony.
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Pay close attention to grace notes, melodic decorations, and the moving voices to add character to the melody and the harmony.
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Explore the different registers and try playing the same section in different octaves.
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Familiarise yourself with the drop 2 voicing technique as it's a staple sound in jazz piano and a characteristic feature of Bill Evan's playing.