“Nearness of You” – C Section

"Nearness Of You" – Complete Arrangement

In this final lesson, we complete our beginner arrangement of “The Nearness of You” by exploring the C section from bars 25 to 36.

The C section is 12 bars long, including a four-bar extension that gives the tune its unusual 36-bar form.

The good news is that much of this section uses harmony that we have already explored. Rather than learning everything from scratch, we can reuse familiar voicings and then focus our attention on the sections that change.

What You’ll Learn In This Lesson

In this beginner jazz piano lesson, you’ll learn:

• How to navigate the 12-bar C section

• How to reuse voicings from the previous A sections

• How to adapt your voicings when the melody becomes more active

• How to create movement during longer melody notes

• How to use left-hand 10ths and simple fills

• How to recognize and play the turnaround

• How to connect the whole 36-bar form into a complete arrangement

Reuse Familiar Harmony

The C section begins almost identically to the A section:

Fmaj7 → Cm7 → F7 → B♭maj7 → B♭dim7

We then continue through familiar 3-6-2-5 movement before the harmony begins to change.

This is an important skill when learning jazz standards: look for material that you already know and focus your practice on the small number of bars that are different.

Instead of memorizing the C section as an entirely new sequence, think of it as a variation of the A section.

Adapt The Voicing To The Melody

One of the main differences appears when we reach Am7♭5.

The melody remains static for an extended period, giving us plenty of space. We can keep the voicing simple and focus on maintaining the pulse, or gradually introduce more movement as our playing develops.

When we move to D7, the melody becomes much busier.

In this situation, a simple root–3rd–7th voicing can work better than a larger two-handed spread voicing because it frees the right hand to focus on the melody and add subtle embellishment.

This reinforces an important principle:

Choose the chord voicing that best supports what the melody is doing.

Create Movement In The Space

Long melody notes can sometimes make a ballad sound static if we simply hold the chord underneath.

One option is to use a left-hand 10th and gently roll through the notes.

For example, a G minor triad can be rearranged into a wider root–5th–3rd configuration.

This creates a subtle fill and keeps the arrangement moving without overpowering the melody.

As you become more experienced, you can add more sophisticated fills and arpeggios, but simple movement is often all that is needed.

The Turnaround

At the end of the tune, we encounter a turnaround which takes us back to the beginning of the form.

A turnaround creates harmonic movement at the end of the song and prepares the ear for the return to the opening chord.

Practice the final bars separately until you can move smoothly through the turnaround and arrive confidently back at F major.

Keep Developing Your Arrangement

You now have a complete beginner arrangement of “The Nearness of You.”

Remember that a jazz piano arrangement is never truly finished.

As you learn new voicings, fills, harmony, and improvisation techniques, you can return to this tune and gradually expand and personalize your arrangement.

For now, focus on becoming comfortable with the chord tones, smooth voice leading, and the important movement of 7ths falling to 3rds.

These foundations will support everything that comes next in your jazz piano studies.

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