Keyboard > Play Piano - How to Play Shell Voicings

Play Piano - How to Play Shell Voicings

by: Ronald Worthy

Shell voicings are simple but functional.

They make use of the root and either the third of the seventh any chord.
Sometimes referred to as "shell" voicings, these are commonly used as left-hand accompaniment in the piano stylings of Bud Powell, Horace Silver, Sonny Clark, and others who play primarily in the "be-bop" idiom.

With only two notes, they are harmonically incomplete; however, they do convey enough
information to supplement many right hand melodies or improvised lines, especially those in the be-bop style where melodies are crafted to clearly outline the harmony.

Most Jazz pianists play these kind of voicings in a relatively sparse and percussive manner on medium or up-tempo tunes.

Shell voicings are most effective when the top note (played by the thumb) falls between D below middle C and the D next to middle C.
These voicings are particularly useful in support an improvised line played in the middle range of the keyboard, which is stylistically typical of be-bop playing.
If your melody or improvisation should dip lower and conflict with a voicing, here are some options:

1.
Break the voice leading and pick the other inversion (e.g. Root- 3rd instead of Root-7th) which falls in a lower register;

2.
For that moment play only the root, a Root-5th, or nothing at all in the left hand; or

3.
Play the entire melody up an octave.

When you apply shell voicings to tunes, it is OK to break voice leading occasionally in order to select the inversion which best complements a given melody note (i.e. does not double it.)
Since the voicings are likely to be somewhat rhythmically detached from each other, voice leading with shell voicings is not as critical as with other voicings.
Nonetheless, it is still always best to avoid breaking voice leading within ii-V and ii-V-I progressions.

Always remember that any Root-3rd structure may be expanded into a Root-10th which sounds fuller.

Whether or not you are able to use a tenth in place of a 3rd depends upon the size of your left hand and spatial distance the 10th covers on the keyboard.

Physically, minor 10ths are easier to reach than major 10ths.
In a ii-V progression, it is more natural to close in from a Root-10th voicing to a Root-7th, rather than expanding from a Root-7th to a Root-10th.

You just have to experiment to decide which tenth intervals fit your hands.
But always STOP IMMEDIATELY if you experience any hint of pain in stretching a tenth or, for that matter, while playing anything on the piano.

About The Author

Ronald Worthy is a Music Educator, Songwriter and Performer.
To learn more about "shell voicings," please visit: http://www.mrronsmusic.com and http://www.playpianotonight.com

Boot Camp-Troubleshooting Hardware Bootup Problems

Boot Camp-Troubleshooting Hardware Bootup Problems

by: Keith Park

This guide deals with troubleshooting a PC that won't boot to the point where it at least starts loading an operating system (hardware related problem). This article is intended for a person who has a little knowledge of PC's and is comfortable opening up and working inside a PC. If this isn't you, then I recommend taking your PC to a qualified PC repair shop. This is meant as a general troubleshooting guide and by no means covers every scenario that can occur, any omissions or mistakes were not intentional and will be updated as necessary.

Now let's get started..

Keep it Simple

First and foremost, I cannot stress enough that when it comes to troubleshooting PC's, KEEP IT SIMPLE! You will save yourself a lot of time and effort if you start looking for the simplest and most obvious solutions first.

With that being said here is a list of a few things you should...

Boot Camp-Troubleshooting Hardware Bootup Problems

Keyboard > Boot Camp-Troubleshooting Hardware Bootup Problems

T-Mobile Sidekick: The Cool Gizmo You?ll Love To Own

by: Lisa Hyde

The T-Mobile Sidekick II, the successor of the famed T-Mobile Sidekick, can be called the ultimate communication gadget. Launched in the US market by leading telephone carrier T-Mobile, the Sidekick II is not only helps you communicate, but has some great features that allow you to have a great time communicating!

The T-Mobile Sidekick II has been launched after ironing out some of the problems that plagued the earlier version. Here?s some vital statistics. The Sidekick II is fully loaded and weighs 6.49 ounces. It measures 5.12 x 2.60 x 0.87 inches and comes with a lithium-ion battery that provides up to 4.5 hours of digital talk time and 60 hours of digital standby time. Sidekick Ii runs on the GSM/GPRS 900/1800/1900 frequencies and has a one year limited warranty. Enough of what the T-Mobile Sidekick II?s great features. Let us see why it provides real bang for the buck and...

T-Mobile Sidekick: The Cool Gizmo You?ll Love To Own

Keyboard > T-Mobile Sidekick: The Cool Gizmo You?ll Love To Own

The Apple Mac mini - It Fits Anywhere And It is The Most Affordable Mac Ever!

The Apple Mac mini - It Fits Anywhere And It is The Most Affordable Mac Ever!

by: Bonnie Archer

Mac OS X, the worlds most advanced operating system! Just connect, plug, and your playing. The Apple Mac mini will work with either Mac or PC-compatible peripherals, this makes it easier than ever to upgrade from and older Mac or PC system. All you have to do is connect your USB mouse and keyboard, then hook up your DVI or VGA display (our adapter is included). Then just plug it in, turn it on and your ready to go.

Now this is power packed into a small package - Apple has outdone themselves! Under the sleek anodized aluminum styling of the Mac mini is a G4 processor, room for up to 1GB PC2700 main memory, a Radeon 9200 graphics chip, and a large enough hard drive, up to 80 GB, to store todays digital media.

With the mini connections you can hook-up your digital devices like cameras, iPod, printer, camcorder, and your keyboard. There is even...

The Apple Mac mini - It Fits Anywhere And It is The Most Affordable Mac Ever!

Keyboard > The Apple Mac mini - It Fits Anywhere And It is The Most Affordable Mac Ever!

Sex In Cyberspace

Sex In Cyberspace

by: Rose DesRochers

I am rubbing my keyboard are you rubbing your mouse. Cybersex is it cheating on your partner? This is a controversial issue, one that has started a good number of debates across the internet. I would have to say of course it's considered cheating; you are sharing intimate wants, needs and sexual fantasies with another person; when you should only be sharing those needs with your partner. Cybersex is described as a mediated communication that virtual ourselves with the intention of becoming turned on; intellectually, emotionally and physically.

The bonds of marriage are already under so much stress with our world today, cybersex robs a couple of intimacy and time together. When the best part of your free time is spent with someone outside of your spouse, when you would rather be with that person than your spouse, when that person is the person with whom you share your feelings, your concerns, your needs...

Sex In Cyberspace

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Sending SMS in Foreign Languages For Example Arabic, Greek, Hebrew etc.

Sending SMS in Foreign Languages For Example Arabic, Greek, Hebrew etc.

by: Marinda Stuiver

Mobile phone penetration is increasing globally. With the increase in handsets, being able to communicate with the handset owners in their own language is something that is becoming increasingly important.

The first question that comes to mind is how it works when foreign languages are sent to mobiles from a web site. Based on the fact that computers fundamentally just deal with numbers, letters and characters are stored using a unique number for each and in the past these unique numbers had to be assigned through the use of encoding systems. As a result hundreds of different encoding systems existed, none compatible with each other and none of them containing enough characters to deal with all languages. All this changed with the invention of Unicode. With Unicode one number for each letter has been assigned (a standard has been set) and it is network,...

Sending SMS in Foreign Languages For Example Arabic, Greek, Hebrew etc.

Keyboard > Sending SMS in Foreign Languages For Example Arabic, Greek, Hebrew etc.

Computer Components for Idiots

Computer Components for Idiots

by: Ron King

There are many fancy add-ons for computers, but the basic components of the computer are simple and universal. If 1 of these main components is missing, it?s not a computer.

The 4 essentials of every computer system are: a motherboard, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), memory, and a hard drive. These components are installed in a case to which are attached a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. That?s your basic computer.

Mother WHAT?

The motherboard ("mobo" for short) is the foundation. Everything attaches to the mobo -- the CPU, memory, hard drive, monitor, mouse, keyboard, add-on cards, even additional peripherals like printers, scanners, and speakers. The motherboard is like the nervous system and skeleton of the human body -- it provides support for the internal components and also passes information between the computer parts.

CPU

If the motherboard is the nervous system,...

Computer Components for Idiots

Keyboard > Computer Components for Idiots