Ask a room of jazz piano students which sound they want, and many will name Bill Evans. The warm, singing chords under the melody, the way the harmony seems to float: a big part of that sound starts in the left hand, with a kind of voicing that leaves out the root.
These rootless voicings are often simply called “Bill Evans voicings”. Evans wasn’t the only pianist of his time to use them (you hear them from Wynton Kelly, Red Garland and many others in the late 1950s), but his recordings made the sound famous. The good news: the system behind them is simple. Two shapes per chord, and a rule for when to use which.
Why leave out the root?
In a band, the bass player plays the root on the downbeat. If the pianist plays it too, the two collide, and the chord gets thick and muddy in the low register. Without the root, the left hand is free to play the notes that give a chord its colour:
- the 3rd and the 7th, the guide tones that say what kind of chord it is;
- the 9th, which adds warmth;
- the 5th, or on a dominant chord the 13th, which fills the middle.
Four notes, all within an octave, sitting right in the middle of the piano. That middle register is where the sound lives.
The two shapes: A and B
Every chord has two rootless shapes:
- A starts on the 3rd: 3 – 5 – 7 – 9 (on a dominant: 3 – 13 – 7 – 9);
- B starts on the 7th: 7 – 9 – 3 – 5 (on a dominant: 7 – 9 – 3 – 13).
B is simply A with the bottom half moved up an octave. Here are both shapes on a major, a dominant and a minor chord. Choose a key and press Play:
Cmaj9: E–G–B–D · Cmaj9: B–D–E–G · C13: E–A–B♭–D · C13: B♭–D–E–A · Cm9: E♭–G–B♭–D · Cm9: B♭–D–E♭–G
The 6/9 chord: a softer major
On a major chord, especially at the end of a tune, many pianists replace the major 7th with the 6th. The result, a 6/9 chord (C – E – G – A – D without its root: E – G – A – D), sounds open and settled, with none of the bite of the major 7th against the root.
Cmaj9: E–G–B–D · C6/9: E–G–A–D · C6/9: A–D–E–G
The ii–V–I: why A and B take turns
Play a ii–V–I with the shapes in turn, A – B – A, and something lovely happens: almost every note moves by a step or stays still. Dm9 (F – A – C – E) becomes G13 (F – A – B – E): only C moves, down a half step. Then G13 becomes C6/9 (E – G – A – D): every voice falls one step.
This is voice leading: instead of jumping from chord to chord, the hand glides. It is the reason these voicings sound so smooth, and the reason they are comfortable to play.
Dm9: F–A–C–E · G13: F–A–B–E · C6/9: E–G–A–D
Practise B – A – B too: Dm9 from its 7th, G13 from its 3rd, C from its 7th. Which order you use depends on the key. Choose the one that keeps the lowest note roughly between C♯3 and C4.
A longer chain
Many standards string several dominant chords together, each a 4th apart: iii – VI – ii – V – I (Em7 – A7 – Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 in C). Keep alternating A and B and the whole chain stays under one hand position:
Em7: G–B–D–F♯ · A13: G–B–C♯–F♯ · Dm9: F–A–C–E · G13: F–A–B–E · Cmaj9: E–G–B–D
Play it slowly and listen to the top voice (in C): F♯, F♯, E, E, D. A melody appears on its own, without you thinking about it. That inner melody is a big part of what makes this style of playing sound so lyrical.
Putting a melody on top
Now the right hand. At a ballad tempo, hold the left-hand voicing and let the melody move above it. Keep the melody above the voicing (around C5 and higher) so the two hands don’t get in each other’s way. The melody here is an original line I wrote for this lesson:
When you play a real tune this way, the melody note sometimes falls inside the voicing. Then leave that note out of the left hand, or choose the other shape.
How to practise them
- Two shapes, one root. Cmaj9, C13, Cm9, A and B, then the next root around the circle of 4ths. Say the notes out loud.
- The ii–V–I, A – B – A and B – A – B, three keys a day, slowly. The All 12 keys buttons above go around the circle.
- The chain iii – VI – ii – V – I in two keys a day.
- A tune. Take a standard full of ii–V–Is, such as “Autumn Leaves”, and play only the left hand through the whole form, then add the melody.
Mistakes I hear most often
- Too low. Four close notes below C3 turn into a growl. Keep the bottom note between about C♯3 and C4.
- Too loud. These voicings are colour, not rhythm. Play them softer than the melody.
- Always the same shape. A – A – A makes the hand jump. Alternate.
- Skipping the basics. If the 3rds and 7ths aren’t automatic yet, go back to guide tones for a week. Rootless voicings are shells with colours added.
Questions students ask
Do rootless voicings work when I play alone?
Partly. Without a bass player, the missing root can make the harmony sound unsettled. Play the root on beat 1 and the rootless voicing after it, or use the two-handed voicings from the ii–V–I drill.
What about minor ii–V–i?
The same idea works with different colours: the half-diminished ii, a V with ♭9 and ♭13, and a minor i with the 9th. Step 4 of the ii–V–I drill has a playable version.
Did Bill Evans always play them like this?
No pianist plays a system. Evans voiced chords in many ways, often with both hands. The A and B shapes are a teaching system that captures one central part of his sound and of the sound of jazz piano since the late 1950s.
Recommended listening
You learn this sound with your ears as much as with your hands. Listen to the left hand only: where does it play, how many notes, how often? You will hear it placed softly between the melody notes, not on every beat.
- “Waltz for Debby”, Bill Evans Trio · Waltz for Debby (1961)
- “My Foolish Heart”, Bill Evans Trio · Waltz for Debby (1961)
- “Gloria’s Step”, Bill Evans Trio · Sunday at the Village Vanguard (1961)
- “Autumn Leaves”, Bill Evans Trio · Portrait in Jazz (1959)
- “Someday My Prince Will Come”, Bill Evans Trio · Portrait in Jazz (1959)
- “Peace Piece”, Bill Evans · Everybody Digs Bill Evans (1958): solo piano
- “Blue in Green”, Miles Davis · Kind of Blue (1959): Bill Evans, piano
- “Nardis”, Bill Evans Trio · Explorations (1961)
- “Very Early”, Bill Evans Trio · Moon Beams (1962)
- “You Must Believe in Spring”, Bill Evans Trio · You Must Believe in Spring (1977)