Jazz Piano Chord Voicings - Upper Structures

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For more information check out my website: www.thejazzpianosite.com/jazz...
In this series of videos I cover jazz piano voicings. I'll go through a number of different voicings which will make any jazz song sound strong and professional.
This Jazz Piano Tutorial is about Upper Structures. Upper Structures are a nice sounding and simple way to voice altered dominant chords. They are essentially triad over a tritone.
They always have a 3rd & 7th in Left Hand (which is a tritone apart in V7) and some kind of triad in your right hand. And which triad you play is indicated by the number of the Upper Structure. And you can play any inversion of that triad.
Combining Quartal, So What and Upper Structure Voicings can sound very smooth and are used in a lot of modern jazz piano.
If you enjoyed this Jazz Piano Tutorial, please subscribe

[@franklerch1012]

still the best and direct introduction into US after all these high profile piano tutorial videos. Crazy really… Well done

[@KarlJosefUnterkofler]

This is so great. Walk That Bass is the best Jazz Piano Tutorial on Internet!

[@WalkThatBass]

Haha. Thanks, Karl. Perhaps a slight exaggeration, but appreciated nonetheless :)

[@flowerangel2271]

Totally agreed!!! His explanation is so well structured. I really love that.

[@johnm5321]

I don't think it's exaggerated, your channel is better than Levine's jazz theory book, thank you!

[@PfhorShark]

Your site and channel are so precious as a resource I keep coming back to, thank you.

[@ling6701]

Finally some straight to point jazz theory, cool, thank you.

[@LuizOliveira-wx2zr]

I love you, dude! Thnaks for this!!!Learning now about jazz orchestration, and trying to figure out Duke Ellington´s Cotton Tail... man... hard work...but this video REALLY helped!

[@xasancle]

This deconstruction is great!

[@Captain_Rhodes]

I been doing this for years before I studied jazz. when i was young i used to play 2 different chords with 2 hands because i thought it sounded like that jazz stereotype from the fast show. I was just taking the piss. Now I learn that its an actual thing! LOL thats so cool

[@BAwesomeDesign]

This is how I think about the piano... patterns make things easier. Thanks for the vid!

[@WalkThatBass]

+BAwesomeDesign No worries.

[@luizoliveiraguitar]

thank you for this!!!

[@ztjam01]

@ Walk That Bass: you gave me the answer I was looking for just fine, cause in organ the bass is in the foot, and to fill out the chord you have the tritone or some variation of said tritone in the left hand and in the right hand you have the principle chord. So thank you very much!!!

[@liriosanz]

Excelente, muchas gracias !!

[@SeanRainey]

Great video, thanks! I've been experimenting with something similar to this... just with triad shapes in both hands.

[@deonzoss]

seriously appreciate the work you do, man. learning the piano on my own makes youtube really the only source of ways to improve, and i've spent so long looking for a good channel on chord structures and terminology. Now that im subscribed i dont go anywhere else but here

[@WalkThatBass]

+Soren Kierke Thanks Soren. If that's your real name, it's brilliant. Otherwise, it's great to see that even existentialists play piano :)

[@deonzoss]

+Walk That Bass haha yes its just one of the few ways for me to overcome the relentless despair of life

[@BrendaBoykin-qz5dj]

Thank you,Sir⭐🌹⭐

[@themfu]

best and most concise explanation of upper structures on dominant chords i've come across. do you have a similar one for non-dom chords? well done and thanks for this post!

[@georgehiggins1320]

Super great info for intermediate players.

[@quantumuniverse1]

A very cool lesson! Thank you so much :)

[@WalkThatBass]

No worries. Thanks for the comment.

[@jackhenshaw2555]

You are the best

[@alej3795]

Again, great.

[@WalkThatBass]

Thanks, mate.

[@viplavksmusic]

Nice

[@jojo-fj7lw]

I can't comprehend this😭😭 need to learn more on jazz theory

[@antalfi]

Man...this vid is asskick :D a couple of years ago we had to travel to the US to learn this stuff. Greeting from Transylania. Thanks!

[@WalkThatBass]

+József Thanks, Jozsef. Though sitting at home is slightly less exciting than going to New Orleans :)

[@antalfi]

Buy me an airplane ticket :D

[@jj48013]

Super interessant!

[@WalkThatBass]

Cheers :)

[@roanmccormick2297]

Great videos bro! Isn't the USIm Tritone substitution a VIm though as opposed to the #VIm in the chart?

[@amosasante4962]

Good explanation

[@WalkThatBass]

Thanks, mate.

[@nathandublin6011]

If you look at the lead sheet or sheet music of the song and come across a melody note of the melody and you use a quartal voicing and you make it D minor 11 do you change the dominant chord into a flat9 or #11?

[@TryingToForget]

great tutorial! explained perfectly. just one question, I learned that there is another type of US not of a dominant chord? for instance A/D. have you heard of it? he calld it Diatonic Upper Structure

[@WalkThatBass]

Hey, Yep, that's right. You can use this technique for any type of chord, including non-dominant chords. We sometimes break up a chords notation into two components so it's easier to read. And the top component (the right hand part) is called the 'upper structure' (naturally, because it's the upper part of the whole chord). Using this 'upper structure' idea you can also create slash chords and polychords (I've got a video on slash chords here if you're interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnfKd3R3m7WafNE ) (and I don't yet have a video on polychords but I will make one eventually). So we could play a G/C: Left Hand: C-E (or just C is you're reading this like a slash chord) Right Hand: G-B-D (G Triad) And this would be a CMaj9 The only thing you need to be careful of is to make sure all the notes of the upper structure are 'available tensions'. I have a video that explains these here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXzOYnuCqMecbaM Essentially, some chord tensions are NOT allowed (like a #9 and b13 over a Maj7 chord). So an Ab/C, for example, cannot be a CMaj7#9b13 (as these are not available tensions). But it can be a C7#9b13 - because the #9 and b13 ARE available tensions over a dominant 7 chord. Dominant chords have many more available tensions than Maj7 or min7 chords. This is why most upper structure voicings are used to alter dominant chords. The above videos explain it in a bit more detail. Otherwise feel free to ask if any of that didn't make sense.

[@TryingToForget]

Walk That Bass Wow thank you for the detailed reply! your video on slash chords is exactly it. only the my teacher called them US and he used only triads from the chord mode with the exception of the chords including avoids. thank you so much!

[@WalkThatBass]

No worries, mate. Happy to help.

[@samuelgandin9953]

Hi, All the videos that you make, including this one, are extremely informative and well designed. I start with a simple question regarding the US bIIm for which the RH notes are Fb Ab Db. Given that Fb = E and that E is one of tritone notes, should we not write this E or Fb at the end as: Ab Db Fb or does this principle just apply to the tonic (the I note) ? A more general question: do you recommend watching your interesting videos in a particular order or can we let our thirst for more knowledge guide us? Thank you again for your great job and continue! Samuel

[@WalkThatBass]

So you're right that if you are doubling a note in a chord it's generally better to play one of those notes as the top soprano note in the voicing. However, this principle conflicts with another voicing principle that says we should try to avoid large gaps/intervals between notes. So if we play: E-Bb Ab-Db-Fb The doubled note is on top BUT there is a large gap between the Bb and the Ab. Unfortunately, these principles are in conflict with this particular voicing and you just have to choose which inversion of the chord you think sounds best. End of the day, voicings (and what sounds 'good') are largely subjective. Does that answer your question somewhat? I've got a video on chord voicing rules which you can check out that goes over this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p3_Jl2OEj86LeZo My vids are loosely designed to be watched in a particular order. If you check out my website, it's got all the lessons there in the order they are intended to be watched/read: www.thejazzpianosite.com/jazz-piano-lessons/ The playlists move as follows: 1. Basic Music Theory 2. Jazz Chords 3. Jazz Scales 4. Jazz Improvisation 5. Jazz Chord Voicings 6. Jazz Chord Progressions 7. Jazz Reharmonization 8. Modern Jazz Theory And then Jazz Genres is a bit of a standalone playlist. But feel free to watch the vids in whatever order you like. Hope that helps :)

[@samuelgandin9953]

Thank you for your comprehensive answers.

[@esequielbass]

Could you explain how to using in a jazz standards for examlple?

[@HocWeng]

I believe there's a typo in the TTsub for the first row: should be bVI instead of bIV

[@WalkThatBass]

Ah yep, you're right. Sorry.

[@jayzill5348]

probably should pin this ^

[@samuelgandin9953]

Hi again, Is there not a slight mistake in the slide: the tritone substitution for US II should be US bVI and not US bIV ? Thank you!

[@WalkThatBass]

Yep, sorry. That is a mistake.

[@pedrogade1]

Hi, nice video! Could you recomend any free book that explores this topic in a deeper way? I found one by Suzanna Sifter but unfortunately it is not free and I can't buy it. Thanks a lot!

[@WalkThatBass]

Try Voicings for Jazz Keyboard by Frank Mantooth. You might be able to find a copy through google.

[@TryingToForget]

Walk That Bass Another good book is the "Jazz piano book by Mark Levine" i think

[@coolwatersmusic]

Just want to make sure I’m clear on the fingering you have listed for this C7 flat nine… If I play an A triad in the right-hand then my right hand A note would be crossing under the B-flat… Is that the correct way to finger this?

[@greg4943]

Invert the triad

[@thegouldings]

You explain this really well but I wish the piano was a bit more in tune!

[@roanmccormick2297]

Sorry I meant isn't the Tritone sub. supposed to be a bVm?

[@ztjam01]

How do upper structure's work in gospel music on piano or organ????

[@WalkThatBass]

I'm afraid I don't feel qualified to talk about gospel music. But I can tell you that when playing this type of chord voicing on an organ, you can also play the root note on the pedalboard (in place of a bass player). Also these voicings work especially well as dominant passing chords played just before a tonic or other chord (as a secondary dominant).

[@johnm5321]

For a C US II, why is the TT sub F# US bIV? should it be a US bVI? What even is a bIV, wouldn't that just be a III? Like you say the right hand is D,F#,A, so wouldn't that be the bVI of F#?

[@User-fv1jx]

Just out of curiosity, is there a reason you use "b13" instead of "#5"

[@BAwesomeDesign]

+user 85962 Probably because in a b13, you still have a 5th. With a #5, you've altered the 5th which would then not be played as a natural (perfect) 5th.

[@WalkThatBass]

+user 85962 Hi user 85962. Sorry for the late reply. I must have missed this comment somehow. Yeah, BAwesomeDesign is right. A C7b13 implies a natural 5 as well as a b13. However, you're right in that this voicing does not have a natural five, so technically it can be a #5. I use b13 only out of habit.

[@magentuspriest]

@@WalkThatBass So these work best on dominants that hold tension? Such as Rhythm Changes

[@silvermica]

Is this how Spinal Tap gets their tone?

[@roanmccormick2297]

My bad apologies I see now you were relating the tritones to F#7

[@berryblast3930]

So are we supposed to memorize which triad corresponds to each alteration?

[@WalkThatBass]

Unfortunately...yes.

[@berryblast3930]

Thanks

[@christianzagaria9909]

j

[@pnojazz]

You should offer a pdf download on your website. the "pro pdf" download on your website wants to access a computers data. so not cool