Voicing is the art through which great jazz composers and pianists turned simple harmonic symbols into eternal pearls of musical language, destined to outlive styles and eras. It’s not about campfire chords or mechanical automatisms that could belong to a robot: voicing is a musical fingerprint, unique to every artist, shaped over time by listening, experience, and sensitivity. It’s the way a chord comes alive, breathes, and becomes a voice, leaving a personal and unforgettable mark.

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What is a voicing?

In theory, a chord is nothing more than a sum of notes. In practice, voicing decides how those notes are placed on the keyboard: close or spread, soft or deep, with some tones omitted or enriched by colorful extensions. That’s what changes everything: the same symbol on a sheet can sound trivial or turn into poetry, depending on the voicing.

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A delicate art

No one can improvise as a composer without a good ear. Technique alone is not enough: it takes lived listening, experiences, encounters, and a taste that matures with time. Only an ear that has truly breathed music can create voicings capable of making us fly. It is a delicate art, refined slowly.

Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that playing too many notes makes something sound jazzy: pressing more keys only produces confusion, a blurry sound with no definition. In voicing, it is the space that gives life, and silence itself completes the harmony.

Another common mistake is ignoring the context. In a trio with double bass, the root is often superfluous: the bass is the pillar, the column that unites rhythm and melody, framing everything with authority. It is the principal instrument, the one that makes the chord resonate fully and transforms a set of voices into a living organism.

And then there’s the temptation to stick to only a few keys. It is said that Thelonious Monk could transpose any piece in an instant, but unless you are Monk, the best advice remains: study every key, always respecting the one in which the piece was written. Because a key is never chosen at random: it carries a meaning, a color, a character worth exploring.

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The charm of detail

These three giants taught us that a chord is never just a collection of notes, but a whole world of possibilities. Evans showed us poetry, Tyner gave us power, Hancock offered modernity. And behind each of them lies the same awareness: in voicing, it is the subtleties that make the difference.

Perhaps this is the true magic of jazz: an art that lives in the moment, in a unique gesture that no artificial intelligence or written score will ever truly reproduce.

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Three masters and their immortal voicings

Jazz has given us extraordinary innovators of voicing, pianists who sculpted chords that became unmistakable signatures. Three examples are enough to open a window into this world.

We have selected three evocative pieces where the full power of voicing can be heard. Take ten minutes for yourself and listen to them if you can. Finding a moment for yourself is the luxury you’ve been waiting for.

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Bill Evans — Waltz for Debby

Evans was the poet of rootless voicings: chords built without the root, since the bass would take care of it. This left his hands free to color with 3rds, 7ths, 9ths, and 13ths, creating a transparent, lyrical sound.

On Cmaj7: E–A–B–D

Listen: the flow of this piece takes you through sudden accelerations and frantic stops, making you savor an overwhelming groove.

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McCoy Tyner — Impressions

With Coltrane he wrote unforgettable pages. Tyner used quartal voicings, chords stacked in fourths, giving a sense of openness, energy, and upward thrust. Perfect for modal jazz, they became a hallmark of an era.

On Dm7: D–G–C–F

Listen: here the sense of openness is almost tangible, until you brush the edge of confusion. Saxophone monologues rage, rebellious and wild, until a hidden rhythm rises from nowhere and turns the structure from open into endless, airy space.

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Herbie Hancock — Maiden Voyage

His language is made of suspended, fluid atmospheres in constant motion. Hancock loved to play with suspended voicings and stacked triads with colorful extensions, creating a sophisticated palette. In Maiden Voyage every chord breathes like a wave.

On Dm9: E–A–D–G

Listen: let your ear guide you. Unlike the previous track, here the edges are gone; we are no longer projected forward, but embraced. That is the power of voicing.

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To play, to transmit something with music, is not just about pressing keys or strings, nor only about theoretical study. Every experience offers inspiration, and the concept behind composition is born from every lived moment. You can even compose while watching a seagull without an instrument at hand — and then, in a moment of surrender, forget who you are and spread your wings.