5 Chords EVERYONE Plays (And You Should Too) 

Snobs: "These voicings are lame. Everybody's heard these 1000 times." Adam: "So What?" The Converted: "You right."

The Maj7 voicing is called "So What"-Chord (three fourths with a maj 3rd on top), made popular by Bill Evans in the "'amen' response figure" to the head of the Miles Davis tune "So What".

Diminished scales are symmetrical and the chords derived from them are as well. So, voicings can be transposed up or down in minor 3rds. Also, it's a 3 for 1 deal: any voicing for say a C dim7 chord also works for Eb-Gb-Adim7 chords as well!

Amazing isn't cliche. . .This is why I find it hard to talk with other musicians. They seem to just have a need to find a way to denigrate something musically to show some special sophistication that THEY have but that most others don't. I only enjoy talking about music with non-musicians because they don't have that need to impress me with some special knowledge or understanding that only THEY have. If something sounds great, it's not cliche. . .It's GREAT!

As a saxophone major. These videos help me so much so I can play the harmony and have a deeper connection to the music. Thank you!

Adam Maness is a Genius Educator, and virtuoso pianist. So Grateful for Open Studio content. All geniuses in my book. Attention Serious Musicians These Guys Are The Real Deal! Great Stuff!! VALUABLE!!

These work very well on guitar (probably because of the tuning being in fourths)

Amazing. Some of the best voicing I have seen. Thx for sharing.

Exactly what I need right now. Adam's presentation is stellar. The jazz gods must have special leather on order for his sandals by now.

Yes, I've heard that a million times...and been desiring to do that...and nobody ever got to explain it until the great Adam Maness!!! THANK YOUUUUUUUU!!!! 🙂

This was so useful! For as long as I’ve played jazz, diminished and half diminished chords have always been a challenge for me. I never had anyone show me how to voice those chords. Now I have something to practice :)

13:50 because a diminished chord is symmetrical in four ways and there are (at least) 4 different keys where you can play the same diminished chord instead of a dominant chord, you can always play the root note of the dominant chord of the key where you are in, with the diminished chord. And you can do that in four keys so that’s why you can play 4 different voicings of the same diminished chord. Is that a good explanation?

Thank you Adams. This sounds were always in my mind but I do not know the combination of notes that make this sound. Wow thank you so much.

This is so useful and well taught Adam! I love the demonstration you did at the end to get a feel on how to use delicious cookie cutter chords! Thanks!!

Fabulous. I was aware of (most of) these voicings, but I can't pull them out instantly over just any changes. Now, a nice bounded enumeration of them along with a practical etude. In my daily practice routine now until I access all of them habitually. Thanks!

Another essential and straight to the point vídeo. Thank you!

Love you guys. Keep bringing it!

Thanks Adam, such a great energy and lesson

Videos like this get me so hyped on music theory . Thanks open studio

These vids are SO great, thanks a bundle! ☺️🎹

Wow! Amazing. Thank you very much Adam. This is what I need now 😍

Loving the video production along with the musical knowledge as well of course 👏

Lovely lesson Adam!

As usual, many thanks for the great lessons Adam!! :)

Great lesson!

Thank you so much! This was so clear and was a piece I was missing.

I’ve been looking for some solid two handed voicing a for basic chords. This video was perfect. Thanks!

Thanks for this format , please make it more

Great! Thanks so much, Adam!

This is exactly what I needed in my practice right now. Thanks Adam!

Both of my Jazz piano and jazz theory courses took place at the height of the pandemic and lockdown so when we covered these chords I was never able to get the context that they're rootless lol the root pedal tone trick was all i needed to actually here these chords properly 😂

Thanks, this has been one of the most helpful videos. Very useful for my level of play

A lot of thanks! It's wonderful!

man you are a very good teacher because you teach which kind of chord to use by playing a jazz standard before i had a lot of problem which kind of chord to use the system who helped me a lot is you magic voicing system man god bless you forever long

Super useful!! I really got a dopamine hit when you put the miles davis easter as I heard that as soon as you played the voicing the first time but thought oh well maybe its just similar haha

Super lesson. Grazie mille

Thank you, Maestro!

Very nicely presented Adam. It is accessable for all levels. You offered direct access to the material if desired, but touched briefly and tastfully on the theroretical backstory if someone wished to make the effort to grasp the whole picture. Commendable educational effort on your part.

I've been trying to work on quartal voicings. Thanks for the video

Sweet music to my ears...&...hands...thanks for the overview and your time and efforts to share....AND Adam....thanks for music without an agenda. (Because what a perversion of the beauty of music that would be😥). A beautiful explanation and introduction to the magnificence of sound. Thankyou 😉

great lesson Adam!

I watch your shorts religiously. This is my first time catching a long form video. If this video is representative of the content that is in your courses, I may be purchasing content from you guys. This is a well put together video and even though it’s basic jazz chord structure, I still found myself learning things that I can use when playing!

Thanks, great video, as always from this channel👌

Great video!

4:25 as a guitarist, i felt that

Love this! I like to think of these diminished voicings as a 7th with b9 so for the Diminished 7 starting on Eb in the bass - I'm thinking of that as the b9 of with D7 on top (bottom up - b9 5 R 3 b7) so D7 with the b9 on the bottom if that makes sense, then transposed up in minor 3rds. Helps me to see the notes better! 🎹😀

Adam, great content and beautifully and hilariously presented. One thing I love about your playing is your touch on these chords - very strongly, uniformly played. Adds to the strength and vibe of the chords!

this guy is great ... proposing nice exercises and patterns ... thanks Mr. Gregg

Great lesson! Thank you! Nice ear training too for a guitarist ;) Thanks for arpeggiating

Great master Adam!!!! THANKS A LOT!!!!!😊😊😊😊

I just love this channel.

An absolute clear, warm and quality lesson to me, much appreciated Adam.

Thank you very much, its very useful and interesting material for me!

Yes! Can you do a similar video with your go-to L.H. only rootless voicings please! This is so clear and concise. TYVM!

Great stuff !!

The best Jazz Channel to me.

Amazing, thank you

Open Studio. Such an excellent on line source.

Love your vids, and this channel

lovely, thanks for this

Fabulous!!!

About the diminished chord and it's 3 other shapes: As seen in the video... you can create a new diminished chord using any note of the chord as bass. For example, a diminished chord starting on C. Form another starting on E flat. Form another starting on G flat, Form another starting on A.

Awesome thank you

First class video - thank you

C half diminished (Eb mi6 with 6th in bass) is an Ab 7 add 9 with 3rd in bass or Dalt with 7th in bass. Add F natural 1/2 step below Gb makes an Eb mi 6/9 with 6th in bass which is a 5 note voicing which can be played with all 5 fingers of one hand. Played chromatically descending alternates a 7th #11 and an Alt chord in circle of fourths or ascending in circle of fifths.

I haven't read all the comments, but as far as I scrolled down I didn't see anyone commenting on your fingering the left hand voicings with your 5th and 2nd fingers. Perhaps that's because you want your thumb available for three-note voicings in your left hand. I've found it handy to have both 2 and 3-note LH quartal-based voicings in my tool kit. Love your videos, whether solo or with Peter Martin. Keep them coming.

Good stuff Adam

Can we take a moment to appreciate the quality content, WITH PDF, with only a mild request to explore paid services? I found you guys on the shorts, but I am now back practising my skills. If I were to pay for some extra content, I'm sure I would look to you guys first.

Love the polychord aspect to each chord … thanks Adam 👍

This was great IMO!

This video is hitting me like a lightning bolt from music heaven! What a great bridge of concepts to inspire forward commitment and joy!

Not only is this great content, but everybody KNOWS Cookie Monster is the coolest motherplucker on the fanet...... Janet. Love it! ❤🎉😊

Thanks!

gooood, thx for that!

Thanks,Maestro😎

I like that emotion in motion funk version in the background.

Diminished chords are "Symmetrical"! They rotate nicely. Thanks for the pdf Adam, I'm going to inject it into my DNA. NOTE: I saw Mccoy Tyner twice and he didn't play any of these chords; He played ALL of them!

I love these voicings. Thanks for sharing the PDF. I noticed though that the PDF has sharp 5's notited as flat 6's much of the time, and sharp 9's as minor 3rds. Thats pretty confusing, although it might make the reading easier.

Merci for this.

Excellent video and I agree.. thanks for the enlightenment… What was the name of the second example at the beginning of this video?

Great!

The diminished voicings are technically a dominant 7 flat mine with a different bass note. Ex. The Bb dim was a C7 with a flat 9 with a Bb in the bass. C7b9/Bb

lucky me I wondered what it was for yrs. I know 6/9 chords but not in that open fourth order, never could guess by ear how it sounded so idk "Vegas in the 1960's" like. So thanks a lot! edit: also min 7 in open fourths is like old TV shows like hawaii five-o if I'm right

I was able to do all of this on guitar! And I tune my guitar in all fourths

This stuff is a bit beyond me… but I know it’s gold.. sounds so nice thanks

The bill evans „so what“ voicing :D

Haven't seen anyone address the diminished chord inversion question: you just move that voicing up a minor 3rd, since diminished chords are built on minor 3rds

In Diminishedland, ˚7th chords minor thirds apart are inversions of each other.

I'm on guitar and liked this lesson.

I loved this lesson. Really appreciated. For me are advanced not cookie cutters at all 😅.Besides the beautiful sounding voicings mostly created in fourth etc, is there any reason why the minor ones are the only containing the root?

Pentatonics every other note .. G pent/C etc..Gbpent/C7 etc.. awesome outline ..

As soon as I heard the Dominant7alt. I thought of Tyner's sound on Wise One (Crescent album) after min.3 approx. when the rubato cadenza ends and He starts that middle tempo, those chords building such a gradual tension... that's the sound... amazing!

Awesome lesson!! I’m going to eat some cookies and practice!🍪🎶

Another good option for "m7b5" is 1 b5 - 7 9 11. Widely used by Bill Evans, Herbie Hancock.

the humor leveled up a lot your vids adam!, more enjoyable than ever

I’ll try to use these, with some adjustments, on guitar.

With the diminished inversions he is always using the fourth of the second note from low to high. It is whole-half scale harmonization

1.) I will try this on the opening phrase of Till There Was You. 2.) How does one blend these fourth voicings with a 3 - 7 shell in the left hand?

That chord structure is called So What chords. From Miles Davis So What

these chords are amazing i have a question can i use them for comping when i am playing behind a soloist?