Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 18 hours ago
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Here is a jazz piano voicing rule that contradicts almost everything else I teach you. In classical, pop and worship playing I will tell you to voice the top note - lean on your pinky and bring the melody out over the chord. In smooth jazz, don't.
"Notice how I'm playing them. I'm not voicing the top note. I'll usually tell you to do that - but not in jazz. You just want everything to be the same volume, because you're painting color with these chords. And you don't want notes to stick out."
That is the entire difference between a chord that sounds jazzy and a chord that sounds like an exercise. A Dm11, a Gmaj7/A, an Em7/A, an Em11 - these are color chords. Every note in them is doing a job. The moment one note pokes out above the others, the ear hears a melody note instead of a color, and the lush, blended, smoky sound collapses. Play them flat, even, all one volume, and let the chord bloom as a single sound.
Most adult piano students have spent years being told to bring out the melody, so this one takes real attention to unlearn. Play a Dm11 and listen for the note that sticks out. Level it. Play it again. The moment all the notes sit at the same volume you will hear the record instead of the practice room - and that is a sound you cannot get from a stack of correct notes played the wrong way.
This clip is from Section Two of my new SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course - seven eight-bar jazz chord progressions built entirely from chords that occur in the tune, each one a device that transfers to any song you play.
WHAT THE SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ COURSE COVERS
- A complete smooth jazz piano arrangement, taught 12 measures at a time, one page per lesson
- Seven eight-bar jazz chord progressions - a half note chord, then two beats left blank for you to improvise over
- 51 original right-hand jazz licks I wrote myself, specifically for teaching
- Live backing tracks with real bass and drums so you can practice in time
- Jazz chord spelling and voicing: maj7, m7, m9, m11, 13 and slash chords explained in plain English
This is smooth jazz piano for adult piano students, returning pianists and worship and church players who want the real sound of jazz piano instead of a stack of notes. Learn how jazz chords are built, spelled and voiced - and how to touch them so they sound like jazz.
Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
Web Piano Teacher - piano lessons for adults who want to actually understand what they are playing.
webpianoteacher.com
👍 Try 1,000 free lessons today on webpianoteacher.com ✅ Learn to play piano with Shawn’s revolutionary method
Read Google Reviews by Shawn’s actual students google.com/search?sca_esv=5009c1303de011b0&sca_upv=1&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS1008US1008&hl=en-US&q=web+piano+teacher+reviews&uds=ADvngMgvgkdrPGdvQSDLpEVP-ZodsumYvHbzDCPdZxu7y1dxdo5qqAYWcbG74nStvB1P7oPuKgMFxvRIzd_DZN3tMyxEyrPXSMvg62M7DhKnaOoXRrvMRlR2qOzpuVB5MFvbzhVxfpnLmeUii_UEMspRA9Sb2_UNlNmYcxD8gSa_9Y-ZrAhmC7PMo4dC-3yAW2NaRCTwbTkIJFF0zACFe0MmWygbXUnSyy4URj5yYn7f6Y92qL5F7C65sP-AwHchpQ_w3yruheB24nu-AvcfFQo-ckINkBqWAeio4R0dm9r8cmVn2A7RlUhPAPOZyHpYJ2DontEmnoCi9_eEmhwW9RpGrsajaR7u8_U58p0eD_M4AQtnaQce2g4_3U4ECJVG1OOQrlRFwR4byywOQYKXK-PF9b_wDOJ4wtlppDpfX1FhULjD2H_jbmF3keFLT-JjbHx5mU1wYAbm&si=ACC90nwjPmqJHrCEt6ewASzksVFQDX8zco_7MgBaIawvaF4-7tVxiqnhHYhqKwDDsP2tv6FAZ1fBoW06Zy-5I4bv_4sVUMNgTvp0JS4qCRvaokEGreiT-RV-opIxhvzKSE6856yE4kgwpddtdtU31HEpdWwEdq8gXg%3D%3D&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwik1uakreOIAxVxKkQIHU2mGhQQk8gLegQIKRAB&ictx=1&biw=390&bih=657&dpr=3
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🔥Billy Joel Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bKGJ1HDqNoqdQ02-o579MQk
🔥Elton John Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bJV-8LhjXDcX5W4XRLhFhQZ
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Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
Here is a jazz piano voicing rule that contradicts almost everything else I teach you. In classical, pop and worship playing I will tell you to voice the top note - lean on your pinky and bring the melody out over the chord. In smooth jazz, don't.
"Notice how I'm playing them. I'm not voicing the top note. I'll usually tell you to do that - but not in jazz. You just want everything to be the same volume, because you're painting color with these chords. And you don't want notes to stick out."
That is the entire difference between a chord that sounds jazzy and a chord that sounds like an exercise. A Dm11, a Gmaj7/A, an Em7/A, an Em11 - these are color chords. Every note in them is doing a job. The moment one note pokes out above the others, the ear hears a melody note instead of a color, and the lush, blended, smoky sound collapses. Play them flat, even, all one volume, and let the chord bloom as a single sound.
Most adult piano students have spent years being told to bring out the melody, so this one takes real attention to unlearn. Play a Dm11 and listen for the note that sticks out. Level it. Play it again. The moment all the notes sit at the same volume you will hear the record instead of the practice room - and that is a sound you cannot get from a stack of correct notes played the wrong way.
This clip is from Section Two of my new SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course - seven eight-bar jazz chord progressions built entirely from chords that occur in the tune, each one a device that transfers to any song you play.
WHAT THE SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ COURSE COVERS
- A complete smooth jazz piano arrangement, taught 12 measures at a time, one page per lesson
- Seven eight-bar jazz chord progressions - a half note chord, then two beats left blank for you to improvise over
- 51 original right-hand jazz licks I wrote myself, specifically for teaching
- Live backing tracks with real bass and drums so you can practice in time
- Jazz chord spelling and voicing: maj7, m7, m9, m11, 13 and slash chords explained in plain English
This is smooth jazz piano for adult piano students, returning pianists and worship and church players who want the real sound of jazz piano instead of a stack of notes. Learn how jazz chords are built, spelled and voiced - and how to touch them so they sound like jazz.
Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
Web Piano Teacher - piano lessons for adults who want to actually understand what they are playing.
webpianoteacher.com
👍 Try 1,000 free lessons today on webpianoteacher.com ✅ Learn to play piano with Shawn’s revolutionary method
Read Google Reviews by Shawn’s actual students google.com/search?sca_esv=5009c1303de011b0&sca_upv=1&rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS1008US1008&hl=en-US&q=web+piano+teacher+reviews&uds=ADvngMgvgkdrPGdvQSDLpEVP-ZodsumYvHbzDCPdZxu7y1dxdo5qqAYWcbG74nStvB1P7oPuKgMFxvRIzd_DZN3tMyxEyrPXSMvg62M7DhKnaOoXRrvMRlR2qOzpuVB5MFvbzhVxfpnLmeUii_UEMspRA9Sb2_UNlNmYcxD8gSa_9Y-ZrAhmC7PMo4dC-3yAW2NaRCTwbTkIJFF0zACFe0MmWygbXUnSyy4URj5yYn7f6Y92qL5F7C65sP-AwHchpQ_w3yruheB24nu-AvcfFQo-ckINkBqWAeio4R0dm9r8cmVn2A7RlUhPAPOZyHpYJ2DontEmnoCi9_eEmhwW9RpGrsajaR7u8_U58p0eD_M4AQtnaQce2g4_3U4ECJVG1OOQrlRFwR4byywOQYKXK-PF9b_wDOJ4wtlppDpfX1FhULjD2H_jbmF3keFLT-JjbHx5mU1wYAbm&si=ACC90nwjPmqJHrCEt6ewASzksVFQDX8zco_7MgBaIawvaF4-7tVxiqnhHYhqKwDDsP2tv6FAZ1fBoW06Zy-5I4bv_4sVUMNgTvp0JS4qCRvaokEGreiT-RV-opIxhvzKSE6856yE4kgwpddtdtU31HEpdWwEdq8gXg%3D%3D&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwik1uakreOIAxVxKkQIHU2mGhQQk8gLegQIKRAB&ictx=1&biw=390&bih=657&dpr=3
🎹 #learntoplaypiano #learnpiano #pianocover #pianolessons #pianoteacher #pianotutorial #easypiano #howtoplaypiano http:webpianoteacher.com
🎹 Testimonials from Shawn’s actual students: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bI83Iun0tmCk-4IOSVAxm6S
🔥Billy Joel Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bKGJ1HDqNoqdQ02-o579MQk
🔥Elton John Song Lessons: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCmQmIKv8_bJV-8LhjXDcX5W4XRLhFhQZ
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