Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 14 hours ago
Three notes, one hand shape, and it instantly sounds like a record. Put your thumb on A, your second finger on D and your fifth finger on G. That is two fourths stacked on top of each other -- open fourths -- and it is the sound Bruce Hornsby built a career on. Most piano students never play it because they were taught to stack thirds, and thirds are why their playing sounds like a hymnal instead of like a rhythm section.
Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
This is from my SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course, built on "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio.
"And then what I call the Bruce Hornsby sound. Right? That sounds like Bruce Hornsby. Just the A, D, G. One, two, five."
HOW TO PLAY THE BRUCE HORNSBY SOUND TONIGHT
- Right hand: thumb on A, second finger on D, fifth finger on G. Say the fingering out loud -- one, two, five. The stretch is the whole point, and it is why the shape rings the way it does.
- A up to D is a fourth. D up to G is another fourth. Two fourths stacked is called a quartal voicing, and it is open and hollow instead of sweet and closed like a triad.
- Play it under the E minor 7 in this lick and listen to how much air is in it. Nothing is voiced, nothing is louder, all three notes land together.
- Now slide the same shape up and down the white keys without changing your fingers. Every position is usable. That is the whole trick -- one shape, moved.
- Put a bass note under it in your left hand and you have the sound off half the records you grew up on.
WHY THIS TRANSFERS TO EVERY SONG YOU PLAY
Quartal voicings are not a jazz-only device. Bruce Hornsby, gospel piano, country piano and every session player alive reach for stacked fourths when a triad sounds too polite. It costs you nothing to learn -- three notes and one fingering -- and it changes songs you already know tonight. Anywhere you are playing a plain triad in the right hand, try the fourths instead and hear what opens up.
WHAT IS IN THE SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ COURSE
PART ONE is the full song, hands together, line by line, from my annotated sheet music with the letter name printed inside every notehead, and my hands on camera from directly overhead.
PART TWO is seven eight-bar chord progressions pulled out of the tune: quartal minor 11 shapes, the stubborn A pedal, slash chords, half diminished, borrowed major 13 color, the Lydian sharp 11, and the minor four chord that makes a major song ache. Every bar gives you the chord for two beats and then two beats of silence, and that silence is yours to answer in.
PART THREE is over fifty jazz licks, one over every chord in those progressions, with play-along tracks and printable sheet music.
Start the Smooth Piano Jazz course on your $1 trial: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
#brucehornsby #jazzpiano #quartalvoicings #openfourths #smoothjazz #pianolesson #learnpiano #pianotutorial #adultpianostudent #jazzlicks #pianochords #pianovoicings #pianotechnique #pianoteacher #jazzpianolesson
👍 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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instagram.com/webpianoteacher
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Three notes, one hand shape, and it instantly sounds like a record. Put your thumb on A, your second finger on D and your fifth finger on G. That is two fourths stacked on top of each other -- open fourths -- and it is the sound Bruce Hornsby built a career on. Most piano students never play it because they were taught to stack thirds, and thirds are why their playing sounds like a hymnal instead of like a rhythm section.
Try every lesson for $1 for 7 days: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
This is from my SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ course, built on "Asking You Out" by the Quinn Perry Trio.
"And then what I call the Bruce Hornsby sound. Right? That sounds like Bruce Hornsby. Just the A, D, G. One, two, five."
HOW TO PLAY THE BRUCE HORNSBY SOUND TONIGHT
- Right hand: thumb on A, second finger on D, fifth finger on G. Say the fingering out loud -- one, two, five. The stretch is the whole point, and it is why the shape rings the way it does.
- A up to D is a fourth. D up to G is another fourth. Two fourths stacked is called a quartal voicing, and it is open and hollow instead of sweet and closed like a triad.
- Play it under the E minor 7 in this lick and listen to how much air is in it. Nothing is voiced, nothing is louder, all three notes land together.
- Now slide the same shape up and down the white keys without changing your fingers. Every position is usable. That is the whole trick -- one shape, moved.
- Put a bass note under it in your left hand and you have the sound off half the records you grew up on.
WHY THIS TRANSFERS TO EVERY SONG YOU PLAY
Quartal voicings are not a jazz-only device. Bruce Hornsby, gospel piano, country piano and every session player alive reach for stacked fourths when a triad sounds too polite. It costs you nothing to learn -- three notes and one fingering -- and it changes songs you already know tonight. Anywhere you are playing a plain triad in the right hand, try the fourths instead and hear what opens up.
WHAT IS IN THE SMOOTH PIANO JAZZ COURSE
PART ONE is the full song, hands together, line by line, from my annotated sheet music with the letter name printed inside every notehead, and my hands on camera from directly overhead.
PART TWO is seven eight-bar chord progressions pulled out of the tune: quartal minor 11 shapes, the stubborn A pedal, slash chords, half diminished, borrowed major 13 color, the Lydian sharp 11, and the minor four chord that makes a major song ache. Every bar gives you the chord for two beats and then two beats of silence, and that silence is yours to answer in.
PART THREE is over fifty jazz licks, one over every chord in those progressions, with play-along tracks and printable sheet music.
Start the Smooth Piano Jazz course on your $1 trial: webpianoteacher.com/subscription/offer
#brucehornsby #jazzpiano #quartalvoicings #openfourths #smoothjazz #pianolesson #learnpiano #pianotutorial #adultpianostudent #jazzlicks #pianochords #pianovoicings #pianotechnique #pianoteacher #jazzpianolesson
👍 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
webpianoteacher.com
instagram.com/webpianoteacher
facebook.com/shawncheekeasypiano
twitter.com/webpianoteacher
tiktok.com/@shawnthewebpianoteacher
