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Quartals & Pentatonics – a practical guide for Jazz piano

Introduction

The use of quartal or stacked-fourth voicings and pentatonic improvisation is nothing

new in the world of jazz, as its use as a defining stylistic approach by pianists McCoy
Tyner and Chick Corea is well-known. The classic Bill Evans’ ‘So What’ voicing is
also built upon the quartal concept, and quartals were used well before that
especially by the impressionist composers Ravel and Debussy.

This book is intended to provide the student with an understanding of the harmonic
use of quartals, by providing various voicing options and usages. The use of
pentatonics as soloing devices will be examined both on their own, as well as in
conjunction with left-hand quartals. A number of practical exercises will be given to
assist in developing this technique and approach to improvisation. It must be
stressed that this style of playing should be only a part of the pianist’s vocabulary –
tertian harmony, modes, chromaticism, upper structures etc are just as essential
tools for the jazz musician. Notwithstanding, there IS a lot of fun to be had with
quartals and pentatonics, and it is hoped that this book will provide a foundation for a
lifetime of experimentation.

Voicings In Fourths

Fig 1 shows the standard quartal voicings for one hand. These should be played with
both hands across the range of the keyboard until they’re internalised completely.
Figs 2 and 3 demonstrate practice techniques to assist both with dexterity and the
internalising process.

Fig 1

Fig 2
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These should be practiced with separate hands, through all ‘keys’ (as shown in Fig
1). Keep the fingering as indicated for each key, even though there may be some
unusual movements. This exercise also helps to strengthen the fourth finger.

Fig 3

Initially, the voicings we’ll construct will be purely stacked perfect fourths, just to
reinforce these shapes, and to gain an understanding of the harmony that can be
represented.

Why Fourths?

Quartal chords can be applied to a variety of harmonies, not just minor, with a high
degree of ambiguity, which can be seen in the following examples. This is part of the
charm as various harmonies can be implied in the course of a tune or solo, without
clearly stating any particular one. The ‘opening-up’ of the harmony is a contemporary
approach, and provides a good contrast to an otherwise tertian (stacked thirds)
construction.

The voicings below are single-hand voicings which could be used either with left or
right hand.

Minor 7th chords can be built from the root, 9th,11th (and even 5th and 6th) although
the first three are the most common. An easy way of remembering the choices is by
starting on the 6th and moving up by fourths, which gives you: 6, 9, 5, R, 11. i.e each
quartal is a fourth away from the other.

Fig 4

There are a lot more choices for dominant chords, depending on the tensions one
wishes to highlight. For unaltered chords, they can be built from the 3rd, 6th and 9th
(again fourths apart). A strong sus4 voicing is just the root position quartal (or it can
be built from the 5th), while altered dominants can be built from b7, #9, and #5 (also
fourths apart).
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Fig 5

Major 6th or 7th chords can also be represented by quartals built from the 3rd, 6th and
9th as these voicings do not include the 7th, although a quartal built from the 7th is a
strong maj 7th voicing. An interesting Lydian chord can also be constructed from the
#4. In other words, quartal chords a fourth apart in this sequence: #4, 7, 3, 6, 9.

Fig 6

To make things a little clearer, the table below may be of use. This summarises the
main voicings for the various chord types. As the quartals are listed a fourth apart,
one only needs to remember the first quartal root in each section, to be able to work
out the others. e.g. Minor chords – build from 6th.

Chord Quartal built from: Scale tones highlighted

Minor 7 6th 6, 9, 5
9th 9, 5, R
5th 5, R, 11
Root R, 11, 7
11th 11, 7, 3
Dominant 7 3rd 3, 13, 9
6th 13, 9, 5
9th 9, 5, R
Altered Dominant 7th 7, 9, 13
9th 9, 5, 9
5th 5, 9, 11
Dominant 7 sus4 5th 5, R, 4
Root R, 4, 7
Major 7 4th 4, 7, 3
7th 7, 3, 6
3rd 3, 6, 9
6th 6, 9, 5
9th 9, 5, R
Minor 7 b5 Root R, 11, 7
11th 11, 7, 3
7th 7, 3, 13

Note that voicings built from the b3 or b6 could be used for a min7b5 chord, but as
the b9 is highlighted, they are best avoided due to the b9 being somewhat of an
avoid note.