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thejazzpianosite.com/jazz-piano-lessons/jazz-chord-voicings/so-what-chord
Quartal Harmony
Up to this point, we have discussed building chords up in intervals of 3rds (tertian harmony). But it is also possible to build chords
up in intervals of 4ths. This is called Quartal Harmony. The So What Chord is a specific type of Quartal Chord (we will discuss
Quartal Chords in more detail in an upcoming lesson). The So What Chord Voicing is a classic and widely used Modern Jazz piano
voicing. This chord voicing derives its name from the song So What from Mile Davis’ Kind of Blue album. In this song the pianist, Bill
Evans, plays a particular chord voicing which has become known as the So What Chord.
Chords built in 4ths are analysed in the same way as regular chords built in 3rds. We look at all the notes that comprise them and
figure out an appropriate chord name. This is arguably unsuitable, because chords built in 4ths sound and function very differently
to chords built in 3rds. But unfortunately, standard music theory is what everyone knows and uses.
The So What Chord is a two handed chord voicing made up of 5 notes. It is built out of three stacked Perfect 4ths with a Major 3rd
on top. So, for example, the D So What Chord is:
Chord Ambiguity
Because of the way the So What Chord is constructed (out of 4ths rather than 3rds), it is rather ambiguous and can be numerous
chords at once, depending on the context. Some of these chords are listed below.
E♭Maj13#11 E♭ G B♭ D F A C
F69 FACDG
G9sus GCDFA
Because these chords are built in 4ths, they have a slightly Suspended Chord sound. This also means that they do not have the
same need to resolve to another chord (like a G7 feels like it needs to resolve to CMaj7).
Chord Progressions
The So What Chord Voicing can be used in a standard ‘tonal’ chord progression (going around a Circle Progression or II-V-I) or a
‘modal’ chord progression (moving in steps). We will learn much more about tonal and modal harmony in future lessons.
II-V-I in C
Diatonic – Only using the notes within a key (Note: One of the 4ths in a diatonic key will be a ‘diminished 4th’ or tritone, like
that between B and F in the key of C Major);
Parallel Motion (Parallelism) – Keeping the true/classic So What shape.
So What Alterations
You can also alter the interval between your left hand and right hand to create a new chord and a more dissonant sound. Below are
a few examples of this.
Have a Listen to
So What ~ Miles Davis
Peresina ~ McCoy Tyner
Matrix ~ Chick Corea