Piano Week 14: Add 9ths to core voicings

Weekly Focus

Week 14 starts Q2 by expanding core voicings with 9ths while keeping movement clean and practical.

Success this week means you can move from shells to 3-7-9 voicings quickly in at least two keys without destabilizing groove.

Practical voicing rule:

• With bass player or bass-heavy backing track: often omit LH root and prioritize compact 3-7-9 shapes.
• Solo piano context: keep root support when needed, then add 9th only if hand position stays relaxed and time stays steady.

Repertoire & Chord Map

Use Misty as primary application and My Romance as transfer. Keep voicings compact and prioritize clarity of color over density.

Core cadence loop for 9th voicing drills:

iim7 | V7 | Imaj7 | VIm7 iim7 | V7 | Imaj7 | VI7

Daily map task: play loop as shells first, then convert each chord to a 3-7-9 shape. Run one pass “with bass player logic” (root-light) and one pass “solo logic” (root-supported).

Supplementary Listening & Ear Training (Required)

Treat this as part of your weekly agenda, not optional background listening: it targets “Add 9ths to core voicings”.

Weekly listening pick:

• Watermelon Man — Herbie Hancock

Why this track now: It highlights riff-based harmony and pocket discipline, which matches Week 14’s goals.

Ear tasks (10–15 min, at least 3 sessions this week):

1. Listen once without the instrument and name the key center by ear (major/minor/modal). Then verify the key at piano.
2. Find one cadence or arrival point, then play: root + shell ii-V-I (or closest functional equivalent) in that key.
3. Lift a short 4–8 bar fragment by ear, play it slowly, and record ~30s so you can compare your hearing vs. the recording.

Extra challenge (optional): transpose your lifted fragment to the weekly priority ladder when possible (F → Eb → G → Bb → C).

End-of-Week Reflection

Which 9th voicings now feel automatic, and which still require searching? Carry one dependable shape and one weak cadence into Week 15.