I was first introduced to shell voicings for jazz guitar after high school.
During my audition for a jazz camp, the guitar instructor pointed out that the chords I was using at the time were kind of clunky. I had repeated notes in my voicings that didn’t need to be there.
And I wasn’t sure which notes were the ones I needed to get rid of… I knew where the roots were, but that was it.
At the end of my audition, he showed me a couple of shell voicing shapes to try out.
I was pretty sure my chords were fine, but I took my guitar back to the dorm, and in a half hour I was sold.
The chords were so easy to play, and they sounded great, too.
Those chords quickly became my go-to chord shapes during the camp, and continue to serve me well today. They became my introduction to learning about the essential jazz guitar chords I needed to know.
Let’s take a look at some basic jazz guitar shell voicings and how you can use them.
Understanding Jazz Guitar Shell Voicings
Components:
You can build shell voicings with just 3 chord tones: the root (1), third (3), and the seventh (7).
There are two main ways you will see these chord tones laid out on the guitar:
Root, third, seventh (1-3-7), and Root, seventh, third (1-7-3).
Sometimes other chord tones can come into play as well – but the primary structure of shell voicings is built on just these three notes.
Purpose:
Shell voicings aren’t just simplification or “training wheels” for beginners…
They are the simplest, clearest representation of a jazz chord on guitar. You get all the notes that make a chord tick, and nothing extra to get in the way.
These chords are a great tool for all kinds of jazz playing, and are my go-to chord shape for playing in big bands when the songs are in the basie or ellington style.
They also make it easier to change chords quickly, which is nice for when big band arrangements change chords on every beat.
I’ve also had good luck using these chords to accompany instruments or vocalists in a duo or small group setting.
Shell voicings are easy to use, and they sound great.
Basic Shell Voicings for Jazz Guitar
Major 7 Shell Voicing:
Dominant 7 Shell Voicing:
Minor 7 Shell Voicing:
Advantages of Jazz Guitar Shell Voicings
Keep your next chord close
Shell voicings for jazz guitar are movable chord shapes – meaning that if you move the shape to a new fret, you get a new chord.
This does mean you need to know some of the notes on the neck to get the most out of your shell voicings. Click here to learn the notes on the guitar neck.
Any one of these chord shapes can more or less instantly be played in all 12 keys, just by playing the chord at each fret on the guitar.
By learning all of these shell voicing shapes, you can ensure that your next chord is never more than one or two frets away, helping you avoid big hand shifts while you’re playing.
Blend With the Band:
The simple structure of shell voicings help you blend with a rhythm section or band.
Because you’re only playing the essential parts of the chord, you won’t be playing anything that conflicts with alterations played by a piano player.
You also won’t clash with anything being played in the band, and don’t have to worry about #5, b5, 13, #11, #9, b9, or anything else.
Everything you play will be simple, and it will work just fine.
There have even been times where I played with piano players who made it hard for me to get a chord in edgewise as we played.
They just filled up all of the space and there wasn’t anything really for me to do.
I used shell voicings so I could still play something – and not get in the way of what the piano was doing.
It was a lot more fun than just sitting on stage an not playing, that’s for sure.
Learning Tool:
Even though shell voicings are useful far beyond the beginner stages, they are particularly useful when you’re starting out.
You can get your feet wet with just the simplest representation of each chord, and learn to add different elements as you improve.
Pay attention to the chord tones under your fingers, and you’ll learn a lot about how different chords are constructed.
In some cases you’ll even learn more useful information from working with these chords than you would from a traditional theory class.
Conclusion:
Shell voicings for jazz guitar are a valuable tool for any jazz guitarist. They are a simple, clear representation of each chord, without anything extra to get in the way.
In fact, whenever I’m learning a new song, I still like to work through it with shell voicings first. This helps me to get the basic harmony into my ears.
These chords are also great for playing with others because they help you avoid clashing with chords from a piano, or a horn section.
How are you using shell voicings in your own guitar playing? Let me know below.