| Shell voicings are simple but functional. | | | | melodies are crafted to clearly outline the harmony. |
| They make use of the root and either the third of the | | | | Most Jazz pianists play these kind of voicings in a |
| seventh any chord. Sometimes referred to as "shell" | | | | relatively sparse and percussive manner on medium or |
| voicings, these are commonly used as left-hand | | | | up-tempo tunes. |
| accompaniment in the piano stylings of Bud Powell, | | | | Shell voicings are most effective when the top note |
| Horace Silver, Sonny Clark, and others who play | | | | (played by the thumb) falls between D below middle C |
| primarily in the "be-bop" idiom. | | | | and the D next to middle C. These voicings are |
| With only two notes, they are harmonically incomplete; | | | | particularly useful in support an improvised line played in |
| however, they do convey enough information to | | | | the middle range of the keyboard, which is stylistically |
| supplement many right hand melodies or improvised | | | | typical of be-bop playing. |
| lines, especially those in the be-bop style where | | | | |