Left-hand pattern · Blues & boogie
Velvet jazz
Two soft notes on each beat: the cozy colour of old jazz ballads. Musicians call it left-hand shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3).
Want to mix it with other hands?
How Velvet jazz goes
One bar over a C chord: a row for each key, a column for each step, the finger on each note. Over another chord, move the same shape to its root.
Left-hand chords: Small left-hand chords pushing the beat.
Songs with Velvet jazz
Each one opens with this pattern in its player.
Often comes next
The patterns songs move to after Velvet jazz, from verse to chorus.
More rock & boogie
All patternsQuestions about Velvet jazz
What is Velvet jazz on piano?
Two soft notes on each beat: the cozy colour of old jazz ballads. Musicians call it left-hand shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3), one of the left-hand chords patterns: small left-hand chords pushing the beat.
How do I play lh shell voicings (1-7 / 1-3) with the left hand?
Over C major it is E3 (5) + Bb3 (2), then E3 (5) + C4 (1), then E3 (5) + Bb3 (2), then E3 (5) + C4 (1); the number after each note is the finger (1 is the thumb). Over any other chord, move the same shape to that chord's root.
What songs use Velvet jazz?
It is heard in thousands of songs of the library, as the main groove of 188 songs, such as Misty, Do You Hear What I Hear, At Last, Can't Help Falling In Love.
Is Velvet jazz easy?
It is an easy pattern, in 4/4, usually around 100 beats a minute.