Moonlight Sonata is undoubtedly one of the most popular pieces of classical music ever written. It is especially remarkable because Beethoven had already been losing his hearing when he wrote the complete piano sonata in 1801.
In today’s post, we are going to examine the first movement of Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”, observing 4 voicings that can be used in solo jazz piano.
1. Major 7th Voicing
Before the piece returns to the last A section where the melody is being played in the left hand, Beethoven arpeggiates a major 7th voicing with the 3rd in the bass that sounds very open and airy.
Here is how it sounds as a chord:
You can fit it in where ever you see a major chord with the third in the bass.
For example, in the B section of the jazz standard “Body and Soul”, we are given the ideal opportunity to use this voicing in the second measure, where there is a D Major 7 chord with an F# in the bass.
Here is how it sounds in context:
2. Dominant 7th Voicings
Beethoven uses several different arpeggios during the piece that make up dominant chords. The two variations that will be shown here both have the third in the bass.
Variation 1
In this example, It is being used as a passing chord in “Round Midnight” to get back to the repeat of the A section.
Variation 2
Compared to the last voicing that doubled the root note, this dominant 7 voicing doubles the 7th instead.
Have a listen:
This voicing works well in “The Nearness of You” during the turnaround just before the start of the B section.
Did you realise that a D7 chord was played in the audio instead of an Ab7? This is possible because of Tritone Substitution. If we used this Beethoven voicing for the Ab7, it wouldn’t have sounded as cohesive as the D7 would.
Don’t believe me? Try it for yourself!
3. Minor 6th/Half Diminished Voicings
In measure 13, Beethoven arpeggiates minor 6 chords to create 2 eerie but beautiful sounding chords.
Both of these voicings fit seamlessly into Jerome Kern’s “All The Things You Are” during the 2-5 into G major.
4. Diminished 7th Voicing
Last but not least, we have the diminished 7th voicing. There are different variations of them throughout the piece, but today we are exploring the one found in bar 25.
In the tune “My Romance, this voicing works very well for the diminished chord in the A section.
Conclusion
There are so much things we can learn from examining western art music. It is not just limited to voicings. We can also find licks, chord progressions, and embellishments/runs.
So, the next time you sit down to learn a “classical” piece, try to find at least one thing that can be transferred to your piano playing. Don’t forget to practice it in all 12 keys.
Good luck!
If you would like to see a pdf of the voicings for this post, you can download it by clicking the button below.
If you want to purchase the sheet music for the 1st movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, you can click the link below.
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/moonlight-sonata-original-piano-solo-6712456?aff_id=753799
Note: The link above is an affiliate link. If you purchase from this link, I will gain a small commission.
