Locked hands style

Locked hands style is a technique of

chord voicing for the piano. Popularized by
the jazz pianist George Shearing, it is a
way to implement the "block chord"
method of harmony on a keyboard
instrument.
The locked hands technique requires the
pianist to play the melody using both
hands in unison. The right hand plays a 4-
note chord inversion in which the melody
note is the highest note in the voicing. The
other 3 notes of the chord are voiced as
closely as possible below the melody note,
which is the definition of a block chord.[1]
The left hand doubles the melody note one
octave lower.

To achieve this result, the pianists's hands

must be placed close together on the
keyboard and both hands move
simultaneously in the same direction. To
an observer, the pianist's hands appear to
be locked together.[2]

The technique had been employed by

numerous jazz pianists prior to Shearing.
(Phil Moore, Duke Ellington, Count Basie
and Red Garland),[3] Shearing said he was
first exposed to it through Milt Buckner,
the pianist for Lionel Hampton and the
musician considered the originator of the
technique. [4] This harmonic technique was
also used in the horn arrangements of
Glenn Miller's big band and is a staple of
modern big band arranging. [5]

References
1. Baerman, Noah (2004). The Big Book
of Jazz Piano Improvisation. Alfred
Publishing. pp. 94–5.
ISBN 0739031716.
2. Owens, Thomas. Be Bop. Oxford
University Press. ISBN 0-19-510651-2.
3. Block chord
4. "Archived copy" . Archived from the
original on 2003-01-04. Retrieved
 2012-05-22.
5. "Archived copy" . Archived from the
original on 2003-01-04. Retrieved
2012-05-22.

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Last edited 2 months ago by Monkbot

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