Some chords belong to one song. This one belongs to a whole era. On “So What”, the first track of Miles Davis’s album Kind of Blue (recorded in 1959), the bass plays a question and the band answers with a chord. Bill Evans voiced that chord in a way that sounded open, modern and a little mysterious. Pianists still call it the So What chord, and you will hear its shape in almost every style of jazz that came after.
The good news: it is easy to play. It is one shape, and once your hands know it, you can use it in every key and on many more chords than the one it was made for.
How the chord is built
Most jazz chords are built by stacking 3rds: C–E–G–B, every other note of the scale. The So What chord is built differently. Start on E and go up: three perfect 4ths and then a major 3rd.
- E up a 4th to A
- A up a 4th to D
- D up a 4th to G
- G up a major 3rd to B
That is the first chord: E–A–D–G–B. Now move the whole shape a whole step down, so it starts on D: D–G–C–F–A. Those two chords, one on E and one on D, are the pair you hear the band answer the bass with in the tune. Here they are, piano only:
Dm11: E–A + D–G–B · Dm11: D–G + C–F–A
- Three in the left, two in the right: on D, the left hand plays D–G–C and the right hand F–A (on E: E–A–D in the left, G–B in the right). The left hand holds the 4ths; good when your left hand is comfortable with the stretch.
- Two in the left, three in the right: on D, the left hand plays D–G and the right hand C–F–A (on E: E–A in the left, D–G–B in the right). An easier stretch for the left hand; this is how the keys light up in the examples.
Either way, when you move from the chord on E to the chord on D, both hands simply slide down a whole step together.
Look at the notes of both chords together: E, A, D, G, B, C and F. They are all from the D Dorian scale (the notes of C major, starting on D). That is the secret of the shape: it moves, but it never leaves the scale, so the harmony stays D minor while the sound moves. In the tune the bass plays D under both, and the chord is usually written as Dm11. Over that D, the first chord gives you the 9th, the 5th, the root, the 11th and the 13th, without the minor 3rd (F) or the 7th (C); the second chord brings them back in.
Why it sounds so different
Listen to a plain Dm7, and then the two So What chords, on E and on D. Each time the piano starts alone; a second later the bass joins on D and rings under the chords, under both So What chords together. Listen to how the bass note changes what you hear:
Dm7: D–F–A–C · Dm11: E–A + D–G–B · Dm11: D–G + C–F–A
The Dm7 sounds settled and familiar. The So What chords sound wide open, even over the same D. That openness comes from the 4ths. A stack of 3rds tells the ear exactly what the chord is; a stack of 4ths is more neutral, it doesn’t lean strongly towards major or minor. The ear hears space instead of a label, and the bass note decides the rest.
This is why the chord fits modal jazz so well. In “So What” the harmony stays on one scale for many bars. A chord that names its scale without pinning it down lets the music breathe for that long without getting boring.
Moving the shape through the scale
Here is where the chord becomes a tool. Keep the shape, but build it on other notes of the D Dorian scale: on E, then F, G and A. Every note stays inside the scale, so along the way one of the 4ths becomes an augmented 4th and the 3rd on top is sometimes minor. Those small changes are part of the colour.
Dm11: E–A + D–G–B · Dm11: F–B + E–A–C · Dm11: G–C + F–B–D · Dm11: A–D + G–C–E · Dm11: G–C + F–B–D · Dm11: F–B + E–A–C · Dm11: E–A + D–G–B · Dm11: D–G + C–F–A
This is how pianists comp over a long modal section: they move the shape up and down the scale in a rhythm, so the harmony stays the same while the sound keeps moving. Try it slowly at first and say the bottom note of each chord out loud: E, F, G, A, G, F, E, D.
Up a half step and back
The form of “So What” is 32 bars: sixteen bars on D Dorian, eight bars a half step higher on E♭ Dorian, and eight more on D Dorian. For the middle section you don’t need a new shape: just move the whole chord up a half step. Here is a short version of that idea, eight bars in each key, with the chord in the Charleston rhythm:
From So What to quartal voicings: McCoy Tyner
Two years after “So What”, John Coltrane recorded “Impressions”: the same 32-bar form, the same two scales, D Dorian and E♭ Dorian, a half step apart. His pianist was McCoy Tyner, and Tyner took the idea of the So What chord one step further. He took away the top two notes and kept the 4ths at the bottom: chords built entirely from 4ths, mostly just three notes in the left hand, moving them up and down the scale and hitting them hard under Coltrane’s long solos. Those chords became the sound of his playing, and of a whole new style of modal jazz.
Chords built only from 4ths are called quartal voicings. Take the So What chord, remove its top two notes, and you already have one: E–A–D, three notes, each a 4th above the one below. Listen to it on E, and then a step down on D (D–G–C):
Dm11: E–A–D · Dm11: D–G–C
Here is the idea over the whole 32-bar form, the form of “So What” and “Impressions”: eight bars of D Dorian, eight more, eight bars of E♭ Dorian, then eight of D Dorian again. The bass walks; the left hand alone comps with three-note shapes of 4ths, all taken from the scale: D–G–C, E–A–D, G–C–F and A–D–G. Listen to how the shapes slide back and forth through the scale, and to the rhythm: a Charleston here, a push on the “and” of 2 and 4 there, an anticipation, and whole bars of rest. The left hand never plays on every beat:
Try it yourself with just these four shapes. Keep the left hand light and short, leave space, and move to the next shape by step. In the E♭ section, everything moves up a half step: E♭–A♭–D♭, F–B♭–E♭ and so on.
Without the top notes the sound is even more open, almost floating: the chord barely tells you whether it is major or minor, and the bass note decides. That is the sound of “Impressions” and of much of the jazz from the 1960s on. Quartal voicings are a whole subject of their own, and they are the topic of my next lesson: how to build them, how to move them through a scale, and how to comp with them the way McCoy Tyner did.
One shape, many chords
Now the most useful part. Keep your hands exactly where they are, on E–A–D–G–B, and change only the bass note. Each bass note turns the same five notes into a different chord:
- Over D: Dm11, the So What sound.
- Over G: G6/9, open and bright.
- Over C: Cmaj13, a rich major sound.
- Over F: Fmaj13♯11, the dreamy Lydian sound.
Dm11: E–A + D–G–B · G6/9: E–A + D–G–B · Cmaj13: E–A + D–G–B · Fmaj13♯11: E–A + D–G–B
So one shape you already know gives you a minor chord, a 6/9 chord and two major 7th colours. That is a lot of music for five notes. Use it whenever a chart has a long minor 7th, a major 7th or a 6/9 chord and you want a more modern sound than a stack of 3rds.
How to practise the So What chord
- All 12 keys. Use the key menu in the first example. Name the bottom note and the minor chord it belongs to: E for Dm11, F for E♭m11, and so on.
- Hands separately first. The left hand plays the three 4ths, the right hand the 4th and the 3rd on top. Then put them together.
- Move it through the scale, as in the third example, in each key you learn.
- Comp a long modal section. Put a metronome on 2 and 4 and play sixteen bars of D minor with the chord in the Charleston rhythm, moving it to a neighbouring scale note every bar or two.
- Find it in tunes. Every time a chart has a minor 7th chord that lasts a bar or more, try the So What chord on it.
Mistakes I hear most often
- Too low. Stacked 4ths below about D3 turn into a growl. Keep the bottom note near middle C.
- Wrong top note. The 3rd at the top must be a major 3rd. Four perfect 4ths in a row is a different sound (a pure quartal chord), also good, but not the So What chord.
- Using it on everything. On a busy ii–V–I with a chord every two beats, the open sound gets lost. It shines on chords that last.
- Moving it outside the scale. When you slide the shape, check each note against the scale. One wrong note and the open sound turns sour.
- Forgetting the bass. When you play alone, add the root below with the left hand (and put all five notes in the right), or the chord loses its ground.
Questions students ask
Is the So What chord the same as a quartal voicing?
Almost. A quartal voicing is built only from 4ths, as McCoy Tyner played them. The So What chord is three 4ths plus a major 3rd on top. That last 3rd adds a touch of sweetness, which is part of why it sounds so good. Quartal voicings get their own lesson next.
Which tunes can I use it on?
Start with “So What” and “Impressions”. Then try it on any modal tune, such as Herbie Hancock’s “Maiden Voyage”, and on long minor chords in standards: the first chords of “Summertime” or “Autumn Leaves” in minor, for example.
Can I play it with one hand?
Not all five notes, unless your hand is very big. A common solution is to play the lower three notes, the 4ths, in the left hand as a comping chord, and let the right hand play the melody or a line.
Recommended listening
The So What chord and the modal sound that grew around it. Listen for open chords built in 4ths, moving over long stretches of one scale.
- “So What”, Miles Davis · Kind of Blue (1959): Bill Evans, piano
- “So What”, Miles Davis · Four & More (1964): Herbie Hancock, piano: a much faster version
- “Impressions”, John Coltrane · Impressions (1961): the same form and scales; McCoy Tyner, piano
- “Pavanne”, Ahmad Jamal Trio · The Piano Scene of Ahmad Jamal (1955): Coltrane’s “Impressions” borrows its melody from this tune
- “Maiden Voyage”, Herbie Hancock · Maiden Voyage (1965)
- “Passion Dance”, McCoy Tyner · The Real McCoy (1967)
- “Milestones”, Miles Davis · Milestones (1958): Red Garland, piano
- “All Blues”, Miles Davis · Kind of Blue (1959): Bill Evans, piano
- “Flamenco Sketches”, Miles Davis · Kind of Blue (1959): Bill Evans, piano
- “Little Sunflower”, Freddie Hubbard · Backlash (1966)