Today's Two Five One · Saturday, August 1, 2026

Upper-Structure Triads in D Major

Em11 →A7(♯9♭13) →Dmaj9

One voicing from the collection, chosen by the date — same for everyone, everywhere. Tomorrow: different sound, different key. Follow by RSS.

The whole matrix

Every ii–V–I, in every key, in six classic voicing styles — the way Bud Powell, Bill Evans, Red Garland and the tradition actually played it. Free notation, audio and MIDI on every page; no email gate.

Style	C	D♭	D	E♭	E	F	G♭	G	A♭	A	B♭	B
Shell Voicings	D–G–C	E♭–A♭–D♭	E–A–D	F–B♭–E♭	F♯–B–E	G–C–F	A♭–D♭–G♭	A–D–G	B♭–E♭–A♭	B–E–A	C–F–B♭	C♯–F♯–B
Rootless Voicings — A Form	D–G–C	E♭–A♭–D♭	E–A–D	F–B♭–E♭	F♯–B–E	G–C–F	A♭–D♭–G♭	A–D–G	B♭–E♭–A♭	B–E–A	C–F–B♭	C♯–F♯–B
Rootless Voicings — B Form	D–G–C	E♭–A♭–D♭	E–A–D	F–B♭–E♭	F♯–B–E	G–C–F	A♭–D♭–G♭	A–D–G	B♭–E♭–A♭	B–E–A	C–F–B♭	C♯–F♯–B
Block Chords	D–G–C	E♭–A♭–D♭	E–A–D	F–B♭–E♭	F♯–B–E	G–C–F	A♭–D♭–G♭	A–D–G	B♭–E♭–A♭	B–E–A	C–F–B♭	C♯–F♯–B
Quartal Voicings	D–G–C	E♭–A♭–D♭	E–A–D	F–B♭–E♭	F♯–B–E	G–C–F	A♭–D♭–G♭	A–D–G	B♭–E♭–A♭	B–E–A	C–F–B♭	C♯–F♯–B
The "So What" Voicing	D–G–C	E♭–A♭–D♭	E–A–D	F–B♭–E♭	F♯–B–E	G–C–F	A♭–D♭–G♭	A–D–G	B♭–E♭–A♭	B–E–A	C–F–B♭	C♯–F♯–B
Drop 2 Voicings	D–G–C	E♭–A♭–D♭	E–A–D	F–B♭–E♭	F♯–B–E	G–C–F	A♭–D♭–G♭	A–D–G	B♭–E♭–A♭	B–E–A	C–F–B♭	C♯–F♯–B
Stride Tenths	D–G–C	E♭–A♭–D♭	E–A–D	F–B♭–E♭	F♯–B–E	G–C–F	A♭–D♭–G♭	A–D–G	B♭–E♭–A♭	B–E–A	C–F–B♭	C♯–F♯–B
Upper-Structure Triads	D–G–C	E♭–A♭–D♭	E–A–D	F–B♭–E♭	F♯–B–E	G–C–F	A♭–D♭–G♭	A–D–G	B♭–E♭–A♭	B–E–A	C–F–B♭	C♯–F♯–B

Six sounds of the same three chords

the Bud Powell school

Shell Voicings

Two notes per chord — root plus 3rd or 7th. The bebop left hand.

the Bill Evans school

Rootless Voicings — A Form

The classic four-note left hand: 3–5–7–9 grammar, no root, maximum color.

the Bill Evans school

Rootless Voicings — B Form

The same rootless grammar inverted: 7th on the bottom, for the keys where A form sits too low.

the Red Garland school

Block Chords

A chiming right-hand octave with a fifth locked inside, over a rootless left hand.

the McCoy Tyner school

Quartal Voicings

Stacked fourths over open fifths — the modern, open, modal sound.

Bill Evans, Kind of Blue

The "So What" Voicing

Three fourths plus a major third on top. One grip, planed across all three chords.

the big-band arranging tradition

Drop 2 Voicings

A close four-note chord cracked open — the second voice from the top dropped an octave.

the Teddy Wilson school

Stride Tenths

The swing-era left hand: root and third spread a tenth apart, under a right-hand chord.

the Herbie Hancock school

Upper-Structure Triads

A plain major triad stacked over the guide tones — simple triad, sophisticated colour.

Why a whole site about one progression?

Because the ii–V–I is jazz harmony: it is the cell that builds "Autumn Leaves", "All the Things You Are", and most of the Great American Songbook. Learn to voice it beautifully in every key and you have learned most of what a comping hand needs to know.

Everything here is generated from a small, hand-curated library of voicings — authored once, verified at the piano, then transposed with correct spelling into all 12 keys. No AI slop, no stock lesson filler: just the shapes, the sound, and why they work.