Embraceable You Jazz Piano Lesson: Harmonic Analysis
- Dr. Bob Lawrence
- Feb 6
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 8
Embraceable You Jazz Piano Lesson Overview Kickoff (Week 1: Harmonic Analysis)
January flew by, and just like that, February is here — which at Jazz Piano Skills means one thing: a brand new tune study. We just wrapped up our deep dive into Stars Fell on Alabama, and now we’re doing what we do best… we’re doing it again — same proven path, same sequential study system, but with a fresh new standard.
This week’s Embraceable You jazz piano lesson kicks off our February tune study with a deep dive into harmonic architecture, chord changes, and practical jazz piano voicings. This month, our four-week journey is built around the timeless George Gershwin classic:
Embraceable You
And the mission remains the same: we’re not simply “learning tunes.” We’re building the skills needed to play them with confidence, clarity, and musicality — whether you’re comping, improvising, or sitting alone at the piano telling your own story.
The February Roadmap: Our 4-Week Tune Study Format
Here’s exactly how the month will unfold:
Week 1 — Harmonic Architecture
Form, chord changes, harmonic function, and voicings.
Week 2 — Melodic Analysis
Transcribe the melody by ear, identify phrases, guide tones, and apply standard jazz treatments (ballad / bossa / swing).
Week 3 — Improvisation Development
Chord-scale relationships, melodic pathways, motif development, and rhythmic vocabulary.
Week 4 — Solo Piano
Our brand-new 2026 focus: strumming, striding, sliding, bass lines, orchestration, substitutions — the whole solo piano toolkit.
Same system. Same weekly rhythm. Real progress.
The Weekly Jazz Piano Skills Rhythm
One of the big themes this week was simple but powerful: great jazz playing isn’t built with random practice — it’s built with intentional study.
Here’s the weekly cadence
Monday: YouTube recap (review last week)
Tuesday: New podcast episode (introduce the next phase)
Wednesday: YouTube Quick Tip (laser-focused concept)
Thursday: Live Masterclass (recorded for later access)
Friday: YouTube Challenge (apply the concept)
Saturday: Weekly blog recap (that’s this!)
Sunday: Rest (because… we earned it)
Consistency matters. Structure matters. This is how chops get built.
Concept First: The Seven Facts of Music
Before we ever touch voicings, before we ever play through changes, study begins conceptually — because incorrect thinking quietly kills progress.
That’s why I recite the Seven Facts of Music each week. They keep your musical “database” clean and functional, so you’re not practicing with bad assumptions.
Music is the production of sound and silence
Sound is produced harmonically and melodically
Harmonic shapes are chords (voicings)
Melodic shapes are scales/arpeggios (melodies)
Melodic motion moves up or down
We decorate motion with tension/chromaticism
We bring it all to life with rhythm
Once these truths sink in, jazz stops feeling mysterious and starts feeling logical, manageable, achievable… and creative.
Question of the Week: Notes vs. Movement in Jazz Harmony
This week’s question came from Michael Evans in Wellington, New Zealand:
“What actually matters most when it comes to jazz harmony — the notes or the movement of the notes?”
Michael… that’s a deep one. Here's the heart of the answer:
Jazz harmony isn’t defined by how many notes you play — it’s defined by how the harmony moves.
You can play “the right notes” and still sound stiff. You can play very few notes and sound deeply musical.
The difference is movement.
In jazz, chords aren’t isolated events — they’re points along a path. Each chord comes from somewhere and goes somewhere. Great players think horizontally (voice-leading and direction), not vertically (stacks of notes).
That’s why shell voicings are so powerful. Even something as simple as 3rds and 7ths reveals the true story: smooth guide-tone motion, half-step / whole-step connections, and the path of least resistance.
Here’s the line to remember:
Notes are raw material. Movement is meaning. Notes give options. Movement gives music.
And when the harmony moves logically, it feels right — which helps you relax… and when you relax, everything improves: time, feel, touch, phrasing, space, confidence.
Week 1 Lesson Focus: Harmonic Analysis of Embraceable You
This episode kicked off our February study with the full harmonic architecture:
1) Form
Most standards fall into AABA or ABAB shapes.
But Embraceable You is different:
ABAC
That means you’re learning 24 measures, not the more typical 16.
Clean form — just longer, and a little less familiar. (Good!)
2) Unique Chord Changes
Because of the ABAC structure, we also see more unique harmony. In my version of the tune, I count 19 unique chord changes.
And remember: the purpose of identifying unique chords is simple — it lets you extract them and build practice templates so your entire February “musical universe” is organized around the harmony of this tune.
Common Progressions for Ear Training
This week, we also extracted key “everyday jazz” progressions from the tune — progressions that show up everywhere and should be instantly recognizable in your ears and under your hands.
A few highlights:
I → ♭III° → II–V (classic Tin Pan Alley / Gershwin motion)
II–V–I with a “backdoor” dominant flavor
VIIø → III7 → VI (circle-style motion)
A7 → Am → D7 (dominant-to-minor-to-dominant motion you see constantly)
Minor II–V resolving unexpectedly to major (Gershwin breaking the “rule”)
These are gold — not only for Embraceable You, but for your overall harmonic vocabulary.
Voicings: Block, Shell, and Two-Handed Structures
This week’s podcast also featured three key voicing approaches, demonstrated in context:
Lead Sheet 6 — Block Voicings + Inversions
Great for harmonizing melodies and hearing strong vertical harmony through smart voice leading.
Lead Sheet 7 — Shell Voicings
Traditional shells (3-7-9 / 7-3-5), two-note shells (3 & 7), and contemporary 4th-based shapes — all emphasizing minimal motion and clean connection.
Lead Sheet 8 — Two-Handed Voicings
Five-note structures (2 in the left hand, 3 in the right) — shapes you can use in solo piano and ensemble accompaniment.
One reminder from the episode that’s worth repeating:
If you’re still building your block voicings, stay there. Don’t overwhelm yourself trying to master everything at once. The path is laid out — just take the next right step.
Your Practice Focus This Week
Here’s your simple game plan:
Listen daily (use the weekly Listening List)
Get comfortable with the ABAC form
Practice the tune with one voicing type (choose blocks OR shells OR two-handed)
Extract the common progressions and drill them in multiple keys
Use the play-along track (tempo 85) to make everything musical
What’s Coming Next
Wednesday: Quick Tip (YouTube Short)
Thursday: Masterclass (8 pm Central — recorded if you can’t attend)
Friday: Harmonic Challenge (YouTube Short)
Next Tuesday: Melodic Analysis of Embraceable You (Week 2)
Closing Thoughts
This is exactly what real study looks like: same proven system, applied to a new standard, building greater skill with every month.
So let’s roll up our sleeves again.
It’s time to focus. It’s time to get busy. It’s time to Discover, Learn, and Play…
Embraceable You 🎹 🎧 Listen Now: [Jazz Piano Skills Podcast: Embraceable You – Episode Become a Member: Jazz Piano Skills
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Warm Regards, Dr. Bob Lawrence
Jazz Piano Skills
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