The jazz standard “Someday My Prince Will Come” in voiced position

Let’s have a look at voicings now for “Someday My Prince Will Come”. For B flat major 7 the first chord we can either start it there, or start it there - we’ve got our 2 positions. Let’s make a choice. Let’s start it on the third inversion. The second bar is D7. If we wanted to put in a sharpened fifth - a B flat - we could thicken up the chord. E flat major7 - the closest one is the 6/9. Again if we wanted to put in a sharp eleven we could put in the A natural. G7 with a sharpened fifth, C minor7, G7 with a sharpened fifth, C7, F7.

We’re now on bar 9, D minor7, D flat diminished - or D flat diminished7 if you want. You can take any of those, or you can take (for the) diminished - the other shape we have discussed. C minor7 - I don’t know where we are at - either C minor to F7 or C minor to F7.

Fourth line - C minor7 to F7. I’m just going to the fifth line now, the second time bar, F minor7, B flat7, E flat major7 and an inversion of E diminished - that’s the closest. You can take any of those obviously, but that’s the closest.

Then we’ve got this dominant pedalling: B flat major7, C minor7, F7, B flat major7. Actually on the Aebersold playalong they keep the dominant pedalling going all the way through the last 4 bars - so it’s all over F. One small thing which I didn’t say, when I play the second A I change the first 2 chords from B flat major7, D7 sharp5 to B7 flat5, E major7 sharp11. In other words instead of playing - I play. That second chord is just a semitone away, a semitone above E flat major7 sharp11. It adds more colour, more interest to the sequence. If the bass player goes with you, so much the better.

If the bass player plays the usual B flat, D, then you’ll get some tension, but the tension will release as is so typical of our tonal music.