Herbie Hancock, music · Introduced on the Blue Note album Maiden Voyage, 1965
Maiden Voyage
Maiden Voyage is a 32-bar tune by Herbie Hancock built on four suspended chords, each held for four bars. Hancock called it his favorite of his own tunes, and the slow chord changes leave soloists room. It is the title track of Hancock's 1965 Blue Note album and has become a jazz standard.
▶ Plays the whole path in order, one recording after another.
How the tune works
The tune is 32 bars in AABA form, and each chord lasts four bars. Each A section plays Am7 over D, then Cm7 over F. The bridge plays B♭m7 over E♭, then a minor chord over D♭, which one book names C♯m13. The last A returns to Am7 over D and Cm7 over F. The tune has no single key, so the strip names the bass note of each chord and treats D, the root of the opening chord, as home. Many books write the same chords as suspended chords on D, F, E♭ and D♭.
The changes under Freddie Hubbard's solo on Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage (1965), transcribed in the Weimar Jazz Database. Fake books write the same four chords as minor sevenths over a bass note (Am7/D, Cm7/F, B♭m7/E♭, D♭m9).
Use the key buttons to move the chart to the key you play in.
Source: Weimar Jazz Database: Freddie Hubbard, Maiden Voyage
Listen in this order
Play all 8 on YouTube ↗The path starts with Hancock's 1965 original, then follows the tune through vibes, a piano trio, guitar, solo piano, a band reunion and a modern trio. Every step keeps the same four chords, so you can hear what changes around them.
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Step 1 · Learn the song Now playing
Herbie Hancock 1965
Maiden Voyage
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- Listen for
- The whole tune sits on four chords, each held for four bars: two in the A sections and two in the bridge. Freddie Hubbard's trumpet solo runs from about 2:17 to 4:15 over the same chords.
- Try this
- Play Am7 over a D bass note for four bars, then Cm7 over an F bass note for four bars. Repeat that pair, play B♭m7 over E♭ and then D♭m9 for four bars each, and finish with the first pair again. Count the 32 bars aloud, then play along with the record. For a smaller version, play only the first eight bars.
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Step 2 · Hear it on vibes Now playing
Bobby Hutcherson 1966
Happenings
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- Listen for
- There are no horns here: the lineup is vibes, piano, bass and drums. Hancock plays piano on both this track and the 1965 original, so you can hear him set the same chords under a different lead.
- Try this
- Play the first eight bars of the chords, Am7 over D and then Cm7 over F, and let each chord ring. Then play along with the first minute of the record.
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Step 3 · Hear a piano trio Now playing
Denny Zeitlin 1967
Zeitgeist
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- Listen for
- Three players cover the whole form: piano, bass and drums. Count four bars on each chord and listen for the bridge at bar 17.
- Try this
- Play the four chords as a bass note plus a chord: D with Am7, F with Cm7, E♭ with B♭m7 and D♭ with D♭m9, four bars each, in AABA order. If that feels like too much, play only the A section.
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Step 4 · Hear a hit version Now playing
Ramsey Lewis 1968
Maiden Voyage
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- Listen for
- A trio of piano, bass and drums, with Charles Stepney and Cleveland Eaton credited as arrangers. The track runs 4:50, so you can follow the form from start to finish in one short pass.
- Try this
- Play the chords as a short loop at any pace you like: four bars of Am7 over D, four of Cm7 over F, twice, then the bridge chords and the first pair again. Then try the same loop with the bass note in your left hand and the chord in your right.
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Step 5 · Hear it with guitar and organ Now playing
Grant Green 1970
Alive!
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- Listen for
- Green's guitar is joined by tenor saxophone, vibes, organ, drums and congas. At 10:58 the track is long, so follow the four-bar chord changes through the solos.
- Try this
- On guitar or any chord instrument, play Am7 for four bars and Cm7 for four bars, then repeat. Add the bridge chords, B♭m7 and D♭m9, and play along with the record.
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Step 6 · Hear it alone Now playing
Herbie Hancock 1974
Dedication
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- Listen for
- With no rhythm section, no drums mark the bars. Count the tune's 32-bar plan yourself and listen for where the bridge starts, at bar 17 of the tune.
- Try this
- Play the four chords by yourself with no recording: a bass note and a chord, four bars each, in AABA order. Then play along with the track and see where you land after 32 bars.
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Step 7 · Hear the band return Now playing
Herbie Hancock (V.S.O.P. Quintet) 1976
V.S.O.P.
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- Listen for
- At about 13 minutes, the track has time for many choruses of the tune's 32-bar form. Pick one solo and count four bars on each chord to keep your place.
- Try this
- Choose one solo chorus and count the 32 bars against the record: four bars on each chord, with the bridge starting at bar 17. If you can play the chords, play them quietly along with it.
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Step 8 · Hear it today Now playing
Robert Glasper Trio 2002
Mood
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- Listen for
- A trio of piano, bass and drums plus a credited vocalist. At 5:11 the track is compact: count the tune's four-bar chord changes and notice where the trio keeps to them.
- Try this
- Play the four chords as a trio would: a bass note in the left hand and the chord in the right, four bars each in AABA order. Changing your chord voicings each time through is harder; if that is too much, keep one voicing and change only the rhythm.
More great versions
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Jon Lucien 1975
Song for My Lady
Jon Lucien sings the tune on his 1975 album Song for My Lady, with words by Herbie Hancock's sibling, Jean Hancock.
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Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea 1978
An Evening with Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea in Concert
Hancock and Chick Corea play the tune as a two-piano duo, recorded live in February 1978 and issued on An Evening with Herbie Hancock & Chick Corea in Concert.
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Kenny Barron 1982
Spiral
Kenny Barron plays the tune alone at the piano in a Tokyo studio on June 21, 1982.
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Nnenna Freelon 1997
Maiden Voyage
Nnenna Freelon sings the tune with words credited to Jean Hancock, and Herbie Hancock plays piano on the track.
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Billy Childs Trio 2000
Bedtime Stories: A Tribute to Herbie Hancock
The Billy Childs Trio, with George Mraz on bass and Billy Hart on drums, plays it on an album of Hancock songs produced by Todd Barkan.
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Robert Glasper 2006
“Maiden Voyage / Everything In Its Right Place”, In My Element
Robert Glasper's trio joins Maiden Voyage to Radiohead's Everything in Its Right Place on one track, recorded in autumn 2006 for In My Element.