Jazz Chord Voicings

• Every chord in jazz can be 'voiced' many different ways, and each of these different arrangements is called a 'chord voicing'.
• Some chord voicings are simple, sticking to the chord tones only (1 3 5 7) and played in one hand.
• Other chord voicings are complex, using extended notes (9ths, 11ths, 13ths) and requiring two hands to play.

Good Chord Voicing Principles

• Play each note once (don't repeat notes) for the strongest chord voicings, maximizing color from each finger
• If the left hand plays the chord's 3rd, generally do not repeat it in the right hand; instead, add a new 'tonal color' with each note
• Root, 3rd and 7th are voiced low in the chord to help the ear hear the type of chord (major 7, minor 7, or V7)
• Bass notes carry more weight, and these three notes indicate the chord
• Add colorful notes (9ths, 11ths, and 13ths) higher up to avoid confusing the listener after placing the root, 3rd, and 7th
• Maintain space for the melody note, leaving a gap of a minor 3rd or greater to prevent a muddy sound

Chord Voicing Types

• Shell voicings are made of just three notes: the root, 3rd and 7th, and tell the most essential notes which tell your ear what type of chord it is (maj 7, min 7, or V7)
• Shell voicings create contrast in arrangements, allowing simple sounding sections to be played juxtaposed with more complex sections
• Two ways to voice a chord using shells: 'position A' and 'position B', where the root is played at the bottom of the chord, and then the 3rd and 7th can be played in either order above
• C major 7 (C E G B), C minor 7 (C Eb G Bb), C7 (C E G Bb) are the three main types of 7th chord

Shell Voicings Uses

• Use shell voicings to create a bare and minimal sound
• Shell voicings work especially well for songs where the melody plays a lot of 3rds and 7ths
• When the melody plays the 3rd, play position A (1 7 3)
• When the melody plays the 7th, play position B (1 3 7).

Open Voicings

• Open voicings are four-note voicings built from the chordal tones (1 3 5 7)
• Notes are skipped to create a wider sound spanning bass, mid, and treble, unlike 'closed voicings', which simply play chord tones in series and are contained in less than an octave
• Each open voicing has a different top note (3, 5 or 7), and requires two hands to play
• First open voicing for C major 7 plays the 7th (B) at the top (ideal for when the melody note is the 7th); open voicing (1 5 3 7)
• Second open voicing plays the 3rd (E) at the top (ideal for when the melody note is the 3rd; open voicing (1 5 7 3)
• The third opening plays the 5th (G) at the top (ideal when the melody note is the 5th); open voicing is (1 7 3 5)

Open Voicing Uses

• Use open voicings when the melody note is a chord tone of the chord (1, 3, 5, or 7) and you want a clean sound with some bass
• If the melody note is the 3rd of the chord, play 1 5 7 3
• If the melody is the 7th then play 1 5 3 7
• If the melody is the 5th then play 1 7 3 5

Rootless Voicings

• Rootless voicings do not contain the root, designed for playing with a bass player, so you can leave the root of the chord for the bassist
• Rootless voicings are stacks of 3rds, starting from the 3rd (3 5 7 9), allowing you to play up to the 9th
• Add 9ths, 11ths and 13ths to any 7th chord, regardless of a lead sheet's designation

Rootless Voicings Positions

• Rootless voicings come in two positions - 'position A' and 'position B'
• Position A is built from the chord's 3rd, and position B from the chord's 7th
• Position B uses the same 4 notes as the position A voicings. Position A voicings are played in 2nd inversion, dropping the top two notes down an octave

Rootless Voicings Suggested Uses

• When playing solo jazz piano, use rootless voicings when the melody note is the 9th (3 5 7 9), or the 5th (7 9 3 5), playing the root of the chord in your left hand
• When playing with a bass player, rootless voicings can be played in the left hand

Kenny Barron Voicing

• Kenny Barron voicing is a two-handed chord voicing popularized by jazz pianist, Kenny Barron
• Most notes in the Kenny Barron voicing are spaced a 5th apart and requires big hands to play
• C minor II chord you play a stack of 5ths from the root (C G D) in your left hand and build a stack of 5ths from the chord's minor 3rd (Eb Bb F)
• Can be modified to fit major 7 chords by shifting the right hand up a half-step

Fourth Voicings

• Traditionally, chords are built in 3rds (C E G B D etc), however 4th voicings rearrange the chord and play in a series of 4ths (B E A D G C)
• To play a chord in 4ths, build your voicing from the 7th of the chord, and then play up a series of 4ths using notes from the scale
• Play three notes in each hand

Fourth Voicing Suggested Uses

• 4th voicings work best when playing with a band (or at least a bass player) because it's hard to stretch the root in your left hand while also playing a 4th voicing above
• If you're playing solo jazz piano, you can 'saw off' the top two notes from the complete 4th voicing which allows you to stretch the bass line and voicing with two hands

Practice Strategies

• Practice one chord voicing at a time until you can play it perfectly in all 12 keys
• Use 'side-slipping' to learn any chord voicing, transposing from C up or down by various intervals
• In the Melody-Matching technique, chord voicing is 'matched' to the melody note, allowing you to play chord and melody together
• 7 chord types: maj 7, min 7, or V7, says which voicing should be matched to which melody vote in that scale

Melody Matching Steps

• Look at the chord symbol - which tells you what type of chord it is
• Look at the melody note and identify its scale degree in relation to the chord
• Search through your 'memory bank of chord voicings' for a voicing that matches that particular chord type (e.g. maj 7, min 7, or V7), and which also has that melody note as its top note
• Play chord and melody note together - and because the chord voicing itself already sounds good on its own and sounds good on top of the chord