Chord Voicings
Gary Watts
HardBOP135 (hardb...@aol.com) wrote:
: ***the exercise
: i do this on a I -VI -II -V progression. The ( I ) chord being the tonic
: chord, it can be either MAJOR or MINOR TONIC. The ( VI ) chord is usually
: DOMINANT but can also be MINOR 7. the ( II ) is usually MINOR 7 but you
: can also use DOMINANT. And finally the V chord is always DOMINANT.
Man, that's a lot of info and typing! Appreciate the effort. I was wondering
about your statement that the tonic can be major or minor. I tend to
think of most progressions relative to a major key even if they're minor.
In the I -VI -II -V progression you sight above for the key of C would be
C,Am,Dm,G. If Dm was the tonic, what's the progression then?
Gary
HardBOP135
Ive come up with this practice method that teaches chords, inversions,
substitutions and voice leading all in one. This particular one is based
on the 4 note chord voicing. It is also based on 4 basic chord
groups:Major, Minor (tonic), Dominant, and Minor7. It deals with 4 note
voicings
consisting of Root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th. It also can utilize all possible
alterations to these chords. You'll need to open the window to full size
to view, otherwise it will look all jumbled.
*** The rules of alteration for this are as follows:
for 9ths - raise the Root in the voicing to the 9th
for 4ths (11ths) - lower the 5th
for 6ths (13ths) - raise the 5th
for instance: the 4 note F7 chord is - F A C Eb, to make it an F9
you would raise the root from F to the 9th G thus the chord is - G A C
Eb. For an F9#11 you would raise the root to the 9th and lower the
5th(C) to the #11(B) --- G A B Eb there are some exceptions to these
rules like Maj6 or min6 chords have no 7th so the 6th replaces the 7th.
Chords containing both 11ths and 13ths are made by lowering the 5th and
7th and lowering the Root to the 7th. If you use common sense you should
be able to figure out how you can form all the following chords without
changing the basic form of the original voicing.
*** The chords for the four groups are:
MAJOR: MINOR TONIC DOMINANT
Maj7 - R 3 5 7 Min/Maj7 - R b3 5 7 Dom7 - R 3 5 b7
Maj6 - R 3 5 6 Min6 - R b3 5 6 Dom13 - R 3 6
b7
Maj9 - 9 3 5 7 Min9/Maj7 - 9 b3 5 7 Dom9 - 9 3 5 b7
Maj6/9 - 9 3 6 7 Min6/9/Maj7 - 9 b3 6 7 Dom13/9 - 9 3 13
b7 Maj7#11 - R 3 #11 7 Min11/Maj7 - R b3 11 7
then theres all the alts
Maj9#11 - 9 3 #11 7 Min9/11/Maj7 - using b9, #9, b5
(#11)
Maj6/9/#11 - 9 b3 11 7 #5 (b13) in
any combi-
9 3 #11 6 (13) Min6/9/11 - 9 b3 11 6 nation for all
the above
Maj7#5 - R 3 #5 7 Min6/9/11 - 9 b3 11 6 doms. example:
Maj9#5 - 9 3 #5 7 Domb9#5 -
b9 3 #5 b7
then theres Dom/sus:
Dom7sus - R 4 5 b7
MINOR7
Dom9sus - 9 4 5 b7
Min7 - R b3 5 b7
Dom7susb5 - R 4 b5 b7
Min9 - 9 b3 5 b7
Dom9susb5 - 9 4 b5 b7
Min11 - R b3 11 b7
Min11/9 - 9 b3 11 b7
Min7b5 - R b3 b5 b7
Min9b5 - 9 b3 b5 b7
Dom7sus - R 4 5 b7 - sus chords can also function as minor7
Dom9sus - 9 4 5 b7
Dom7susb5 - R 4 b5 b7
Dom9susb5 - 9 4 b5 b7
WHEW, i think thats all of em. There are more possible alterations like
Min11b5 which cant work for a number of reasons in this exercise.
***string groups
ill list them as 1 thru 6, 6 being the low E string, 5 being the A string
etc.
6543, 6532, 6432, 5432, 5421, 5321, 4321
ill list the voicings in all 4 inversions in each position:
6543 - R573, 37R5, 5R37, 735R
6532 - R537, 375R, 5R73, 73R5
6432 - R735, 3R57, 537R, 75R3
5432 - R573, 37R5, 5R37, 735R
5421 - R537, 375R, 5R73, 73R5
5321 - R735, 3R57, 537R, 75R3
4321 - R573, 37R5, 5R37, 735R
notice that 6543,5432,&4321 are the same, 6532 & 5421 are the same, and
6432 & 5321 are the same. The fingerings are slightly different because
of the B string but the voicings are the same. If you do not already know
the basic chord inversions on these string groups learn them first. Start
with the basic Maj7's, Dom7's, Min7's, Min/Maj7's. Learn them before you
start altering them. When youve mastered that you'll be able to start
workin out this exercise.
***the exercise
i do this on a I -VI -II -V progression. The ( I ) chord being the tonic
chord, it can be either MAJOR or MINOR TONIC. The ( VI ) chord is usually
DOMINANT but can also be MINOR 7. the ( II ) is usually MINOR 7 but you
can also use DOMINANT. And finally the V chord is always DOMINANT.
***voice leading
the basic progression is (in the key of C) - Cmaj7 A7 Dm7 G7. I usually
start with the lowest string group, 6543 and work my way up to 4321. On
each string group you start with the ( I ) chord somewhere high on the
guitar (13th fret or higher). Which voicing you start with isnt
important. If you do it right youll play all 4 inversions on each sting
group. Heres an example of the voice leading using the 6543 group,
starting on Cmajor7 in root position:
R573 - C G B E descend to the nearest voicing of A7 which is:
37R5 - C# G A E descend to the nearest Dm7 which is:
735R - C F A D descend to the nearest voicing of G7:
37R5 - B F G D - this will lead you down to the next inversion of Cmaj7
735R - B E G C - then continue through the progression. If you start
high on the neck, this method will voice lead down the neck of the guitar
going through all 4 groups of inversions.
****substituting chords
any of the chords in the progression can be substituted with another chord
in the group. The I chord can be any chord in the MAJOR or MINOR TONIC
categories. The VI can be anything from the DOMINANT (or MINOR7) group.
The II chord can be anything from the MINOR7 (or DOM) group. And the V
chord can be anything in the DOMINANT category. So the original basic
progression of Cmaj7 A7 Dm7 G7 could be - Cmaj9#11 A7b9 Dm11 G7#5. If
you move the alterations according to the original guidlines (Root goes to
9th etc.) you will stay within the original voicing groups and wont screw
up the descending voice leading. And if you do this (if you think and pay
attention) youll notice other substitution principles and gain a broader
understanding of why they work and how they came about. A common sub for
the V chord is the tritone (Db7 for G7). If you look at the voicing of a
G7b9b5 the notes are Ab B Db F. The same as the notes of the Db7 chord.
Look at another example. Em7 (III) is a common sub for the Cmaj7 (I)
chord. If you look at the notes of a Cmaj9 (D E G B) you can see it is
the same notes as the Em7. You'll notice many more relationships as you
go.
***triads
While a triad is a 3 note chord, you can use triads in this exercise also.
Much in the way you raised the Root of the voicing to achieve a 9th
chord. You can get triads by raising the 7th to the root. So if you were
voicing a Cmaj7 (R357) to get the triad and stay within the 4 note chord
exercise you would raise the 7th to the root (R35R). You could also
experiment with lowering the 7th to the 5th (R355). Some of the voicings
will be a bit of a stretch and some may be less useful than others. You
might find that ome will work better with the extra 5th others with the
extra Root. Also the chord tones will often go from one to the next in
wider intervals so the voice leading wont flow as smoothly as with the 7th
chords. Im of the opinion that its good to learn them all for the sake of
learning the instrument. That to me is more improtant than how often
youll play this or that voicing. Knowing that its there will benefit you
in other ways.
the 4 basic types of triads are:
MAJOR - R 3 5
MINOR - R b3 5
DIMINISHED - R b3 b5
AUGMENTED - R 3 #5
To play these in the I-VI-II-V progression of the exercises they would be
placed into the categories like this:
MAJOR - can be used for the I, VI, or V (anywhere Major or Dominant
categories are used)
MINOR - can be used for the I, VI, or II (anywhere Minor7 or Minor Tonic
are used)
DIMINISHED - for the VI or II (anywhere Minor7 is used)
AUGMENTED - for the VI or V (anywhere Dominant is used)
here's an example on the 6432 group in the key of C using the extra Root:
R5R3 - C C E G (I major)
3RR5 - C# A E A (VI major)
R35R - D A D F (II minor)
3R5R - B G D# G (V augmented)
Triads can also be used differently when built on the 3rd rather than the
root of the chords in the progression. Since I want to keep the 3rd of
the original chord in the voicing im not gonna get into using triads off
of the 5th or 7th. Here they are used when built on the 3rd:
MAJOR - built on the 3rd of the II minor7 or VI minor7 chords (Fmaj for
Dm7)
MINOR - built on the 3rd of the I Major chord (Em for Cmaj7)
DIMINISHED - built on the 3rd of the domV or domVI chords (Bdim for G7)
AUGMENTED - built on the 3rd of the I minor tonic chord (Ebaug for
Cm/maj7)
Clarification:
Earlier i stated that the I chord could be either MAJOR or MINOR TONIC.
This is true for the exercise but not in actual music. Obviously you
wouldnt want to substitute one of the chords in the major category when
the tonic chord in the piece of music is minor. I am also aware that all
the chords in the progression are generally played differently in major
and minor keys (m7 as opposed to m7b5, dom7 as opposed to dom7b9 etc.).
For the purposes of this exercise you can choose any of the chords from
the appropriate categories.
Now, I know im assuming that you already know alot about theory and
chords, but ive already written a very long post to get all this out so I
didnt really have the room or time to teach those of you who dont.
However you can e-mail me with questions if you wish, and I do give
lessons in the Philadelphia area. For those of you who do know enough to
be able to get the concept, I hope it helps you. Since i started using
this method ive gained a much greater understanding of the instrument and
music. It has helped my chord playing, chord soloing, as well as single
note soloing. Basicly its helped me in every aspect of my playing. I
hope it does the same for you.
HB