|
Last
week we considered how all the possible extensions and alterations
of chords can add up to thousands of chord possibilities.
Now
if all those possibilities weren’t breathtaking enough, we also have
two more factors which greatly multiply the potential possibilities:
inversions, and voicings.
INVERSIONS
Inversions are chords whose notes have been rearranged; in other
words, chords upside down.
If we
invert the C major chord, we have three forms:
The more extended the chord is the more possible inversions. So with
a C6th chord, we have these possible inversions:
This
is true of every possible chord, making the chordal possibilities
for any given song astronomical.
VOICING
Voicing is the art of choosing the most appropriate form for a
given chord in a particular situation. Sometimes the limitations of
the human hand dictate the need for voicing; more often, voicing is
required to produce a sound which fits the “feel” of the music.
For
example, if the chord given were C major, you could play it in root
position, like this:
That
sounds a little square for jazz, so you invert it:
That’s better, but still the sound is a little sterile for modern
music, so you add a 6th:
That’s much better, but we can even go farther and allow the root
(C) to be implied (it will probably be in the right hand part
somewhere anyway, since it is a C chord we’re playing), and add a
9th (D) for color:
Now
we’re getting close to a contemporary sound, but it still sounds a
little cluttered in the middle of the chord. Let’s leave out the 5th
(G), allowing it to be implied, and see what sound we get:
Perfect. That’s the sound we are after, and that’s the sound lots of
contemporary jazz pianists are using these days. Notice that the
chord is now voiced in 4ths, not 3rds!
Notice that through voicing, we have:
1. Allowed the root to be implied (or
played in the right hand, or by another instrument in the group.)
2. Allowed the 5th to be implied (or as
above.)
3. Added two color tones, the 6th and the
9th.
4. Created a fourth construction, which
produces that contemporary, “open” sound:
Next week we'll take
it a step further, so stay tuned!
| 
