Modern Jazz Voicings
Modern Jazz Voicings
Modern Jazz Voicings
I!
I
2
Table of Gontents
How iD UseThis Book andCD
andBasics
PARTI: Background
r hsramental Infomtiion
l-l TraDsPositio.
l-2 Rsg!s aDdSolndchda.tnstics
2 FundamenlalTools andTech.iqn!s
andDclayedAttack
22 Anticipation t7
2-3 Rehadonizing ApproachNotes
5-1 '70
Five-?artVoicingsin Founhs 71
Fou-PanVoi.ingsin Founhs 76
ThreePartVoicinssin Fourths 80
85
93
94
6,3 95
91
6-5 99
103
Then. dDnls mosdy lo Miles Dlvis andBiU Evans,$o loicins of cnordslumed in a new
dir*rion. MiLes,a conposr lnd conceptualht as Nell as a Crqt 1rumlet Playet Pas
eiploring nodes andeitendedhdnonic rn)4nn sd fom. On his eninal 1959roding
&,1alrla., h!encoungedpiani$ Bill Eves io usevoicings in fourths and s4onds in
addition to lhe nde customtry voicings in lnids. Miles ielt thal foufths and seconds
would be noE compalibl!wilh nodol tun* such 4 So Whatl 'All Blues, md
'Flmenco Sk!tches,"and would mate a ditreEnt, conrenporarysound.
Since that time, jMz nusicims of all pflsuasions have embr&ed tlte noF modem md
sophislicatedsoundpossibilitiesrhat cone ftom voiciqs in founns ed voicinSs in sec
onds (also Efened to as "clusle^ ). Todays dmgeB and inprcliss also us upp!r
structuF triads, mother advancedvoicing lechnique,to ldd int!resl md @nplexity ro
Tbh b@k wiu help you bemne fluent in tbesetechniquesso fiat you will be ableio Ne
themefrecively to expressyour own nusic. Tttrougha siep-by{tep processa@ompmied
by exercisesdd rmrded exanples. the autho$ will guideyou tttrolgh $e intricaci!sof
ddiving .onrertid' voicings iion the nght .hord sals and alplying then 10 aclud'
nusical situalions.You wiu disovd how to avoidcomon nistakes md how to overcone
nmoni. anbiglity. You w lem how to seled appopriate harmo.ic le$ions And yon
will apply thes techoiqno!i. a vdiety of situaliorsr in s.li scctions,backFoun&, dd cli-
nd poi s, for exmplq dd for asfew s lhEe oi a nany assix pdls.
r[T[00tgItor
Chord scalc theory bas been tausht ol Berklec ColleSeor Music in o.e incmation or
anothersince the late 1950s.Pofessor Hetu poberoy, iho legendaryicacherof.,Line
wriring at Berkl@ iba dany yeds. trsedchod scaiethory md relatedinteryalic con-
ceps as the bask for nkh of his raching ofjazz mrnsing. Thc..Cbord Scalevojcilss
for Aransins" couse and irs onginat worltbooks{n which tbis book is bascd were
I oealed al Berklee by Pror!ssorTed Pasc ir rhe taE t96os ,s a prerequisiteto ..Line
Wnling. since then the .ouse has evolvedihmush classroon intera.rionsand the con
tributios of ndy talentedBer*le frculty nembe$. Over Lhepasl 30 ydi sone 7,s00
Bqkle stude.r have r*en $e cousq it h a rcquiEnent for najori.s in J-z
This edition wascompiled by Ken Pultig, chlir of the jez conposition deF,rmenti and
editedby ProfessorP!ase.Beruse ihis book h lncnded ror anerpandedaudiencebeyond
studentsetrolled ol Bdkec, it includessubsiantiatanounrsof newtext. Dan, new nusi
.dl exanples, solulionsto exenises,and ar accompanyingcD.
. MilesDavis:rr'nla/Blk (Columbia
CK4n579l
nlBr Jt 2YllBlES
Although this b@k concentdieson scoringfor wind insmnentsi you ce appiy the sane
conc!plsto orcbeshatingfor !ol@s, slri nes,euitars.andkeybodds YoushouLdalsoexpets
inert with unusudlcombinationsand hon-lraditionallligmenis. A Panicule tvepd
voicing playedon piano will sund very difeEnt then dayed by five sdes tiened from
top to botton d alto. aito, teno! tenor, md britoner or when scoEd for the sme nve
sdes alignedbditone. alto, alto,tenor,tenor or {hen scotd for violin, flute. nuied tun
pet,!nor sa& andacousticbass:or shen sungby a vocolgrcup nade up of lwo soPtuos,
ThanspositionTable
EA[ffiNOUflO
TnnspditodlrobcolMPibh
roDEntJAzv0rnics
TlnFidon'r.DcffiFtt
b;
a-"=
;
--/'
i,'-=
lrz) \j.
-/
StBt Jtzt Yotclt6s
tr)
(q3)
I't fr F.tr
PAn T || EAC( Gn 0 0
UAN IEA S |C
;-2.-E'
>b--to-bdl
!- e - /'
F- = -
/2
=-'/
hr--
tr
'.-t=-E-'
,= ,\;-
-h-
r,r.fi PPtr 'a tr tr
u00EntJAzzv0rflflEs
Ff p-tr P!
fuM&&l4dlld'a|}e(lsd'd
M d @ b b I k d s | d g 6 r y 4 F t {b 0 h 1
I
PAflrI I 8A[|(GnoUltD
At![ EAS|IS
E ---o
f-1-,>;''=
Bdqhaoub&b?vBryhqh'|ol
;'
F&de ,DcFl6reudb@bo
r00mi JAzv0rflrEs
t:
w-6
Mosr nen aE bditones. They cansinga lowE. but thesound
Synthesizer
There de two resons for includin8 synthesiars ot sanples in an oicheslration.Fnst.
thouCl emulationofotherinsfiments,sy hesizdscanlaften anothetrise snall orches
rra.In thh case,you shouldwrite idiohatically." in a style appropriateto the tnsnamenl
yo! de emulating.S4bld, synthesizeBnay ofrer limbres you .ould no1otheNise flnd
Many synthesntechniquesde available,includins addilile, subtaclive, physicalnod!l_
lng, trd FM. If you de nol a proelffid md de unfmilir with slmth4is, woik close_
ly sith youi stnthesizerplayer to set rhe soud you wa . n:d'rdard Masazinend stmi
ld publicationsm good snrces of infornation,
cHllLla"mental
roots
and Techniques
Melodic Teisions
.,nr _,tq i
^.,:)/.3,.\,r!2,1o
-\r' \\,
t2
PAflTI I BACKCB0UN0
AMoBAS|IS
T7 is not usuallt @ognized as a hamonic rensionin a sixtn chord sering. when on-
bined witb the clord tonesof a nljor or ninor sixth cho.d,T7 chdg!s the sononly frcm
i najor sixlh clord to a najor seventhchordor fron a minor sixlh chordto a ninor mljor
selenth chod. Dut T7 .an be heardasa nelodic tensionwnenrar of an independenltead
melody oovins aeainsra su$ainedsixlh chord. In no$ cases,nrjor seventhchoids de
interchaigeabtewilh n.jor sixrh chords. and ninoFnajor se{enrl cbords arc inte.
changeable wnh minorsixthchords.
T7 mdTl3 deDossibleasindependeteadnelodiclensionsonty.
T7 is po$ibleasindependent
leadmelodi.tensiononly.
T 3
l5
Tt l3 (TrI 3 usuBrly
ftpllces5)
Auemented
swmth T9,Tl11
Domin.nrs!vdrh(sE4) T9,Ttl
rooEr JAz l0tcttEs
Note fie rcldsal of reles lhat dcus for rhe $iid and fouli! of rhe cnord. ln a Don?rh
(sus4),the fomer avoid note 54 beones chord rone4i the lowe! stluctuE sonority is l-
4-5-t1. The rhird b!con$ avoid nole 53. alhough in rde ces the rbid cd b!Feated
a Tl0 vhen soundin8abovechordrone4.
Any note a whole slep abovetry chmd tone is alailable. $'hich speclflc notesde usd,
hoNever,will dependon th!chord scaleapprcpriaieto the nusical contdt. (Se Cbapter
4: Chord Scales,page41.) No nunerical labelng is nsedto id.ntify teNions on dinin-
ished chordsbecauselbey all soundrhe sme. Eachtension@aies the eMci sme set of
tntervah with the chord tones.
I6
FASTI OAErcNOUNI
AiIOBASIC
Anticipaiion
Rlylhnic disll&erent of the melodyis a useful techriqle for adding inleBt to u
almeenenr A notethstvas originallyon the bst my be attackedbalJa beai(m eign6
mt!) trty-@ating d dticilation,
r3
B A C| ( G NO UNO EASIC S
Characteristics
of AppmschNot!s
I An appoachnot!is uslallya quMf noleor
3 ApptuachnorePrnensinctudel
P,ssinstonesTbeseareapproach
noleslharconne.rrwonoresoi ditrerenr
pitchin stepvise
notion.
Au\itiarylones(alsocallcdneishbortones):An auxiliarytonenoveslwat
fron androtumsto rhesamcpirh by
ReharnonizingSp!rificAppmach NotePa.tems
Cnronaric Rehmonization: E&h voice novcs a hatf ste! i o the coftslo.ding nore
of the targetvoicing, in lhe sme dftclion s the mclody, as sh@n b!lN.
(86)
^
2. Scale Apprcach (S2, 54, St6, etc.): When an apprc&h nole noves by a diatonic
whole or halr steplo a chordlone or tensiontaJgetnote,it is kmen asa scaleappro&h.
(The 'S" IabelingEl at!sto ft! chord of tn!tars.t note.)
a
BAC|(G80UM0
The voicingsin d. following exaEple qe@ @at!d using all ibe stddard t@hniqu6 for
ehmonizing approachnoles,In addirionto chrcmtic Ehmorizario4 rhese@:
. Parall!lRetmoniation: T!]s @l]lod mlches the precie molion of the lad lo that of
ed[ voice below it.In oth!i wqds. eachundedoice no!s tne sme nmb!r of seni-
tonesinto ils note in th!largervoicing- l|is t chniqle tuy be usedto voi@ aoy kind of
ap!rcach aol+ituluding chmnatic approrct*, d disussed abov.-
. Diatohi. Rehmonizatiod: Eacb voi@ noves one djatonic slep inlo ihe corspondine
.ote in the tdg!r voicins. Thh wolks bestwhen both nelody andhmony m diatonic
to th!k!y or ro the cMent hmonic situatior 6 ounired by rhechod pog!ssion.
. .
t: r ' -! - rvr rt 3
G?(tc) G7(19)
L
-lN-'
(q)tg,t -^-
-
l I
M00t8tfJAzv0rfl as
lt
IndiMt Resolution(s s), (chch),(s chi, oi (chs)): when two rcles of short dd equal
dunlion lpprcacha choidroneor t!nsiontdger noteby stepwisemoiion fron opposile
di@tims. theyfom e indi@r rsltrtion paftem.
a
PABT
I EAC(GffOUIIII
AIIOBASIIS
c ,tu 4^4
'
lt
IndependentLead
f
P
l
t -. c b't t- 2
2a
BACKGNOUNO BASt[S
P" 2-
v
M 0 0En J A ZZ
V 0t t lt G S
-- +a +a-
i:s],il3;}]:}t*lEi,&:i|,:ir'r'a'a!sq!!6:]!i&!gr.q!,l!;l]:6!ffii4q.5;}1
Tl'ltical Five-PartInstrumenralCombinations
PAnT
| | BAC|(Gn0U[0
ANIsAstc
Lead Range
The lad a.ge. rclaied bat&ce considehions, dd ihe needfor vdety in spacinE(ctose
veBus Aen) shouldhelp you d!t!mine which voicirg b choos!md for how tone. ]fou
al,o ho\e nex U-eene.r o. rtt vor.ineud d4rde rbeh..ir r, i-,r,.
'. "po."p"".
nusical nobent dd de no{ of rhe Dhrase.
The five pan exdple belov h s@ett for tmper, ulto sax,tenorsd, lronbone, andbari-
tohe sd, wiIh the fimbon! doubljns the rrunper leadm @tayelowei Thn is a soDhis-
t i c a r e o . on b i na tiooa
t nrro rheo*ic nechatu!r tvonilg..NoF hJw lhe\pa! g n
dre voicings chms!s, varyins th!textlhl flow and ibpaci of the pxsage, Onceyou re
confortable scorinenelodic passasesu6inge&b of dE 6ve-pan soli voicjng techniques,
hy oixrng dEn in lhis mannerb cHte norc vdiew in texLure.
E&h pd is shownsepmrelybetoq
l.00tnl JAzvfltliGs
SpEad voicings,sonednes ref!red to 6 pads,add bonon ' to tie soud of dre ensen_
ble, fiey m voicings pith rhe rcot of the chod on tbe botlon Ratherfie "nmsing '
cbord soundsbelow ibe lad .ole as in the stmdalt n!cnmical voicihS rcdrods (fod.
way clos. drcp 2, droP3, md drc! 2 + 4), sith spreadsyou stari al $e bo$on dd work
up. In choosingnotes,your PnlMy concemsshouldbe sp&ing od a balue or chord
sound.SpEodscd be Bed to hmonik iGctive or percussivenelodi*: thev alsoDake
efitrti!! b&kCrcnnds.WheE possible,useloice leading dth sPEads,conneclingsch
im!! voie to the n!xr thsugh srepwheoov.re or comon lon!s.
..........----.--<.
Characteristicr
Fiv!panspreadvoicinsssenerallyconsisror lhefollowingnotes.Eadinsfton ropto bot_
a
BAT(EFOUIIO BASIC
AdjacentNoteSpacingand Sugg!saed
Rangesfor Spr!ads
lqe
)
M00E8tJAzzV0tCtitGS
Usesof SpreadVoicings
a. Iive.pan spreadbac*Cound
l.
:|0
t eAnT| | BACKGn0Uit0
AN0BAStEi
b. For-pd spEadbactground
M00tn JAzzv0tcNGs
In ceiain snuadons.insteadof @ating a fifth pft by donbllng rhe nelody nole anoctale
lower. a, manger nay cioose a hamonic !nsion or chord tone,cEatins a ncheFsound_
ins voicins of five difieEnt pitches (nol neFly liv! rarrr). Pccisly which notesnay
subslilutefd the doubledlead de!!nds on wh!therlhe nelody note is a chord tone or a
temion aswell !s on the qual y of the prevailingchod.
whe. the melodynot!is a chordlone, a hmonic le.sion nay be lsed jn pllce or Lhe3vb
doubins.Thepo.ible sub.tirLrion.G.ho{n beou.
l3 f o r5 ( i)
L ! L ! I
,
PAnT
| | BAC|(Gn0UN0
AN0EASTC
TbnsionLead/ChordTon!Subslitule
t-
1 !9 ! !!
T!nsionLead/RelatedTensionSubstitute
L.
a lJ !!
Nevdrheless.in nosr casesvneE a t!nsionis in the nelody, the standdd 8vb doublins
is srill prererable.It senemllycreats stlongd slpport ed enphais of fie nelody wbne
einforcihg the inlervallic dissonanceoi *E lension. TheE is litile d no appreciable
changein richnss wben sucha voicing is comparedto ! 6ve-notevoiciry conlainingthe
chod tone or tensionsubsriule, as snownbelow
DTde)
E t2 *!1
Comparingthe Techniques
1V L!--.1-.1
l-l !-'
-
FiveParr(drcp2-doublelead8vb)
- "r rr
lr -
ft{*r#*tr !f,
-.tlj,!lt:
I :
FABII I EAC|GE0UI Ailo BAS|IS
BewareMinor Ninths
Wh@ yon wot a well fods.d cnoid soundthat cm b. hdd clealy. .!o nat in )de 6e
interal of a nind nihth in lhe voici.g. Eve ualty, as yon gain natery of the wiou
voicins t!cbniqu!snd associaledinstrunental applicatioN, you misht wor io !xpen-
nenr vith 1hedisentuce and hmonic mbigli9 that ninor ninrhsFovide. In lhe nghl
conte*, such dissomne can be very expre$ive md ch tissd a shons enotio.al
Bponse ia the lntaei Bui tust, concentraleon connolling ile lraditidal "in," befot
pursuingthe not s taditio.al onr.
Wilhi. !achcnord q?e sbownbelov, the iollowing note conbinations cfut! m inleFai
of a nind dnth. Avoid thd.
chord l}?.
d7
fi
_! E !: !l
jd 3d
PABT
I ] SAE{ GBOUNOA
O B A S IC S
t, Hmonia the folloNing exmple usins drcp 2-doublel!adfor meaures one thrcu8!
six, anddrcp 2 + 4double l!adfor n!su$ sevendrcu8n
3. write a lou-pd spreadback8rornd b rho nclody civen belo\ usins *2b on page3 I
3B
PABTr I BACKGn0U[0
A[[ EASTIS
t9 L
D7(re,le,t13)
Br7oe,{e)
!1
IBI J|.A YOIEIIES
"l rt.-
(D9 )E 9 F 7 O 9B
) lT O r)
o o @
@ o @
ctlHioruscales
A .hoid scaleis a et of sbpwis!piichesassisnedto a chord syqbol to pmlide a suppty
of mrd conpati6le with that chord\ soun.tdd ir tonll or nodai iuncnon.
Frcn on a@ngert poini Di view, chord scalese tbe nN mtEnol ro be use.tin Nnrins
cledly denned\ oiciosrfiar 4 cod,ntenrtr if a gFenfamoni. !rd metodk. oirqr ;
the chaptemrharfoloe, we wilt esularly Efer to rheappmprjatechordscatesasw!bDild
advmcedvoicingsusins fouril!, sco.ds, md npFr shucturciriads. Chordscatesm atso
nseful for Miiing melo<iiesfld for inproyisils wiihin a specifictonal o. modal contdt.
Characteristics
A chordscaleis nod!up of chordtones(r-3-5 in tnc caseof triads,l_3_5_6 for sixth
chords,ondI 3 5 7 for sevdth cnods)ed thepssine tones,usuaiy diatonic,thatoccur
Tonalor MoalslContext
ninor mad, ns1 indicate rhe chord lones I b3 5-l:
Undenlandinsrheprcmiling tonal or nodal contdt is imponmt, bul il is not the only fa.-
ror involved wnen d!rivins the passingtones.The cnoice of Passingtoles is ako deteF
nined by whatev!rtensionsde included in the cho.d synbol.
when the chod syhbol dcsignatestemions,as in Bt 7 (9/1I ), romine the chord scaleis
simplified. After indicaringthe cnod tones,include all desigmledlensions.
5trBt JAZY0tEtt65
In the followihg dmplq Nnere a.on-diatonic F major @e.1h (tnnaj?) lpp!d in th!
key of E. two of the pssinc ron6 k-shary nd dahary) ptD\ided by the ionic key (E
najot sould co.nnt wih de notul chord soundof tne F najor seve.rlr.The mn0icl
would ocar ifyou rciricalize'the chord scde, neatins dre passirg tonesasrhe c[od\
uppersnlctue9-1113,andcone upwitn 1 3 5 7 {9'111{13(17).Th!19and{13(r?)de
no ni m:lb r\ailJbler h..or. ro d najor r\enrh lhord.
Howeler. {hen you apply rhe ibplied nodality ol E Phrygian,the sourceoi the F major
evenlh hodal lntdchangechord,the lassins tonesb!con!s md 4 which ,lo.g wnn die
, conbinc vitn lhe chord toneslo cEaie a norc fmilid chod scalerhat does not con
flict Nith lhe expecledsoundof the chord.The & D,od I provi.le the F Lydian scaledd
the te.sions 9, t1 l, and 13, phich are tmditionally aaailablefor a majot scvcnrhchord, d
:';i"
I":;'#:r:l:frl";
;:irld*li:'iimf
r:l,rd*i*:
"r ""."",a.",.'
Ii',y"
BACI(tfl0uttl0 BASTCS
Whar is lmponant ]s Ecoenizing enat the labelsdescribq the chord lones {d availabl!
teBions of a given chord along sith dy Fssirg tones that help 10define the btul or
nod.l contextof tte choid. As you look over the sanple chord scal!sbelou be sup thai
you unde.standthe label dd conelponding tunciio. of erch note.
eAnT| | BAC|(6fl0Ui0
Ar[ 0ASTC
The folloNing pageslht the chord scalescomorny appli.d for the indicared.hord tunc-
tions. Chord synbols and Romm numeBl functions plale lo niddlc . as the principal
Ditchdis unlessotheNne indicated,
Nore thd while chord scalesae tiowh by then nodal namesfor convenienceithls in no
wa] implies thar1heperailing pirh dis is in a nodal orientltion. For example,the coF
red chord scalelor D 7. whcn functioningasI-7 in the k!y ol C, is D Donan. Thls does
not nean we tre in D-Dodff node, sfierc D 7 would be designateda I'7. Ir sinply
meansse re usirs t[e D-Donan sole (a C najor sca]estanin8on d) for that Il-7 chord
tr 7 nr r rvn"j7 vl
t_L
M00tni JAzzv0tflf,Gs
50
PANII 8AC(G[[UtoAio0AStEi
CFOR.DSCALESTNTONIC MINOR
I
L" t t__
_< -| l, . il l "T r l l l % | . r y
rl
I L
;
Ha.monic Minor
I
t,.." tL
L0[tFt JAzzV0tCtxGs
. a E1d@l
--
----- --
-Fft)tbea
--,b@,
:= =-a.1h\^
u00E8iJAzv0tcti6s
Doniret seventh clords reelvins downa lErfet ffth to ninor iargeB cd alvays take
Hmonic Minor (ofthetarg.t) 5 5 asa chod &ale.Ihis sale coincid! ally h6 the sde
nors asMnolydid 09, 113).Therefor!,baauserr-? is a ninor ttSet v?/tr oftentales
Mixolydim (!9, t13) iistesd ofMnolrdid (tnatuBll 9, ,1 3 ) ,
This eighrnote sele prcvides! sM!r iesouce for dis$nsce md fie lotenrial for
snooih!rGl!pwise)nelodic notion belwen TL9and3, asshom below.
56
PABT
I EAC(GNOUflO
AXO8A!I[S
<_4?bd
:-h",?bE"'
53
PAF I ANOSA S IC
BACr cNOUND
Note rbat lhh eighl-.ole $ale contaiB four ninor sconds (inveited,thev becone najor
seventht. 11is nsed whd a ndimun dounl of potenlid dnsnance h dcsiEd Also
note that fie fou iilones includedcan Drclide u.ique neLodicpatteds
PassingDiminished
Chmmatic Diminished
-_ >--.3. . . -- -
Auxilhry Diminished
30
BA[(6n0UN0
A[0 BASTC
IlE diaronicchordsoi my node. $ejr Rome Nmdal function, md rhei. chord scales
m denvedin the sme nmner asd!scribedfor their tonal counteparrs.
Fo. the traditional nodes b!low, the iesulting scal* Nill be rhe sane as found in rhe
rclative mjor scale. For eimple, in C Dorian, F7 (1V7) takes a Mixotydi& score
(C Donan. 4 4)i nr Bl Major (the r!lative Dajd), F7 (v7) btes ! Mirclydim scale
(Bl Major,5 5).
IONAL SITUATIONS
64
eAnT| | BACKGn0Ui0
Ar0 BtStES
33
PANT
I BAI(GflOUNO
AIIOBASIT
MODAL SITUATTONS
4. thdicat tte keysignatN for thegi@ node,IlEn write outde scalesuing counesy
PART IT:
Modern tazz
Uoicings
Followthis guideto cete voicingsusing&e conrenpddy sob.ls of fouds, cluste$,
anduDr structureEisds.
ctllllLl"inss
in Fourths
h thse voicings,thepEvailinginrervdberwen adj&e not$ is a perf!clfourd, Being
ercnly spcd and digndy oD!n.tbey e very rcsondt md dcate a nildty dj$on;
AuSmentedFounhs
3.
7. Intoml contexts,avoid notesnay notbe used ln nodal co e!ts, avoid nots, inteF
Dreteds ch@ctdistic loles, nav !e inciuded-
#-
Exmple,
M00tni JAZZ
v0rflIEs
Lead Range
.:
t+
PAnIll I r/l00EnN
JAzzv0rcnG
i*
I
e
-e
PaahAFrcach
(pooid*bdd G6dd6hdhs)
MusicalExanples
Nob: Exmples 3l .nd 32 @ gruged for the sme instronental combinalionusins lhe
som relody md chord cnanges. However,the rwo examplesdiffd in th.t exmple 3l
us$ adjacentfourths lhnughont whil! dsple 32 sadiices aI fotr.ths' for conplele
chord color in neasues 2 md 3 (ro& rhe a@ws).
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lt I M00tnN
JAZZV0TC
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M00tnIJAzzv0tetIGs
To cEate a fouqart voicins in fourths,follos the s.ne procedue s with nve pans,and
2. If absolutely n!!ssary,you nay usea major third beNeen rhe iop tNo voicesandslill
nai ain a recogniuble rcicins in fourtht sound.
Examples
73
M 0 0 En IJAZZV0TC T
L!ad Renge
FouFpartvoicingsin lounhsworkwell
will glsohelp
ldticuld inslrumentatlon
voicings that lack d! third md seventharc mst efi4live shen adjeent to tompl!te
voicine! thal contai. then md cl@ly esablbh the nusical corteit definedby lle cbord
t-
In lhe aboveexmplq tlretst two ohordse voicedin fonhs, but witn $re mtes dis-
pl&ed an @tav!. cMting ihv!rtd voicings,asdescribed
below
BE.1
:l+osade.:#
7S
M00tnI v0tflNG
,,tat re^a: rb
3# ,d @ h a fu '
.---/-...--l
r|0[t8i JAzzvolcrrGs
To createa rhEe paft voicins in founhs, folow lhe su! prcceduE as wid fou md five
pds. but observelhe foUowing:
2. These voicings may be 'incomplere" s lors as the basic chord sound is cledy
The voicings labeledasunsucesstul abovefnil bdause one oftne two adjmenl iniemls
is a thid. Theseliadic sl,rclu!s sonhd fine, but rney do trot cledly cEare rhe dntinct
sononty of a rcicing in fourtns.
E@
L!ad Range
Ttree-pan loicings in fourths work Nell if tne bad nole h in the mge shovn below.Tle
particularinsnunentltion pill ako neb define lhe lsd ranee.
PAn T [ | M 0 DF 8 JAZ
r { ZV0TC Ii IG
Thrc!-Parttrxampl!sUsingAI AdacentFouths
The followinglisl stws the lossiblet ?es of voicingsphen a[ .dj&ent ihiefl,ls m
voi.iss thrt lacl the third and seventhaE nro$ edlctic whc. adjlcenr !o conpleE..
voicings that do conl,in then d cledly establishthe musical contexi defined by tbe
Inv!raedThree-PartVoicingsin Fourths
I n rh ro l oq ',r'*np l e.r\evor .' n..InI,r nh. I' e\oi., led to iN!ned voicingsin
i o u \. -o n r rgJn ...q ..oun' d"l,m J, .er o1o\o.e ma1the majorse.ondcanbe
$ '
lne upperor loNcr int!rvd.
t r4 a
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PABT I l/t0[tnNJAZZV0TCNE
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M0[tnI JAzzv0tclt{Gs
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M00$[ JAZZV0rfl[GS
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M 0 0EnIJ A ZZV 0T C U G S
2. W e out the cored chord scalefor each hamonic situation.theo hmonize each
scaled!sEe with a fou-pa voicing in founhs.
B-7(b5)
00
PAfT I t 00Enfl
JAZZV0tCtN
3. wnle out the cot@t cnord scalefor e@nhmonic situarion. Then, h@onire mch
scaledesreesith a lbE-part voicins in foufths.
c6,9
cutltffir r
UOTGTN3|S TN
Secon-dslGlustersl
Clusteh m voicinss il which lhe psailirs irtEflat betqen adjlcent notesis a s@ond.
This tightly sped voicing cEaresa thick, dhsonantetrct. voicinss tbal co ain all sc-
onds crcate the ndinnm lael of density.As other inteflals de inchded, the voicing
ope.s up and lhe densirydedeases.B!causea ninor seond inrenal is boF dissonml
tn.n a Mjor smhd, voicingsrhatconlainat leaslonemimr seond will havemoe bite'
than thos!tnat conlain only najor s*onds.
3. Tnemlody nob my be sepdatedfrcn lhe Est of the loicing bv a third or fourth. This
is especiaUyIrue when trying to enphdize nelodic cleitv
5. Try to include ar le6t onenitur sond Otrt not betten the top two !oic*) in orde!
to cEale a high l!v!l of dissonance,
! #rr*ry
Check that your voicings don t go belw th! low intemal limit for najor md minor
s4
P A f lTI I I I I O O I NN
J A Z Z VOIC IN
ExanDlesof Five-ParaClust!rVoicings
2. lf necessarr.
usea third tetw*n tte toptvo voices.Thh wiUconpronisethedensiry
but allowrhenelody noteto be cledly heald.
3. Thevoicingtuy beinonplete (nisine a t]lnd o. sevend)d long 6 rhechordsound
u00EEiJAz v0tctiEs
l=rt
ffiff];H
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PANT
II I\' IOOENN
JAZ ZVOIC IN C S
To crearethree-parrclust!s, follow the san!procedue a with fou and nle pais, but
L All adjace intenals nust be s4onds. With only rqo intervds. the chdelerislic d!.-
sily of cluste canbe achid!d only if both
Sinilar SoundinsThreo-PartVoicings
Tbre p,a voicings spmdng les than an octavedd containingonly one secondcleale
disson&ce6inild to lhat of clusleB. Altboughthe chmcterislic dosity Esulting from all
secondsis abse.t, the one seconds uniquc and notic!abledhsonancedoes stmd out. A
ninor secondin this situation @des a stronser dissom "bite. Such voicings sound
oper when adjacentto clnsrds and d!Ne *!en adjaenl !o loicinss co.t2ining wider
IOIEAT JAZ VOICI|GS
Th@ part rcicings containins adjacentint!ryalsof a ninor ftird dnd nircr scond @
6luest in lhen dissond inpasio.. The njnor sao cHte! ihe kind of ..biie', ssai-
al!d wilh clu$es, while $e dnor third suggesisthe sund of the blu!s.This tbE-not!
aliehnmt n possiblewhenth!nelody note is:
3. a chord lon!of a dininished chord lsing the synnetric dininished $ate (whole step-
00
PAnr I M00EnJAZZVoICIN
l. For tighdy sp&ed vorcingson rhe low Dotesof d melody,look ror rhePo$rbdiryof
contdy voice norion:
2 Forbackgound{ntingl
d T, b9,
LL-
-. +:= :b
lr00E8i JAZ V0tflXES
Conp@ dE chster voicing in me6up hvo qith ntat f ne$ure fou, Noie tne
sEr€r
**'*"nrb voicins
mntainins
rheninor secdd betwer a ed
;;,"frT"L'!i "
t00
lI00tRtv v0tcrIcs
Mor! Applicationsof Clu€ter$
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(c7)
* r. ----
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M00E8llJAZV0t[| ES
tn llle final two masms, ihe san€ $inting is Ned s i! tn€ttee-lan 6ion. Voie
leading fron tne @tav€sues @nlrary molior to estlblish a gradnalct6ge of textue,
whjch leadsto the tdget oding note voicedin a four-parrclnsler
, __--_-__{.-!.9Y_
* l- r - ,1- -
--- - 1
102
lI0 0 En N V0lCll'lGS
l. Wrire oul the colEt chord sc,lesfd €achhmonic situadon,Voicee&h rcale degree
wift a n!e-psr1cluslei
t
IOOInt JAZV0tCtiGS
t04
PANT
II MODTNfl
JAZZVOICII{G
2. Wriie out the chord scale for eacb htrmoni. situation, then hmorne €ach sc6le
de8@ with a fou-part cluskr
ltGS
M[[rn JAZZV0tC
El7
PAF T
II M OIT BII VOIC IN G
JAZZ
c b 7 ( i1 l)
c
W,",1[fl"H"+
An upp€rsructureEiad voicingb a complexsonnd,It projectstIo sinultansus h{-
nonic imprc$ions.Firs. md folmosl. all nots of lhevoicingcollecrivelycrate a sound
$at .ledly r€preenlslhe eivenchordsynrbol.Ai tne 8me tine, rhefi@ upp€rnoles
fom a aiad h closepositior (irctuding,possiblxvdous inveniont. 11*e uppernocs
navetn€n Nn sepdat€andcledly ide ifilble fiiad sound.while simnttaneously tune
lionins ascho.dlonesan orlensionsof the givenchordsymbol.Uppd siructuEhiad
voicings@ lsed whenthe witer wantsa powerfd soundco ainins a high level of
L^
M00Enr
JAzv0tctIGs
cq (o
An upperstructure
tiad usuaUywiUcontainat lasr onete.sionof lheclord beingloiced,
Thende tenslons comalnedin rnelrjad therich.r d€voicine.Doublingsnay b€usd a
nee$ary, esp@jalywhen(neF de moe rlu five parts.
PAnIll I l/l00EBl'l
JAZZV0ICINGS
2. To detemine whicb riads de alailable ftom the scale,nak€ the nelody note l, 3, or
5 of a najor or ninor tiad i. closeposition. ovlaketute of ey augmentedor dimi.-
ishedtiads availablelor posible use.)In to.al contel$, avoid notesbay .oi b€lart
of the friad. In nod6r co.texrs, avoid noies, inlerpreledas chdacldstic notesof the
mode.may be includ€d.
3, Selet a tri.d dat sntoiN at leasl o.e oEilable tensionfron the chod. Ihere nat be
nore thm onepossibilitY.
4.Supponlheupperslr'uctureftiadwithtttreepanbdsicclordsund,usingl,3,5.orT
D7 . oatorkr qEr
1---
Step5. Fron thepossibihies.
chmsem appropiatcloicinAbascion dcsi€dcolor,spd
inE,ud voicc-lcading Lel you.earguideyourchoiceasseu.
consideralioDs.
Lead Range
Six pan upFer structur€tird roicinss wort sell if the lead note h in thc rmge shown
Thepdicula in$tumenradon
belorv. will alsolrelpdefinethelerd mnec.
ln sm€ caes, the upper struchE tdad may be madeup of only clord tores. Adough
dis upptr drocture triad voicins will nor be asiich ason€containinglensions.the uppei
sl-actuE Fiad c& srill be head as a sepdate soundwhile al the sme tine EpEsoting
Lead Range
To qeate a four-partuppd sl,aclN t.iad voicins, follow the smc basicpocedw aswith
slx- dd five part loicings, but aft€r detemidng t[€ upperstrocturctriad, supportit with
only one note.The supportingnote shouldbe a chod tone or tensionfion lhe appropna@
choid scale.Espdiauy sood €sulk comeirom conbining e uppe.sruclue rriad in sec-
ond iNdsion (3 on op, I in rhemiddle. and5 on the boron) Nith a suppo.tinschordtone
or te.sion a fourrn bw*, The tliad in s*ond invaion h6 mole rcsondce than when in
either rcot posiiion or fi^r invdsion. Addi.g the s4lon nob a rounn below yields an
evenly spaced.w€llhalan.e4 dd unifom chod sound.IlErc de rclarively few of these
fonnhbelowtheriad h noravailable,
choosemesrongestsuPlorr'ngnote
lension),keepingin mindtheBuuing coloretrect asillustatedbelow
Becausechoosinglne6latresulsina'mchdical"drop3voicing,younightpEfer.
Muncalcont (1dd pesonaltasem rbedetermining
lbr addedncbn€ss. f&tors.Anorhd
inponrnt comiderationis Nh€$era bss playd h pr*enl to suppofttnevoici.g with
-rywry
Lead Ranse
In rhe dffiple beloN, the oranger bas enbellished the pedal point using a more aclile
ilyrnn wilh octav€dGplrcenent.
M00tflilJAzv0tflflGs
L To hm@izelnorsile 6g@s:
n3
M00EBtll v0rflNGs
SpecialSituations
fi
lD*rsmrd €tr#N nrdrrhdd' ffi €mh, or gft 6mbh&i dh6 h r*h$ re te, t11, q 13)
3
PAnT
ll rlr00[RN
JAzzv0tcm
he *e
t|00EniJAzvorcriGs
120
M OOENfl
JAZ ZV OI[IN G
3. \lite oul the coret chordscalefor €lch hmoni. sitnatid. Supplve@hsale deg€e
win a four-pan upperstructw fliad voicirg-
F
tWJL-"sror
Six Parts
To construct. six-paBvoicing,u mabe.r genaa.llydoubiestwo nores(of a fou-Dan
sonhd)at $e octave.It howd€r, t[€ chosercnord$ale contai.ssii swen, or eishr
availablehoi6, in cen in situadd you may be ableto us six ditrer€ntlitches in the
vo'c'ng-ThG chaprershowshw ro applyth$e strat€gies to Mny of the voicjngtech
niqueswe hale discussed edlid, (lo sonec66, you mat be lble lo adaptth€s sh€
eiesto cEat€voicingsfoi rven ed eighthohs or voices.d wel)
2
t_J
rh t= Lt*:
r-.'] -
b!* +;=
J, )*4 l=
124
PAnr t\I00tnI JAzzv0tclltE
mer the leadline containslots of eishthnot6, the l€npo is fdl, md yon n*d a full
soundsith boliorr" conGltedwiting tuy be too cnnbmom€. (h comeaedetuins,
all pa.rs nelody md hmony-have th€sde rhythm.Mosrof the preedingexmples
wnnng,)Irtti qiting allws tlE nelody to nove sparateiy
ir iiis chaptr u@concert€d
fton a 6nl bonon-hearyvoicingwbichrcsisrsqnict nolion. For tutti qnring, poceedd
N
P A NII I I M O I T NN
J A Z Z VOIC IN
LeadDoubledEvb
LeadDoubled8va
Lead Doubled15vb
The 15vbdoublinsworks
the Esultilg lol inteNal
roDEntJAzv0tctiGs
t23
PAnT I M00EnI
JAZZVotC
iES
Tlis voicins cEtes lhe soundof a bicing i! founbs whil€ at the sme tine prcjetins
the sEong bonod" as@iated wirh spreads,
M0[tEi JAZV0lflt6S
E* e severalstralegies
for buildinesix-partcluste6:
B7te\)r Bb7
1X2
M00EBt{JAZZVotflNGS
giv€n lad note with a six parr voicin8 of you own chmsing.