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<h1>Advanced Chord Voicings and Inversions</h1>
<p>The notes of a chord don't have to be stacked in thirds from the root. You can spread them across registers, drop voices, add extensions, omit notes, and create inversions — and each arrangement produces a completely different sound and texture even with the same fundamental harmony. Understanding chord voicings is the difference between block chords that sit there and chord voices that move and breathe.</p>

<h2>Inversions Reviewed</h2>
<pre>
Cmaj7 in different inversions:
  Root position: C E G B    (root in bass)    — most stable
  1st inversion: E G B C    (3rd in bass)     → Cmaj7/E
  2nd inversion: G B C E    (5th in bass)     → Cmaj7/G — ambiguous, leading
  3rd inversion: B C E G    (7th in bass)     → Cmaj7/B — unstable, pull to descend
</pre>

<table>
  <thead><tr><th>Inversion</th><th>Bass note</th><th>Stability</th><th>Common use</th></tr></thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td>Root position</td><td>Root (C)</td><td>Most stable</td><td>Tonic arrival, strong cadences</td></tr>
    <tr><td>1st inversion</td><td>3rd (E)</td><td>Slightly unstable</td><td>Smooth bass lines, inner voice movement</td></tr>
    <tr><td>2nd inversion (6/4)</td><td>5th (G)</td><td>Unstable — wants to resolve</td><td>Cadential 6/4 before V7, pedal point sections</td></tr>
    <tr><td>3rd inversion (7th in bass)</td><td>7th (B)</td><td>Unstable — 7th wants to fall</td><td>Transitional, usually moves 7th down by step</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

<h2>Drop Voicings</h2>
<p>Take a chord in close position (notes stacked as closely as possible) and drop one voice down an octave. This opens the voicing and spreads it across a more comfortable range:</p>

<h3>Drop 2</h3>
<p>Drop the second-highest note down an octave. The most common guitar and jazz piano voicing type:</p>
<pre>
Cmaj7 close position (top to bottom): B E G C
Drop 2 (drop E down an octave):       B G C E
                                       ↑ now E is the bottom note

Dm7 close position:  C F A D
Drop 2 (drop F):     C A D F   ← F becomes the lowest note

G7 close position:  F B D G
Drop 2 (drop B):    F D G B
</pre>

<h3>Drop 3</h3>
<p>Drop the third-highest note down an octave — creates a wider spread, less used than Drop 2:</p>
<pre>
Cmaj7 close: B E G C
Drop 3 (drop G): B E C G   ← G drops an octave
</pre>

<h2>Shell Voicings</h2>
<p>Root, 3rd, and 7th only — stripped to the minimum that identifies the chord. The 5th is almost always omitted (least interesting note); the root may be omitted in ensemble contexts where the bass player covers it:</p>

<table>
  <thead><tr><th>Chord</th><th>Shell voicing (root + 3rd + 7th)</th><th>Character</th></tr></thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr><td>G7</td><td>G — B — F</td><td>Root, maj 3rd, min 7th — unmistakably dominant 7th</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Dm7</td><td>D — F — C</td><td>Root, min 3rd, min 7th</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Cmaj7</td><td>C — E — B</td><td>Root, maj 3rd, maj 7th</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Am7</td><td>A — C — G</td><td>Root, min 3rd, min 7th</td></tr>
    <tr><td>Fmaj7</td><td>F — A — E</td><td>Root, maj 3rd, maj 7th</td></tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

<p>Shell voicings leave harmonic space for a bassist and melodist. In a jazz trio, the pianist uses shells in the left hand and plays extensions or melody in the right. On guitar in an ensemble, shells avoid competing with the bass player on the low strings.</p>

<h2>Rootless Voicings</h2>
<p>Omit the root entirely. The 3rd and 7th (the "guide tones") define the chord; the root is implied by context and the bass player. This creates very open, transparent textures and allows the pianist to include more extensions:</p>
<pre>
G7 rootless voicings (jazz piano right hand):
  B F A E    (3rd, 7th, 9th, 13th)  — rich, extended
  F B E A    (7th, 3rd, 13th, 9th)  — same notes, re-voiced

Dm7 rootless:
  F C E A    (3rd, 7th, 9th, 6th/13th)
  C F A E    (7th, 3rd, 5th, 9th)

D♭7 rootless (tritone sub for G7):
  F C E♭ A♭  (3rd, 7th, 9th, 13th)
  Same intervals as G7 rootless but different pitches —
  the shared tritone (B/F in G7 ↔ F/C♭ in D♭7) still present.
</pre>
<p>Bill Evans made rootless voicings central to his piano language. Left hand plays the 3rd and 7th (with optional extensions), right hand plays melody — bass fills in roots. This "pianist's left hand as inner voices" approach defines much of modern jazz piano texture.</p>

<h2>Quartal Voicings</h2>
<p>Stack perfect fourths instead of thirds. The resulting sound is open and ambiguous — neither clearly major nor minor, which made it ideal for the modal jazz era:</p>
<pre>
Stack fourths from D: D G C F B♭ E♭

Quartal Dm7 voicing: D G C F  (every note a fourth apart)
Sounds like: Dm11 or Dm7sus4 — open, modal

Quartal Cmaj7: C F B E  (C up a 4th=F, up a 4th=B♮, up a 4th=E)
Note: B to E is also a perfect 4th — Cmaj7#11 territory

McCoy Tyner, "So What" chords (McCoy/Miles):
  E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭  — five notes, all fourths, a quartal cluster
</pre>

<h2>Polychords</h2>
<p>Two chords played simultaneously in different registers. Lets you voice complex extensions using simple triads:</p>
<pre>
E major triad (E G# B) over C bass note:
  Bottom: C
  Top:    E G# B
  = Cmaj7#11 (C is root; E=M3, G#=A5/augmented 5th... wait)
  Actually: C E G# B = Cmaj7#5 (augmented major 7th)
  Or read as: C as pedal, E triad above = "E/C" polychord

D major triad (D F# A) over B♭ bass note:
  Bottom: B♭
  Top:    D F# A
  = B♭7#11 (the Lydian dominant sound)
  B♭ as root, D=M3, F#=#11, A=7 → B♭ Lydian dominant

Practical polychord notation:
  Upper triad / Lower chord (read as fraction)
  D/B♭ = D major triad over B♭
</pre>

<h2>Voice Leading Through a ii-V-I</h2>
<p>Smooth voice leading — moving each note in a voicing by the smallest possible interval to the next voicing — is the key to chord melody and jazz comping that sounds connected rather than chopped:</p>
<pre>
Dm7 — G7 — Cmaj7 (in C major):

Guide tones (3rd and 7th):
  Dm7: F (3rd)  C (7th)
  G7:  B (3rd)  F (7th)
  Cmaj7: E (3rd)  B (7th)

Movement:
  F → B (tritone — the core harmonic tension)
  C → F (down a fifth / up a fourth)
  B → E (down a fifth / up a fourth)
  F → B (tritone again — repeated resolution pattern)

Add extensions on top:
  Dm7:  A (5th) or E (9th)
  G7:   A (9th) or E (13th)
  Cmaj7: G (5th) or D (9th)

The guide tones move; the extensions can move stepwise above them.
This creates the classic jazz chord melody texture.
</pre>

<h2>References</h2>
<ul>
  <li>Levine — <em>The Jazz Theory Book</em></li>
  <li>Rawlins &amp; Bahha — <em>Jazzology</em></li>
  <li>Haerle — <em>Jazz Language: A Theory Text for Jazz Composition and Improvisation</em></li>
  <li><a href="https://www.jazzguitar.be/blog/drop-2-voicings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jazzguitar.be — Drop 2 Voicings ↗</a></li>
</ul>
