This page was originally written for enable Keyboard. Although guitar is one of the two main chordal instruments, the piano has always offered wider chordal options due to its extended range. Miles Davis and John Coltrane both spent time with Jazz pianist Theolonious Monk asking him about chord qualities and voicings. Monk's knowledge of chords was influential to both these musicians as it painted a bigger picture of the musical landscape. Mark Hile continues:

The term voicings refers to the arrangement of notes in a chord. By using inversions, sharing the notes between the two hands and omitting some notes we can come up with many different ways to play a chord. Remember that the 1st, 3rd and 7th of all 7th chords are the most important because they state the quality of the chord (major, minor, dominant 7th etc.).

The example below shows us a few possible voicings that can be executed with a C7 chord. You'll notice that some of the options below have added extensions (9ths, 13ths etc.) and some include altered notes like #5, b9. The C7 #9/#5 chord is commonly known as a C altered chord. Try these and then see if you can find other options.

Example 62a

4th Chords

A 4ths chord voicing is another type of voicing you can apply to a chord. By constructing notes a 4th interval apart from each other we can come up with some interesting new ideas and sounds. The following example uses a 4ths voicing in the right hand with C at the top, down a 4th to G, down a 4th to D. The 4ths voicing is an extremely versatile voicing. By placing different bass notes below the same three notes you can state a number of different chord types and qualities. Get acquainted with these basic options and then experiment by adding other notes a 4th below or above the existing voicing or altering the notes with flats or sharps to see what other chords they could make up. The 4ths voicing is a great voicing for cutting through a large ensemble.

Example 62b

The following example shows how you might incorporate 4ths voicings into a simple III, VI, II, V progression. Take note of how these chords create suspending, but interesting harmonies and how bars 6 and 7 integrate with the other standard voicings to create smooth voice-leading.

Example 62c

Tritone Substitutions

A tritone substitute is an interesting harmonic technique in which a dominant 7th chord can be replaced or substituted with another 7th chord a tritone away. A tritone is another name for a #4 or b5 interval and when we look at the notes in a dominant 7th chord we will notice that the 3rd and 7th of the chord create a tritone. The interesting thing about this is that the dominant 7th chord a tritone away from the original contains the same two notes swapping roles to become the 7th and 3rd of the new chord.

The example below shows a II, V, I progression with shell voicings and how the tritone substitution of the V chord to a bII sounds when G7 gets substituted with a Db7. This is a great idea to use to create interesting alternatives to a II, V, I progression in any key. Try these out and then transpose them into other keys to get acquainted with other possibilities you could add to tunes that have this type of progression contained in them. This is commonly used by jazz musicians to reharmonise an old standard and give it new life.

Example 62d

The following example gives us a glimpse of how a pianist in a jazz combo might comp through a chord progression using tritone substitutions, 4ths voicings and other commonly used voicing ideas. In bars 3 & 4 you'll see an Eb13 chord with the description bIII underneath it. This is a tritone substitution for the VI chord of C major. The Em7 and Eb13 resemble a II, bII tritone substitute in D major. Bars 5 & 6 contains a tritone substitute of the V chord from C major (the key the piece is in). The last bar finishes with another Eb13 acting as a tritone substitute for the VI chord again, which if repeating back to the beginning resembles a tritone substitution of the V chord leading to the Dm11.

The 4ths voicing idea is executed in some of the chords by the left or right-hand parts and is often combined with other standard voicings in the opposite hand to create some more interesting ideas. All of the voicings in this example have placed the 1st of the chord at the bottom of the left hand, but in a scenario like this where there is a bass player playing the root note of each chord you could favour other chord notes like the 3rd, 7th, 5th etc. The variation of voicings that we could try can become daunting so start with a few favourites, memorize them in different keys and chord types and before you know it you'll want to find others you can add to your voicings arsenal.