Chord Voicing: Open vs. Closed

Description

When it comes to voicing chords, the first thing to learn is the different voices in a chord. Most harmony in modern music is structured into four lines; bass, tenor, alto, and soprano. Sounds pretty familiar when you think of Vocal harmony, but don’t let the names fool you. It’s a very important part of instrumental music as well. First, the respective range of these four voices.

The bass covers the area from the second E below middle C to middle C. This area is generally given to the bass guitar, and similar instruments in that range.
The tenor covers the area from E below middle C to E above middle C. On the guitar, the tenor voice is usually played on the low E or A strings.
The alto covers a range from A below middle C to an octave above middle C.
The soprano covers the range from middle C to the second A above middle C, although is usually voiced in the higher part of this range due to the alto voice sharing a bit part of this range.

If you look on the guitar, you will notice that the last three voices cover the range from the low open E to the 5th fret on the high E. This is where most of the chords on the guitar are played. Of course some chords will escape these ranges, but the ranges just move with the register when it comes to playing guitar.

One thing that you might have noticed is that their are 4 voice lines, and only 3 notes in a triad. Doubling will have to occur, but for right the root will be the only note doubled. Also, in this first study only major chords will be used.

Now with that covered, it’s time to learn something. The first thing to cover is the two positions that a simple triad can appear in. The first is called open position, this position is defined by the fact that the soprano and the tenor lines are an octave or more apart. Chords in open position have a slight dissonant sound to them. The second position is called closed position, this position is defined by the fact that the soprano and the tenor lines are less than an octave apart. Chords in closed position have a more stable (consonant) sound to them.

Now on to how to construct these two positions. As a first step into voicing chords, the bass voice will in root position. This is a good idea because this is a guitar site right. Ok, here’s what happens when the soprano note changes. (examples are all C major chords)

When both the bass note and soprano note are both playing the root: an open position chord is achieved by having the tenor play the 5th, and the alto play the 3rd. (C G E C) In closed position the tenor plays the 3rd and the alto plays the 5th. (C E G C).

When the bass note is the root and the soprano note plays the 3rd: an open position chord is achieved by having the root in the tenor, and the fifth in the alto. (C C G E) In closed position, the tenor plays the 5th and the alto plays the root. (C G C E)

When the bass note is the root and the soprano note plays the 5th: an open position chord is achieved by having the tenor play the 3rd and the alto playing the root. (C E C G) In closed position, the tenor plays the root and the alto plays the 3rd. (C C E G)

Now you know how to construct open and closed chords. Take a look at the 3 versions of a closed chord, they should look familiar. The first one (C E G C) is the common way to play a C major chord (x3201x). The second is (C G C E) or the power chord (x3555x). The last one (C C E G) is another common way to play a major chord (x3x553). Now if you look at the ones in open position, they are the odd ones. They are not inversions because the root is still in the bass. A trick with these odder chords is leave the bass voice out, and if you have a band just let the bass player play the bass note, while you play around with the last 3 notes. More to Come...