What's your top favorite movable chord voicing?

[JonnyPac]

Just thought it would be fun if everyone posted a chart of their top favorite guitar voicing. Pop the chart button, and post 'em up!

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This is one that I use for Lydian, Dom13, Half-dim11, Minor 6th, Dom#9b13, and exotic Phrygian type chords. It's my standby fav these days.



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It's very close to this cool melodic minor voicing. I interchange between them often if the alternate note sounds right.



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What's yours?? Share the goodness!

[JEdgarWinter]

I love those ones, too! I like playing them on the inside strings, too, although the stretch is murder.

My favorite these days is this rootless voicing from the C melodic minor scale:

X 12 12 8 8 X

Beautifully crunchy. I like this one, too, also from C melodic minor:

X X 12 8 12 8

[JakeAcci]

R 5 3 7...always pretty...

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

JommyPac gave this chord: xx5422. Here is a five note variation on that. My apologies as I've posted too many times!

x45452

(you do a small barre of the 4th fret with your middle finger, lifting the base of the finger, so that you can fret the second fret. A simpler cheat to get those notes is to alternate: x4545x <--> x4547x. On the top four strings that is xx4555 <--> xx4557.)

What is this chord? (Don't forget to name your chords, comrades!) Among other things:

* A13
* Eb7#5b9#9
* GMaj7#11
* DbMin11b5

[dyross]

Not quite as modern as yours, but my favorite moveable chord voicing is the simple old m7/11, for example in A:

5 X 5 5 3 X

It just sounds so beautiful to me.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Can I have more than one favourite? Another minor 11, the "so what" chord:

Dmin11: x55565

Example progression using it (twice)

x77787
x67678
x55565
x43453
x32442

[AZanshin]

One of mine is Em11 x75775

[JonnyPac]

Wow. Cool stuff, guys! keep 'em comin'! I've never used some of those stretchy ones. Killer.

I love the So What chords. They make cool M13 and Lydian voicings too.
(8)77787 is CMaj13 and x(8)7787 is F6/9+4

And really cool: if you drop the top note one octave you get x(7)7433 and it's beautiful!!!

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by JonnyPac

I love the So What chords. They make cool M13 and Lydian voicings too.
(8)77787 is CMaj13

Variation: CMaj13#11: 877777

I especially like the open EMaj13#11: 0.11.11.11.11.11

[JohnW400]

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It's almost a B over A. It's a lydian sound. Or it could be f#mi13/a

[randalljazz]

hmmm...ease of fingering is of greatest importance in actual playing, ya know.

i get the most mileage out of this:

3
3
2
2
x
x

can be maj 6, maj 69, maj 13, various minors, 9sus, etc, modern sounding, clean, easy to grab...

[JonnyPac]

Originally Posted by randalljazz

hmmm...ease of fingering is of greatest importance in actual playing, ya know.

i get the most mileage out of this:

3
3
2
2
x
x

can be maj 6, maj 69, maj 13, various minors, 9sus, etc, modern sounding, clean, easy to grab...

Amen.

[AZanshin]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles

Variation: CMaj13#11: 877777

I especially like the open EMaj13#11: 0.11.11.11.11.11

I love end songs on the CMaj13#11

[AZanshin]

Originally Posted by randalljazz

hmmm...ease of fingering is of greatest importance in actual playing, ya know.

i get the most mileage out of this:

3
3
2
2
x
x

can be maj 6, maj 69, maj 13, various minors, 9sus, etc, modern sounding, clean, easy to grab...

I use that chord as an min11

and

3
3
2
3
x
x
As an F6/9

[jckoto3]

"Close" Chords, with diatonic 3rds and 2nds contained therein:

x-x-x-17-15-12
x-x-x-16-15-12
x-x-x-16-13-12
x-x-x-14-13-12
x-x-x-14-13-10
x-x-x-14-12-10
x-x-x-12-12-10

etc...

Something about the interplay of the changing thirds and the seconds. Kind of inspires the feeling of a baroque or classical string quartet.

[cosmic gumbo]

The tri-tone sub in any shape.

[lepie1]

Whoo, I taught I played chords that were hard to grab O.O

Okey, here are mine:

Dmaj add9
x 5 4 0 3 x

D + (15)
x 5 4 3 0 x

G + 13
x 10 9 8 0 0

(I am not sure if I'm right about the names)

[JakeAcci]

Originally Posted by lepie1

Whoo, I taught I played chords that were hard to grab O.O

Okey, here are mine:

Dmaj add9
x 5 4 0 3 x

D + (15)
x 5 4 3 0 x

G + 13
x 10 9 8 0 0

(I am not sure if I'm right about the names)

The first one could be named a bunch of different things. On it's own, I'd say it's a Gmaj7 with no 3, or some sort of Dadd4 with no 5. If a bass player added a different root it could be a few different things.

I'd see the second one as a 2nd inversion Bminmaj7

The third is essentially the same structure as the 2nd voicing, but for an Eminmaj7, the B is doubled.

[lepie1]

The first one could be named a bunch of different things. On it's own, I'd say it's a Gmaj7 with no 3, or some sort of Dadd4 with no 5. If a bass player added a different root it could be a few different things.

Yes, you're right.

[mr. beaumont]

My favorite is actually probably the one Johnny posted to start the thread. I use it as a lot of different things...

I stumbled upon this one while arranging 'round midnight as a solo piece this week...in that tune, I'm using it as a Ebm9/Db

9 x 8 10 7 x

[JakeAcci]

A great tip I heard - whenever you learn a new chord voicing, take it up and down the neck for any chord scale it could be a part of. Gives us all a bunch of stuff to do with all of these voicings.

Edit: Some structures to do with this idea:

R 6 7 9

R 2 5 7

R 3 4 9

When these voicings are moved up within a key, some of the shapes are playable and some not. If you don't like the b9 between any of the notes, you can invert the interval to be a M7.

[BigDaddyLoveHandles]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I stumbled upon this one while arranging 'round midnight as a solo piece this week...in that tune, I'm using it as a Ebm9/Db

9 x 8 10 7 x

Just want to point out something -- but first, can I move that to an easier key?

Am9/G: 3x241x (<- no root)

Note that:
1. Am9(no root) has the same notes as CMaj7 -- this is a standard extension trick: play the appropriate seventh chord, up a third, to get the 9th sound.

2. That grip (3x241x) is a standard "drop 3" CMaj7.

I bet you know all this, Mr B, but I wanted to point this out, so that as an alternative to remembering "here's an Am9", we can think "here's a well-known CMaj7 for an Am9 sound". At least, that's how I file it in the vault.

[mr. beaumont]

absolutely--however, I'm lazy and would hardly ever actually play the bass note!

Doing 'Round Midnight reminded me of how cool that low tone sounds in there.

[M-ster]

Originally Posted by AZanshin

I love end songs on the CMaj13#11

Especially when the tune is *not* in C!

[hot ford coupe]

I guess my favorite voicings are the ones I can get to the easiest. The ones I like the least are the big stretchy ones.

[Velvet Catfish]

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Love that one.. but I'm new to Jazz.. I'm sure it will change.

[JonnyPac]

Great replies, guys. Thanks! Keep 'em comin'!

BTW I just posted a lesson video in the showcase forum where I show my favorite modal blues voicings. You might have fun checking 'em out. Thanks again!

[mynewguitar]

I'm looking forward to the day when I have enough knowledge of such things to contribute my own versions, but, for now, I'm doing my best to try out the various "new" chords posted by you guys as I strive to stretch my vocabulary.

Many thanks.

[jazzninja]

There are some sweet chords in these posts, thanks.
Mine are:

x4556x
Its A7#9#5, Eb13, Dbmaj7#11, Bbm69
Very handy. Its slides around nicely in modal tunes too

x7958x
Em b6 , Cmaj7, Am9
Its got that great minor 2nd in the middle mmmmmmmmm.