What's your top favorite movable chord voicing?

**JonnyPac** · 01-04-2011, 11:06 PM

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!

***

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.

[chord]

||---|-O-|---|---|---|
||---|-O-|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|-O-|---|
||---|---|---|---|-O-|
||-x-|---|---|---|---|
||-x-|---|---|---|---|

[/chord]

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

[chord]

||---|-O-|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|-O-|---|
||---|---|---|-O-|---|
||---|---|---|---|-O-|
||-x-|---|---|---|---|
||-x-|---|---|---|---|

[/chord]

What's yours?? Share the goodness!

**JEdgarWinter** · 01-05-2011, 05:01 AM

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** · 01-05-2011, 08:36 AM

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

**BigDaddyLoveHandles** · 01-05-2011, 01:19 PM

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** · 01-05-2011, 07:13 PM

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** · 01-05-2011, 07:31 PM

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** · 01-05-2011, 07:42 PM

One of mine is Em11 x75775

**JonnyPac** · 01-05-2011, 07:45 PM

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** · 01-05-2011, 07:52 PM

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** · 01-05-2011, 11:39 PM

[CHORD]

||---|-1-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|-2-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|---|-4-|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|-1-|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||---|---|---|---|-3-|---|---|---|---|---|---|

[/CHORD]

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

**randalljazz** · 01-06-2011, 05:22 AM

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** · 01-06-2011, 05:35 AM

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** · 01-06-2011, 09:56 AM

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** · 01-06-2011, 09:58 AM

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** · 01-07-2011, 01:36 AM

"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** · 01-07-2011, 04:45 AM

The tri-tone sub in any shape.

**lepie1** · 01-07-2011, 12:35 PM

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** · 01-07-2011, 12:40 PM

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** · 01-07-2011, 12:42 PM

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** · 01-07-2011, 01:09 PM

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** · 01-07-2011, 01:22 PM

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** · 01-07-2011, 03:14 PM

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** · 01-07-2011, 03:17 PM

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.