JAM TRACKS
SUBSTITUTE
Alternative Chord Voicings
WITH RICHARD BARRETT
USING ALTERNATIVE voicings adds colour and variety to your chords by reshuffling the order of notes. Though there are essentially just five different categories of chord shape (C-A-G-E-D), there are almost infinite possibilities in how to arrange the notes. Starting with the classical convention, the order of root, 3rd and 5th can be‘shuffled’to create inversions. For example, using EMajor, swapping the conventional voicing of E-G#-B (R-3-5) in ascending order, how about 3rd-5th-root (G#-B-E)? Or, how about putting the 5th (B) on the bottom? This creates another feel altogether.