What is a phat chord?

Phat literally means “FAT” and phat voicings are chord voicings that have certain features that distinguish them from other chord voicings. The difference between two pianists in terms of harmonic ability is how they choose to VOICE their chords.

What are voicings in chords?

In music theory, voicing refers to the placement of notes in a chord structure. The notes of a chord can appear in a different order or in a different set of octaves. This principle applies to major chords, minor chords, dominant seventh chords, diminished chords, augmented chords, and others.

What are shell voicings piano?

When starting to learn jazz piano chords, a good way to begin is to learn shell voicings. A shell voicing is a chord which contains only the root, third, and seventh. Players will often only use two notes, the root and third, or the root and seventh.

What are shell voicings in music?

“Shell voicings” are a family of chord shapes found on the lower strings of the guitar, which include only the essential tones (1, 3 and 7) of each chord. These voicings were pioneered by guitarists like Freddie Green and Django Reinhardt, and are a staple of traditional jazz guitar playing.

How do chord substitutions work?

“A chord substitution occurs when a chord is replaced by another that is made to function like the original. Usually substituted chords possess two pitches in common with the triad that they are replacing.”

Are drop voicings inversions?

Chord voicings are a specific arrangement of the notes of a chord. The most basic jazz guitar chord voicings are called Drop 2 and Drop 3. Chord Inversions are chords that don’t have their root note as the lowest note.

What is the point of inverted chords?

Why are Chord Inversions Used? The primary use for chord inversions is to make the quality of the sound better, and it doesn’t change the character of the note. So, if you have a mixture of major, minor and diminished note, you will have the same even after you perform the chord inversion.

What are drop 3 voicings?

To create a drop 3 voicing, you need as a basis a 4-note close voicing, as shown in the TAB with standard notation above, in which all four notes are within an octave. All you need to do is to drop the third highest note to the bass, thus giving a new C major seventh voicing with the third in the bass.

How do you find alternate chords?

An easy rule of thumb to apply when you want to use a different chord is that if the chords share two notes in common then you can make the substitution. Ninety-nine percent of the time this is going to work out for you.

Why are they called Drop 2 voicings?

Similarly, there are drop 1, drop 3, drop 2 & 4, etc. Drop 2 voicings are important because most of these chords are easy for a guitarist to play on 4 adjacent strings. Drop 2 is just a name for how the chords were derived from another chord. This is only important for naming the voicings.

Are voicings and inversions the same?

Voicings are similar to inversions in that they involve adjusting the order in which notes in a chord are played. Rather than just shifting octaves around, however, voicings spread notes across the keys into different octaves, for instance, or sometimes remove a note altogether.

Do inverted chords sound different?

They will sound different, which is why inversions are used – you can impart a number of different flavours of sound to a piece of music. The difference can be striking, such as the first inversion of a minor triad sounding similar to a major-sixth (with no fifth).

What are drop 2 voicings?

Drop 2 chord voicings are formed by taking a chord and then dropping the next to the highest note, or voice, to the lowest note of the chord. Similarly, there are drop 1, drop 3, drop 2 & 4, etc. Drop 2 voicings are important because most of these chords are easy for a guitarist to play on 4 adjacent strings.