Voicing Chords
Understanding chord construction is a very important step toward gaining proficiency on the bass. It is nearly impossible to play every chord as a tidy 1,3,5,7 (ext./alt.) chord stack. To overcome the limitations of the instrument and still play extended chords, it is usually necessary to leave some notes out and change the order of the remaining ones. The order in which the chord tones are placed within the chord is the chord's "voicing. This is why there are so many ways to play the same chord on the bass.
When it is necessary to leave notes out of a
chord, deciding which notes to exclude is often a matter of necessity. The
decision is made when we run out of fingers or strings. However,
given the choice, usually the 5th. is the first
to go. Without getting too deep into the physics, this is because the 5th. is harmonically very similar to the root. In other words, we
don't miss it too much. For the same reason, sometimes it is more convenient to
play the 5th. than the root. Another consideration is
what others in an ensemble are playing. Consider whether or not there is a
piano or guitar player covering certain notes.
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Chord Forms for Bass Here are some of the most common chord forms for the bass using extensions. Each of these uses four notes only so, it's interesting to examine which intervals have been omitted. Also, like all chords, the shapes are moveable so the note 1 (the root) determines the chord's letter name. |
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