COVID Jazz Chords for Thanksgiving 2020

Thanksgiving is only two weeks away, and it’s gonna be a weird one.

Usually, our whole family gets together. But this year my sister and brother will be with my parents in Connecticut, and my wife and I will be Zooming in virtually with the kiddies.

I imagine a lot of families are in the same boat. Some will be close, and many will be far apart.

Which brings to mind closed and open voicings.

No, seriously…

Closed voicings are when the chord tones are close together, like this root position voicing for CMaj7. (Think of it as a cozy Thanksgiving dinner pre-COVID with everyone under the same roof.)

C Major 7
 

Now, compare that to this open voicing. (It’s still a CMaj7 chord, but that E is considered high-risk and needs to self-isolate.)

C Major 7 Open Voicing
 

There’s actually a term for this kind of “closed to open” voicing modification. It’s called “dropped three.”

Why?

Because the third highest note from the closed position CMaj7, which is E, dropped down an octave.

You can also drop two (lower the second-to-highest note by an octave) and do combos like drop two + drop four.

There are many possibilities and some great sounds to explore.

But beware – not all of these variations will sound great, which is why I’ve gone ahead and assembled a collection of my all-time favorite voicings for jazz, R&B, and neo soul chords. It’s call Sick Chords Vol. 1 and includes: 

  • Sheet music for over 100 sick chord voicings (Major 7, Minor 7, and Dominant 7 chords)

  • Juicy extensions and crunchy alterations

  • Transposed in all 12 keys

  • Note names written in the note heads for non-readers

Plus:

  • High quality audio recordings to preview how each voicing sounds and find your favorites as quickly as possible

  • MIDI files of the voicings in every key, which producers can easily drag and drop into a DAW like Logic Pro, Ableton, GarageBand, etc.

You can get it all at the link below and start adding a new dimension and feel to your music today.

Click here to learn more about Sick Chords Vol. 1.

Stay safe!

- Jeff

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