Many beginning and intermediate vibes players, even with strong backgrounds in music

theory, are intimidated by the thought of learning chord voicings. While there is a great
deal of material to cover when learning how to voice chords, the basic techniques for
creating and altering chord voicings are fairly straightforward.
As in European classical music, jazz harmony is (traditionally) founded on chords
constructed in thirds. Stacked thirds can be a starting point in constructing four-note
voicings, as can stacked fourths. Here are four-note voicings based on each note of the C
major scale, in thirds and fourths respectively:

In jazz performance, the bass player of an ensemble will normally provide the root of the
chord. Therefore, any chord voicing containing a root is, by definition, redundant; instead
of dedicating one of four mallets to the root, use that fourth mallet for a more colorful
tone.
Any chord voicing will sound complete if it contains the third and seventh of the chord
(what are known as "guide tones.") These two tones, when combined with the root, will
define the basic quality of the chord as major, minor, or dominant. Colorful upper
structures, such as the 6th (also referred to as the 13th) or 9th, may be added to fill out the
voicing. In fact, one simple way to construct a good chord voicing is to put the third and
seventh in the left-hand mallets (with either note on the bottom of the voicing), and fill
out the voicing with chord tones in the right hand:

Looking through the stacked-thirds and stacked-fourths examples at the top of this page,
it will be clear that some of these four-note voicings will work well as a voicing for a C
major chord, and others will not. Some voicings don't contain the guide tones (E, B),
others contain the root, and some contain the pitch F, which is the fourth scale degree of
the C major scale, a note which will clash with the third (more on this later in this lesson).
Here are two voicings from the example above, one based on thirds and one on fourths,
which are good starting points for voicings.

Let's take the voicing on the left as a starting point.

One way to alter a voicing is to take the four given notes, and rearrange them through the
use of octave displacement - basically, moving the pitch(es) in question to a different
octave. The most obvious example is inversion, taking the lowest note of the voicing and
transposing it up one octave. Note that eventually, you cycle around to being in root
position once again.
(The pitches which are being transposed are shown as solid note heads.)

All of the inversions above are closed-position voicings, meaning the lowest and highest
notes of the voicing are no more than one octave apart. Other techniques, known as the
"drop/skip" variations, may be used to create voicings spanning more than an octave. The
notes are numbered 1-4, starting with the highest note: "drop" means to lower the note(s)
one octave, and "skip" means transpose the note(s) one octave higher.

Inversion and the "drop/skip" techniques specify which notes of the voicing are to be
transposed, but any note may be transposed up or down. Listeners tend to focus on the
highest and lowest notes of a voicing; therefore, by selecting a colorful tone as the top
note of a voicing, the voicing itself will sound more colorful. In this example, the 9th is
moved from the middle of the C major voicing to the top:

Earlier, it was pointed out that the fourth scale degree should be avoided when voicing a
major chord. The reason has to do with intervals. If the fourth (F in the key of C major) is
placed above the third (E), the two notes will be separated by a minor second (or a minor
9th, if the notes are more than an octave apart). This is a very weak, very dissonant
interval, usually considered inappropriate for the sound of a major chord. Similarly, 9ths
are usually placed above thirds in open voicings. Compare these two voicings of a
dominant chord with a raised 9th:

Both of these voicings are functional, but the second one sounds weaker, due to the minor
ninth separating the outer pitches of the chord.
(For more information on this topic, please see my "Chordal Jazz Vibraphone" lesson.)

Another way to change voicings is via pitch substitution. This means replacing one note
of a voicing with a more appropriate pitch. In this example, the fifth, a fairly static note
on a major chord, is replaced with the 6th (13th) and the #11, respectively:

Here are some common pitch substitutions, organized by sonority:

Chord
major

Pitch Substitution Replaces:

9th

root

major

6th (13th)

5th

major (lydian mode)

#11

5th

minor

9th

root

minor

4th

5th

dominant (mixolydian)

9th

root

dominant (mixolydian)

#11, 13th

5th

dominant (altered)

b9, #9

nat. 9th

dominant (altered)

#5

5th

As important as it is to develop a variety of voicings, it is just as important for one to

remember those voicings. There are two techniques which are particularly helpful in this
area. One is to remember a voicing in terms of the chord tones, defined as numbers. This
voicing would be identified as "3-7-9-6," numbered from bottom to top:

This sort of numbering system makes it easier to transpose a voicing from one key to
another.
Another common technique is to associate a voicing with the visual shape it creates on
the keyboard. Eventually, one thinks of a voicing less as a group of several distinct
pitches, and more as one single voicing. Here is an example of what a voicing would
"look" like on a keyboard:

Finally, not every note in a melody needs to be fully voiced. Good four-mallet vibes
playing will utilize a blend of different textures, including single-line melodies and chord
voicings. Here are two possibilities for voicing a phrase:

Have you heard this one?

When improvising you can use a major scale and add a 4+,
( raise the 4th tone) if you like the sound use it.
NO, NO, NO, Again there are rules. This is actually a modal scale.
RULES: MODAL SCALES: LYDIAN, PHRYGIAN, MIXO-LYDIAN
EXAMPLE: LYDIAN SCALE CAN ALWAYS BE PLAYED WITH A MAJOR 7 CHORD.
The key here is ALWAYS, not sometimes. Lydian scale is a major
scale with the 4th tone raised and is used with Major 7 Scales.

Major Scale Harmony

A large part of jazz harmony is based on the major scale. As discussed earlier, every
major scale has a relative minor that is formed by playing the same sequence of notes but
starting on the sixth step of the scale. In fact, a scale can be formed using the sequence of
notes from a major scale starting on any step of the scale. These scales are called modes
of the scale. The major scale itself is called the ionian mode. The sixth mode, the relative
minor, is called the aeolian mode. The names of these modes, as well as the others
discussed below, come from ancient Greece, although the names are rumored to have
been mixed up in translation long ago. While the Greek modes are mainly only of
historical interest in classical theory, they are fundamental to jazz.
Major Scale
Dorian Mode
Phrygian Mode
Lydian Mode
Mixolydian Mode
Minor Mode

Locrian Mode

Major Scale
The major scale, or ionian mode, should be quite familiar by now. It is associated with
major seventh chords. In the key of C, for example, the C major seventh chord, notated
Cmaj7 (or C with a little triangle next to it, or sometimes CM7), is "C E G B", and these
notes outline the C major scale. If a measure in a piece of music is harmonized with a
Cmaj7 chord, then the C major scale is one appropriate scale to use when improvising.
The only note in this scale that sounds bad when played against a Cmaj7 chord is the
fourth note, F. You may wish to convince yourself of this by going to a piano and playing
Cmaj7 in your left hand while playing various notes from the C major scale in your right.
The fourth of the major is often called an avoid note over a major seventh chord. This
does not mean you are not allowed to ever play F over a Cmaj7, of course, but you should
be conscious of the dissonant effect it produces.
The chord obtained by adding another third on top ("C E G B D") would be called a
Cmaj9, and it implies the same scale. Adding another third on top would yield "C, E, G,
B, D, F", and this chord would be called a Cmaj11. Because of the dissonant nature of the
F in this context, however, neither this chord, nor the Cmaj13 chord obtained by adding
an additional third (A), are used very much.

Dorian Mode
The dorian mode is built on the second step of the major scale, using the same notes. For
example, the D dorian scale is built from the notes of the C major scale, starting on D,
and consists of "D, E, F, G, A, B, C". The dorian mode is a lot like minor scale, but the
sixth step is raised a half step. That is, the D minor scale would have a Bb while the
dorian has a B. Because it is so similar to the minor scale, it is natural to play this scale
over a minor seventh chord. In fact, it is used more often than the minor scale itself. If
you go to a piano and play a Dm7 chord ("D F A C") in your left hand, and play notes
from the D dorian and D minor scales in your right, you will probably find that the dorian
mode sounds better, because the B is less dissonant against the Dm7 than the Bb is. If you
use the dorian mode over a minor seventh chord, there are no notes to avoid.
Like the major seventh chord, you can add more thirds to the minor seventh chord to
obtain Dm9, Dm11, and Dm13. These chords still imply the same dorian mode. If you
use the natural minor scale, the thirteen chord contains the note Bb, which is somewhat
dissonant in this context. This chord is seldom used, but when it is called for, it is often
notated Dm7b6, and is one of the few exceptions to the rule that most chords are written
in terms of odd numbered extensions above the seventh. This rule comes from the fact
that chords are traditionally built by stacking thirds. The notation Dm6 is sometimes as a
synonym for Dm13 when the B natural is explicitly meant.

Phrygian Mode
The third mode of the major scale is called the phrygian mode. In the key of C, a
phrygian scale is built on E, and consists of "E, F, G, A, B, C, D". This scale, like the
dorian mode, is also similar to the minor scale, except that the second step in the phrygian
mode is lowered by a half step. That is, an E minor scale would have an F# while the
phrygian has an F. If you try playing the phrygian scale over a minor seventh chord, you
will probably find it more dissonant than the minor scale, because of the lowered second.
The phrygian mode is used occasionally over a minor seventh chord, although often the
chord is written as m7b9 as a hint to the improviser that the phrygian scale is to be used.
There are certain other situations in which the phrygian scale sounds good. One is over a
dominant seventh chord with a suspended fourth (see mixolydian mode, below) and a
lowered ninth, notated susb9. Another is over a particular chord that I will simply call a
phrygian chord. A phrygian chord in E would be "E F A B D". When the phrygian mode
is played over this type of chord, the result is a somewhat Spanish sound, particularly if
you add a G# to the scale, yielding what is sometimes called the Spanish phrygian scale.
Several Chick Corea tunes, including "La Fiesta", and much of the music from Miles
Davis' Sketches Of Spain feature this sound extensively.

Lydian Mode
The fourth mode of the major scale is the lydian mode. In the key of C, a lydian scale is
built on F, and consists of "F, G, A, B, C, D, E". This scale is like the major scale except
that it contains a raised fourth step. That is, an F major scale would contain a Bb while
the lydian contains a B. Since the fourth step of the major scale is an avoid note over a
major seventh chord, this scale gives the improviser an alternative. While the raised
fourth might sound a little unusual at first, you should find that it is in general preferable
to the natural fourth of the major scale. When the symbol Cmaj7 appears, you have a
choice between the major and lydian scales. Often, if the lydian mode is specifically
intended, the symbol Cmaj7#11 will appear instead. Recall that Cmaj11 contains an F as
the eleventh; Cmaj7#11 denotes that this note should be raised by a half step.

Mixolydian Mode
The fifth mode of the major scale is the mixolydian mode. In the key of C, a mixolydian
scale is built on G, and consists of "G, A, B, C, D, E, F". This scale is like the major scale
except that the seventh step is lowered a half step. That is, a G major scale would contain
an F# while the mixolydian contains an F. Since the seventh chord built on the fifth
degree of the major scale is a dominant seventh, it is natural to play lines based on the
mixolydian mode over a dominant seventh chord. For instance, the G mixolydian scale
might be used over a G7 chord.
As with the major scale over a major seventh chord, the fourth step of the scale (C in the
case of G mixolydian) is somewhat of an avoid note over a dominant seventh chord.
However, there is a chord called a suspended chord, notated Gsus, Gsus4, G7sus, G7sus4,

F/G, Dm7/G, or G11 over which there are no avoid notes in the G mixolydian mode. The
notation F/G indicates an F major triad over the single note G in the bass. The term
"suspension" comes from classical harmony and refers to the temporary delaying of the
third in a dominant chord by first playing the fourth before resolving it to the third. In
jazz, however, the fourth often is never resolved. The suspended chord consists of the
root, fourth, fifth, and usually the seventh as well. Herbie Hancock's tune "Maiden
Voyage" consists solely of unresolved suspended chords.

Minor Scale
The aeolian mode, or minor scale, has already been discussed. It can be played over a
minor seventh chord, although the dorian or phrygian modes are used more often. It is
most often played over a m7b6 chord.

Locrian Mode
The seventh and final mode of the major scale is the locrian mode. In the key of C, a
locrian scale is built on B, and consists of "B, C, D, E, F, G, A". The seventh chord built
on this scale ("B D F A") is a half diminished seventh chord, Bm7b5. This symbol comes
from the fact that this chord is similar to a Bm7, except that the fifth is lowered by a half
step. The classical symbol for this chord is a circle with a "/" through it. The locrian scale
can be used over a half diminished (also called a minor seven flat five) chord, but the
second step is somewhat dissonant and is sometimes considered an avoid note.

Up: Chord/Scale Relationships

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