How To Form Open Voiced Piano Chords in Stacked 4ths

Open voiced piano chords are usually formed by stacking 4ths – in other words, instead of a stack of 3rd intervals, you have a stack of 4th intervals.

Good morning this is Duane. We’ve been doing a series of videos about music theory, which I have called Good Stuff You Really Ought To Know About Music, and piano playing. One thing you really ought to know about piano playing particularly, is that chords can be stacked in 4th’s. Today I’d like to take up the stacked 4th chords. They give you a much more open voicing kind of sound. By stacked 4th I mean the intervals are not 3rds, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, they’re not stacked in 3rd’s like that. That’s a typical chord, isn’t it? Even a four note chord is usually a stack of 3rds. Those are all a stack of 3rd, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3.

Fourth would be 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on up the scale. I’m going to show you a way to form the “C” chord that uses the 3rd, the 6th, and the 9th. Those are all 4th’s, you see it’s four notes from “E” to “A”, and four notes from “A” to “D”. Now of course, when you just play that by itself it doesn’t sound like the “C” chord at all does it, because it doesn’t have “C” in it, and it doesn’t have “G” in it. If you play a low “C” and “G” first, you see that, see that sound. Low “C” and a “G”, or you can roll a 10th like that, and then follow it with that chord. That would be “C” chord you could use. A stacked open voicing chord.

For “G”, in the key of “C” there’s three primary chords, like there is in any key. In the key of “C” it would be “C”, “F” and “G”. Let’s find some stacked 4ths for those primary chords. For “G” or “G 7th” we can do this, we can just move up one white key from where we are. In other words move “E” up to “F”, move “A” up to “B”, move “D” up to “E”. Over, we have to hit a low “G”. It already has a 3rd in it, so we’re okay if we just hit a “G”, or you can hit a “G” and a “D”, that’s fine too, either way is okay.

On “C” we have this kind of sound. On “G” we have this kind of sound. You’ve heard that kind of sound. Now the third chord in the key of “C”, third primary chord is “F”. Let’s find 4th, stacked 4th chord, which is close to those. The easiest way is to take the “C” chord that we learned with “E” on the bottom, and put “E-flat” on the bottom, and that becomes the “F” chord. It’s “E-flat”, “A” and “D”, again it’s a stack of 4ths, but you’ve got to hit a low “F” first off. Again, “C”, “G”, “F”, “G”, “C”, “F”, “G”.

If you learn those three chords, those three chords voicing in 4ths you can use that in the key of “C”, particularly when you’re playing the Blue or something, because that adds kind of a bluesy sound. Incidentally, if you want a “C-7th” too, then I would just add this “B-flat” note like that. See that, nice thing about stacks in 4ths too, is you can move up a half a step on any of those chords and you get a little variety, watch. On “F” you do the same thing, and on “G” same thing, see that. Okay that’s called open voicing in 4ths. THere’s a lot of room to experiment around and find your own kind of voicing, but that’s just three chords in the key of “C” that might get you started if you’re interested in that style.

If you like this sort of thing come on over to PlayPiano.com, and sign up for our free series of videos. Hope to see you there, so bye-bye for now.

***For lots more good stuff on piano playing come on over to my website at https://www.playpiano.com and sign up for our free piano tips – “Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions!”

Here’s a great little book on chords and chord progressions on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Piano-Chords-Chord-Progressions-Exciting-ebook/dp/B0076OUGDE/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404158669&sr=1-1&keywords=piano+chords+duane+shinn

Here is the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In_BBUhULeo&feature=youtu.be

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