Close position
All notes within an octave: Cmaj7 = C4 E4 G4 B4. Compact, clear in the middle register, but can sound dense.
Open position / spread
Notes distributed over more than an octave: C3 G3 E4 B4. More “orchestral,” ideal for pads, strings and choirs.
Drop 2 and drop 3
Start from a close position and lower one voice by an octave.
- Cmaj7 close (from the bottom): E4 G4 B4 C5. Drop 2 (lower the second voice from the top, B4): B3 E4 G4 C5.
- Drop 3 (lower the third voice from the top, G4): G3 E4 B4 C5.
Drop 2 is the standard voicing for jazz guitar and for four-horn sections.
Shell and rootless
- Shell: root + third + seventh (C E B) or root + seventh + third (C B E). Essential, leaves room for the rest.
- Rootless: without the root (the bass plays it), with tensions: Dm9 = F A C E, G13 = F A B E.
- Four-way close (Berklee): four voices in close position under a melody, every melody note harmonized.
Interval limits in the low register
In the low register, close intervals get muddy. As a rough guide: thirds not below about C3, sixths and sevenths not much lower, below C2 only octaves and fifths. This is a direct consequence of the harmonic series.
Example in C: ii–V–I
Dm9 (F3 A3 C4 E4) → G13 (F3 A3 B3 E4) → Cmaj9 (E3 G3 B3 D4): left hand with minimal motion, bass D–G–C separate.
Real-world example
Bill Evans's voicings (e.g. on the album “Sunday at the Village Vanguard,” 1961) set the standard for rootless voicings; in gospel and modern R&B the same language is heard in piano and organ.