Voicing
How a chord's notes are distributed — spread, close or doubled
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Voicing is how a chord's notes are distributed: which note is in the bass, which in the inner parts, which on top; whether the chord is stacked close or spread open; whether notes are doubled or omitted.
It decides the weight and colour of the same chord: a C major triad can sound thick, hollow, bright or muddy depending on the voicing. The usual mistake is to think the right chord is enough — the chord name only names a pitch set; the voicing decides whether it works in that passage.
Read deeper → chord
Sources
- 和弦排列与声部安排，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, "Voicing" 与 "Harmony"；本文为原创表述
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.