Higher Education
 
MUS205 Arranging Principles 2 and Music Analysis  

 
Open Voicings
At the beginning of this semester we explored the principles of creating closed
position voicings. This lecture will examine the principles of constructing open
voicings.

Open voicings are derived from closed position voicings.

As open voicings are derived from closed position voicings, let’s briefly review
the principles of constructing closed positions voicings. Closed position
voicings:

• are created by stacking consecutive chord tones below the given

melody note
• must omit chord tones if a chord contains more notes than the number
of available instruments. In such instances the tonic is the most
expendable note, followed by the fifth
• may include color / extension tones that do not alter or conflict with the
function of the chord being voiced
• must be adapted (re-spelt using alternatives from the same chord
family) to avoid major and minor seconds between the top two voices.

1
  
Higher Education
 
MUS205 Arranging Principles 2 and Music Analysis  

 
Drop 2 Voicings

To create a drop two voicing:

1) Create a closed position voicing.

2) Drop the second voice down an octave: It will become the new fourth
voice while the previous voices four and three will move up to fill the
voice three and two ‘slots’ respectively.

G7 (closed) G7 (drop 2)

& 44 1
2
w
w 1
2
w
w
3 ww w
w4
? 44
4 3

Drop 2 voicings sound more spacious than closed voicings as they

encompass a wider sonic territory: The intervals within the voicing are wider
and the distance between the outer voices (voice 1 and 4) is bigger than an
octave. While closed position voicings should be considered the most
common and useful, drop 2 voicings should be employed when a richer, fuller
sound is required.

Drop 2 & 4 Voicings

To create a drop 2 & 4 voicing:

1) Create a closed position voicing beneath the given melody note.

2) Drop the second voice down an octave: It will become the new third
voice while the previous voice three will move up to fill the voice two
‘slot’.

3) Drop the fourth voice down an octave: It remains the lowest (4th) voice.
 
G7 (closed) G7 (drop 2 & 4)

& 44 1
2
w
w 1
2
w
w
3 ww w
? 44 w
4 3

4
 

2
  
Higher Education
 
MUS205 Arranging Principles 2 and Music Analysis  

 
Applying Drop 2 and Drop 2 & 4 Voicings

Moonlight in Vermont Excerpt – Melody and Chord Symbols

F Dmi7 Gmi7 C7 F Dmi7 Eb7 Gmi7 C9sus4 F

& b 44 œ œ œ œ ˙™ Œ œ œ œ™ j œ œ Œ œ œ œ œ
œ b˙ w

The first step in the process of voicing this melody with open voicings is to
voice it with closed position voicings. Below is this excerpt voiced in four part
closed position according to the principles bulleted in the introduction to these
notes.

*Note that the G (note) on beat four of bar one, the 11th on the Dmi7 chord,
has been reharmonised as a G7 chord in accordance to the principles for
voicing 11ths examined earlier this semester.

Moonlight in Vermont Excerpt – Four-part Closed Position Voicings

œœ œœ œ ™ j œ œ
F Dmi7 G7 Gmi7 C13(¨9) F Dmi7 Eb7 Gmi7 C9sus4 F

& b 44 œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙˙ œœ Œ œ ™ œœ bœ œb ˙˙ Œ œœ œœ œœ œ w
œ w
œœ œœ œœ ™ œ b œ œ
™ œ œ œ b˙˙
œœ œœ œœ œ ˙ b œ œœ œ œ œ w
? b 44 nœ ˙ œ œ œœ w
Œ J Œ

3
  
Higher Education
 
MUS205 Arranging Principles 2 and Music Analysis  

 
Let’s now apply the drop 2 principle to the closed position version of our
excerpt:

Moonlight in Vermont Excerpt – Four-part Drop 2 Voicings

œ œ œ™ j œ œ
F Dmi7 G7 Gmi7 C13(¨9) F Dmi7 Eb7 Gmi7 C9sus4 F

& b 44 œœ œœ œœ œœ ˙˙ bœœ Œ œ œ œ ™ œœ bœ œ ˙ Œ œœ œ œ
˙ œ œ œœ w
w
œœ œœ œ ™ œ œ
œ ™ œ bœœœ ˙˙
œ œ
? b 44 œ œ œœ nœœ ˙˙ œœ
Œ Œ
œœ œ œ œ w
œ œ œ w
J

These drop 2 voicings will fit beautifully in this register played by four
saxophones. However, if this example were to be played up an octave by a
string quartet (placing the melody in a very powerful range of the 1st violin),
these drop 2 voicings would prove entirely inadequate due to the fact that the
3rd and 4th voices would sit very high in the ‘cello and viola’s ranges, and the
voicings overall would sound empty and thin in that register. The solution:
‘drop 2 & 4’ voicings.
 
Let’s now apply drop 2 & 4 voicings to our Moonlight in Vermont excerpt:

Moonlight in Vermont Excerpt – Four-part Drop 2 & 4 Voicings

œF œ Dmi7 œF œ Dmi7™
œ œ œ ™ œœ bœœ œœ
G7 Gmi7 C13(¨9) Eb7 Gmi7 C9sus4 F

4 œ œ œ œœ ˙˙ bœœ
œ œ
˙˙
œœ œ œ w
b
& 4 Œ J Œ œ œ œœ w
œœ œœ œ œ ˙ œœ œœ œœ œ ™™ œ b œ œ œœ œ œ
? b 44
œ nœ ˙
Œ
œ œ œœ ˙˙
Œ œ œ œœ w
w
J
 
 
 

4
  
Higher Education
 
MUS205 Arranging Principles 2 and Music Analysis  

 
Some essential points about open voicings:  
 
• While drop 2 and drop 2 drop 4 voicings do involve the dropping of
notes down an octave, it is not sufficient to only drop the voice down an
octave; the octave adjusted note must also be reassigned to the
appropriate voice.

• While open voicings are generally richer than closed, they are not ideal
for all situations. As a general rule, the ‘wider’ the voicing (the greater
the interval between the 1st and 4th voice) the less nimble it is. That is
to say, closed voicings are more adept at moving quickly whilst open
voicings, particularly drop 2 & 4 voicings, can be sluggish, and tend to
work best applied pads or slow melodic material.

• When choosing the most appropriate type of voicing to apply to any

material, it is essential to consider the range of the instruments at your
disposal: Applying drop 2 or drop 2 & 4 principles to voicings may
place some notes outside of the range of the available instruments.
 
 
The following table summarises the reallocation of notes to voices when
creating open voicings from closed voicings:

Drop 2 Voicings Drop 2 & 4 Voicings

Voice 1 stays in voice 1 Voice 1 stays in voice 1

Voice 2 moves to voice 4 (8vb) Voice 2 moves to voice 3 (8vb)
Voice 3 moves to voice 2 Voice 3 moves to voice 2
Voice 4 moves to voice 3 Voice 4 stays in voice 4 (8vb)

5
  
Higher Education
 
MUS205 Arranging Principles 2 and Music Analysis  

 
Folio Task 5: Open Voicings

• A Sibelius file for Duke Ellington’s Mood Indigo can be found on

Moodle. It is to be used for this assignment.

• Bars 1-8: Voice the saxophone melody homophonically (using the

same rhythm and following the same contour) in the remaining 3
saxophones using four-part drop 2 voicings.
o Be sure to treat the chromatic passing tones appropriately.
o You may wish to add appropriate color tones to the three note
chords.

• Bars 9-16: Create an appropriate thumbline in the 1st violin stave.

• Voice this thumbline (create pads) in the remaining 3 strings using four-
part drop 2 & 4 voicings.
o Ensure the thumb line does not clash with the melody.
o If you prefer to work using a treble clef for the viola, ensure you
change it back to alto clef before submitting.