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Extended chords each have their own flavor, with each voicing have its own sub-flavor. In addition to the interesting sounds they produce, they also serve for voice leading purposes by providing a greater variety of note choices in numerous voices, but particularly the soprano. Often the most extended note of the chord is altered ({{b}}/{{s}}'ed), slyly introducing chromatics into both harmonies and melodies.
= Notes on Voicing =
Below, I try to list basically every moveable voicing I can find. In practice, there are ''a lot'' more voicings for these chords, as they are often assisted by open string notes. I did not include chords that use open strings since they are specific to one chord, unable to be applied to chords with different root notes. If you are composing or arranging a piece and want to find the most comfortable voicing for a chord, it helps to write down the actual note names of the chord next to the interval relationship of the chord. For example:
{| class="wikitable"
| R || M3 || P5 || m7 || M9 || A11
|-
| C || '''E''' || '''G''' || B{{b}} || D || F{{s}}
|}
The E and G are bolded because these notes can be played using open strings. Let's find a way to play it. We'll start by adding the open E and G strings, then finding the other notes.
E o|-|-|-|-|
F# |-|-|m|-|
G o|-|-|-|-|
Bb |-|-|-|p|
D |i|-|-|-|
C |-|-|-|r|
5
That's still a bit difficult, but if we omit the D (9th), it becomes a very simple voicing. Guitar is a difficult instrument to voice chords with 6 unique notes, but often this is a moot point...
Extended chords generally apply to Jazz, in which guitar is often accompanied by bass and/or piano. This means the guitar may not be responsible for supplying every note of the chord. For instance, the bass may play the root note (or other bass note for an inversion). This allows the guitar to omit this note from the chord. Piano can take this even further, allowing the guitar to play as little as 2 notes of the chord.
Omitting notes makes fingering simpler and easier. Many of the shapes below that seem too difficult at first may be possible if 1 or 2 notes are omitted. I try to supply the fullest chords that I can, allowing you to omit notes at your discretion.
= 9ths =