Three-note extended chords

When writing chord progressions, basic three-note triads can only get you so far, and if you stick religiously to the confines of this one type of chord shape, it’s not long before the number of available choices of chords becomes quite limiting. It’s at this point that the technique of using different voicings – in other words, playing the notes of a chord in a different order, or shape on the keyboard – comes in handy.

We’ve seen in previous articles how your average three-note major or minor triad can be played in different inversions to inject a bit of variety into a progression – but what happens if you want to include extended chords like sevenths or