OPEN VOICINGS - Basic Formulae

The formulas work well for all the basic chord types:

Maj7, Dom7, Min7, Maj6, Min6, Min7b5, Min-Maj7, Aug7, Dim7,

Substitute 6 for 7 in the formulas for Maj6 and Min6 chords.

Practice all nine chord types with all 4 formulas in 12 keys.
That's 9 x 4 x 12 or 432 chords. It's a big job and will require weeks if not months of practice.
Practice the chords through the cycle of fifths.

Examples:

1. Open voicing of a dominant seventh chord with the root (1) on top.
Use the first formula. C7 would be played Left hand: C-Bb (1-b7) and Right hand E-G-C (3-5-1)

2. Maj6 chord wth 5th on top.
Use the 3rd formula. Eb6 would be played Left hand Eb-Bb (1-5) and Right hand C-G-Bb (6-3-5)

Sometimes the melody note (top note) results in the open voicing being too low on the keyboard.
When chords are placed too low on the keyboard, the chord is muddy and bad sounding. The Open Voicing formula
can be changed to make the chord smaller so that it is placed in a more acceptable range. An example:

A song calls for a Ab7 chord and the melody note is middle C. Following the formula gives an acceptable chord but to some pianists,
the chord will not have a pleasing sound. The chord can be made smaller by eliminating the doubled note and moving the left hand up an octave.
Left hand: Ab-Eb (1-5) up an octave, and Right Hand: Gb-C (7-3) not 3-7-3.