ARRANGING FOR LARGE JAZZ ENSEMBLE Oe ce M Ly bd To ensure that your voicings create a clear impression and that the intervals they contain will be heard distinctly, do not include intervals below the limits shown in the chart below. There are always exceptional cases in which these limits may be adjusted downward. But if you follow them strictly, your voicings will never sound muddy. unison (unlimited) minor 2nd ‘major 2nd minor 3rd major Sut perfect ath minor ot major 6th bo diminished 7th minor 7 major Th octave (unlimited) ‘minor 9th major th minor 10s major 10th Whenever the bottom note of a voicing is not the root, “assume” there is a root and then check that the voicing follows the low-interval guidelines. In the example shown below, the C7 voicing conforms te the guidelines. But in the A~7 voicing, after we assume the root, the resulting minor third interval falls below recommenced low-interval limits (LIL). a Aa (Problem) ‘minor 31d is LIL violation on) {assumed root)