ARRANGING FOR LARGE JAZZ ENSEMBLE 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 3rd perfect 4th ‘augmented 4th diminished Sth. perfect Sth ‘minor 6th major 6th oe diminished 70h minor 7th major 7th ‘octave (unlimited) ‘minor 9th ‘major th minor 10th ‘major 10th, os 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 to the guidelines. But in the A~7 voicing, after we assume the root, the resulting minor third interval falls below recommended low-interval limits (LIL). a AT = (Problem) ‘minor 3rd is LIL violation t on (assumed root)