Topmusicanswers
The term “quartal” in music refers to the interval of a fourth. When musicians refer to quartal voicings they are referring to chords that are built using intervals of a fourth (as opposed to intervals of a third, like major or minor triads, which are referred to as “tertian”).
What are 4th chords?
The IV chord is built on the fourth note of the key. ... For example, the key of C major is spelled C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The first note is C, the fourth note is F, and the fifth is G. The I, IV, and V chords in the key of C are a C major triad, an F major triad, and a G major triad.
How many chord voicings are there?
Randomly hit notes on a keyboard and see if that combination of notes sounds like a chord you might like to use. Remember there are 4017 possible chords before we ever even get into voicing! There's so much variety that sometimes it's good to forget about theory for a second and just experiment.
How do you use quartal voicing?
At the very least, it involves two notes separated by fourths. For example, playing C and F together produces a sound that characterizes quartal harmony. If you stack another fourth (Bb) on top of the C and F, you get a typical quartal harmony voicing. Add more on top or below and you get really open-sounding chords.
