A lesson in chord voicings

This will be brief, yet complicated. Don't be frightened.

I've been learning "Wichita Lineman", a song I've loved for years, and found that if you were to simply look up the chords online, you wouldn't come anywhere close to playing it as it was recorded by Glen Campbell. For example, one of the many sites I found offering tablature for the tune laid this out for my consumption:

Wichita Lineman:  Jimmy Webb (as performed by Glen Campbell)

 
Intro:  F  Gm7  F  Gm7
 
                       Bbmaj7  Am7                     Gm7
I am a lineman for the county,    and I drive the main road
 
Dm7              Am7     G           D
searchin' in the sun for another overload.
 
                          Am7                               
I hear you singing in the wires, I can hear you through the 

G
whine
 
Gm                 D        Asus4                Bb
   And the Wichita Lineman       is still on the line.
 
 
Am7   Bb   Gm7
 
                       Bbmaj7    Am7                    Gm7
I know I need a small vacation, but it don't look like rain.
 
    Dm7              Am7                      G              
And if it snows that stretch down south won't ever stand the 

D
strain.
 
                         Am7                              G
And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time.
 
Gm                  D         Asus4                  Bb
    And the Wichita Lineman          is still on the line.
 
 
Am7     Bb     Gm7    

Solo over: 

Bbmaj7   Am7    Gm7

Dm7   Am7    G    D

                         Am7                              G
And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time.
 
Gm                  D         Asus4                  Bb
    And the Wichita Lineman          is still on the line.


Am7     Bb     Gm7    


Bb   C   Bb   C   Gm7 (or C9 is a nice touch)   C   Bb   C  

(fade)

Okay, first of all - you diatonic dulcimer players are not going to have fun with this, sorry about that. But you chromatic dulcimer players and other instrumentalists will find this interesting. If you know this tune, go ahead and sing the words with those chords and ask yourself "just what is missing here?"

The problem is the lack of definitive chord voicing. All of these chords are laid out pretty straightforward starting from the root and then progressing through the thirds, fifths and sevenths. What makes this tune so dreamy is how passing tones step through the chords and create a sense of ascending or descending continuity. In this song's case, it's mainly a descending line that creates the drama. What we need, to make it sound as it was recorded, are chord inversions.

A basic 1-3-5 or 1-b3-5 chord is going to have the root note on the bottom, the middle note in the middle and the fifth at the end or top. Using different chord voicings can change the fundamental sound of a chord, even though it uses the same notes, by rearranging the order of the notes. For example, changing the order of notes so that the third is on the bottom, acting as the bass or root - it becomes a first inversion.

So, a C major chord: C - E - G would become E - C - G.

Now, make the fifth the bottom or root note, and you have a second inversion.

G - C - E

This is the most basic stuff. If you're using extended or "color" chords, there are more than the two possible inversions. But I'm not going into that right now.

When you write out a chord symbol for an inversion, it's often called a "slash chord." You'll see the chord symbol and then a slash and then another note. The note after the slash indicates that this is what the root or bass note should be. So, a first inversion C chord would look like this: C/E

A second inversion C chord would read: C/G

With that in mind, let's re-voice the above chords for "Wichita Lineman" and see if it doesn't sound more like the recorded version. I've also changed a few chords for us three-stringers, to get to the heart of the changes. Chord adaptations are in bold.

Intro:  F  Gm7  F  Gm7
 
                       Bbmaj7  Am7                     Gm7
I am a lineman for the county,    and I drive the main road
 
Dm7              Am      G           D
searchin' in the sun for another overload.
 
                          C                              
I hear you singing in the wires, I can hear you through the 

G/B
whine
 
Gm/Bb              D/A        Asus4                Bb
   And the Wichita Lineman       is still on the line.
 
 
Am7   Bb   Gm7
 
                       Bbmaj7    Am7                    Gm7
I know I need a small vacation, but it don't look like rain.
 
    Dm7              Am                       G              
And if it snows that stretch down south won't ever stand the 

D
strain.
 
                         C                                G/B
And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time.
 
Gm/Bb               D/A         Asus4                  Bb
    And the Wichita Lineman          is still on the line.
 
 
Am7     Bb     Gm7    

Solo over: 

Bbmaj7   Am7    Gm7

Dm7   Am7    G    D


                         C                                G/B
And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time.
 
Gm/Bb               D/A         Asus4                  Bb
    And the Wichita Lineman          is still on the line.
 


Am7     Bb     Gm7    


Bb   C   Bb   C   Gm7 (or C9 is a nice touch)   C   Bb   C  (fade)

Can you hear how the descending notes in the chorus create the melancholy effect in the song? Not the same at all if you played all of the chords as straight 1-3-5 voicings. Sometimes, a chord inversion is a strong element of movement in a tune, so be sure to learn as many different voicings of chords on your instrument, whatever it might be!