Quartal Harmony on Guitar: Chords Built on Fourths

Most guitar chords are built by stacking thirds - a root, a third above it, a fifth above that, maybe a seventh. That’s traditional harmony. But there’s another way to build chords entirely: by stacking fourths. The result is called quartal harmony, and it produces one of the most distinctive sounds in modern guitar.

If you’ve ever heard Jimi Hendrix’s rhythm work, McCoy Tyner’s jazz piano, or the “So What” chord from Miles Davis, you’ve heard quartal harmony. It sounds simultaneously ancient and completely modern - open, ambiguous, powerful.

What Is Quartal Harmony?

Quartal harmony means building chords from intervals of a fourth rather than a third. Instead of Root - 3rd - 5th, a quartal chord is Root - 4th - 7th, or any stacking of three or more notes a fourth apart.

A perfect fourth spans five half steps. On the guitar, a perfect fourth is the standard interval between adjacent strings (except G to B). That means quartal voicings often lie naturally under your fingers.

The Sound of a Fourth

Play these two notes together:

e|---0---|
B|---0---|
(open E and B strings)

That’s a perfect fourth (B to E ascending). The interval sounds open, a little suspended, neither clearly major nor minor. That ambiguity is the magic of quartal harmony.

Why Quartal Chords Sound Different

Traditional tertian chords (built in thirds) immediately communicate a tonality - major, minor, dominant. Quartal chords resist this. Because fourths sit symmetrically in many scales, a single quartal voicing can function in multiple harmonic contexts. This is why jazz improvisers love them: one shape can work over several different chords.

The result is a sound that is:

Modal and open (good for floating, unresolved passages)
Neither definitively major nor minor
Powerful in register (quartal shapes often use wide intervals)
Highly movable up the neck

Basic Quartal Voicings on Guitar

Guitar is perfectly suited for quartal harmony because the standard tuning (EADGBE) is mostly in fourths. Most quartal voicings simply involve playing adjacent strings.

Three-Note Quartal Shape (top 3 strings)

e|---5---|
B|---5---|
G|---5---|
D|---x---|
A|---x---|
E|---x---|

The notes are: E (high E, 5th fret = A), B (5th fret = E), G (5th fret = C). From low to high: C - E - A. Actually this is a quartal voicing where A to E is a 5th and E to A is a 4th… let me be accurate.

Try this more clearly defined quartal shape:

e|---x---|
B|---3---|
G|---2---|
D|---2---|
A|---x---|
E|---x---|

Notes: D (G string, 2nd fret), A (D string, open? No…)

Let me give the cleanest quartal shapes:

Shape 1: Three-Note Quartal (strings 2, 3, 4)

e|---x---|
B|---5---|
G|---4---|
D|---4---|
A|---x---|
E|---x---|

Move this shape up and down the neck. With root D on the A string, this gives you a clean quartal stack. The interval structure is a fourth on top of a fourth.

Shape 2: “So What” Chord (the classic quartal shape)

The “So What” chord from Miles Davis uses two perfect fourths with a major third on top:

e|---x---|
B|---5---|
G|---5---|
D|---5---|
A|---5---|
E|---x---|

Or the guitar-friendly version:

e|---5---|
B|---5---|
G|---4---|
D|---5---|
A|---x---|
E|---x---|

This is one of the most versatile chord shapes in jazz guitar. Move it to the 7th fret for an E quartal voicing, 2nd fret for a B voicing.

Shape 3: The Hendrix Quartal Grip

Jimi Hendrix often used quartal double stops (two-note quartal intervals) for his rhythm work:

e|---x---|
B|---8---|
G|---7---|
D|---x---|
A|---x---|
E|---x---|

Playing fourths on adjacent strings creates that unmistakable Hendrix-adjacent rhythmic texture when combined with muting and rhythmic hitting.

Shape 4: Open String Quartal Voicing

Use open strings for quartal shapes in standard positions:

e|---0---|
B|---0---|
G|---0---|
D|---0---|
A|---x---|
E|---x---|

Open D, G, B, E strings all together: D-G-B-E. The D to G is a perfect fourth, G to B is a major third, B to E is a perfect fourth. This is a G major chord with an added 9th, but voiced quartal-style. It has that floating, open quality.

Moveable Quartal Shapes

The real power of quartal harmony is the shapes move up and down the neck without changing their interval structure (with a small adjustment for the G-B string). Here are two moveable forms:

Two-Fourth Stack (strings 6, 5, 4 - root on 6th string)

e|---x---|
B|---x---|
G|---x---|
D|---6---|
A|---5---|
E|---5---|

Root = E (6th string, 5th fret = A). Notes: A - D - G. Pure quartal stack. Move this shape so root is on any note.

Wider Four-Note Quartal (strings 4, 3, 2, 1)

e|---7---|
B|---7---|
G|---7---|
D|---7---|
A|---x---|
E|---x---|

All on the 7th fret, across four strings. Notes: D-A-E-B. That’s a stack of fourths (with one fifth in there depending on reading direction). A huge, resonant sound.

When and How to Use Quartal Chords

Quartal harmony is the native language of modal jazz. When a song sits on a single chord or mode for several bars (like “So What,” “Maiden Voyage,” “Impressions”), quartal voicings allow you to comp without implying too much specific harmony. They float beautifully over a static D Dorian or E Phrygian center.

In Rock and Fusion

Hendrix used quartal double stops in “Little Wing” and throughout his rhythm playing. John Scofield, Mike Stern, and Allan Holdsworth make extensive use of quartal voicings in fusion contexts. The shapes create a wide, modern sound under distortion or clean.

As Passing Chords

A quartal chord is ambiguous enough to serve as a passing voicing between more defined chords. Insert a quartal shape between a IV and V chord and it creates a momentary harmonic suspension.

Replacing Sus2 and Sus4 Chords

Because quartal voicings lack a defined 3rd, they function similarly to sus2 and sus4 chords. Substitute a quartal voicing anywhere you’d use a suspension.

Quartal Harmony in Improvisation

Beyond comping, quartal thinking transforms your soloing. Instead of thinking chord by chord (triads, arpeggios), think in intervallic fourths across the fretboard.

Practice playing melodic lines that move in consistent fourths:

A - D - G - C - F - Bb - Eb…

These lines don’t sit neatly in a single key, which gives them that outside, modern quality. Players like Wayne Shorter and John Coltrane built entire improvisational languages on fourths.

The G-B String Issue

Standard guitar tuning has a minor third between the G and B strings (instead of a perfect fourth). This means any quartal shape that crosses the G-B divide needs a one-fret adjustment.

When your quartal shape uses strings G and B, raise the note on the B string by one fret to maintain the fourth interval.

Example: If your shape puts fingers at the same fret on G and B strings, the interval is a third, not a fourth. Move the B string finger one fret higher for a true fourth.

This adjustment becomes automatic with practice.

Try This in Guitar Wiz

In the Chord Library, explore extended and jazz voicings for chords like Dm7, Am7, and Em7 - you’ll find quartal-style shapes among the multiple positions available. These voicings are particularly useful for modal playing. Use the Song Maker to build a one-chord vamp (a single minor 7th chord) and practice comping with quartal shapes over it. The fretboard view in Guitar Wiz helps you see how these shapes sit on the neck and how they can be moved to different positions.

Download Guitar Wiz on the App Store - Explore the Chord Library

Conclusion

Quartal harmony opens a door to a completely different way of thinking about chords. Instead of the familiar major-minor-dominant color palette, you get open, ambiguous, powerful voicings that work across jazz, rock, and fusion. Learn a few shapes, understand the G-B string offset, and start experimenting in modal contexts. Once quartal voicings are in your hands, your comping vocabulary expands dramatically.

FAQ

What are quartal chords?

Quartal chords are chords built by stacking intervals of a fourth, rather than the thirds used in standard major and minor chord construction. The result is an open, ambiguous harmonic sound common in jazz and fusion.

Are quartal chords hard to learn?

The shapes themselves are not especially difficult - many sit naturally under the fingers in standard tuning. The challenge is learning when and how to use them musically.

What style of music uses quartal harmony?

Modal jazz is the primary home of quartal harmony, but it appears in rock (Hendrix), fusion, progressive rock, and modern singer-songwriter music.