Q:

Are some chord voicings only good in the middle or higher octaves?

I was playing 7th chord inversions on the piano and notice that some inversions don't sound as good in the octaves below middle C. For example, a 2nd inversion major 7 chord seems to sound a bit dissonant when played lower (perhaps because of the minor second interval in the inverted maj 7th chord? ). Is this just my imagination or is this true? If it is indeed true, then why does this happen?

A:

Yes, right from our Harmony 101 class in 4-voice vocal writing we're taught that close intervals between the bass and tenor voices low in their ranges are to be avoided (as are over-wide intervals between the upper voices).

Close chords in the low register sound muddy.  'Colour' notes - 7ths, 9ths, even 3rds work better in the upper range.   A minor 2nd between upper voices is acceptable, in the bass register it's just ugly.   We can explain this by considering the cacophony of overtones from closely-spaced low notes occupying the same range as the melody.
There are exceptions, and instrumentation is a factor.  This (below) sounds muddy on a modern piano.  But Beethoven often wrote something similar.  His piano, with its shorter strings and leather (rather than felt) hammers had a thinner, brighter tone than the modern instrument. Fewer overtones to fight with each other in the midrange.

