How To Remember Larger Extended Chords

What Are Chords?

Chords are defined as a combination of tones which blend harmoniously when sounded together.

Three toned chord is called a triad. Read more about The Three Primary Chords

Four toned chord is a seventh. Read about Voicing 7th Chords

Five toned chord a ninth. Check out my post on The 9th Chord

Six toned chord an eleventh.

Eleventh chords are a lot easier to remember, especially if you know your seventh chord. The easiest way to think of this chord is the Major chord + the "5" dominant seventh chord. In the key of C major, this is simply C major (C-E-G) under a G7 (because G is the fifth tone of the C major scale. Use its dominant chord, which is G7). So, C maj + G7 = Cmaj11 (CEGBDF)

Formula for Remembering Eleventh Chords

Major eleventh: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + 11

Minor eleventh: 1 + b3 + 5 + b7 + 9 + 11 

(Cmin11: C Eb G Bb D F)

Dominant eleventh: 1 + 3 + 5 + b7 + 9 + 11 

(C11 : CEGBDF)

Dominant:

The dominant eleventh is identical to the dominant minor except for one change.

Major chord +b7 major chord = Dominant eleventh chord.

Instead of playing a minor chord at the bottom (like you did with this min11 chord, simply play a regular major triad. In  C major, this is Cmaj (C E G) under Bbmaj (Bb D F). Basically, 2 major triads stacked on top of each other. C11 =  Cmaj + Bbmaj

Seven toned chord a thirteenth. Finding Thirteenth Chords on Keyboard

The formulas for the three thirteenth chords:

Major thirteenth: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + 11 + 13

Cmaj13: C E G B D F

The major seventh chord + 2 major chord = Major 13th chord.

Example: Key of C, C maj7 (CEGB) under Dmaj (DFA).

All played together (CEGBDFA) create a Cmaj13 chord.

Minor thirteenth: 1 + b3 + 5 + b7 + 9 + 11 + 13

Cmin13: C Eb G Bb D F A

Min seventh chord + 2 major chord = minor 13th chord.

Example: Key of C, Cmin7 (C Eb G Bb) under Dmaj (D F A).

Cmin13 = C Eb G Bb D F A (Cmin7 + Dmaj)

Dominant thirteenth: 1 + 3 + 5 + b7 + 9 + 11 + 13

C13: C E G B D F A

Dominant seventh chord + 2 major chord + Major thirteenth chord.

Example: Key of C, this is C7 (C E G Bb) under Dmaj (D F A)

C13 = C E G Bb D F A

Either way, play C on your left hand while playing a Bbmaj7 on your right hand.

L.H. / R.H.

C / BbDFA

This produces the same sound as a 13th chord, just without the third and fifth present. Notice the Bb is the 7th of C... the D is the 9th... the F is the 11th... and the A is the 13th.

Other Posts on Chords:

Quartal and Quintal Chords

You'll find lots of information to chord study in a music theory handbook available for purchase, 300pg Piano By Ear Home Study Course

photo credit: The Music Man via photopin (license)
*some affiliate links in post*

Blessings,






"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Primary and Secondary Triads Figured Bass

 A triad can be built on each note of the scale.

When building triads on scale tones, all of the sharps or flats that are in the key being used must be added to the chords which have those notes.

Example: D Major Scale has F# and C#. When writing the triads of D Major, every time an F or C appears in a chord, a sharp must be added to it. (See example below.)

Triads of the scale are numbered using Roman Numerals. Upper case Roman Numerals are used for Major triads, lower case Roman numerals are used for minor triads, upper case Roman Numerals with "+" are used for Augmented triads, and lower case Roman Numerals with "o" are used for diminished triads. These are called the FIGURED BASS SYMBOLS.

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

I (Major) = DF#A                                ii (minor) = EGB

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

 iii (minor) = F#AC#                             IV (Major) = GBD

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

V (Major) = AC#E                                 vi (minor) = BDF#

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

 viio (diminished) C#EG                            I (Major) = DF#A

 All of the above charts are for the...
PRIMARY and SECONDARY TRIADS IN THE KEY OF D MAJOR

I, IV and V are the PRIMARY TRIADS. In Major keys, these three triads are Major and are the most commonly used chords for harmonizing tonal melodies. The chords are labelled with upper case Roman Numerals.

ii, iii, vi and viio are the SECONDARY TRIADS. In Major keys, iii, and vi are minor and viio is diminished. The chords are labelled with lower case Roman Numerals, and the viio chord has a small circle beside the Roman Numeral.

The qualities of the triads in minor keys are different from those for Major keys. When using harmonic minor, the triads have the following qualities:

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

i (minor) = DFA                               iio (diminished) = EGBb

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

III+ (Augmented = FAC#                  iv (minor) = GBbD

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

V (Major) = AC#E                     VI (Major) = BbDF

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

viio (diminished) = C#EG                  i (minor) = DFA

The above charts are for....
PRIMARY and SECONDARY TRIADS in the KEY of D MINOR

Jermaine Griggs has been talking about learning patterns in piano playing. So let's talk about it soon.

You may be interested in Gospel Keys 101

If you enjoyed this blog post, please consider following on Bloglovin'
Keep in touch with me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, YouTube and Pinterest, too!


 "The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Slash Chords: Consonant to Dissonant

Photo Credit: sixninepixels

Awhile back I wrote a post about slash chords. I was reading an interesting article, Slash Chords - Part II Beyond Western Harmony by Chaim Burstein. Here's an excerpt:

• 20th Century and the Avant-Garde

Slash chords can be a great way to get away from your typical diatonic chord progressions. One of my favorite ways to use slash chords almost completely disregards Western harmonic concepts. In the prior article on slash chords, we were only concerned with slash chords that do not appear as some form of a chord inversion. Today we are going to discuss every possible combination of triads over bass notes...

Below you'll find a chart that contains every possible major triad and bass note combination. I've organized it from what I find to be the most consonant to the most dissonant. Each new chord is labeled in levels of dissonance, with Level 1 being the least dissonant and Level 12 containing the most dissonant harmonies. This chart was created using only a piano and my ears.

• Slash Chords Levels: Consonant (1) to Dissonant (12) 

Level 1 

C/C played C/EGC

Level 2

F/C played C/FAC

Level 3

Ab/C = C/EbAbC

Level 4

G/C = C/DGB

Level 5

Eb/C = C/EbGBb

Level 6

Bb/C = C/DFBb

Level 7

A/C = C/EAC#

Level 8

D/C = C/F#AD

Level 9

E/C = C/G#BE

Level 10

B/C = C/F#BD#

Level 11

Db/C = C/FAbDb

Level 12 = C/F#A#C#

Another way to use this chart is to increase or decrease the level of dissonance perceived by the listener. This can be very effective at high points in an arrangement... increase the level of dissonance with each new melody note. Try playing these on a piano and notice how the dissonance increases each time a new chord voicing is played. The top voice can act as the root, third or fifth of a chord. This gives you three different ways to harmonize any melody note at any given level of dissonance.

• Harmonizing the note E natural three different ways

L.H. / R.H.

F/GCE

D/AC#E

A/G#BE

In case you missed it, here's an article I wrote on How-Do-I-Harmonize-These-Melodies.

You'll want to pick up a copy of The 300pg Piano by Ear Home Study Course to learn about chords, melodies, harmony and more music theory answers to your questions.

Hope you'll try these chords and see how they sound to your ears.

Wishing you all the best with your piano practice!





"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Augmented and Diminished Chords

Image via Wikipedia

Augmented and Diminished Chords

These chords are more ornamental than fundamental, yet they are widely used in many kinds of music. We have already seen the augmented chord used as a variation of a seventh chord. Augmented chords almost always can take a dominant seventh (b7) with good results. When substituting augmented chords for sevenths, take care that the melody note is not the natural 5 of  the chord as it will clash severely with the raised 5 of the augmented chord. Augmented chords are found often in music of the 30's and 40's and in contemporary gospel piano.

Diminished chords are often used as passing chords. They can serve as a bridge, for instance, between two chords whose roots are a whole tone away. If a song has a C to Dm change, try sneaking in a C#dim chord between. It may or may not work. If it does, you have a nice little chromatic progression:
C, C#dim, Dm. Another possibility is putting an F#dim between F and G7, yielding F F#dim, G7.


One interesting anomaly. A diminished seventh chord does not contain a seventh as we know it. A Cdim7, for example, is a Cdim triad with the addition of the 6th or A (CEbGbA). If your music calls for a plain diminished triad, it will almost invariably sound better if you play the diminished seventh instead.

Caug (C+) = CEG#


Caug7 (C+7) = CEG#Bb


Cdim (Co7 = CEbGbA


Cm7b5 (Cm7b5) = CEbGbBb


Augmented and Diminished Chords


Augmented = 1 3 #5   ((C  E  G#)


Augmented 7th = 1 3 #5 b7  (C  E  G#  Bb)

Diminished = 1 b3 b5  (C  Eb  Gb)


Diminished 7th = 1 b3 b5 6  (C  Eb  Gb  A)


Half Diminished = 1 b3 b5 b7  (C  Eb  Gb  Bb)


Half Diminished is also referred to as a minor seven flat five, e.g. Cm7b5 or Cm7-5. This is often used in jazz as an alternative to a plain minor chord.


* * * * * * *  



*How do I find time to practice?
*How can I get better at playing in different keys?
*How do I decide/recognize what the left hand chords are in a piece of music?
*How can I play and read sheet music faster?
*How do I decide on proper fingering?
The answer to these and many other piano playing questions can now be yours.
Step-By-Step Piano DVD Course Helps You Become A Better Piano Player
www.LearnPianoTips.com






Thanks for stopping by.
I hope you enjoy your stay at LadyD Piano.

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Essential Chords (pianodiana.blogspot.com)