In this segment at the end of All of Me for example : Plurality is also used by composers to connect two chords in a chord progression. In two handed accompaniment ( comping) the keyboard player usually plays 3 and 7 in the left hand and any other notes of the chord or related scale in the right hand. ( In Audio 7 I play the E chord first with an underlying low E bass note, and then with a low C bass note.)

the Eb major 7th chord becomes C minor 9th.

the E minor 7th chord for example is perceived as C major 9th, and.

the bass in a small Jazz ensemble), or inferred by the melody or improvisation in the right hand. The root of the chord (C in the example below) is either played by another instrument (e.g. Omitting the chord root gives the music a less predictable and contemporary quality. This means that the root is omitted, but both essential tones, the 3 and 7, are present in the chord. Modern chord voicings and chord substitutions use pluralities built on the chord's 3rd.

minor chords : the Dorian mode =1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7.

dominant chords : the Lydian Dominant scale = 1 2 3 #4 5 6 b7 (see Lesson 20).

major chords : the Lydian mode = 1 2 3 #4 5 6 7.

To construct chords that extend beyond the 9th use therefore these scales : To achieve a better, more open (Lydian) sound the 11th is always sharpened in the major chord and most of the time in the dominant chord. Within the complete chord a variety of smaller chords with different roots are present.įor the three important chord qualities the complete 7-note chords are : This means that keyboard players and guitarists can always substitute 7th chords by their equivalent 9th, 11th or 13th chords. The quality of the chord, once set by the essential chord tones (3 and 7), remains the same! It is important to understand that these additional notes do not alter the chord quality but merely add more colour to the chord.

the vertical expression of the tonality is the 7-note Cmaj13 #11 chord.Īs shown above any chord can be extended upwards by stacking alternate notes of the related scale on top of the chord.

the horizontal expression of the tonality is the 7-note C Lydian mode.

Here an example of the tonality of the C Lydian mode : The complete chord contains, like the scale, all the notes that constitute the tonality. The scale is a horizontal expression, the chord a vertical expression of that tonality. They are in fact two different expressions of the same tonality. Through previous lessons it has become clear that a scale (or mode) and the scale-tone chord built on the tonic of that scale are closely related. To define the chord quality the missing tone (3rd or 7th) must be played in the melody or the improvisation (in the right hand for keyboard players). When a skeleton chord contains only one of the two essential chord tones the chord quality becomes ambiguous. Such as the root, the 5th, the 9th or the 13th. The two notes can form a skeleton chord by themselves, or an additional note is added. The 3rd and 7th are also the essential notes to form a skeleton chord (a chord in which one or more chord tones are missing). The essential chord tones are the most powerful tones in any improvisation, because they firmly anchor the improvised line onto the underlying chord progression.

The essential chord tones are not only important for keyboard players and guitarists, but for all Jazz performers. The same effect is achieved when these two tones are heard in a distinctly C major key setting (without the bass note present). But as soon as the bass player plays a C, or the melody indicates C as the tonic note, E will be heard as a major 3rd and B as a major 7th, and the C major 7th chord is established. They must be played (and heard) in the right musical context.Į and B, heard on their own could just as well be the root and 5th of an E chord. These two notes do not spell out the chord quality by themselves. The essential chord tones for the three most common chord qualities are : These are the essential chord tones that reflect the quality of each chord.

The differences occur in the 3rd and the 7th of each chord. The three most common 7th chords are the major 7th chord, the dominant 7th chord and the minor 7th chord.Ĭomparing these three chords side by side you see that they all have the root and the 5th in common. Jazclass - Jazz Theory 19 : CHORD SUBSTITUTIONSĭouble Tritone Chord Substitution (Appendix)

Chord substitution georgia on my mind