Chord Color Tones

     Triads are harmonies composed of three pitches and seventh chords are harmonies composed of four pitches.   These pitches found in a triad are the 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th of a given root, and a seventh chord also includes the 7^th.  The remaining intervals within the scale are the 2^nd, 4^th and 6^th.  These are the pitches that can be used as color tones. 

     When adding these color tones to triads, they are labeled as 2^nd’s, 4^th’s and 6^th’s.  One acceptable use for a triad color tone is as a suspension.  In this case, the color tone temporarily replaces a chord tone, and then resolves to the missing chord tone.  The most common suspension is the 4^th resolving to the 3^rd.  Other uses are the 2^nd resolving to the 3^rd, or the 2^nd resolving to the root.  When attempting to have the 6^th resolve to the 5^th, the rhythm must be short (like a grace note).  Otherwise the ear will hear the 1^st, 3^rd and 6^th as a different triad (3^rd, 5^th and 1^st) inverted. 

     We can also add color tones to triads as a fourth pitch that is not part of the structure of the chord.  The pitch simply adds color and texture to the sound of the harmony.  The most popular color tone for this effect is the 2^nd.  The fourth can also be used, but it tends to have a strong suspension quality to its sound.  When the 6^th is added to a major triad it will cause the chord to sound like a major seventh.  In addition, the 6^th can convert a minor triad into a minor seventh chord.  The 6^th can be used as a substitution for the 7^th in both cases.

     When adding color tones to seventh chords, the pitches are usually identified as upper extensions.  This means that they are named by intervals that are one octave higher than their basic identities.  The 2^nd is called a 9^th, the 4^th is called an 11^th and the 6^th is called a 13^th.  The primary purpose for these alternate names is to simplify chord labels.  For example, a major seventh chord with a tonic of C would normally be labeled as C^Δ7 or Cmaj7.  If we add a 9^th to this chord the label could get confusing (C^Δ7+9 or Cmaj7 add 9).  The use of the label “9” implies that the 7^th is present since upper extensions are only added to seventh chords.  This allows us to simplify the chord label in our example to C^Δ9 or Cmaj9. 

     The seventh chords that usually have upper extensions applied to them are the minor seventh, dominant seventh and major seventh.  When these upper extensions are added, they are labeled as natural, flat or sharp.  We do not assign qualities to them such as major or minor, because qualities imply structural significance.  Since these pitches are not structural cord tones, they do not have an impact on the structural quality of the cord. 

     
     The primary uses for the major seventh chord are adding the 9^th or the #11^th.  The flat 9^th clashes since it would create a seriese of 3 consecutive half steps between the major 7^th , the root and itself.  The sharp 9^th is enharmonically equivalent to the minor 3^rd.  Having a minor and major 3^rd sound simultaneously in one chord would be too dissonant.  The flat 11^th is enharmonically equivalent to the major 3^rd, so it automatically takes on this identity as a chord tone.  The natural 11^th is a half-step away from the major 3^rd.  This creates a strong sense of suspension that clashes too much when both pitches are present simultaneously.  The only use for the 13^th is as a 6^th substituting for the 7^th.  A sharp 13^th would sound like a minor 7^th simultaneously next to the major 7^th (way too harsh).  A flat 13^th would sound like an augmented 5^th simultaneously next to the perfect 5^th (way too harsh).  A 6^th and major 7^th played simultaneously usually sound too rich and dense (although it may have a use in some contexts). 

     The primary uses for the minor seventh chord are adding the 9^th or the 11^th.  The flat 9^th is still too harsh being a half step above the root.  The sharp 9^th is enharmonically equivalent to the minor 3^rd.  The 11^th is now acceptable since it is a whole step from the minor 3^rd.  The flat 11^th would sound like a major 3^rd simultaneously next to the minor 3^rd (too harsh).  The sharp 11^th would be an augmented 2^nd away from the minor 3^rd (also too harsh).  Again the 13^th could be used as a 6^th substituting for the 7^th.  The sharp 13^th is enharmonically equivalent to the minor 7^th.  The flat 13^th and natural 13^th do not work for the same reasons mentioned with the major seventh chord.

     The most versatile seventh chord when adding upper extensions is the dominant seventh chord.  This is mostly due to the tritone that is formed between the 3^rd and 7^th of the chord.  This sonic quality allows for increased levels of dissonance to sound permissible.  Every type of 9^th (flat, sharp or natural) can be added to a dominant seventh chord.  In addition, both the flat and natural 13^th can be added.  The sharp 13^th would be enharmonically equivalent to the minor 7^th.  Finally the sharp 11^th can be added.  The other forms of the 11^th are not usable for the same reasons mentioned with the major seventh chord. 

     The use of chord color tones can be a confusing musical topic.  However, the proper use of these tones can add depth and dimension to our harmonies.  Hopefully, this discussion and attached video will allow you to confidently add these tones to your playing, composing and arranging.

        This Learning Music With Ray video discusses chord color tones.  These are the additional pitches that can be added to a chord beside the fundamental chord tones.  In this video, I identify these color tones and explain the ways they can be added to both triads and seventh chords.  I explain why they are sometimes named as intervals within an octave and sometimes named as upper extensions (beyond one octave).  Finally, I demonstrate the acceptable uses of these color tones on the piano keyboard.

Shell Voicings

Seventh chords are harmonies composed of four pitches.   These pitches are the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th of a given root.  Seventh chords can exist in five different qualities: major 7th, dominant 7th, minor 7th, half diminished 7th and diminished 7th.  In addition, the major and dominant 7th chords can be altered by augmenting the fifth.  However, the most common qualities of seventh chords are major, dominant and minor.  These are the chords that serve as structural components of most chord progressions.  Other chords serve as transitional tools to move between these structural chords.

Major, dominant and minor seventh chords all possess a perfect fifth (in their unaltered forms).  This causes the fifth to be a less important pitch when establishing the quality of the chord.  The root determines the letter name of the chord.  The quality of the third and seventh establish the chord as either a major 7th (major 3rd and major 7th), dominant seventh (major 3rd and minor 7th) or minor seventh (minor 3rd and minor 7th) chord.  The fifth can be omitted from the voicing while still clearly establishing the quality of the chord.

This simple three note voicing of a seventh chord in which the fifth is omitted is called a shell voicing.  The name is descriptive of the fact that the root, third and seventh represent the basic structural shell of the chord.  When playing piano by yourself, you can use a shell voicing entirely in your left hand while playing the melody or a solo in your right hand.  You can also split up a shell voicing by playing the root in your left hand while playing the third and fifth in your right hand.  This technique is useful when accompanying another instrument or voice that is covering the melody. 

When playing in a band, the bass player usually covers the roots of the chords in his or her playing.  This frees the piano player to omit even the root from his or her shell voicings.  Rootless shell voicings consist of just the third and the seventh. 

  

Musical Form

Merriam-Webster defines form as: the shape and structure of something as distinguished from its material.  In construction, wooden forms are used to shape poured concrete.  Literature is written in different forms depending on the nature and purpose of the work.  Poetry is written in stanzas.  It contains a particular rhythmic flow, and often a rhyme scheme.  Business letters start with a date and address.  This is followed by a greeting, body and closing.  Essays are written in paragraph form with an introduction, main body and conclusion.  Each of these three examples have a different look, structure and flow on the page. 

            Music is also composed in a variety of forms.  There are basic elements that act as the building blocks to every musical form.  Being able to identify these elements will aid one in identifying the form. 

            Good music is composed of patterns that repeat.  These patterns become the main ideas that orient the listener and help him/her to relate to the piece.  These patterns are also what causes the music to be memorable.

            Musical ideas and patterns are expressed in phrases.  A musical phrase starts, picks up momentum and then comes to an end in a similar fashion to the flow of sentences.  Phrases normally end with a longer rhythm or rest to cause a sense of pause like a sentence's ending punctuation.  Multiple phrases can be combined to form larger musical sections in the same way that sentences can form paragraphs.  The structure of these larger sections of music defines the form of the music.

            One of the simplest types of musical forms is binary.  The prefix "bi" means two, so binary form is a music form composed of two sections.  The "A" section states the opening idea.  The "B" section states a second idea.  The "B" section also often travels to a different place musically, and then returns for the final cadence.  The most common "traveling" device is to temporally establish the dominant as a new key center.  As the key change develops and then resolves back to the original key, the listener can picture the entire section as one large scale dominant to tonic cadential progression.

            The use of antecedent and consequent phrases in musical composition is a common practice, especially in "A" sections.  An antecedent phrase is a musical phrase that feels unresolved and acts like a question.  Resolution is supplied by the consequent phrase which acts as the answer to the question posed in the antecedent phrase.  The unresolved nature of the antecedent phrase compels the listener to listen for the resolution.

  

            There are many other types of musical forms such as: rounded binary, ternary (or song form), rondo, sonata and theme and variations.  These forms can be more complex  in nature.  A detailed explanation of each of these forms will be pursued in future lessons.

Seventh Chords

When more than two pitches are stacked together the resulting harmony is called a chord.  As we have already learned, the simplest type of chord is a triad.  The prefix "tri" means three, so a triad is a chord composed of three pitches.  The pitches that compose a triad are the 1st, 3rd and 5th intervals in relation to the root.  When a fourth pitch is added to a chord, it is referred to as a seventh chord.  The added pitch is and interval of a seventh from the root, which is the reason for the name. 

                The four pitches of a seventh chord can be stacked in different orders.  When the root is on the bottom the chord is said to be in root position.  When the third is on the bottom the chord is in 1st inversion.  When the fifth is on the bottom the chord is in second inversion.  When the seventh is on the bottom the chord is in third inversion. 

                The intervals between the four pitches of a seventh chord determine the quality of the chord.  These quality defining intervals are measured with the root position version of the chord.  Seventh chords can be labeled as having major, minor, dominant, half diminished or diminished qualities. 

                Major seventh, dominant seventh and minor seventh chords all contain a perfect fifth.  A major seventh chord contains a major third and a major seventh.  It is a major triad with a major seventh added.  A dominant seventh chord contains a major third and a minor seventh.  It is a major triad with a minor seventh added.  A minor seventh chord contains a minor third and a minor seventh.  It is a minor triad with a minor seventh added.

                There are two types of diminished seventh chords.  Both contain diminished fifths and minor thirds, so they are both diminished triads with sevenths added.  The half diminished seventh chord has a minor seventh added to the triad.  The other name for this chord is a minor 7 flat 5, because it is identical to a minor seventh chord aside for the flatted fifth.  The fully diminished seventh chord has a diminished seventh added to the diminished triad.  A diminished seventh is two half steps lower than a major seventh or one half steps lower than a minor seventh.  It is the enharmonic equivalent to a major sixth, but is identified as a diminished seventh since its pitch letter is the seventh pitch from the root.  An example of this would be the interval between C and B double flat.  Since the pitch is being identified as B double flat, instead of its other name of A, the interval is labeled as a diminished seventh.   

                The major seventh and dominant seventh chords can both posses a raised fifth since they both contain major thirds.  This causes them to become augmented triads with an added major or minor seventh.  These chords retain their identities as either major or dominant seventh chords.  They are labeled as altered seventh chords, and the alteration of the raised fifth is added to the name (Major 7 #5 or Dom 7 #5).    

Minor Scales

                 A scale is a consecutive listing of the 7 pitches within a diatonic key.  Practicing scales is an effective way to commit the 7 pitches of a given key signature to memory.  Every diatonic key signature results in one major and one minor tonic.  In our previous lesson we discussed the scales that result from major tonics.  Today we will discuss minor tonics and the scales that they create. 

       The scale that is formed by applying a given key signature to its minor tonic is a natural minor scale.  These scales are classified as natural minor because of the intervals formed between the tonic and each of the other pitches.  Both major and minor scales contain a perfect 4^th and 5^th.  However, the 3^rd, 6^th and 7^th intervals of a natural minor scale are all minor in quality.  The only major interval in a natural minor scale is the 2^nd.    

                This sequence of major 2^nd, minor 3^rd, perfect 4^th, perfect 5^th, minor 6^th and minor 7^th from the tonic can be used to determine the pitches of any natural minor scale.  Another way to determine the pitches of a natural minor scale would be to use one’s knowledge of the circle of fifths.  The circle of fifths lays out the keys signatures of every minor tonic by either increasing sharps or flats.  There are many diagrams of the sharp and flat key signatures available in literature and on the internet.  A musician can determine the pitches of a natural minor scale by starting on the tonic and applying the given key signature of that key while ascending or descending in stepwise motion until he/she reaches the repeat of the tonic in the next register.

                A third way to determine the pitches of a natural minor scale is to examine the whole and half step relations from pitch to pitch within the scale.  Natural minor scales are composed of this set pattern of whole and half steps: W-H-W-W-H-W-W.  This pattern can be broken into a dorian (W-H-W) and phrygian (H-W-W) tetrachord that are connected by a whole step.  Since the two tetrachords differ, this method of realizing the pitches of a natural minor scale is not as popular.

                Beside the natural minor scale, there are two other versions of minor scales.  The harmonic minor scale is a variation in which the seventh pitch is raised a half step.  This causes the seventh pitch to be a half step away from the tonic and act as a leading tone.  In harmonic context, this leading tone is used in dominant chords to lead back to the tonic.  Without it there is no sense of urgency to resolve to the tonic.

                However, raising the seventh tone causes the distance between the sixth and seventh pitches to be an augmented 2nd.  This distance creates a melodic quality that is reminiscent of Middle Eastern culture.  It is a very specific and often undesirable melodic quality.  To avoid this sound, the melodic minor scale was created.  In this scale, the sixth and seventh pitches are raised while ascending the scale.  When descending, these pitches are returned to normal and the scale is identical to natural minor.  There is only a need for a leading tone when the seventh travels up to the tonic, so the scale is only altered when the melodic motion is ascending.

                Musicians can employ many methods when practicing scales.  We should realize the specific focus we wish to instill in our playing and use a method that supports that skill.  I listed several methods in my last lesson on major scales.  The same methods can be used to practice natural minor scales.  After these are learned, they can be varied accordingly to create harmonic or melodic minor scales.  One can choose to cycle through all the keys of a certain type of minor scale, or cycle through the tree types before changing keys.  The possibilities are numerous.