Chord Extensions With 4-Note 7th Chord Voicings PART 1.5

Below is a list of the diatonic series of 7th chords in the key of C Major. Next to each chord will be their Roman numeral indicating their placement in the harmonic series, and a list of harmonic extensions that are NOT agreeable with traditional 7th chord harmony. These are often called "avoid notes" because they produce confusion in the harmony and for now, we are going to avoid them. They are listed by their extension name and also by the degree in the scale/mode to help you identify them. After you get more familiar with this concept, transpose it to other keys!!!

Major Diatonic Series of 7th Chords:

I   Cmaj7  No Perfect 11th (4th scale degree)

ii  Dmin7  

iii Emin7  No Minor 9th (2nd degree) or Minor 13th (6th degree)

IV Fmaj7  

V  G7       No Perfect 11th (4th degree)

vi Amin7  No Minor 13th (6th scale degree)

vii Bmin7(b5)  No Minor 9th (2nd degree) or Minor 13th (6th degree)

Now, let's take a look at Figure 1 below, which shows the G Mixolydian mode (C major scale starting on 5th degree) and the outlined chord tones for it's chord, G7. Notice how the chord tones outlined for G7 are every other scale tone (intervals of 3rds) in the series.

In Figure 2, we have the same G mixolydian mode extended up two octaves. Notice again how the chord tones are every other scale tone in intervals of 3rds. If we keep going up past the octave in 3rds, we get all of the extensions of the chord. Notice how I have the 11th crossed out in Figure 2. If you look at the list of "avoid notes" at the top of the page, you will see that the 11th is an avoid note for the V chord. In this case, the note C is the perfect 11th and is omitted from G7.

Figure 3 demonstrates the entire series of chord tones and agreeable extensions in the scale played in harmony to create the chord G9(13). The reason why the "13" is in parentheses is because the perfect 11th is not an agreeable extension and is omitted. Writing G13 would tell us that we have all 3 extensions, unaltered, in the chord but since there is no 11th included, we write G9 and put the 13 in parentheses...it's a clear way of communicating chord nomenclature.

Substituting Primary Chord Tones With Extensions In 4-Note Voicings

Note: As in PART 1, since these voicings will not contain the root, it is important to hear it elsewhere. Use a looping or recording device and record a low "G" root note to play your G9 and G9(13) voicings over.

These chords are most effective and less ambiguous when played with a bassist or other instrument covering the lower part of the collective harmony which is usually playing the roots of the chords. 

 In 7th chord harmony, it is not always necessary to include the 5th of the chord. Altered 5ths such as diminished or augmented 5ths are more important because they highlight a specific sound. If you play a G7 chord and take out the perfect 5th, it will still sound like a G7. A G7(#5), on the other hand, will lose a great deal of it's character if the augmented 5th is removed because of the color and tension that the altered 5th gives it. Something to think about as far as your options go on guitar. 

Let's get to work!

We are going to put this stuff to work just like we did in PART 1 starting with a basic 4-note chord voicing for G7 in Ex.1 below. To the right of G7, shows the use of a tone substitution by moving the root note, G, up a whole step to A, while the others remain in place. The note A is the second note of the the G Mixolydian mode and functions as the Major 9th of the chord. This makes G7 become G9 in what we call the 9-for-1 substitution talked about in PART 1. 

Check out Ex.2 below. Just like in Ex.1, we are going to use the 9-for-1 substitution only we are going to also add what's called a 13-for-5 substitution which is taking the 5th (D) and moving it up a whole step to E to make it the Major 13th. G7 on the left becomes G9(13) 

After you get the hang of this, try the same thing with some of the other chords listed at the beginning of this chapter. You can find some really cool voicings and come up with your own chord progressions while employing them. Also, try different inversions of the chord you are working with. For example, G7, in Ex.3 below, could be voiced like so before applying the 9-for-1 and the 13-for-5 substitutions.

In the end, it's all about what sounds good to you. If you want to play "avoid notes" in your voicings, nothing is stopping you. It's all about what sounds good to you...which is the most important thing. I will cover more on this subject later on. If you aren't up to speed on chord/scale relationships, chord functions, and harmonic tension and resolution, I would recommend diving deeper into it. It's tons of fun and a great way to broaden your process for figuring out musical problems or generating new and interesting sounds. 

Chord Extensions With 4-Note 7th Chord Voicings PART 1

This is a bit more of an advanced tutorial in dealing with seventh chords and their relative extensions. For this tutorial, you will need a little bit of an understanding of diatonic seventh chords, their complementary scale/mode, and the extensions available for each chord type.

Take a look below at Figure 1. This shows a G major scale starting on the note "C' which is also known as the C Lydian mode of the G major scale. It's relative seventh chord, Cmaj7, is highlighted below by identifying each primary chord tone (Root, Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, and Major 7th) within the scale.

The chord tones on the staff are C, E, G, B. Notice how the primary chord tones go up the scale in intervals of 3rds or every other scale tone. Now, notice how there are 3 notes left over in the scale that are not identified as primary chord tones for Cmaj7. The notes D(major 2nd), F#(augmented 4th), and A(major 6th) in the scale.




Now lets look at Figure 2 and see this another way. Our leftover notes in the scale from Figure 1 are going to become our chord extensions. In Figure 2, we will stretch the scale up 2 octaves. By continuing to stack the scale notes in intervals of 3rds, past the 7th degree, and above the octave C, the leftover notes become our chord extensions: D, (major 2nd) becomes the major 9th. F# (augmented 4th), becomes augmented 11th. A (major 6th), becomes the major 13th.

Now, we can take these tones and stack them in 3rds and play them as harmony, we will get the chord Cmaj13(#11) in Figure 3. 

The Meat:
So there is a basic crash course in chord extensions. Now, how do we play all this stuff on a guitar. For the rest of this chapter, we are going to break our Cmaj13(#11) down to just a 4-note chord by substituting some of our primary chord tones (roots and 5ths) with the extension notes. In most cases, this is the only way that we can play some of these chords on the guitar because of the limited amount of tones that we can play at the same time. These voicings are most effective in the presence of bass instrument which is primarily playing the roots of the chords in the bottom part of the collective harmony. Since our new chord voicings will be excluding the root of the chord, it will be important to hear it elsewhere as we work through each example. I would recommend using a loop pedal or other recording device that can play the low root note of the chord as you play through these. Play a C root note on the 3rd fret/5th string and record it and that will work fine.


Let's get started with Ex.1 below. Look at the first voicing, Cmaj7, and learn it on your guitar. Learn where the root, 3rd, 5th, and 7th functions are within the voicing. After you familiarize yourself with this chord structure, take a look at Cmaj9 just to the right of it. All of the other notes of the Cmaj7 structure before it are still there except for the root note which has been replaced by a tone that is one scale tone (whole step) above it on the same string. This is called a 9-for-1 substitution.

Let's take a look at Ex.2 and add another substitution. In addition to the 9-for-1 substitution, we will add the 11-for-5 which is moving the 5th down a only a half step because it is an augmented 11th. Because the 11th is altered, it is denoted in parentheses as #11 as a clear way of communication. The chord is written Cmaj9(#11).

In Ex.3, We will still use the 9-for-1 substitution that we used in the previous two examples and we will also add the 13-for-5 which substitutes the 13th for the 5th of the chord. The note G (5th) slides up a whole step to A which is the 13th. Play this chord over your low C bass note as you have with the others. Try it in a chord progression.

Ex.4 is going to give us the 9-for-1 and the 13-for-5 as we saw in the last one but we are also going to include the #11th extension as well. Since the 5th function is already spoken for in the 13-for-5, we are going to take the 3rd (E) and substitute the #11th (F#) for it, giving us what's called 11-for-3. You know what to do!

Afterthought: These are just a few examples of how you can take one 4-note seventh chord voicing and substitute primary chord tones for chord extensions. You can use this same process to add extended harmony to different seventh chord types. Try lowering the 7th a half step to make the chord C7 and use the same process to create extended harmony. Remember, not every extension is agreeable with every chord type. Extensions can either be derived from the respective chord/scale relationship OR can be altered to create more interesting tensions or colors in the harmony.

There will be more on this later. Enjoy.

Harmonizing Melody With Chords PART 3: Using Triads on Adjacent Strings 2, 3, and 4

Introduction

In this segment, we are going to cover some basic techniques in harmonizing melody by voicing chords(in this case, triads) underneath melody notes. In this segment, we are going to use the notes of the C major scale located on the 2nd string (B) and the triad voicings from adjacent strings 2,3, and 4. If you haven't already done so, I recommend familiarizing yourself with the triads PART 2 lessons in this blog first so that you can grasp this material more easily.

For the sake of practice, we will start by limiting ourselves to 2 things:

1.) Notes of the C major scale on the 2nd string. These will be designated for melody

2.) The 7 diatonic triads within the key of C major: C (I), Dm (ii), Em (iii), F (IV), G (V), Am (iv), Bdim (vii) 

In Ex.1, is a C major scale played on the 1st string from the open string to the 12 fret from the "B" to "B". Play the scale tones in Ex. 1,  ascending and descending, until you are comfortable with the locations and the names of the tones. Sing them so that you get a good aural feel for them.We are going to take these scale tones and harmonize them, as we did in PART 1 in a few variations using basic diatonic triads. Eventually, we will use these scale tones to build melodies and harmonize them with chords.

Ok, so now that we have our scale tones on the 2nd string under our fingers and in our ears, lets take a look at how they can be harmonized using basic diatonic triad voicings in Examples 2-4. Notice how the scale tones in Ex.1 are the top notes of the triad voicings in all the examples. With this technique, we are harmonizing below the melody.
As you work through each example, you should do two things to make yourself aware of what's happening in this process: 1.) Sing the scale tones that you are harmonizing and 2.) Always be aware of what chord (Dm, F, Am, etc.) you are harmonizing with. Practice each example until you can play them comfortably, ascending and descending.

Another way of perceiving this material is to look at one scale tone and harmonize it with all 3 diatonic triads shown in Ex. 5 and Ex.6 below. Sing the top tone and play through each harmonization. Do you notice how the melody note takes on a new "color" or character when it is harmonized with different chords?

Alright, so now that we have some familiarity with the scale tones, chord shapes, and the harmonizations from the above examples, let's look at some examples of how we can take a melody and harmonize it in a couple different ways by using the material from above

We are going to use this short melodic phrase in Ex. 7 as our guinea pig . Play this phrase, sing it, and get it in your ear. In Ex. 8 - 11, I tried different combinations of the 3 chord options in each example. Play through these and sing the melody as you do it and notice how the "character" of the melody changes.

Exercise: Come up with a simple melody (3 or 4 notes is good to start with) using the notes in Ex.1. Once you are comfortable with your melody/note choices, try harmonizing them with the different triads in Examples 1-4. Notice the different sound that your melody takes on as you harmonize them with different chord combinations provided in the examples above. For now, you have 3 chord options for each note. There are endless options but for now, we will limit ourselves to these until we have them internalized into our musical minds.