Harmony Advanced

General

– in Diatonic System (Western) are 3 Types of Triads = Major, Minor, Diminished

– Major Triad consists of Major 3rd + Minor 3rd

– Minor Triad consists of Minor 3rd + Major 3rd

– Diminished Triad consists of Minor 3rd + Minor 3rd

– Augmented Triad consists of Major 3rd + Major 3rd 

– Transposing to other Keys can be easier done by transposing in “Roman Numerals” instead of 

transposing each individual Chord (means if you want a Progression C – F – G – be in Eb simply “apply” the I – IV – V Chord  to Eb = Eb – Ab – Bb)

Scale “Degrees” in a Major Scale

(I)    Tonic = Chord on the 1st Degree 

(ii)   Supertonic = Chord on the 2nd Degree 

(iii)  Mediant = Chord on the 3rd Degree 

(IV)  Subdominant = Chord on the 4th Degree 

(V)   Dominant = Chord on the 5th Degree 

(vi)  Submediant = Chord on the 6th Degree 

(vii) Subtonic (Leading Tone) = Chord on the 7th Degree 

Inversions via Roman Numerals

– Triad in 1st Inverse has the Third on the bottom – 1st Inverse is represented by Number 6

– Triad in 2nd Inverse has the Fifth on the bottom – 2nd Inverse is represented by Numbers 6/4

– C-E-G Chord in 1st Inversion starting from E has the Distance of a 6th to next C (E-C)

– C-E-G Chord in 2nd Inversion starting from G has the Distance of a 4th to next C (G-C) (and again Distance from G-E is a 6th) 

Seventh Chord Types 

– Next Type of Chord After the Triad

– Called “Seventh Chords” Because they Include the 7th Degree of the Scale

– there are 5 Basic Types of 7th Chords

Major 7th 

– Major3rd /  Minor3rd / Major3rd 

– Classic Major Chord with a Major3rd on Top

Minor 7th 

– Minor3rd /  Major3rd / Minor3rd 

– Classic Minor Chord with a Minor3rd on Top

Dominant 7th

– Major3rd /  Minor3rd /  Minor3rd 

– Classic Major Chord with a Minor3rd on Top

– Kind of “In-Between” Sound Without Establishing a Concrete Feeling of Major or Minor

Half-Diminished 7th 

– Minor3rd / Minor3rd / Major3rd

– Diminished Triad as Basis with a Major3rd on Top 

– in Jazz Called Minor 7th Flat 5 Chord Shortly min7b5

Diminished 7th 

– Fully Diminished

– Minor3rd / Minor3rd / Minor3rd 

– 3x Minor 3rd with a Double Flatted 7th on Top, e.g. C – Eb – Gb – Bbb 

– “Bbb” = Double Flatted which Results in “A” that is Enharmonically Equivalent to the 6th Degree of a Major Scale, thus Same Note but Different Name)

– has Type of “Sherlock Holmes” Sound (Mystery)

For Notation use:

Added Tone Chords

– add any Note available in the Diatonic Scale for Colour and Interest to Basic Triad – D, F or A (those that don’t fall into a Pattern of 3rd from the Root!!) 

– notice that in “Added” Tone Chords the 3rd Scale Step is retained = one more Note (opposite the Sus Chords where the 3rd Scale Step gets replaced)

Extensions

– are added Notes in a Higher Octave

– Basic Extensions are 9,11 and 13

– 13th is the highest Extension available before the Notes Start repeating

Raised or Lowered 9th occurs over Dominant 7th Chord

– C7#9 = add a raised 9th Note in a Dominant 7th Chord =  C,E,G,Bb,D# 

– C7b9 = add a lowered 9th in a Dominant 7th Chord =  C,E,G,Bb,Db

Raised 11th occurs over Major 7th & Dominant 7th Chord 

– 5th is sometimes a Mediant giving the Voicing)

– Cmaj7#11 = add a raised 11th Note in a Major 7th Chord =  C,E,G,B,F# 

– C7#11 = add a raised 11th in a Dominant 7th Chord =  C,E,G,Bb,F#

Lowered 13th occurs primarily over Dominant 7th Chord

– C7b13 = add a lowered 13th in a Dominant 7th Chord =  C,E,G,Bb,Ab

Suspended Chords

– Major or Minor Triads with an added 2nd or added 4th which replaces the 3rd

– a Sus4 is simply Root + Perfect4th + Perfect5th

– a Sus2 is simply Root + Major2nd + Perfect5th

– have a “Suspended” & “Ambiguous” Sound – as Dom7th kind of “InBetween” Sound without establishing a concrete Feeling of Major or Minor 

Power Chords 

– Basic Power Chords just use Root and 5th – mostly with Distorted Guitars cause Distortion adds enough Harmonic to leave the 3rd Note away

– Written as x5 (C5 etc)

– Sometimes just the Root is doubled up an Octave

Cluster Chords 

– at least 3 Consecutive (aufeinanderfolgend, fortlaufend) Scale Tones (most often Semi-Tones) sounding at the same time or in close proximity to each other

– most Abstract & Dissonant Sound

– used in Modern Classic, Free-jazz, Horror and Sci-Fi

– often played with varying Densities, Dynamics or Ranges (some high up and other low) on the Piano

Arpeggios “Broken Chords”

– simply the Sounding of the Notes from a Chord in Sequence successively (aufeinanderfolgend, nacheinander, fortlaufend, folgend, sukzessiv)

– Arpeggios imply Harmony

– can be performed in various Patterns & Span multiple Octaves

– great way to add Interest to an otherwise Static Chordal Part

– used for 2 Guitars where one plays the Chord and the other Arpeggiated Form of the Chord (yet both can be distinguished)

Circle of 4ths/5ths

– shows a Diagram with Relationships between all Chromatic Keys 

– also shows Key Signatures for Relationships between Diatonic Scales (Major/Minor)

– Consecutive (aufeinanderfolgend, fortlaufend) Keys on Circle of 5ths share same Notes and only differ by on Pitch (closely related Tonalities)

– Jazz refers more to 4ths while Classical Music to 5ths

Chord Progressions (Changes in Jazz)

– often a Song starts in the Tonic (Root) and the way that the Chords refer back to it or play against to it 

– is what the listener takes on a Journey  

– Chord Progressions move from States of Tension to States of Resolution (Turnaround in Jazz)

– help us give Structure & Definition to a Songs Rhythm and Form

– Chords tend to change on Downbeats and Quarter Notes 

– Harmonic Rhythm = “Frequency” or “Rate” at with which Chords change in a Progression

– Cadence is a Resolution occurring at the End of a Section or a Song (kind a “Final”)

– the I – IV -V Progression works so well because the Keys are very related to each other (see the Circle how the F Chord is 1st in 4th Direction and G is the 1st in 5th Direction (this applies also to Minor Chords being i – iv -v)

– in a IV – V -I Progression the IV often gets substituted by a Minor 2nd Chord (ii) – results in a ii – V – I Progression (also see Circle of 4th where Dm is the relative Minor of F and therefore can be easily substituted for it)

– the ii (Dm) – V7 (GDom7) –  I (C) is the most common Progression in Jazz 

– Resolution (Turnaround in Jazz) = the Movement from a State of Dissonance/Suspension (GDom7) to a place of Consonance (C Maj)

– iii (Em) – VI7 (ADom7) – ii (Dm) – V7 (GDom7) moves in 4th and is a common Progression in Jazz

Modulation

– is a Change to a New Tonal Center / Key Signature

– a Common way for Modulation is moving between Relative Minor/Major (no need to introduce a new Staff)

– in Reality you can modulate to every Key you want to – smoothly often via the 5 Dominant Chord of the new Key (for example C to E via B7 (B is the Dominant of E)

– Pop often uses Modulations up a Half-Step or a Whole-Step at the End or Ride-Out of a Song

– usually you stay for a decent amount of Time in the new Tonal Center to give the Listeners Ear a Chance to feel it

Pedal Tone

– a Note that´s Sustained by a “Bass Instrument” while Chords move on above it

– often occur on the 5 Dominant

– create Tension until they resolve Back to a Tonic 

– often used in the Intro of a Song to get Listeners Attention/Curiosity to where the Song leads

Drones

– similar as a Pedal Tone but last much longer (sometimes the whole Song)

– Self-Contained and don´t seek to resolve (meditative as in Indian Music a Sitar Tone that lasts and all Jam up over this Tone)

Ostinato

– typically a Repeating Phrase or Motif by a “Bass” Instrument

– Builds “Looped” Landscapes to which over Melodies and Harmonies Function

– Needs to be Repeated by the Same Musical Voice