20

_THE lIths
CHORDCONSTRUCTLON
Morecolor (anoften usedmusicalterm is "tension") may be addedto the gth chords
with the additionof the 1l th (the4th of the maiorscale):

/rlqjo. --{

D;r___{
fn;..--{

I
5 1 q
R
RSf6quAasltt
R3dbl?rrt,
R. b3 ,, b1 Q
Rbt,telnaCltt

u
tt

/nll .
rrll

]*'ou'

As vou cansee,the additionof the 11thto maioror dominanttype chordsis not generally
the tensionis too highfor the stabilityof the chord. Thisis due
advised.In mostcases
to the half toneoccurringbetweenthe 3rd and4th of the maiorscale.Thisproblemis
usuallysolvedin oneof two ways. Wherean 11th degreeis desired,a fr t t is usedin the
placeof the natural11th. (Thisis lookedat on pages27 and 4i!') The otheraltemative
is the useof "sus4" chordsassubstitutes:
The 7 (sus4) chor,ql
R45b7
tendingto want to resolvebackto
R35b7
The 7 (sus4) chord has,@-gEpe elllg Jrd a {!! givingthe chord a feelingof
suspension.
lt may be substitutedfreelyfor the 11thchord.
The m7 (sus4) chord
Rb34b7
a voicingof a m11 chord,the sth andgth
The m7 (sus4) chordcouldbe considered
beingeliminated.Boththe ml 1 and m7 (sus4) chordssoundfine and may be usedinterchangeably.

21
Herearesomefavoritevoicingsfor the 7 (sus4l andm7 (sus4l chords:

:tl

tI

7(6',l

@".@
t
I

l(sci

"7ber)

"76rr)

PLAY: Throughthe followingsectionsof TuneNo, 1 usingthe chordsindicated:

o{(

GD

Caremust be taken when 3ubstitutingthe 7 (sus4) chord. Its internalresolutioncharacteristicscan alter its function in the progression.

22
- THE l3ths
CHORDCONSTRUCTION
Withtheadditionof the 13th (the6th of the majorscalelthe resultsareasfollows:

frh-

*n

R3S7lCt,rB

/fl,l.rc

AqfS

R 3 5 bt I t,1! '3

t3

R !g e n

^8

tr ,3

Agnin.not thrt in tfu majoranddominanttypechords,the 11this eitheromittedor a

place,
# 11 is substitutcdin its
A 'complete'13thchordincludesercrynoteup to andincludingthe 13th. Alongwith
on the guitar,it is not alwaysdesir'
with thc fret that svennotechordsareunplayable
the unsuitability
ableto harrscverynotepresentin a 13thchord. we havealreadydiscussed
aswell6 the fact that the root andsth canoftenbeomit'
of the 1lth in cenainsituations
ed as"redundant"notes.Any chordcanbeplayedwith onlv its functionalnotespresent.
(Page17,! A ldoml 13thchordneedsonly the 3rd,bTthand13thto qualifyasa 13th
on the
andis dependent
ctrord.Thisfreedomof voicingmustbedonewith t6te howe\rer.
playingsituation.Foroxrmplc,if you wereplayingsologuitar,you wouldbemuchmore
stylewould
likelyto use'large'voicingrthm if you wereplayingwith a groupwherea sparse
bemoreusoful,
for the 13thin variousforms:
Herearea fewvoicinge

o(D
t

(tl

!B
I

t3t3B
for the 13thchordscanbefoundon page54'
A summaryof favoritevoicings

23
PLAY: Throughthe following sectionsof iazz bluesand Tune No. 1 usingthe chord forms
indicated:

on the typ of tune

that the complexityof your chordingwill be dependent
Remember
andspeedthat the tune is played. For example,if TuneNo. 1 wasto be playedasa ballad
slowtempo,the chordpart would be freeto expandin complexity:
at a reasonably

la7

24
CHORDSUBSTITUTION
can be interpretedand developedin many different ways.
A standardchord progression
Thestudyof chordsubstitutionis probablythe mostimportantstudy in lazzchording.
Chordsubstitutioncanrangefrom the useof alternatechordsof the sameletternameand
of a tune'sharmony(reharmonitype (directsubstitutionlto the completerestructuring
directsubstitutionare:
zation). Generally,
the rulesgoverni-ng
-

any chord in the maiorcategorymay be substitutedfor any other chord

in the majorcategory(the 1l th usuallybeingomittedor altered)e.g'a
Cma6/9playedfor a Cma7.

anv chordin the dominantcategorymay be substitutedfor any other

chordin the dominantcategory(againthe 11th is usuallyomittedor
altered)e.g.a Cl3 playedlor a C7.

any chord in the minor categorymay be substitutedfor any other chord

in the minorcategorY(anyminorchordcontaininga 6th shouldbe handled
with care- seepage45) e.g.a Cm11playedfor a Cm7'

assuming:
In otherwords,chordswithin a chordcategoryareinterchangeable
-

the subtitutes do not clashwith the melody.

do not clashwith the chordingof an accompanyinginstrument.

the sub'stitutes

the substitutionswork within the key aswell asfitting the characterof

chords,
the surrounding

the 11th in majorand dominanttype chordsis handledproperly(which

usuallyinvolvesits eliminationor alteration).

the earis the final iudge.

As in all musicalsituations,
Thesearenot rules;only observations.
aresomeproblems
right.
There
it's
then
lf it soundsgood,achievesthe desiredeffect, etc.,
regardingchord substitutionwhich are looked at on Page36' Sorneof theseyou might
haverun acrossalreadv.

25
THE llm7. V7. I PROGBESSION
combinations
of chordsin a majorkey,the llm7, V7, I progression
Of all the possible
is the mostcommonlyoccurring,Takea look at TuneNo. 1. Countthe numberof times
is played.This progresion,asa wholeor
the Am7 (llm7) D7 (V7) GmaT(l) progression
in parts.is the basicharmonicunit of mostiazzstandards,lt is an excellentstructureto
on the summaryareall basedon llm7, V7, I
usein practicingchording.The examples
(or llmT (b5),V7, ll progressions
from Tune No. 1 lateron.
asaremanyof the examples
JAZZ BLUES
The progressionusedin the jazz blueshereis probablythe most commonone. There
are,however,many versionsof this 12 bar progressionin use. A few of the variationsin'
clude: {Key of Bh }

6b hr

e"7

ll*

llo-'
7s+0$h-

gt

llrr* Abt
&?

(bq)

(H)ll
cl^l I u-t 4r

c",?lo* ot,tll
areenormousmakingthe 12 bar
andthe permutations
Therearea greatmanypossibilities
in iazz.
bluesoneof the mostdurableand flexibleprogressions

THE-T!.BNAEOUNQ
The progrEsionfound in th llst two blr3 of the ilzz bluer is a goodexampleof a
turnaround, This progressionis a sort of "musicalrftsnhought" that bringsus aroundto
the beginningof the tunc (or section)to start rnothcr cyclc. Turnaroundscan be found
in all different typesof tune. Although the tumaround found in the blueshereis a very
that can be usedin its place:e.g.:
commonone,there are many alternatechord sequences

('r)
llo'.t ottunt
lc.r F? il llut Db?| .t B7
Dbr? C-? n
lc'n,rBfld?
ll
llB' Db&?
llo^'t

26

cuaprene-cuonosc
RESOLUTION
A dominant7th chord wantsto movenaturallyto the chord on its 4th ("its tonic
chord"). Let'stakea look at this frogression
technically:
e.g. G7 -- C
A dominant7th chordcontainsa discordantintervalcalledthe !d!qne. lt occurs
betweenthe 3rd and b7 notes. Playthesetwo notestogetherand you will hearthe high
tensionbetweenthem. This tensionis releasedby the chord progressing
to (in this case)
the C chord, Thisis termedresolution.The key to the resolutionof the tritone hereis that
the F and B notesof the G7 chordmoveto the E and C notesof the C chord,stabilizing
the interval.

--C
G P__9......._,F

E G

tntone
The mainand mostnoticeable
resolutionin musicis of coursethe V7 -- I (or V7
-- lml progression,
however,tension- resolutionsituationsoccurconstantlythroughout
piece,
a

ALTEREDNOTES
An alterednote is a naturally occurringchord or scalenote that hasbeensharpened
or flattened;e,g.a C7 (*51 containsan alteredSth. The introductionofan alterednote
in a chordcauses
a hightensionsituation.
Alterednoteshavean importantiob particularlyin dominantchords,A V7 chord
resolvesto its I with a certainforce. By usingalterednotes,this force can be increased;
e,g.:

D[

F---.C E

tritone
As well asthe presenceof the tritone interval,we havethe addedtensioncreatedby
the presencof an alteredSth. This causesthe G7 to want to resolvewith that much
moreforce. This,then,is the mainfunctionof alterednotesin dominantchords.

27

ALTERED
NOTES
AVAILABLEIN
DOMINANT
CHORDS

I
+

dqI

bt

st3

lil

Thorr arc six alterbdnotesavailableto dominantchords, The sth may be alteredto

a $ orL; thc fth to af9 or b; the 1lth to a# 1; the 13thto a pl3.

Herearsewrelvoicings

dominantchordscontainingalterednotes:

(l

tf

U ag'l

3-

tt3

t
(l ,)

r3

t3

A summaryof favoritevoicingsfor dominantchordscontainingalterednotescan be found

on pages55 through 58.
"Complae" chordscontainingthe #11 and bl3 aredifficult to find on guitar. For
this reason,thesenotesare often interpretedasalteredsths, e.g.a I $1 1) chord played
asa 9 (b5);a 9 {b13)chordplayedasa S ({S). ttresearecloceenoughapproximations
sothat they canbe usedwherethe {11 and b13 chordsarenot immediately
available.
{Seepage46.}

28
DIRECTSUBSTITUTION
IN DOMINANT
CHORDS
In a V7 -- | (or V7 -- lml progresionyou maysubstitutefor the V7 chordany domthe altsrednotes:
inantchord (of the samename)containingalterednotes.This is assuming
1. do not conflict with the melodyof the tune.
instrument.
2. do not conflict with the chordsubctitutionsof an accompanying
chords.
3. work withinthe keyaswellaswith the surrounding
It is importantto note herethat the V7 mustresolveif alterednotesareto be used. The
Eb7 in the fifth barof the iazzblues,for example,would !g! be a pls to utc altered
notes! Agoin,it is theeqJthat decidesa goodsubstitutionfrom a brd rubrtitution;
rely on it,
usingthechordformsindicated:
PLAY: Throughthe followingsections

29

asfollorar:
7th chordis constructed
The Diminished
R b3 b5 bb7 (6)
It is derivedfrom a dominant 7th chord, eachnote of which hasbeenlowereda half-step.
of this symmetryany
It hassuccessive
m3rd intervalsbetweeneachof its not6. Because
an
A@
.
note can be the root e.g.a C can alsobe an elo , a Al0 , or
Thediminished7th chordtendsto soundlike a 7 (b9)chordand is often usedas
such,e.g.a Ca soundslike it is the "top end" of an Ai 7 ( bg).
Herearea coupleof voicin$ for the dim. 7th chords:

RIAD
T H EA U G M E N T ETD
asfollows:
triad isconstructed
Theaugrnented

R 315
the intervalbetweeneachnotebeinga (maior)3rd. A C-tcan
It is alsobuilt symmetrically,
alsobe an E* or a G* t
The augmentedtriad is the basisof the 7 Hsl chord and tendsto act in the samefashton.
Here are a few voicings:

(r

( )

(, )
C.,)

30
CHAPTER
5 _ THEORY

IHE_M!N9E_KEvs
Just asthe majorscaleis the basisfor the melodicand harmonicstructureof
musicin the majorkeys,the naturalminorscaleis the basisfor the musicin the minor keys.

'

T
lrl

2 t3

lrlrl

+
lol

gb6
lrlrl

btr

le I

lrl

Withouttakinginto accountthe alterations

appliedto this scale,the chordsin the minor
keyswould be asfollows: (usingthe key of A minorasan example)

An importantpoint shouldbe madehere. The notesandchordsin the key of A minor

a shownhere,arethe sameasthosefor the key of C malor: (a C maiorscale= an A minor
scale,only the tonicsaredifferent). Because
of this importantlink, thesearecalledrelative keys. The key signaturesfor relativekeysarethe same,e.g.the key of 1 sharpcan be the
key of G majorq1 E minor. The relativeminor key canalwaysbe foundthe intervalof
a minor3rd (1%tones)belowits relativemaior.

31
M I N O RS C A L E
T H EH A R M O N I C
In a malor key there is a dominant7th chord occurringon the sth degreeof the scale
(V7). This makespossiblea final resolution(V7 -- l) wheredesired'endingon the tonic
chord. The presenceof a dominant 7th chord on the sth is essentialif the hermonyis to
the tonality without a doubt.
work correctlywith relationto that tonic chord. lt establishes
produce
a V7 chord;a vm7 is all thst is
unfortunately,the naturalminorscaledoesnot
available.A V7, then, hasto be created, The harmonicminor scaleproducesthe "lerding
tone" which makesthis Possible:

bb

(llz r

6
(I[

i&,

:f

I
I

t3

Iththe 3rd of the V7 chord.

The b7 hasbeenraisedto a "natural"7th note. Thisnotebecomes
lf we basedthe chordsin the minor keyson the harmonicminorscale'the resultwould
be asfollows:

Thesechordscan,of course,be extendedto their 4 note versions'

@
The melodicminor scalewasderivedto solveproblemscausedby the t% ton ltp
found in the harmonicminor scale' lt includes,aswell asthe (f) 7, a (+) 6' In order to
restorethe ,,minorness,'lo6t with the raisingof the b6 and b7 notes,the scalei3 plryed as
ard the naturalminor is playeddescending.This alsosolresvarious
shownascending,
rne|odicre6olutionprob|ems.Despitethecontrivedappearanceofthesca|e,itlound!
remarkably"normal".

32

'

'r
l.l

2bt
l.l.l

l.l

l.f

clr
l.l

(l1t r
l.l.l

Asol:,-

ffwJ; n:l*

Note: Althougha knowledge

of theseminorscales
is not directlyapplicable
to lazzchording,
it is an importantpartof musical
theorythat everymusician
shouldknow. Also,it helps
in understanding
the originof the chordsfoundin the minorkeys.

THE llmT (b5),V7, lm PROGRESSION

in the minor keys. lt canbe found
This is the mostfrequentlyoccurringprogression
in variousplaces
in TuneNo. 1: e.g.:

illustrates
a verycommonoccurrence
in music- a modulation(keychange)
Thisprogression
to the relativeminor key. The wholestructureof Tune No, 1 is basedon the mo\ment
fromthe keyof G majorto its relati\minor- E minor, Thisbringsup the subjectof
"key areas".

f,t

cxepren0-runesrn
KEYAREAS
would
lf a iazztune wereto staystrictly in one key, the resultingprogression
progresions
probablybe pretty boring. Mostinteresting
wanderawayfrom the overall
key into othertemporarykey areas.Thesekey areasmay rangefrom longlasting,well
of new keys. lt is importantto be ableto
established,
tonal centersto fleetingglimpses
detectnew key areasin a pieceboth for soloingandchordingpurposes.Whenapproachingthis problem,keepin mindthat thereis only onetruedominant7th chordin eachkey
- on the V (page
then,indicates
of a 7th chordin the progression,
16).Theoccurrence
-the key immediately,The V7 oftenoccursasa memberofa llmT V7 -- lor llmT (b5)
---V7 -- lm progression,
(pages25 and 32).
TuncNo.2 is a progression
basedon "All the ThingsYou Are". lt is a goodexample
key areas,The Romannumeral
of a progresionmovingthroughseveralwell established
systemhacboenusedto indicatethe positionof eachchordin the key.

lt

U.(r"LD

that the "ll" chordwill

In detecting
areasof a tunethat arein a minorkey,remember
generallybe a I lm7_(b!)- the presence
of this chord is usuallyan instant gi\reawry.
Also,the V7 chordoften containsa bg and the tonic chordis, of course,a lm.
if your chordingis to work to best
the harmonyof a pieceis essential
Understanding
advantage.Thereareseveralproblemsrelatingto chordsubstitutionand key which will
be.discussed
later.

34

@
Manydifferenttypesof tunesareusedasa basisfor jazzimprovising.Chordprogressions
may rangefrom the useof a singlechordfor the entiretune,to a complexseries
of chordsand key areas.Mostrock and bluesplayershavetroublewith jazztunesbecause
progressions
of the morecomplicated
involved.In approaching
tuneslike this,go through
the followingsteps:
The first thing to look at is the basicstructureof the oiece. Mosttun6 haveseveral
distinct sections.Thesemay be labeled" A" , "8" , "C" , etc. A very commonstructurein
that is the maintheme("A" sectionlis played
iazztunesis the A, A, B, A arrangement;
twice,the bridge("8" section),once,andthe mainthemeoncemore,completingthe cycle.
TuneNo. 1 is an exampleof an A, A, B structure.
Next,takea look at the new key areasintroduced.Look out for llm7, V7, I and
U.r'7(V51,V7, lm progressions.
Markout is necessary
wherenew Keyareasoccur.
Next,look at the seriesof chordsthemselves.
Chordstendto movevia naturalcycles.

CHORDCYCLES
Cvcleof 5ths
This is one of the most powerful forcesin chord progresion. A chord tendsto progressfreelyto the chordon its 4th or sth, for exampleC -- F or C -- G. (i.e.clockwiseor
anti{lockwisearoundthe circle.} Of the two, the
clockwisemovementis the mostDowerfulaswell
asthe mostcommonlyoccurring.The V7 -- |
resolutionandthe I lm, V7, I progression
areexamolesof this clockwisemovementaroundthe
cycleof sths.

&
D-

tsI

E
B

F$
aa

Gb

35
ScalewiseProgression
Chordstend to flow freely up and down the key scale;e.g.in the key of C major,an
occursnaturally.
F -- Em -- Dm -- C progression
ChromaticProgression
Chordstendto Jlowchromatically(particularlyin a downwarddirection).This is
belowanothertendsto givethe effectof resolution:
the chordlyingchromatically
because
-----e.g.Em7 EbmT Dm7 Db7 C.
SymmetricProgression
will flow freely
a chordprogression
Oncea pattern(anypattern)hasbeenestablished,
-----alongthat repeatedpattern;e.g.C Eb Gb A is a symmetriccycle. lt moves172
toneseachtime.
RelativeMaior- Minor
Eachchordhasa relativemaioror minorcounterpart.Thesechordsareveryclosely
connected(a Cma6containsthe samenotesasan Am7 - its relativeminorchord). A
chordmovesveryeasilyto its relativemaioror relativeminorcounterpart.

g!9lClyp9_!t'a33g
Althoughthis is not reallya "chordchange"assuch,it is an imponantforcein chord
progression,
e.g.

llc'rn rn1[^r

&z

Evil&1

'f

of a new key area.

A'chord type;changeoften marksthe beginning
C H O R DS Y M B O L -S A L T E R E DN O T E S
ALTERNATE
(-) and (+) signsareusedto indicateflattenedandsharpened
notes,
Occasionally
(-9)
(b9}.
for C7
Watchout for theseand be sureto
e.g.C7 {f5) or C*7 for C7 {f5}, C7
of the useof the (-) signin C-7 (Cm7lit can
interpretthem in the rightway. Because
often be confused.

36

qHAEIEE]
CHORDSUBSTITUTI
ON PROBLEMS
In substituting
chords,therearecertainsituationswhich mustbe handledwith care.
lndiscriminatesubstitutionmay causethe addition of notesto a chord that are foreign
to the key. For example,it mightbe unwiseto subctitutean Em9for ar; Em7 in the key
ot C maior becausethe gth or Ef note is not presenrin the key. The Ff herewould clash
with the chordin context,i.e.asit appears
asa memberof the key of C malor.
Another,and very important,exampleof this type of thing is the substitutionof the
gth chordfor the V7 of a minor key. (e.g.an E7 in the key of A minor). Thereis no F#
in the key of.A minor. lf a gth degreeis to be addedto the E7 chordhere,it would have
to be a bg or+9. The unalteredgth doesnot sound"right". Try $is substitutionand
verifythis for younelf. As indicatedon page33 the presence
of a tlmT (b5)and V7 (b9l
is the "norm" for a minor key.)
It mustbe statedherethat theseareobservations,
not rules.Therearemanysituations
wherenotesforeignto the key are usedin chord substitution. Thesecan, however,produce
a rather"ouBide" soundand mustbe handledcarefullv.
The "normal extensions"for the chordsmajor key area follows:

tf- (r.1- -e)

t - t t -tt

E-

(-?o"lt)

(ur

-(,r) - l3

5 (ilrl- l{.,9)

mj -

wril

if e"rf$ &r* b
UJ,"d+t ttl

tl-rol3

(g-)
(g-)

E (r{.?-i.t)

9 -.oll - 13c

(bs)

g ('t* i.s)

t -.gt- r3<-+*rl,t*s,toirrr,

OU)

("1o"f1)

t - ,, -rfs

(t')

g,,.(br) (rzoo;y)

rci - fr -r.rEt

gt

([.tF))

Because
of the duplicationof the chordsbetweenmajorand minor keys (page3Ol it is unnecessary
to write out the extensionon the chordsbasedon the naturalsclb - trta rulat.
iveminorchordsareshownto the rightof the figure. (Theextensions
on a VllmT (b5)
in a majorkey arethe sameasfor the llmT (bSl in a minor key.)
Theextensions
on the V7 of a minor key (basedon the harmonicminorscale)are
asfollows:

(minorkey) V7:

b9orfi9---t 1 ---b13

*reftt mayue
suhituted for
the 11th.

37
CHORDTERMINOLOGY
Oneof the main problemswith usingchord symbolsis rhat they sometimesfail to
giveenoughinformationabout the inversionor generalvoicingof the chord. This problem
hasbeentackledvariousways;someof the resultsareasfollows:
e.g, C (add9) is an exampleof an "incomplete"fth chord. The constructionof the chord
would be: C (Rl, E (3rdl, G (sth), D (gth). lr tendsto functionlike a ma7or ma9.
Note: The term "add" is sometimesusedto indicateother omitted notesin chords:
e.g. C7 (add6) is a ratherpoorway of writingCl3 (no9). In eithercase,rhe chordto
be playedwould be a Cl3 with the gth (andl lth asusual)omitted. you will quite
often find chordssuchasC13 (no 9l wherethe notesto be omitted areshownto
the right of the chord. This is one of the better waysto indicatea chord voicing.

f,u

e.g. Ctr is probablythc bcst and most precisemethodof indicatinga chord voicing. The
extemionsand elteretionsare all indicatedin their ascendingorder to the right of
the chord, This leevcsno doubt asto the notespresent(althoughit doestend to
makefor "busy" chordsymbols!).
Figuredbass- this is a classical
methodof indicatingchordinversion;
e.g.C! indicates
a
C triad in the secondinversion.Although it is a precisemethod,the placinginterval
spacingnumbersto the right of a chord can be easilyconfusedwith "modern', chord
symbols.For this reason,
figuredbassis rarelyusedin modernchordterminology.
- chords.particularlythe morecomplexones,canoften be
Chordsuperimposition
thoughtof astwo separate
unitssuperimposed:
e.g. C/D or C/D bassindicatesa C triad superimposed
over a D bassnote. The resulting
(sus
chordis essentially
a C9
4).
e,S, D/C7indicittes
a D triad superimposed
overa C7 chord. The resultingoverallchord

i s a c 1 3( d l 1 ) .

In the caseof C/D, the bottom letteris usuallyinterpreted

asbeinga singlebassnote.
It is not uncommon,however,to haveC/D interpretedasa C triad superimposed
over a
D triad, (especially
whendealingwith polychords).lfthere isany doubt,the chordsymbol shouldbe written C/D bassor C/D triad.
Note: Chordsuperimpositionis one of the better methodsof indicatingchord inversion,
e.g. F/A is easilyinterpretedasan F triad with the 3rd in the bass;C/Bb asa C triad with
the b7 in the bass.

38
CHORDSUPERIMPOSITON
AND POLYCHORDS.
Fortheguitarplayer,chordsuperimposition
canbea veryusefultool, Ratherthan
playinga largechord, the guitaristmight chooseto superimpose
anotherchord overthe
accompanyingbassnote to achievethe sameresult;e.g.

^s l[rla-

c
a

il]*

- 4.3

Cfi^1
6a1

q+o

Gale\
(d+'la\

lH2o',

Whenonechordis superimposed
overanotherchord,the resultis a polvchord,Although
it canbe ratherdifficult handlingboth sectionsof a polychordon guitar,thinkingin terms
of polychordscanhaveits advantages.
For example,if anotherchordalinstrumentwas
playinga basicfour notechordsuchasa 7th. the guitaristcouldsuperimpose
a simpletriad
produce
"upper
to
the
structure"of the chord,e.g.:

Oll+ rruthi$tt

G7
ft^1

6*ita.
D +ri..t
G +rnf

fu*lt

Ecil--

4 rs(*r')
l$',tl

Majortriadsaregenerallythe unitsusedfor superimposition.

Thisgivesthe polychord
approachseveraladvantages
overthe singlechord approach.The major triad is a very
"clear" harmonicunit. lt is alsovery mobile. Several
triadsmay be superimposed
overa
great
note
produce
bass
or chordwith
easewithout sacrificing
clarity. Thiscan
coloringand
effectswhich mightnot be available
in the moreunweildingsinglechordstructure.
Hereis an exampleof polychordalthinkingappliedto Tune No, l:

The effect hereis bestfelt if the Ab and Bb triads areplayedalternatelyin their different
inversions
overthe D7. Quiteoften.only the ldlelg of the 7th chordis playedasthe basis
ol a polychordsubstitution.Dueto its strength,it is reallyall that is neededto outlinethe
dom. 7th function. Althoughit is not within the scopeof this bookto coverpolychords,
it is a subjectwhichshouldbe lookedat soon.

39
C H O R DP L U R A L I T Y
aswell asmanychords
You will havealreadynoticedmanychordpatternduplications,
on context.mightbe interpretedasotherchords. For example,the notes
that,depending
on whichnotewas
C, E, G and A couldbe heardaseithera Cma6or an Am7 depending
overan F bass,the resultwould be heard
in the bass.lf thesenotesweresuperimposed
namesand/or
asan Fmag! Thisis calledchordplurality;the chordhavingone of several
four
note
chordsharing
one
lt may be the caseof
on its surroundings.
functionsdepending
noteswith another,suchasthe Cma6and Am7 above,or it may be that onechordis a part
of anotherlargerchord:
a . ^-.

rlU.n'.r
:

D iri-a
r-l
I
a

I
I
I
I

Crs(*rr)

c e

(c)
I
I

I
I
I

I
I
I

4- (lr't

-.Tf..r|Sftrl

L#
These"interior chords" are,of course,the basisof chord superimpositionand polychords.
for pluralityin the ma7,ma6,m7,7 andm7 (b5)chordsarelooked
Someof the possibilities
over various
at on pag61. A knowtedgeof what thesechordsproducewhen superimposed
guitar
player.
structure6can be \reryvaluableto the