Another way to view large or complex chords is to break them down into two smaller chords.
This is advantages when in a band situation you can give each a player different part of the chord to play.
First lets go back to the C Major Family of Chords - using five note chords (every other note in a group of five notes)
C major 9th = R, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th C, E, G, B, D two chords lie within the C major 9th chord.
C, E, G, B = C major 7th and E, G, B, D = E minor 7th.
(So the Bass player could play the C note, the keyboard could play C major seventh chord (C, E, G, B) and the guitar could play E minor seventh (E, G, B, D) across the neck or as a solo or melody played arpeggio style).
D minor 9th = R, b3rd, 5th, b7th, 9th D, F, A, C, E
D, F, A, C = D minor seventh and F, A, C, E = F major seventh
E minor b9th = R, b3rd, 5th, b7th, b9th E, G, B, D, F
E, G, B, D = E minor seventh and G, B, D, F = G dominant seventh
F major 9th = R, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th F, A, C, E, G
F, A, C, E = F major 7th and A, C, E, G = A minor 7th.
G dominant 9th = R, 3rd, 5th, b7th, 9th G, B, D, F, A
G, B, D, F = G dominant 7th and B, D, F, A = B minor seventh flat five.
A minor 9th = R, b3rd, 5th, b7th, 9th A, C, E, G, B
A, C, E, G = A minor seventh and C, E, G, B = C major seventh
B minor 7th b5th/b9th = R, b3rd, b5th, b7th, b9th B, D, F, A, C
B, D, F, A = B minor seventh flat five and D, F, A, C = D minor seventh
Assignment: Record each of these chords - using quarter note strums for five to ten minutes. Then using quarter then eighth notes on another track or with a friend play the first, then second polytonal chord up and back arpeggio style. Later combine the scale (major) with the arpeggio for more interesting sounds.
Vince Lauria Sun and Earth MusicNow transpose these to each position (register) of your instrument, then to all 15 keys.All materials copyright 2010. For personal use only.
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