Baseline scales can be an extremely helpful way to approach chord progressions. Doing this allows you to quickly scan through all of the upper structure chord-tones within any given scale and reorganize them into easy to remember patterns.
Chords to Scale works best with chords that only utilize notes contained within one scale, though it may also work for chords which contain additional non-scale tones.
Triads
Triads are essential elements of Western music. Learning how to construct them will open up an entirely new realm of creativity when songwriting or producing. Triads are easy to pick up and can even act as replacements for full chords – making this concept essential knowledge for beginners.
A triad is composed of three notes and its quality is determined by its root, third, and fifth notes. A major triad is created by stacking these three elements from its scale of origin; so for instance a C major triad contains C as its root note, E as its major third, and G as its perfect fifth note.
Notes included in a triad are determined by its scale; for example, when constructed on a C major scale it will consist of notes C, E and G – these being the only notes found therein. This principle of diatonic is essential when playing triads across any key signature.
One feature that makes triads distinct is their identification by intervals – whether major, minor, or diminished – between their notes. These intervals are determined by the quality of its root, third and fifth notes and can even be altered with accidentals to produce different qualities of triad. Doublings or open spacing may also help identify them but the octave equivalence principle dictates that regardless of how many notes there may be within it, its identification remains unchanged by either method.
Sevenths
Sevenths add tension, depth, and emotion to a chord, typically formed by adding a seventh above the root of a triad. They can be found in many musical genres including Jazz, R & B Blues film music and popular chord progressions; additionally they’re often used at cadences to make chords sound stronger (such as when ending an exciting song!). Sevenths can also make great endings – so be sure not to miss the opportunity of using these powerful chords at cadences!
Chords that contain sevenths can be constructed on any scale degree. As adding dissonance adds fullness, seventh chords often feature rich textures. As with triads, seven chords may either possess major or minor qualities depending on its root and interval distance from its source.
The major seventh is the larger of two, covering eleven semitones more than its lesser cousin, the minor seventh. Due to their high degree of tension, sevenths are often performed using bass players.
To create a minor seventh chord, take a major triad and lower its third semitone by one semitone – this creates the familiar minor seventh found in jazz and blues music. Alternately, an alternative way is taking a dominant 7th and lowering its fifth semitone creating a minor diminished 7th which also lends your music its signature jazzy edge. Both options will add distinctively jazzy tones to your compositions!
Ninths
The ninth is one of three chord tones which extend beyond the confines of an octave, known collectively as chord extensions.
The major ninth is an interval that spans an octave and second. When transposed down to just a single octave it morphs into either a major sixth or flat seventh chord; though dissonant to play directly it adds drama and tension to music performances.
Minor ninth chords provide another form of ninth. These chords consist of a perfect fifth chord with an extra ninth added on top; these chords can be written as Cm9. Minor ninths provide great bluesy sounds to your music!
At times, a dominant ninth is built over a dominant seventh chord in both major and minor keys to create what’s known as a dominant major ninth or minor ninth; this chord can also be called an add9 chord if notated as C5add9. By adding nineths instead of thirds into these chords, add9s produce unique sounds compared to standard C7add2 or Cmaj7 chords; leaving off thirds can produce seven suspended second chords called Csus2s that add tension and drama within music compositions. This chord can also help composers add tension when creating tension and drama into songs written for performance or recording purposes.
Elevenths
Contrary to ninth chords, elevenths can be used in both major and minor keys. A standard eleventh chord consists of a major or minor triad with its seventh and ninth notes omitted and an eleventh note added atop. When these notes are flattened out further, this form of chord is known as a diminished eleventh or minor major 11 chord.
To reduce dissonance from minor ninth intervals, you can lower or raise them by one semitone to create either a diminished dominant eleventh, a major augmented eleventh or simply leave off upper extensions altogether to create either a minor seven-flat eleventh or major maj7-11th – two styles often used in jazz and blues music.
As with ninths, elevenths can also be altered by sharpening or flattening their third and fifth notes, creating even wider variety in voicing options. While not often written into chord symbols or names directly, these changes are sometimes visible by looking at the upper structure of a chord; for instance, Cmaj7sus4 chord contains all the notes of regular Cmaj7 but with its third and fifth flattened.
Another form of impressive dominant eleventh is suspended dominant, which lacks seventh and eighth scale degrees. This popular form can add dramatic flair to minor chord melodies based around nine; popular applications include minor chords with melodies landing on nine as melody lands therein.
As an advanced pianist, it may be useful to combine this method of thinking about chords to scale with other methods discussed here. Doing so will give you a broader approach for thinking about chords and what sounds good with them; this method also makes improvisation much less restrictive than memorizing mode names and modes, which may pose as barriers for beginners.
Sixteenths
In sheet music, a sixteenth note (also referred to as a semiquaver) lasts half the duration of an eighth note and lasts one beat in 4/4 time signature. These notes can be combined together into triplets; two eight-note triplets make up one complete beat. Common chord progressions consist of sixteenths being combined with ninths or sevenths to create triads and diminished chords.
A scale begins on what’s known as its keynote note, with all other notes organized around this key. This also serves as the starting point for chord building; for instance, C major begins and ends on middle C; it may also serve as either its high end (if an octave below is being played) or start of C minor scale an octave above.
As you build chords from any scale degree, the interval of the 7th will determine whether it is Dominant, Major, Minor or Diminished chord. This process can also be applied to diatonic scales.
Reorganizing these relationships by chord quality yields the choices listed in the table below, for instance when improvising over a minor seventh chord an improviser can select among Dorian, Phrygian or Aeolian modes to improvise over. Although these chord-scale relationships don’t imply key center modulation every time but serve to quickly find suitable scales that suit this chord quality quickly. When practicing it is recommended that metronome speeds should remain moderate while counting out loud as you progress.