SLASH CHORDS

Here’s an example of a basic slash chord notation:

D Phryg.mp3 D Phrygian Slash Chord

This is a nifty way to write a phrygian sound, a major triad one half-step above the bass, or b2/1. If you were to write the chord symbol as, for example, “D Phryg”, you would get several different interpretations of how D Phrygian would sound. However, if you write the specific slash chord, you are assured the sound you want. This method also helps analysis of complicated classical pieces, especially those written after the mid 1800’s when harmony was beginning to stray from the normal voice-leading rules. Slash chords are also useful for writing different pedal points, and can help solidify a harmonic idea based around a pedal.

A final note about slash chords: It’s always nice to be able to think about harmony several different ways. This helps you to expand the way you look at things musically, which always leads to unique and interesting ideas.

For example, you can write a Cmin9 chord this way:

Now, think of changing the upper structure only slightly to create a different chord. Try to separate the concept of a Cmin9 from an Ebmaj7/C. What about Ebmaj7(#11)/C?

You can use this concept for creating some truly hip sounding chords. First just experiment, you can always go back and analyze what you’ve done later.

- See more at: http://blog-archive.indabamusic.com/2010/03/7915-advanced-music-theory-lesson-4-slash-chords-and-poly-chords/#sthash.aBhXpj06.dpuf

Slash Chord NotationOften a composer or arranger of sheet music will want to specify which inversion of a chord should be used in a particular place.

In these cases, the long-hand terms of root position, first inversion, etc, can be quite clumsy. Instead,slash chord notation is used to indicate which note is the bass note in the inversion.For example, the term Cmaj/G means the Cmaj chord with G as the bass note.  In other words, the notes are arranged in the order G-C-E.

Here again are the inversions of C7 shown in the previous topic, this time expressed in slash chord notation.  If no bass note is specified, the root position (or the player's choice of inversion) is assumed.

As you can see, this is a much more compact way of showing which inversion a chord is arranged in.  Also, it is usually easier for players to see exactly which note their chord should start on, rather than having to work it out from an inversion number.

As another example, the chord sequence of the previous topic has been rewritten below, using slash chord notation.

ChordWizard products support the use of slash chord notation wherever appropriate, allowing you to specify not just the chord, but also the inversionyou want to use.

In general, you should only specify, after the slash, one of the notes which is already part of the chord.  This sounds obvious, and yet you will occasionally come across a chord expressed something like Dmaj/B.

In this case, B is not one of the notes of Dmaj (=D+F#+A), and the expression Dmaj/B is simply telling you to play the Dmaj chord in root position, with an additional B note below it.

This form of use has the problem of being misleading, because adding a B to the Dmaj chord changes it into a different chord, in this case D6 (=D+F#+A+B).  So a more accurate expression of the same thing would be D6/B.

Sometimes arrangers have a particular reason for writing slash chords in this way, perhaps to emphasize the essential Dmaj sound of the music if B is a transient passing note.

But in general, it is better to name the total chord clearly and accurately to avoid these hidden adjustments

Chord Function vs. Chord Type

Written by Tom Michero

Many musicians will say the purpose of music is to stir human emotion. Others might say it is to take the listener on a journey. These may sound like the lofty utterances of a pinhead music teacher but it is true. Every genre of music does this – Rap, Country, Classical, Jazz, Pop. Whenever you turn on your mp3 player, you do so because you want to experience a mood other than the one you have without it. You are voluntarily allowing yourself to be moved from one feeling to another. This change is movement – a movement that music is very good at creating and harmony is one of the elements of music that creates this movement.

Harmony is embodied in chords through the combining of different notes. When you understand what types of chords there are and how they function, you will understand how to write music that stirs emotions.

There is a pattern of experience that is uniquely human. It is what all drama and storytelling is based on. It is known as the “dramatic arc” or the “hero’s journey.” Everything from “Star Wars” to “Othello” is based on it. In its simplest form there is a period of stability that soon becomes disrupted. This disruption leads to uncertainty. In the end, a heightened moment of tension occurs and an event happens that saves the day and returns everything to stability.

This hero’s journey exists in every chord progression of every piece of music. There are chords that establish a harmonic home base. They create a feeling of stability and familiarity. Your brain actually understands this even if you’ve never had a music lesson in your life. When you hear these chords, your brain goes, “I got this. Everything’s OK.”

There are other chords that a composer will introduce that challenge the status quo. They introduce something new into the mix that catches the attention of the listener. Your brain goes, “Hey, wait. That’s different.” The change is a cue to the nervous system to take notice. It’s a thing that’s hardwired into us. Change gets our attention. This is an evolutionary trait that we inherited from our ancestors whose lives depended on how well they could detect movement in the bushes. Noticing change is so important to house flies that they only see thing that move because if it doesn’t move, it’s not a threat.

Harmonic movement mirrors emotional movement. The arrangement of chords of a song work to move the listener to a different emotional state.

Finally, the thing that really gets us going are the real threats to our existence. The sound of a dog barking will send a cat racing from the backyard through the cat door in an instant. This sound creates a tension in the cat that is relieved by her finding shelter. Instinct drives us to find ease and stability whenever we encounter tension and that is exactly what some chords create in us when we hear them. This feeling of finding stability is so great that we often let ourselves experience the tension just so we can experience the release. Think bungie jumping, fast driving, and sex.

 This cycle of stability, change, tension, and stability can be created by scale chords. Each chord within a scales has a roll to play in giving a song a feeling of movement. In fact, each note of a scale produces a chord with a different functional name. For example, chords based on the first note of the Major scale are Tonic. Chords based on the second note of the scale are Dorian. Third note – Mediant, etc. (see diagram below).

Chords can be constructed based on each note of a scale.

The diagram above shows chords of the C Major scale. Because all of the chords are based on the C Major scale, they are said to be diatonic to the key of C Major. The term “diatonic” means that the chords belongs to the key. The term “key” is another way to refer to the scale as a whole. The key of C Major is made up of notes of the C Major scale.

Most of these chords I am showing are triad chords (chords with three notes). I could have added more notes to these chords and their functional names would not change. For instance, the fifth note of the Major scale produces a chord with the functional name known as dominant. It would be a dominant chord still if it was made up of only three notes (G,B,D). The fourth note added here changes the type of chord this is, not its function. I’ll explain this in a little while.

The functional names listed on the right side of the diagram above also have a Roman numeral next to them. These symbols are often used to indicate a chord’s harmonic function. If fact, they are more commonly referred to by their Roman numeral. You will hear musicians talk about the one chord (I), or the five chord (V). Referring to chords this ways allows you to talk about the chords of a song without having to spell out its notes.

Now back to stability, change, and tension. Even though each scale has seven functional categories in which to group chords, those functions are almost always reduced to three groups, tonic, sub-dominant, and dominant. These chords are grouped according to how much they contribute to a key’s stability, change, and tension.

Chords are arranged into functional groups based on their ability to move the harmony of a song.

Most chord progressions are the result of choosing a chord or two from one functional group then switching to one or two of another. Musical phrases are ended by moving from tension producing chords (dominant) to chords with a feeling of stability chords (tonic).

Chord progressions choose chords from different functional groups to create harmonic and emotional movement.

In both of these chord progressions above we the harmony moving from the tonic (stability), to the sub-dominant (change), then to the dominant (tension), and returning to the tonic. All chord progressions do this to some degree.

A chord’s function is a relative thing. The C Major scale gives rise to these triads: Cmaj, Dmin, Emin, Fmaj, Gmaj, Amin, Bdim. The G Major scale produces these chord: Gmaj, Amin, Bmin, Cmaj, Dmaj, Emin, F#dim. Though four of the same chords (Cmaj, Emin, Amin, Gmaj) appear in each scale, their functions are different. C Major is the tonic chord in the key of C Major. In this key it creates a feeling of stability. However, in the key of G Major the C Major chord is a sub-dominant chord which creates a feeling of change. Same chord, different function and feeling. The chords work differently in these keys because of the other chords that are around them.

The pattern for constructing chords from scales is the same for all scales. Chord functions stay the same relative to the first note of the scale even though the notes are different.

Earlier I said that chords could be formed using each note of the scale as a root note of the chord. Now I will explain how chords are actually formed. This process of creating chords that belong to a scale is called harmonization. To harmonize a scale into its various chords you take each note of that scale and choose note by counting up the scale. Basically, you make chords by picking every other note of the scale starting from your root note. That means a triad chord of the key of C Major that starts on F will skip G, include A, skip B, include C. You can add more notes to this chord by way of the same process. That is, skip D, include E.

Chords can be constructed by adding notes that are a minor and major third apart.

This process creates chords whose notes are separated by the interval of a major or minor third*. How these intervals are arranged in the chord determines what type of chord it is. This formula for chord creation in the key of C Major produces the chords below.In the diagram above you will notice that the spacing between the notes differs but in a regular way. Some notes are separated by two whole steps (four semi-tones). Some notes are separated by one-and-half steps (three semi-tones). These intervals are what create the different types of chords.

Chord type refers to a chords construction, not necessarily its function. Chord types can be group into these categories: major, minor, diminished, dominant, augmented, suspended. (Augmented and suspended chords are special cases and will not be dealt with here).

A chord’s type should not be confused with its function. A chord’s function has to do with it’s position in the scale. Like a football team each chord has a position to play and like football, some of those players  play different positions when they change teams. A chord’s type can be understood apart from its function or what scale it might belong to. In fact, except for dominant chord types you really cannot be sure of a chord’s function without knowing what key it occurs in.

Regarding the term “dominant,” some confusion occurs around this chord that is based on the fifth note of a scale. In the key of C this note is G. If we make a triad based on this note, we get a G major chord. Since it based on the fifth note of the scale, it is often called a dominant chord. While this is true, it is more accurate to call it a major chord functioning as a dominant. The confusion arises because the word “dominant” can be applied to function as well as type of chord.  A basic dominant chord type is made up of four notes with stacked intervals of major, minor, and minor. The dominant chord type will usually have a 7, 9, 11, or 13 after it, for instance, G7, C9, D7#9, etc.

Finally, here is an easy way to think of chord function and chord type: Chord function deals with what a chord does, chord type deal with how a chord is made. A chord function deals with what roll it plays in the harmonic movement of a song. A chord’s function depends on other chords around it. On the other hand, chord type deals with the relationship the notes of a chord have with each other independent of surrounding chords.

This discussion should give you an understanding of how chords work to influence feelings and how those chords are construction and arranged in songs. This knowledge will help you understand why a particular chord appears in a piece of music you are playing. It will also give you a framework for adding harmony to your own compositions. Still, harmony is only one of the elements you can use to engage and move the feelings of listeners. The other elements are rhythm, dynamics, melody, and timber. These will be topics of future postings. There’s more to come, but for now since you are a musician, I don’t need to tell you to stay tune!

Dominant seventh chordFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dominant seventh chord on C: C7   Play (help·info).

In music theory, a dominant seventh chord, or major minor seventh chord,[a] is a chord composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. It can be also viewed as a major triad with an additional minor seventh. When using popular-music symbols, it is denoted by adding a superscript "7" after the letter designating the chord root.[1] The dominant seventh is found almost as often as thedominant triad.[2] In Roman numerals it is represented as V7. The chord can be represented by the integer notation {0, 4, 7, 10}.

dominant seventh chord

Component intervals fromroot

minor seventh

perfect fifth

major third

root

Tuning

20:25:30:36   [3]   

Forte no. / Complement

4-27 / 8-27

Of all the seventh chords, perhaps the most important is the dominant seventh. It was the first seventh chord to appear regularly inclassical music. The name comes from the fact that it occurs

naturally in the seventh chord built upon the dominant (i.e., the fifth degree) of a given major diatonic scale. Take for example the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C):

The note G is the dominant degree of C major—its fifth note. When we arrange the notes of the C major scale in ascending pitch and use only these notes to build a seventh chord, and we start with G (not C), then the resulting chord contains the four notes G–B–D–F and is called G dominant seventh (G7). The note F is a minor seventh from G, and it is also called the dominant seventh with respect to G.

Function[edit]

Dominant seventh resolving to tonic in C major (V -I).   Play (help·info)

Tritone resolution in Beethoven'sPiano Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 22 (1800).[4]   Play (help·info)

The function of the dominant seventh chord is to drive to or resolve to the tonic note or chord.

... the demand of the V7 for resolution is, to our ears, almost inescapably compelling. The dominant

seventh is, in fact, the central propulsive force in our music; it is unambiguous and unequivocal.

—Goldman, (1965: 35)[5]

This basic dominant seventh chord is useful to composers because it contains both a major triad and

the interval of a tritone. The major triad confers a very "strong" sound. The tritone is created by the

co-occurrence of the third degree and seventh degree (e.g., in the G7chord, the acoustic

distance between B and F is a tritone). In a diatonic context, the third of the chord is the leading-

tone of the scale, which has a strong tendency to pull towards the tonal center, or root note, of the

key (e.g., in C, the third of G7, B, is the leading tone of the key of C). The seventh of the chord acts

as an upper leading-tone to the third of the scale (in C: the seventh of G7, F, is a half-step above and

leads down to E).[5] This, in combination with the strength of root movement by fifth, and the natural

resolution of the dominant triad to the tonic triad (e.g., from GBD to CEG in the key of C major),

creates a resolution with which to end a piece or a section of a piece. Because of this original usage,

it also quickly became an easy way to trick the listener's ear with a deceptive cadence. The

dominant seventh may work as part of a circle progression, preceded by the supertonic.

Dominant seventh in circle progression in Charlie Parker's "Au Privave" (1956).[6]   Play (help·info)

In rock and popular music songs following, "the blues harmonic pattern," IV and V are, "almost

always," major minor seventh chords, or extensions, with the tonic most often being a major triad, for

example Bill Haley and the Comets' "Rock Around The Clock" and Buster Brown's "Fanny Mae",

while in Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A." and Loggins and Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance"

the tonic is also a major minor seventh.[7] Used mostly in the first fifteen years of the rock era and

now sounding somewhat, "retrospective," (Oasis' "Roll With It") other examples of tonic dominant

seventh chords include Little Richard's "Lucille", the Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There", Nilsson's

"Coconut", Jim Croce's "You Don't Mess Around With Jim", and the Drifters' "On Broadway".[7] Chuck

Berry's "Rock And Roll Music" uses the dominant seventh on I, IV, and V.[8]See: Twelve-bar blues.

Chromatic seventh[edit]

V of V in C, four-part harmony   Play (help·info).

However, the most important use of the dominant seventh chord in musical composition is the way

that the introduction of a non-diatonic dominant seventh chord (sometimes called

a chromatic seventh), which is borrowed from another key, can allow the composer tomodulate to

that other key. This technique is extremely common, particularly since the classical period, and has

led to further innovative uses of the dominant seventh chord such as secondary

dominant (V7/V), extended dominant (V/V/V), and substitute dominant (♭V7/V) chords.

German sixth[edit]

German sixth and equivalent dominant seventh   Play (help·info).

The dominant seventh is enharmonically equivalent to the German sixth, causing the chords to be

spelled enharmonically, for example the German sixth G♭–B♭–D♭–E and the dominant seventh F♯–

A♯–C♯–E.[9]

Harmonic seventh[edit]

Just harmonic seventh chord on C   Play just (help·info). 7th: 968.826 cents, a septimal quarter tone lower than

B♭.

The dominant seventh is frequently used to approximate a Harmonic seventh chord, which is one

possible just tuning, in the ratios 4:5:6:7[10]   Play (help·info), for the dominant seventh. Others include

20:25:30:36   Play (help·info), found on I, and 36:45:54:64, found on V, used in 5-limit just tunings and

scales.[11]

History[edit]

Dominant seventh (in blue) handled conservatively, "prepared and resolved as a suspension, clearly indicating

its dissonant status," in the Baroque Period (1600–1750) and Monteverdi's "Lasciatemi Morire", Lamento

d'Arianna(1608).[12]   Play (help·info)

Dominant seventh in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (1804–08), last movement.[13]   Play (help·info)

Renaissance composers decided in terms of intervals rather than chords, "however, certain

dissonant sonorities suggest that the dominant seventh chord occurred with some frequency."[this quote

needs a citation] Monteverdi (usually credited as the first to use the V7 chord without preparation [14] ) and other

early baroque composers begin to treat the V7 as a chord as part of the introduction of functional

harmony. The V7 was in constant use during the classical period, with similar treatment to that of the

baroque. In the romantic period freer voice-leading was gradually developed, leading to the waning

of functional use in the post-romantic and impressionistic periods including more dissonant dominant

chords through higher extensions and lessened use of the major-minor chord's dominant function.

20th century music either consciously used functional harmony or was entirely free of V7 chords

while jazz and popular musics continued to use functional harmony including V7 chords.[12]

Dominant sevenths in Chopin's Mazurka in F Minor (1849), op. 68, no. 4, m. 1-4: "the seventh factor had by this

time [Romantic Period (1825—1900)] achieved nearly consonant status."[12]   Play (help·info)

However, according to Schenker, "'The dissonance is always passing, never a chord

member (Zusammenklang),'"[15] and often (though by no means always) the voice leadingsuggests

either a passing note:

8 7 3

5 5 1

or resolution of a (hypothetical) suspension:

(8) 7 3

(4) 5 1

Today, the dominant seventh chord enjoys particular prominence in the music of barbershop

quartets, with the Barbershop Harmony Society specifying that a song must use the chord type (built

on any scale degree, not just the dominant) for 35 to 60 percent of its duration to be considered "true

barbershop" (i.e., eligible for use in competitions). As barbershop singers strive to harmonize in just

intonation to maximize the audibility of harmonic overtones, the practical sonority of the chord tends

to be that of an harmonic seventh chord. This chord type has become so ingrained into the fabric of

the artform that it is often referred to as the "barbershop seventh chord" by those who practice it.

Voice leading[edit]

Dominant seventh with root doubled and missing fifth resolving to I, in C   Play (help·info).

Dominant seventh tritone resolution in C   Play (help·info).

Dominant seventh tritone resolution in C, root of tonic chord tripled   Play (help·info).

Dominant seventh and incomplete dominant seventh in C major: G7 and bo chords   Play (help·info).

Dominant seventh chord on C, played on guitar in open position   Play (help·info) and as a barre chord   

Play (help·info).

For common practice voice leading, or "strict resolution" of the dominant seventh chord:[16]

In the V7–I resolution, the dominant, leading note, and supertonic resolve to the tonic, whereas

the subdominant resolves to the mediant.

In the other resolutions, the dominant remains stationary, the leading note and supertonic

resolve to the tonic, and the subdominant resolves to the mediant.

All four tones may be present, though the root may be doubled and the fifth omitted. [16][17][18]

The d5 resolves inwards and the A4 resolves outwards, meaning that the seventh resolves

stepwise downwards[17][18] while the third resolves (stepwise upwards) to the tonic[16] though in

such cases the root of the tonic chord may need to be tripled.[17]

The root of the V7, when in the bass, resolves to the root of the I, in the bass.[16]

In an incomplete V7, with a missing fifth, the doubled root remains stationary.[16]

The "free resolution of the seventh" features the seventh in an inner voice moving stepwise

upwards to the fifth of I[16]

Tuning[edit]

Chord Notation Seventh Ratios

Tonic seventh chord C E G B♭ Minor seventh 20:25:30:36[3][11]

Harmonic seventh

chordG B D F + Harmonic seventh 4:5:6:7[10]

German sixth chordA♭ C E♭ G

♭Harmonic seventh 4:5:6:7

Dominant seventh

chordG B D F Pythagorean minor seventh 36:45:54:64[11]

Dominant seventh chord table[edit]

Chord Root Major ThirdPerfect

FifthMinor Seventh

C7 C E G B♭

C♯7 C♯ E♯ (F) G♯ B

D♭7 D♭ F A♭ C♭ (B)

D7 D F♯ A C

D♯7 D♯ F  (G) A♯ C♯

E♭7 E♭ G B♭ D♭

E7 E G♯ B D

F7 F A C E♭

F♯7 F♯ A♯ C♯ E

G♭7 G♭ B♭ D♭ F♭ (E)

G7 G B D F

G♯7 G♯ B♯ (C) D♯ F♯

A♭7 A♭ C E♭ G♭

A7 A C♯ E G

A♯7 A♯ C  (D) E♯ (F) G♯

B♭7 B♭ D F A♭

B7 B D♯ F♯ A

 .