Extended chord

Last updated March 14, 2023

In music, extended chords are certain chords (built from thirds) or triads with notes extended, or added, beyond the seventh. Ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords are extended chords.^[2] The thirteenth is the farthest extension diatonically possible as, by that point, all seven tonal degrees are represented within the chord (the next extension, the fifteenth, is the same as the root of the chord). In practice however, extended chords do not typically use all the chord members; when it is not altered, the fifth is often omitted, as are notes between the seventh and the highest note (i.e., the ninth is often omitted in an eleventh chord; the ninth and eleventh are usually omitted in a thirteenth chord), unless they are altered to give a special texture.^[3]^[4]

Chords extended beyond the seventh are rarely seen in the Baroque era, and are used more frequently in the Classical era. The Romantic era saw greatly increased use of extended harmony. Extended harmony prior to the 20th century usually has dominant function – as V⁹, V¹¹, and V¹³, or V⁹/V, V¹³/ii etc.^[5]

Examples of the extended chords used as tonic harmonies include Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music" (either a dominant ninth or dominant thirteenth).^[6]

Common practice period

During the common practice period of Western classical music, composers orchestrating chords that are voiced in four or fewer parts would select which notes to use so as to give the desired sonority, or effect of the intended chord. Generally, priority was given to the third, seventh and the most extended tone, as these factors most strongly influence the quality and function of the chord.^[7] The root is never omitted from the texture. The third defines the chord's quality as major or minor. The extended note defines the quality of the extended pitch, which may be major, minor, perfect, or augmented. The seventh factor helps to define the chord as an extended chord (and not an added note chord), and also adds to the texture. Any notes which happen to be altered, such as a flatted fifth or ninth, should also be given priority. For example: in a thirteenth chord, one would play the root, third, seventh, and thirteenth, and be able to leave out the fifth, ninth, and eleventh without affecting the function of the chord. The eleventh chord is an exception to this voicing, in which the root, seventh, ninth, and eleventh are most commonly used.^[8]

In the classical practices of western music, extended chords most often have dominant function (dominant or secondary dominant), and will resolve in circle progression (down a fifth) in much the same way that V⁷, V⁷/ii, V/IV, etc. might resolve to their respective tonics. Extended chords can also be altered dominants, and the extended pitch may be altered in several ways (such as V flat 13 in a major key).^[9]

Following standard voice leading rules:

V⁹ to I or i

The third, which will also be the seventh scale degree, always resolves upward to tonic.
The seventh resolves downwards stepwise to the third factor of the chord of resolution.
The extended pitch will resolve downward.

V¹¹ to I or i

The seventh resolves downwards stepwise to the third factor of the chord of resolution.
The ninth resolves downwards stepwise to the fifth factor of the chord of resolution.
The eleventh doesn't move, and becomes the root of the chord of resolution.

V¹³ to I or i

The seventh resolves downwards stepwise to the third factor of the chord of resolution.
The third, which will also be the seventh scale degree, always resolves upward to tonic.
The thirteenth, will resolve downward to the tonic, and often includes a passing tone through the ninth factor of the chord of resolution. Less often, the thirteenth may also remain the same and become the third of the chord of resolution.

An important distinction between extended and added chords must be made, since the added tones and extended tones are enharmonic, but differ in function. Extended chords always have at least one octave between their lowest pitch, and extended note, otherwise the extended factor would be considered an added pitch. Extended chords usually must be resolved when used in a dominant function, whereas added chords are most often textures added to a tonic.

History

18th century

In the 18th century, ninth and eleventh chords were theorized as downward extensions of seventh chords, according to theories of supposition.^[12]

In 1722, Jean-Philippe Rameau first proposed the concept that ninth and eleventh chords are built from seventh chords by (the composer) placing a "supposed" bass one or two thirds below the fundamental bass or actual root of the chord.^[13] With the theoretical chord F–A–C–E–G–B the fundamental bass would be considered C, while the supposed bass would be F.^[13] Thus the notes F and A are added below a seventh chord on C, C–E–G–B, triadically (in thirds). This is also referred to as the "H chord".^[14]

The theory of supposition was adopted and modified by Pierre-Joseph Roussier, Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg, and other theorists. A. F. C. Kollmann, following Johann Kirnberger, adopted a simpler approach and one closer to that prevalent today, in which Rameau's "supposed" bass is considered the fundamental and the ninth and eleventh are regarded as transient notes inessential to the structure of the chord.^[13] Thus F–A–C–E–G–B is considered a seventh chord on F, F–A–C–E, with G and B being nonchord tones added above triadically.^[15]

19th century

In 19th-century classical music the seventh chord was generally the upper limit in "chordal consonance", with ninth and eleventh chords being used for "extra power" but invariably with one or more notes treated as appoggiaturas.^[12] The thickness of complete ninth, eleventh or thirteenth chords in close position was also generally avoided through leaving out one or more tones or using wider spacing (open position).^[12]

20th century

In the 20th century, especially in jazz and popular music, ninth chords were used as elaborations of simpler chords, particularly as substitutes for the tonic triad at the end of a piece.^[12] The "piling up" of thirds above the tonic to make seventh, ninth, eleventh, or even thirteenth chords "is one of the most important characteristics of jazz harmony".^[12] Vítězslav Novák's student Jaroslav Novotný (1886–1918) used a fifteenth chord in the fourth song of his 1909 song cycle Eternal Marriage.^[18]

Chord structure

Building on each of the major scale degrees the thirteenth chord chord quality that is harmonic to such scale (i.e. with all its notes belonging to such scale), results in the following table. The numbering is relative to the scale degree numbers of the major scale that has the major scale degree in question as tonic:

Chord root	Chord quality	1	3	5	7	9	11	13
I	IM¹³	♮	♮	♮	♮	♮	♮	♮
ii	iim¹³	♮	♭	♮	♭	♮	♮	♮
iii	iiim^7♭9♭13	♮	♭	♮	♭	♭	♮	♭
IV	IVM^13♯11	♮	♮	♮	♮	♮	♯	♮
V	V¹³	♮	♮	♮	♭	♮	♮	♮
vi	vim^7♭13	♮	♭	♮	♭	♮	♮	♭
vii^o	vii^ø^7♭9♭13	♮	♭	♭	♭	♭	♮	♭

Other thirteenth chord qualities do exist but they do not belong to any mode of the major scale.

From the table it is clear that adding an eleventh or a thirteenth makes the seven chord qualities distinguishable from each other, as without an eleventh added the I and IV chord quality would be identical, and without a thirteenth added the ii and vi chord quality would be identical.

Jazz, jazz fusion and funk

Jazz from the 1930s onward, jazz fusion from the 1970s onward and funk all have been seen to use extended chords as a key part of their sound. In these genres, chords often include added ninths, elevenths and thirteenths and altered variants, such as flat ninths, sharp ninths, sharp elevenths and flat thirteenths. In jazz and jazz fusion, compositions consist of complex chord progressions in which many of the chords are extended chords and in which many of the dominant seventh chords are altered extended chords (e.g., A^7add9♯11 or D^7♭9♯11). Funk also uses altered extended chords, but in this genre, pieces are usually based on a vamp on a single chord, because rhythm and groove are the key elements of the style. When extended chords are voiced in jazz or jazz fusion, the root and fifth are often omitted from the chord voicing, because the root is played by the bass player.^[20]

Related Research Articles

In music theory, a leading-tone is a note or pitch which resolves or "leads" to a note one semitone higher or lower, being a lower and upper leading-tone, respectively. Typically, the leading tone refers to the seventh scale degree of a major scale, a major seventh above the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the leading-tone is sung as ti.

An altered chord is a chord that replaces one or more notes from the diatonic scale with a neighboring pitch from the chromatic scale. By the broadest definition, any chord with a non-diatonic chord tone is an altered chord. The simplest example of altered chords is the use of borrowed chords, chords borrowed from the parallel key, and the most common is the use of secondary dominants. As Alfred Blatter explains, "An altered chord occurs when one of the standard, functional chords is given another quality by the modification of one or more components of the chord."

In jazz, the altered scale, altered dominant scale, Palamidian Scale, or Super Locrian scale is a seven-note scale that is a dominant scale where all non-essential tones have been altered. This means that it comprises the three irreducibly essential tones that define a dominant seventh chord, which are root, major third, and minor seventh and that all other chord tones have been altered. These are:

A chord, in music, is any harmonic set of pitches/frequencies consisting of multiple notes that are heard as if sounding simultaneously. For many practical and theoretical purposes, arpeggios and other types of broken chords, may also be considered as chords in the right musical context.

A secondary chord is an analytical label for a specific harmonic device that is prevalent in the tonal idiom of Western music beginning in the common practice period: the use of diatonic functions for tonicization.

In music theory, the concept of root is the idea that a chord can be represented and named by one of its notes. It is linked to harmonic thinking—the idea that vertical aggregates of notes can form a single unit, a chord. It is in this sense that one speaks of a "C chord" or a "chord on C"—a chord built from C and of which the note C is the root. When a chord is referred to in Classical music or popular music without a reference to what type of chord it is, it is assumed a major triad, which for C contains the notes C, E and G. The root need not be the bass note, the lowest note of the chord: the concept of root is linked to that of the inversion of chords, which is derived from the notion of invertible counterpoint. In this concept, chords can be inverted while still retaining their root.

In music theory, an augmented sixth chord contains the interval of an augmented sixth, usually above its bass tone. This chord has its origins in the Renaissance, was further developed in the Baroque, and became a distinctive part of the musical style of the Classical and Romantic periods.

The term sixth chord refers to two different kinds of chord, the first in classical music and the second in modern popular music.

In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave plus a sixth. The thirteenth is most commonly major Play (help·info) or minor Play (help·info).

In music theory, a ninth chord is a chord that encompasses the interval of a ninth when arranged in close position with the root in the bass.

The ninth chord and its inversions exist today, or at least they can exist. The pupil will easily find examples in the literature [such as Schoenberg's Verklärte Nacht and Strauss's opera Salome]. It is not necessary to set up special laws for its treatment. If one wants to be careful, one will be able to use the laws that pertain to the seventh chords: that is, dissonances resolve by step downward, the root leaps a fourth upward.

In music theory, a dominant seventh chord, or major minor seventh chord, is a seventh chord, usually built on the fifth degree of the major scale, and composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. Thus it is a major triad together with a minor seventh, denoted by the letter name of the chord root and a superscript "7". An example is the dominant seventh chord built on G, written as G⁷, having pitches G–B–D–F:

The diminished seventh chord is a four-note chord composed of a root note, together with a minor third, a diminished fifth, and a diminished seventh above the root:. For example, the diminished seventh chord built on C, commonly written as C^o⁷, has pitches C–E♭–G♭–B :

The tritone substitution is a common chord substitution found in both jazz and classical music. Where jazz is concerned, it was the precursor to more complex substitution patterns like Coltrane changes. Tritone substitutions are sometimes used in improvisation—often to create tension during a solo. Though examples of the tritone substitution, known in the classical world as an augmented sixth chord, can be found extensively in classical music since the Renaissance period, they were not heard until much later in jazz by musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker in the 1940s, as well as Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Eldridge and Benny Goodman.

Jazz chords are chords, chord voicings and chord symbols that jazz musicians commonly use in composition, improvisation, and harmony. In jazz chords and theory, most triads that appear in lead sheets or fake books can have sevenths added to them, using the performer's discretion and ear. For example, if a tune is in the key of C, if there is a G chord, the chord-playing performer usually voices this chord as G⁷. While the notes of a G⁷ chord are G–B–D–F, jazz often omits the fifth of the chord—and even the root if playing in a group. However, not all jazz pianists leave out the root when they play voicings: Bud Powell, one of the best-known of the bebop pianists, and Horace Silver, whose quintet included many of jazz's biggest names from the 1950s to the 1970s, included the root note in their voicings.

The second inversion of a chord is the voicing of a triad, seventh chord, or ninth chord in which the fifth of the chord is the bass note. In this inversion, the bass note and the root of the chord are a fourth apart which traditionally qualifies as a dissonance. There is therefore a tendency for movement and resolution. In notation form, it is referred to with a c following the chord position. In figured bass, a second-inversion triad is a ⁶
₄ chord, while a second-inversion seventh chord is a ⁴
₃ chord.

Inversions are not restricted to the same number of tones as the original chord, nor to any fixed order of tones except with regard to the interval between the root, or its octave, and the bass note, hence, great variety results.

Jazz improvisation is the spontaneous invention of melodic solo lines or accompaniment parts in a performance of jazz music. It is one of the defining elements of jazz. Improvisation is composing on the spot, when a singer or instrumentalist invents melodies and lines over a chord progression played by rhythm section instruments and accompanied by drums. Although blues, rock, and other genres use improvisation, it is done over relatively simple chord progressions which often remain in one key.

In music, harmonization is the chordal accompaniment to a line or melody: "Using chords and melodies together, making harmony by stacking scale tones as triads".

The augmented seventh chord, or seventh augmented fifth chord, or seventh sharp five chord is a seventh chord composed of a root, major third, augmented fifth, and minor seventh. It can be viewed as an augmented triad with a minor seventh. When using popular-music symbols, it is denoted by +⁷, aug⁷, or ^7♯5. For example, the augmented seventh chord built on C, written as C+⁷, has pitches C–E–G♯–B♭:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seventh (chord)</span> Musical chord

In music, the seventh factor of a chord is the note or pitch seven scale degrees above the root or tonal center. When the seventh is the bass note, or lowest note, of the expressed chord, the chord is in third inversion Play (help·info).

Musicians use various kinds of chord names and symbols in different contexts to represent musical chords. In most genres of popular music, including jazz, pop, and rock, a chord name and its corresponding symbol typically indicate one or more of the following:

the root note,
the chord quality,
whether the chord is a triad, seventh chord, or an extended chord,
any altered notes,
any added tones, and
the bass note if it is not the root.

References

↑ Cope, David (2000). New Directions in Music. p. 6. ISBN 1-57766-108-7.
↑ Basic Music. Secretary of the Army. 1978.
↑ Latarski, Don (1982). An Introduction to Chord Theory: A Practical, Step by Step Approach to the Fundamentals of Chord Construction, Analysis, and Function. Alfred Music. ISBN 978-1-4574-6317-4.
↑ Schmidt-Jones, Catherine (2018-01-28). Understanding Basic Music Theory. 12th Media Services. ISBN 978-1-68092-154-0.
↑ Sarath, Ed (2013-07-04). Music Theory Through Improvisation: A New Approach to Musicianship Training. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-21527-9.
↑ Stephenson, Ken (2002). What to Listen for in Rock: A Stylistic Analysis. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-300-09239-4.
↑ "DISCOVERED CLASSICAL". Bellevue Publishing & Entertainment. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
↑ "Common Practice Period|Piano Lessons|Piano Teaches|Piano lessons sydney". Mezzo Piano Lessons. 2013-09-24. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
↑ "Local Harmonic Grammar in Western Classical Music" (PDF). Mozartwriteup.
1 2 3 Benward, Saker (2009). Music in Theory and Practice: Volume II (8th ed.). p. 184. ISBN 978-0-07-310188-0.
↑ Sheldon, David A. (1989). Marpurg, Friedrich Wilhelm (ed.). Marpurg's Thoroughbass and Composition Handbook: A Narrative Translation and Critical Study. Pendragon Press. p. 8. ISBN 9780918728555.
1 2 3 4 5 Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1980). "Ninth chord". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. vol. 13, p. 252. ISBN 1-56159-174-2.
1 2 3 Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1980). "Supposition". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. vol. 18, p. 373. ISBN 1-56159-174-2.
↑ "extended tertian harmony". music.red-carlos.com. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
↑ Jazz Player. Dorn Publications, Incorporated. 1993.
↑ Cooper, Paul (1975). Perspectives in Music Theory, p.229. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company. ISBN 0-396-06752-2. Original with Roman numeral analysis only.
↑ Arnold, Ben, ed. (2002). The Liszt Companion. Greenwood. p. 361. ISBN 9780313306891.
↑ Schweiger, Dominik; Urbanek, Nikolaus (2009). webern_21. Böhlau Verlag Wien. p. 45. ISBN 9783205771654.
↑ Shawn, Allen (2003). Arnold Schoenberg's Journey. Harvard. p. 120. ISBN 9780674011014. Technically a fifteenth chord
↑ "Chord Extensions 9ths, 11ths & 13ths | Extended Jazz Piano Chords". PianoGroove.com. Retrieved 2021-04-23.

External links

Extended Chords on Guitar by fretjam
Extended Chords on Piano by pianogroove
Chord Construction by guiterthinker

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[1] Cope, David (2000). New Directions in Music. p. 6. ISBN 1-57766-108-7.

[2] Basic Music. Secretary of the Army. 1978.

[3] Latarski, Don (1982). An Introduction to Chord Theory: A Practical, Step by Step Approach to the Fundamentals of Chord Construction, Analysis, and Function. Alfred Music. ISBN 978-1-4574-6317-4.

[4] Schmidt-Jones, Catherine (2018-01-28). Understanding Basic Music Theory. 12th Media Services. ISBN 978-1-68092-154-0.

[5] Sarath, Ed (2013-07-04). Music Theory Through Improvisation: A New Approach to Musicianship Training. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-21527-9.

[Stephenson-6] Stephenson, Ken (2002). What to Listen for in Rock: A Stylistic Analysis. p. 83. ISBN 978-0-300-09239-4.

[7] "DISCOVERED CLASSICAL". Bellevue Publishing & Entertainment. Retrieved 2021-05-01.

[8] "Common Practice Period|Piano Lessons|Piano Teaches|Piano lessons sydney". Mezzo Piano Lessons. 2013-09-24. Retrieved 2021-05-01.

[9] "Local Harmonic Grammar in Western Classical Music" (PDF). Mozartwriteup.

[B&S_184-10] 1 2 3 Benward, Saker (2009). Music in Theory and Practice: Volume II (8th ed.). p. 184. ISBN 978-0-07-310188-0.

[11] Sheldon, David A. (1989). Marpurg, Friedrich Wilhelm (ed.). Marpurg's Thoroughbass and Composition Handbook: A Narrative Translation and Critical Study. Pendragon Press. p. 8. ISBN 9780918728555.

[Grove-12] 1 2 3 4 5 Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1980). "Ninth chord". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. vol. 13, p. 252. ISBN 1-56159-174-2.

[Grove_S-13] 1 2 3 Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1980). "Supposition". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. vol. 18, p. 373. ISBN 1-56159-174-2.

[14] "extended tertian harmony". music.red-carlos.com. Retrieved 2021-05-01.

[15] Jazz Player. Dorn Publications, Incorporated. 1993.

[16] Cooper, Paul (1975). Perspectives in Music Theory, p.229. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Company. ISBN 0-396-06752-2. Original with Roman numeral analysis only.

[17] Arnold, Ben, ed. (2002). The Liszt Companion. Greenwood. p. 361. ISBN 9780313306891.

[18] Schweiger, Dominik; Urbanek, Nikolaus (2009). webern_21. Böhlau Verlag Wien. p. 45. ISBN 9783205771654.

[19] Shawn, Allen (2003). Arnold Schoenberg's Journey. Harvard. p. 120. ISBN 9780674011014. Technically a fifteenth chord

[20] "Chord Extensions 9ths, 11ths & 13ths | Extended Jazz Piano Chords". PianoGroove.com. Retrieved 2021-04-23.

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