Articles tagged with: "chord extensions"
The Ultimate Guide to the Dominant Seventh Chord
If there's one chord that acts as the engine of Western music, it's the dominant seventh. You've heard its tense, unresolved sound countless times in everything from Bach to blues, …
The Major Eleventh Chord: A Dreamy and Complex Sound
This article explores the rich and sophisticated world of the major eleventh chord (Maj11) . We'll uncover its unique theoretical construction, explain its characteristic dreamy yet dissonant sound,...
The Complete Musician's Guide to Altered Dominant (7alt) Chords
The altered dominant, commonly notated as 7alt, is a sophisticated dominant 7th chord that incorporates one or more altered extensions (b9, #9, b5, #5) to create maximum harmonic tension. This …
Sus4 Chord: The Classic Suspended Harmony
The sus4 chord (suspended fourth) is a triad where the third is replaced by a perfect fourth above the root. This creates a distinctive, open-sounding harmony with a strong tendency …
Mastering the Perfect Eleventh: A Complete Music Theory Guide
A Perfect Eleventh is a compound interval spanning an octave plus a perfect fourth. In simpler terms, it's the distance from a root note to the note eleven scale degrees …
Altered Chords: Adding Color and Tension to Your Music
Altered chords are a cornerstone of modern harmony, providing a rich palette of tension and release by chromatically modifying standard chord tones. This guide demystifies altered dominant chords,...
Minor Second Interval: The Tension of Adjacent Notes
The minor second, the smallest interval in Western music, spans a single semitone (or half step). It is the most dissonant harmonic interval, creating a powerful sense of tension that …
What is a Musical Note? Understanding the Building Blocks of Music
A musical note is the fundamental building block of music, representing both a specific sound and a written symbol. Understanding its core properties—pitch, duration, dynamics, and timbre—is the...