Articles tagged with: "jazz harmony"
The Composer's Secret Weapon: A Deep Dive into Chromatic Modulation
Explore chromatic modulation, the powerful music theory technique for creating dramatic key changes. This guide covers its types, with practical ABC notation examples, and its use by composers like Schubert …
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Unlocking the Diminished Sixth: A Guide to Its Tense Beauty
Explore the diminished sixth, a dissonant and expressive interval that is the enharmonic equivalent of a perfect fifth. Learn its definition, function, and use in creating harmonic tension in works …
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Understanding the Major Thirteenth Interval
Explore the major thirteenth interval: its definition, classification, examples, historical context, and practical applications in music composition and jazz harmony.
Decoding the Augmented Seventh: Music Theory's Curious Interval
Explore the augmented seventh, a unique musical interval that spans 12 semitones, making it sound identical to a perfect octave. This article decodes its theoretical purpose, notation, and use in …
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Unlocking the Augmented Third: A Rare and Expressive Interval
Explore the augmented third, a rare interval that sounds like a perfect fourth but functions very differently. Learn its definition, spelling, and role in creating chromatic tension in music theory.
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Unlocking the Secrets of the Minor 13th Chord
Explore the fascinating world of the minor 13th chord! This article provides a comprehensive guide to its structure, function, and application in jazz and contemporary music. Learn through practical examples …
Unlocking the Lydian Dominant (Lydian b7): A Comprehensive Guide
Explore the Lydian Dominant (Lydian b7) scale: its definition, application in composition and improvisation, and its unique sonic character. Discover its historical context and unlock new creative possibilities.
Unlocking Symmetrical Sounds: A Deep Dive into the Whole-Half Diminished Scale (Synthetic Scale 1)
A deep dive into the Whole-Half Diminished Scale (Synthetic Scale 1), exploring its unique symmetrical structure, its use in jazz and classical music, and how to apply it in practice.
Unlocking Harmonic Journeys: A Guide to the Extended II-V Progression
Explore the Extended II-V, a powerful jazz harmony tool that chains chord progressions together to create compelling harmonic journeys. Learn its structure, see examples, and discover how jazz legends used …
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Unlocking the Augmented Fifth: Your Guide to Musical Tension and Color
Explore the augmented fifth, a dissonant yet colorful interval in music theory. Learn its definition, see examples, and discover how composers use it to create tension, mystery, and emotional depth …
12-Bar Blues Progression: The Foundation of American Popular Music
The 12-bar blues progression is the foundational harmonic structure of American popular music, using I-IV-V chord relationships over 12 measures. This essential framework has shaped blues, jazz, rock, and R&B, …
Minor Major Seventh Chord: The Mysterious Harmony
Explore the mysterious and sophisticated minor major seventh chord (mMaj7), a unique harmony that combines a minor triad with a major seventh interval, creating an intriguing sound used extensively in …
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The Dominant Eleventh Chord: A Guide to Its Sound, Soul, and Function
Explore the dominant eleventh chord (V11), a complex harmony that adds color and tension to music. This guide covers its theory, common voicings, and role in jazz and funk.
Minor Blues Progression: The Soul of Emotional Expression
Discover the haunting beauty of minor blues progressions that transform traditional blues into sophisticated, emotionally rich harmonic landscapes. Essential for jazz, fusion, and contemporary music expression.
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Unlocking the Secrets of the 7#11 Chord
Explore the 7#11 chord: its definition, function in jazz and beyond, historical context, and practical applications for musicians. Learn to use this powerful alteration to enhance your compositions and improvisations.
Dominant Ninth Chord: Adding Color to Dominant Harmony
Discover the dominant ninth chord (9), an essential extended harmony that adds sophisticated color to dominant function. Learn its construction, applications in jazz and blues, and how it enhances traditional …
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Exploring Modal Jazz: The Genius of "So What"
Explore the revolutionary world of modal jazz through its most iconic example, Miles Davis's "So What." This article breaks down its simple yet profound structure, introduces the key figures behind …
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Half-Diminished Chord: The Sophisticated Minor Seventh Flat Five
Discover the half-diminished chord (m7♭5), the sophisticated balance between tension and stability. Essential for jazz ii-V-i progressions and classical harmony, this chord adds depth without overwhelming complexity.
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Minor Ninth Chord: Dark Sophistication in Extended Harmony
Learn about the minor ninth chord (m9), a sophisticated extended harmony that combines minor seventh chord richness with the bright color of a ninth interval, essential in jazz, R&B, and …
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Tritone (Augmented Fourth): The Devil's Interval
The tritone, spanning six semitones, is Western music's most historically controversial interval. From medieval prohibition to modern acceptance, this "devil's interval" became essential in dominant seventh chords, blues scales, and …
Minor Third Interval: The Foundation of Minor Harmony
The minor third interval spans three semitones and forms the foundation of minor chords and harmony. This essential interval creates the characteristic "minor" sound associated with melancholy and emotional depth, …
Minor Sixth Interval: The Melancholic Beauty
The minor sixth interval spans eight semitones and creates a distinctive melancholic yet beautiful sound. This emotionally expressive interval appears prominently in romantic music, jazz harmony, and contemporary songwriting, serving …
Diminished Chord: The Mysterious and Unstable Harmony
The diminished chord, built from stacked minor thirds, creates one of music's most unstable and tension-filled harmonies. Used in classical music, jazz, and film scores, these mysterious chords excel at …
Major Third Interval
Explore the major third interval - the bright, consonant interval of four semitones that defines major chords and creates the happy, uplifting sound in major tonality.
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Minor Seventh Chord
The minor seventh chord is a versatile four-note harmony with a minor triad plus minor seventh, creating smooth, contemplative sounds essential in jazz and contemporary music.
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ii-V-I Progression
Master the ii-V-I progression - the cornerstone of jazz harmony that creates compelling tension and resolution through its perfect voice leading and harmonic function.
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Dominant Seventh Chord
Explore the dominant seventh chord - the tension-filled four-note chord built on the fifth scale degree that drives harmonic motion and creates powerful resolutions in music.
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Major Seventh Chord: The Jazz Standard of Sophistication
The major seventh chord adds sophistication to basic major triads by including the major seventh interval. This elegant harmony is fundamental to jazz, bossa nova, and contemporary music, creating a …
Major Third
The major third is a bright, consonant interval of four semitones that forms the foundation of major chords and creates joyful, stable harmonic progressions.
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Perfect Fifth
The perfect fifth is the most stable consonant interval spanning seven semitones, forming the foundation of tonal harmony and chord construction in Western music.
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Minor Third
The minor third is a fundamental interval of three semitones that forms the basis of minor chords and creates darker, more melancholic musical expressions.
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I-IV-V-I Chord Progression: The Foundation of Western Music
Explore the I-IV-V-I chord progression, the foundational harmonic sequence that underpins countless songs across genres. Learn how this progression creates musical movement and resolution, its historical significance, and practical applications …
Major Chords: The Building Blocks of Happy Music
Major chords are fundamental building blocks of music with a bright, happy sound. This article explores their structure (root, major third, perfect fifth), inversions, extensions, and applications across genres, providing …
Minor Chords: The Emotional Core of Music
Minor chords are essential elements in music, known for their melancholic and emotionally rich qualities. This article explores their structure (root, minor third, perfect fifth), variations, historical significance, and applications …
Major Scales: The Melodic Foundation of Western Music
Major scales constitute one of the fundamental pillars of Western music, providing the basis for melody, harmony, and composition across centuries. This article explores the structure of the major scale, …
Perfect Unison - The Foundation of Musical Intervals
Explore the perfect unison interval - the foundation of all musical intervals. Learn about its importance in tuning, harmony, and ensemble playing, with practical examples and applications.
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Altered Chords: Adding Color and Tension to Your Music
Altered chords add sophistication and tension to music through chromatic modifications of standard chord tones. This comprehensive guide explores their construction, common uses, and practical applications across genres, providing musicians …
Bossa Nova Chord Progressions - The Brazilian Sound
Discover the harmonic sophistication of bossa nova chord progressions. Learn about their structure, variations, and applications in modern music, with examples from classic Brazilian jazz standards.
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Secondary Dominants: Adding Color and Direction to Chord Progressions
Secondary dominants are powerful harmonic tools that add color, tension, and forward momentum to chord progressions. By temporarily "tonicizing" non-tonic chords, secondary dominants create brief harmonic detours that enrich musical …
Extended Chords: Adding Color and Sophistication to Harmony
Extended chords enrich basic triads by adding intervals beyond the seventh, including ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths. This comprehensive guide explores their construction, voicing, and application across musical styles, providing musicians …
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Common Chord Progressions: The Building Blocks of Musical Harmony
Chord progressions are the harmonic foundations that drive musical compositions across nearly all Western musical styles. This comprehensive guide explores the most common and influential chord progressions, from the classic …
Understanding Musical Chords: The Building Blocks of Harmony
Chords are the fundamental building blocks of harmony in Western music. This comprehensive guide explores chord construction, types, functions, and applications across musical genres. From basic triads to complex extended …
The Blues Scale: The Sound of American Soul
The blues scale, with its characteristic "blue note" added to the minor pentatonic, is a fundamental musical tool that captures the expressive essence of blues and has influenced countless genres …