Thanks for this! This helped me understand a lot of the theory much better and gain an appreciation for various mechanisms used in later music (postmodern classical, etc.).
I've been trying to understand what my instructor was going on about all semester and I finally got it watching your video. He's an amazing sax player, but I can't understand half of what he's saying between all the 70's jazz slang.
This is glorious, been searching for "piano chords for songs" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you ever come across - Nonason Ranincoln Genie - (Have a quick look on google cant remember the place now )? It is an awesome one of a kind product for discovering how to play the piano like a pro without the hard work. Ive heard some unbelievable things about it and my m8 got amazing success with it.
Wow, I'll be thinking over and through this information for a long time, this was explained really well, i find some explainations of theory more confusing than helpful but this was excellent
This might just be the best explanation of chord, scales and modes and its relations I’ve ever seen! And trust me I’ve seen a lot of them... Hughe Thanks!
Thank you. You helped me make a bit of a leap in understanding chord structures and names here. I see "levels" in a chord structure - 1st is the Root of course; then the maj/minor bifurcation on the third; then the "level" 7th "type"; to complete the next level is the extensions - if fully used there's the scale of whatever. If not fully used at the scale has varying possibilities. This can be clarified by the chords being used around. (They say if you can explain it you may have "got it") Hope I'm right.. Makes perfect sense. Merci.
+fundorinlive Damn. That is a typo... Good pick-up. Yes, you're right. It's supposed to be C Ionian and C Lydian Mode. Please ignore the mistake. I've added an annotation to try cover up the two incorrect modes. The scales, however, are correct. Not sure how that happened. Thanks for pointing out the error.
I'm only a beginner, having played piano for all of 2 months. But I just started looking at modes. This was way out of my pay scale, but this was a fascinating exposé of music theory. Actually, not theory, practical use. It seems that modes are linked with the Circle of Fifths since those scales are related in that way? Or is it really Circle of Fourths, since you talked about flats? I don't know too much yet about melodic & harmonic minors, so I'll be watching this video again in a couple months. Maybe if I looked at chords based on the key of B, I'd end up in the Southern Hemisphere?
I reckon you would stay in the key of C because Dm is the 2nd chord in C but you could use a minor mode over the Dm. Remembering that the modes all have exactly the same notes as the parent major scale.
Great videos, very good information. Just one question: could you improve your sound you record by using a different mic or something, because the acoustics sound like you’re in a small room where every soundwave very quickly echos around and that causes a little stress on the ears? Other than that very helpful!
thank you very much for the sharing of knowledge! it's fascinating, I have a small question please, during the video you name certain scales as diatonic, but the definition of diatonic is usually a scale which has the regular five whole steps and two half steps, are you certain that the scales are actually diatonic?
@14:25-14:46 I am a late comer to the party, but believe the mystery chord; C E G# B♭ D♭ F# A♭ comprises the all the notes from the C#/Db melodic minor key. Given that the C#/D♭ melodic minor scale is C#/D♭ major with a flat 3rd, I’d call it as a C#m/Maj13 (C E G# B♭ D♭ F# A♭) or D♭m/Maj13. Alternatively it could be called as a polychord, such as: Cm7♭5 (C D# F# A#) over C#m (C# E G#).
I think he made a mistake by including both the #5 and the b13 which are the same interval when we bring everything within one octave to make a scale. In the particular example he wrote both G# and Ab which would result in a 6 note scale. It's very close to a C Altered (or C# melodic minor) but it's missing the #9 interval (in this case D#). Maybe it was his intention to create a 6 note unnamed scale, who knows.
Because we're mostly talking about heptatonic scales (7 notes) and the fully extended chord also has exactly 7 unique notes, just spread in 2 octaves. So there's a one to one correspondence between them. You could however find many 8-note scales that contain the 7 notes of the chord and even more 9-note scales and so on... cause you have extra notes to choose from after using up the chord tones. But what you would end up with in most cases is an unnamed scale that hasn't been used in music history. The thing is that the number 7 is very carefully selected and even then the vast majority of heptatonic scales are unstable and hard to base music on, with only a handful of notable exceptions. Adding more would just make a cluster of notes which maybe could be used for chromatic improvisation, but not as a basis for anything else.
Thank you very much this video is excellent . As beginner I have some questions. Don't know if you want to spent time for me but I try thank you 1) taking the 1st chord cmaj7 ok for the traid plus the B as the 7th major but you type and play all the grade. But If I want to play cmaj7 is not enough 1357? Or better the 9 11 13 must not be played? Maybe you write and play all to let us 'wiev' the scale isn't it? 2) all the mode are of C beacause all the chords are C? 3) why in some case I could not play the major scale relative at the alterations instead of the C modal? 4)at the end also that learn all by memory there is a rule for what you have explained? Ty 😬
Could the "avoid notes" be considered part of the scale function only and not part of the chord function? They seem to be different from their more consonant associated notes.
So, you're right, 'avoid notes' are generally used when talking about scales. But there is a very similar concept (in fact the same concept) when talking about chords - and this is called 'available tensions' (I've got a separate video on these). It's generally though that a note one semitone (or a minor 9th) above a chord tone is dissonant while a note one tone above a chord tone is consonant (at least for Major and minor chords). The former is called an avoid note (or an unavailable tension, if you like), and the latter is called an available tension. The F is an avoid note over a CMaj7 chord and a CMaj11 is not a chord you will often find because the natural 11 (F) is not an available tension. So I would say that avoid notes apply to both scales and chords. Having said that, we are only talking about standard 'traditional' Jazz theory here. When you start getting into more Modern Jazz (post-1960's) you can more or less do whatever you want.
C, D flat, E, F#, G# (A flat) B flat. The full extended chord you play and you wonder which scale it is I have founded it in a book of scales as a 6-note scale (since the aug 5th and the flatted 13th is actually the same note) 1, min 2, 3, min 5, min 6, min 7. it is unnamed and it's the 5th mode of another unnamed scale..they are all related to the Scriabin's Mystic of Prometheus scale. The latter is the 3rd mode of another unnamed scale too. All these scales and their modes belong to a category with an IC Vector and Set Class [0,1,3,5,7,9] this is a way of categorization the author has come up with to think of any of the existing scales (he features more than 2.000 of them) according to their intervals (because he later explains how the atonal music works, so intervals is all there is) considering as the first mode the scale with the smaller distance among their intervals at the beginning of the scale- as an example you put first the Locrian [(B,C...)semitone]and the Ionian [(C,D...)tone] in a major scale...it's a bit complicated to explain it better here but anyway it's not essential to the use of the chords and scales of your lesson. And after one has studied and listened many of these scales it's obvious that much more than the half of the existing scales have no musical value just perhaps a mathematical interest of the possible combinations and even many of those that have some musical value are so closely related to the scales and modes that are widely used in classical, jazz, blues, gospel. latin music etc. that is really unnecessary and a waste of time and effort to even try to learn so many scales..!
Do you some pdf or a book of theory ?i live in africa and here it some difficult to find some books of piano to learn a theory...it will be a pleasure to be answer to my request
H8 to be a pest, and great video. At 4.48 tho, you say Cm7f13, whereas in your chart it's written Cm11f13, are they both correct spellings of the chord or which one is the right spelling..? Thx again.
Cheers for this, I been tryin to find out about "learning piano chords for dummies" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Ever heard of - Nonason Ranincoln Genie - (do a search on google )? It is an awesome exclusive guide for discovering how to play the piano like a pro minus the hard work. Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my partner got amazing success with it.
Thanks for this! This helped me understand a lot of the theory much better and gain an appreciation for various mechanisms used in later music (postmodern classical, etc.).
+Chirag Bharadwaj No worries, Chirag.
I've been trying to understand what my instructor was going on about all semester and I finally got it watching your video. He's an amazing sax player, but I can't understand half of what he's saying between all the 70's jazz slang.
this is exactly what I was looking for, I knew I subscribed to this channel for a reason!! thanks!!! keep it up!
Thanks, mate. Will do
This is glorious, been searching for "piano chords for songs" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you ever come across - Nonason Ranincoln Genie - (Have a quick look on google cant remember the place now )?
It is an awesome one of a kind product for discovering how to play the piano like a pro without the hard work. Ive heard some unbelievable things about it and my m8 got amazing success with it.
@@rosminantia4612 oh yes, I know that, its shitty scam
This has given me the step I’ve been looking for the tie my disconnected understanding of why these colorful chords “should” work in progression.
Wow, I'll be thinking over and through this information for a long time, this was explained really well, i find some explainations of theory more confusing than helpful but this was excellent
You learn something new every day. That's enough for today. Seriously, great video.
One of the most helpful videos on this subject I’ve run across.
A really concise and logical explanation of this matter.Bravo!
This might just be the best explanation of chord, scales and modes and its relations I’ve ever seen! And trust me I’ve seen a lot of them...
Hughe Thanks!
thanks a lot !
it’s very simple and clear
but it’s super helpful !
Words can't describe how much this channel has helped me. Thank you thank you so much!
Happy to help, Kaycee.
Thanks for the comment :)
Wow! You enlightened me! Very simple and perfectly clear approach to the theory. Thank you very much
This is a topic that confused me for so long, I understood it in less than half an hour thanks to this video!
Fantastic. Glad it was helpful.
Best explanation on TH-cam
Thanks, mate.
very good teaching!!!! Great explanation!! like the way you impart and explain ...never got got it from this view point..I rate you high!
...it's ALL starting to make sense to me now 🙂. Something about your explanation was enlightening to me...
That is probably the coolest thing I've ever seen.
Super interesting and useful indeed! Thank you! 🙏
Excellent explanation of a challenging concept. Thanks.
amazing tutorial
Thank you for the great lesson, will come back to it many times.
Thank you. You helped me make a bit of a leap in understanding chord structures and names here.
I see "levels" in a chord structure - 1st is the Root of course; then the maj/minor bifurcation on the third; then the "level" 7th "type"; to complete the next level is the extensions - if fully used there's the scale of whatever.
If not fully used at the scale has varying possibilities. This can be clarified by the chords being used around. (They say if you can explain it you may have "got it") Hope I'm right.. Makes perfect sense. Merci.
At around 16:00 you've talked about Cmaj7 - C E G B, which is in a scale of C major. But why there's a C Mel min mode? Why not C Ionian?
+fundorinlive Damn. That is a typo... Good pick-up.
Yes, you're right. It's supposed to be C Ionian and C Lydian Mode. Please ignore the mistake.
I've added an annotation to try cover up the two incorrect modes. The scales, however, are correct. Not sure how that happened. Thanks for pointing out the error.
Awesome Sir!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!! More please!!!!
Thnx for this eyeopener!
This is very helpful, thanks for explaining!
I'm only a beginner, having played piano for all of 2 months. But I just started looking at modes. This was way out of my pay scale, but this was a fascinating exposé of music theory. Actually, not theory, practical use.
It seems that modes are linked with the Circle of Fifths since those scales are related in that way? Or is it really Circle of Fourths, since you talked about flats?
I don't know too much yet about melodic & harmonic minors, so I'll be watching this video again in a couple months. Maybe if I looked at chords based on the key of B, I'd end up in the Southern Hemisphere?
Interesting? I'd say priceless describes it better!! Thanks a ton.
Super ! Comme une révélation ..! un grand MERCI !
very helpful
but what if we are in the key of C and a section uses the Dm chord? Do we shift to a scale/mode in the key of D or stay in the key of C?
I reckon you would stay in the key of C because Dm is the 2nd chord in C but you could use a minor mode over the Dm. Remembering that the modes all have exactly the same notes as the parent major scale.
It´s crazy to think that each of the full extended chords has 6 inversions each
Great videos, very good information. Just one question: could you improve your sound you record by using a different mic or something, because the acoustics sound like you’re in a small room where every soundwave very quickly echos around and that causes a little stress on the ears? Other than that very helpful!
thank you very much for the sharing of knowledge! it's fascinating, I have a small question please, during the video you name certain scales as diatonic, but the definition of diatonic is usually a scale which has the regular five whole steps and two half steps, are you certain that the scales are actually diatonic?
@14:25-14:46
I am a late comer to the party, but believe the mystery chord; C E G# B♭ D♭ F# A♭ comprises the all the notes from the C#/Db melodic minor key.
Given that the C#/D♭ melodic minor scale is C#/D♭ major with a flat 3rd, I’d call it as a C#m/Maj13 (C E G# B♭ D♭ F# A♭) or D♭m/Maj13.
Alternatively it could be called as a polychord, such as: Cm7♭5 (C D# F# A#) over C#m (C# E G#).
I think he made a mistake by including both the #5 and the b13 which are the same interval when we bring everything within one octave to make a scale. In the particular example he wrote both G# and Ab which would result in a 6 note scale. It's very close to a C Altered (or C# melodic minor) but it's missing the #9 interval (in this case D#).
Maybe it was his intention to create a 6 note unnamed scale, who knows.
Hi superb video. Do you have a copy of the diagram chart to download?
this will teach me how to make my own songs on piano. thanks!
Hey this is a great video. One question - why can't a fully extended chord be from 2 scales. Like 2 unknown scales, maybe.
Because we're mostly talking about heptatonic scales (7 notes) and the fully extended chord also has exactly 7 unique notes, just spread in 2 octaves. So there's a one to one correspondence between them. You could however find many 8-note scales that contain the 7 notes of the chord and even more 9-note scales and so on... cause you have extra notes to choose from after using up the chord tones. But what you would end up with in most cases is an unnamed scale that hasn't been used in music history.
The thing is that the number 7 is very carefully selected and even then the vast majority of heptatonic scales are unstable and hard to base music on, with only a handful of notable exceptions. Adding more would just make a cluster of notes which maybe could be used for chromatic improvisation, but not as a basis for anything else.
Thank you very much this video is excellent . As beginner I have some questions. Don't know if you want to spent time for me but I try thank you
1) taking the 1st chord cmaj7 ok for the traid plus the B as the 7th major but you type and play all the grade. But If I want to play cmaj7 is not enough 1357? Or better the 9 11 13 must not be played? Maybe you write and play all to let us 'wiev' the scale isn't it?
2) all the mode are of C beacause all the chords are C?
3) why in some case I could not play the major scale relative at the alterations instead of the C modal?
4)at the end also that learn all by memory there is a rule for what you have explained? Ty 😬
Could the "avoid notes" be considered part of the scale function only and not part of the chord function? They seem to be different from their more consonant associated notes.
So, you're right, 'avoid notes' are generally used when talking about scales. But there is a very similar concept (in fact the same concept) when talking about chords - and this is called 'available tensions' (I've got a separate video on these). It's generally though that a note one semitone (or a minor 9th) above a chord tone is dissonant while a note one tone above a chord tone is consonant (at least for Major and minor chords). The former is called an avoid note (or an unavailable tension, if you like), and the latter is called an available tension.
The F is an avoid note over a CMaj7 chord and a CMaj11 is not a chord you will often find because the natural 11 (F) is not an available tension. So I would say that avoid notes apply to both scales and chords. Having said that, we are only talking about standard 'traditional' Jazz theory here. When you start getting into more Modern Jazz (post-1960's) you can more or less do whatever you want.
Thanks for clarifying.
The “unknown” scale at the end is called C altered
C, D flat, E, F#, G# (A flat) B flat. The full extended chord you play and you wonder which scale it is I have founded it in a book of scales as a 6-note scale (since the aug 5th and the flatted 13th is actually the same note) 1, min 2, 3, min 5, min 6, min 7. it is unnamed and it's the 5th mode of another unnamed scale..they are all related to the Scriabin's Mystic of Prometheus scale. The latter is the 3rd mode of another unnamed scale too. All these scales and their modes belong to a category with an IC Vector and Set Class [0,1,3,5,7,9] this is a way of categorization the author has come up with to think of any of the existing scales (he features more than 2.000 of them) according to their intervals (because he later explains how the atonal music works, so intervals is all there is) considering as the first mode the scale with the smaller distance among their intervals at the beginning of the scale- as an example you put first the Locrian [(B,C...)semitone]and the Ionian [(C,D...)tone] in a major scale...it's a bit complicated to explain it better here but anyway it's not essential to the use of the chords and scales of your lesson. And after one has studied and listened many of these scales it's obvious that much more than the half of the existing scales have no musical value just perhaps a mathematical interest of the possible combinations and even many of those that have some musical value are so closely related to the scales and modes that are widely used in classical, jazz, blues, gospel. latin music etc. that is really unnecessary and a waste of time and effort to even try to learn so many scales..!
Do you some pdf or a book of theory ?i live in africa and here it some difficult to find some books of piano to learn a theory...it will be a pleasure to be answer to my request
5:14 you say "Cm7b13" but the grid states "Cm11b13". Is that significant or is it still the same?
Why the 11 or 7 at all?
The only key changing from "Cm13" to "Cm11b13" was the "b13" i.e. A -> Ab
Cheers and thanks for the content, already in love!
Good job
H8 to be a pest, and great video. At 4.48 tho, you say Cm7f13, whereas in your chart it's written Cm11f13, are they both correct spellings of the chord or which one is the right spelling..? Thx again.
what scales are important to learnt in all key because there are alot of scales
All of them
Nice
Ka..BOOM! I understand!!!!!
I think I see what you are saying, but what about a chord like Eadd4? E-G#-A-B
Can you help me with my music homework.
Can any one play some nice combination of chords so i can learn , I don’t understand theories
hey....I like that so thanks
No worried :)
i think that is circle of 5ths?
In the Case of C13 chord why isn't the relevant scale the Bb Lydian Bb C D E F G A Bb
thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks
No worries :)
Dislike are from drummers
You mean C7-13. A C13 always contains the major seventh unless said otherwise like with add chords. Otherwise great video
In the case of C13 chord, why isn't to relevant scale Bb Lydian Bb C D E F G A Bb
lol eww tune that thing up will ya
Cheers for this, I been tryin to find out about "learning piano chords for dummies" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Ever heard of - Nonason Ranincoln Genie - (do a search on google )?
It is an awesome exclusive guide for discovering how to play the piano like a pro minus the hard work. Ive heard some extraordinary things about it and my partner got amazing success with it.