Every possible Chord Symbol EXPLAINED
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
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📌EDIT: The chords you hear during the "name the chord" section at the end are actually the wrong audio clips. I managed to muddle them up! I've cut a couple clips out of the last segment of this video accordingly but TH-cam's rubbish online editor isn't working properly so I can't seem to edit them all out. Sorry for any confusion!
Chord symbols can often come with little rules and conventions that can be hard to understand or remember. So today I'm going through every single chord symbol you could possibly encounter so you know what to do when you're learning your next song!
The outro music is my track “Running Man” which you can hear in full on my Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/0wKKJ...
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0:00 Introduction
0:19 Triads
1:35 Suspended chords
1:54 Seventh chords
2:54 Diminished sevenths
3:49 Upper chord extensions
5:02 Omit chords
5:31 Upper chord alterations
6:16 Major 9th, 11th & 13th
7:01 Tomplay
7:48 Power chords
8:11 Sixth chords
9:12 Altered chords
9:42 Slash chords
10:34 Miscellaneous chords
11:05 NAME THAT CHORD! (Round 1)
12:20 NAME THAT CHORD! (Round 2)
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📌 Also, at 5:45 there is a typo... there shouldn't be a flat next to the note C. It should be a C natural, not C flat. Sorry for any confusion and thanks to the commenters who pointed that out 😅😊
Thank you
Sorry for a nitpick but I found:
the chord audio at 11:18 doesn't sound what you depicted there.
Wonderful video though!! You covered almost all the explainations I wanted in a band practice. So helpful!
6:01 Em11b13 ???!!! (and not E11b13)
@@falsenotefest huh?
@@DavidBennettPiano Oui ah pardon je viens de noter mon erreur (Yes my mistake). Thank you very much for this other very interesting video, like everytime
this video is like having all the pieces of a puzzle suddenly all coming together. one of the most informative videos on this topic, amazing work!
Thank you!!!
@@DavidBennettPiano dude...you had the title in English musical notations....how about in DO, RE, MI....like the rest of the world!! México...Spain...all of Latin America etc...
@ my channel is English-speaking and is about music theory in the anglosphere. As much as I’d like to I can’t make my videos relevant to every single musical culture!
@ Latin America isn't the "rest of the world". If David Bennett had to cater to the entire world, the videos would become meaningless since there are hundreds of languages and cultures all over the world. Nothing wrong with turning on the "CC" button and reading youtubes auto-translation into your particular language.
@@OTR392 his title is misleading. The "Rest Of The World ' does not use the English alphabet system. Have you been in other countries in Europe or Latin America where they use DO, RE, MI etc....and not the English letter sequence??
1:46 Even people with the greatest willpower on Earth wouldn't be able to resist making this joke.
Sus
amogus
💀
LMFAO
AMOGUS
I wish you were alive when I was learning music! It took me years to figure out all of these chord symbols, and here you are giving out all this precious info in 16 minutes 🤣
Yooooo!
hes wrong a number of times in this vid unfortunately. ive only watched up to the C13 chord, and already hes WRONG. C13 when written on a music chart will NOT have the F! its implied that it will keep the Major 3rd and have these notes ....C in bass, E A Bb D on top. if you want the F in that chord INSTEAD of the major 3rd(E), you must call it C13sus
Hi
@@infamouslyfamous2134 yeah, no, you’re the incorrect one here. The numbering system is based on the mixolydian scale, so you have to count up accordingly. A C13 would go C E G Bb D F A. You managed to forget the G and misplace the A in your “corrective” comment. The reason you think ppl don’t play the F is bc ppl don’t play 13 chords, it’s pretty much strictly theoretical, ppl actually play and notate 13(#11) chords, or opt for and altered chord or something else that’s dominant.
@@IAMASTICKSTUPIDPERSON: Everyone should stick to the score -- read music properly.
*Cherish each note the composer creates,* rather than just bang pretty chores with riffs and arpeggios.
1:47 that sussy among us character appearance absolutely cracked me up
It’s insane how a year ago I barely knew any music theory and now I’m actually able to understand everything in this vid.
Nice 😊
Me too! I could teach people theory on the piano that I learned in 12 months. Now if only DB could express my fingers to learn as fast as my brain, I'd be playing at the Opera House in Sydney in no time.
It’s not that hard he’s just really good at explaining because he’s an expert
That feeling is amazing, isn't it! I remember watching Adam Neely videos, and feeling as though he was speaking a different language... and I kind of picked it up like a second language, just from watching music theory videos. The feeling of everything clicking is so rewarding!
not everything! cause hes wrong a few times. heres one.... ive only watched up to the C13 chord, and already hes WRONG. C13 when written on a music chart will NOT have the F! its implied that it will keep the Major 3rd and have these notes ....C in bass, E A Bb D on top. if you want the F in that chord INSTEAD of the major 3rd(E), you must call it C13sus
This is absolutely the best music theory channel out there, straight to business, extremely clear descriptions and visuals, and ordered perfectly for anyone to learn piece by piece. I feel like my knowledge has increased immensely since subscribing, and this is coming from someone who hasn't studied theory from year 9.
Literally no one needs a formal music education anymore when they stumble luckily upon this channel
In spanish you can search for Jaime Altozano, who is a guy that make music theory videos and is one of the best in my opinion!
ive only watched up to the C13 chord, and already hes WRONG. C13 when written on a music chart will NOT have the F! its implied that it will keep the Major 3rd and have these notes ....C in bass, E A Bb D on top. if you want the F in that chord INSTEAD of the major 3rd(E), you must call it C13sus
@@infamouslyfamous2134Let's count the notes in a C13 chord. C 1, E 3, G 5, Bb 7, D 9 (not 2), **F 11 (not 4),** and A 13 (not 6). The F is literally in the top chord. Are you new to octaves?
@@sunscraper1 youre not a musician....C13(in no particular order) is. C Bb D E A. no F. Moron. Sometimes a G is used but less common in C13 true voicing
4:59 in jazz terminology it is worth to keep in mind that you will NEVER omit the third unless very clearly specified. The third and seventh is pretty much seen as the essence and charcter of the chord to the point where you can manage with those two notes alone (if you play with a bass player that will play the root) in the case of the C13 in jazz you would omit the 11’th for reasons i will explain below. I know in some music (mainly pop and soul) you might see C11 and C13 understood as a Bb/C and Bb^7/c like David did here. However in jazz this Bb/c would be considered a sus chord. So C7sus11 and the Bb^7/c would be considered a C7sus13. Also in traditional jazz you would never use a major or dominant 11 chord due to the clash between the 11 and the major third of the chord which creates a dissonant b2/b9 interval - therefore you will often sharpen the 11th to get a more consonant M2/M9 interval to avoid this clash. Hence the reason that the third is omitted when writing a C11 in pop/soul. This is not a problem with minor chords why you will more often find m11 chords. In more modern jazz, more open voicings, clusters and dissonance are more accepted so here you will se major and dominant 11 chords that have both the 11th and major third of the chord.
So to sum up
Bb/c = C11 in pop = C7sus11 in jazz (C11 in modern jazz refer to a chord with have both 11th and major third)
Bb^7/c = C13 in pop = C7sus13 in jazz
I kinda tilted my head when he described an 11th chord, in a major context, as having the third and the 11 (half step/b9 clash) - just doesn't in my world - an 11 chord is essentially a sus chord, no third. Now if it's a minor 11, the third is fair game as there isn't the dissonance as the minor third and 11 are a whole step apart.
CORRECT, I was looking for this comment as soon as I saw Dbmaj11 written in the thumbnail🥴🥴🥴 some care has to be considered between adding the 3rd and 4th (F and Gb) to avoid the chord not functioning as a major chord.
He explains this in his other video. I can’t remember the name but it’s his most recent and it’s 50 minutes long
I looked at this and started working algebra before music…
I actually understood wtf
the last chord you showed is a G(add2)(add6)(add7)(add10)(add11)(omit3)(omit5) very jazzy indeed
lol
A little too simplistic for my taste
You're quite mad, you know.
That is only the case if you take the G as the tonic note. You dont have to. If you look at it from the perspective of the F als tonic, it would be an F maj 9 #11. You could even say Fmaj9#11/G to specify the G in the bass
And even then. There is an B so its nott Add 10 its just the third of the chord
Man you can't know how much useful this video will be, I've always wanted to look at the subject but never had the motivation neither found a good video about it ; you're definitely gonna change that, thanks a lot!
As a person with years of classical training, who is now deep into jazz on steel pan, this was SUPER helpful. Thank you!
“A Cmaj11, which for fun we’ll put as a triangle” direct quote from musicians making their notation as indecipherable as possible
Thanks Mr Bennett, I needed this for reading more difficult jazz charts!
not so brilliant though as ive described above.
I'm actually a drummer but I'm also a music theory nerd so I really like this!
I am just beginning to learn drums and music theory, and my brain is close to melting after watching this. But I learnt quite few things that had puzzled me.
What are you gonna do? Play a chord on a drum?
@@spiffyavatar3611 if you have toms tuned to notes of a chord then yeah you could technically
The drummer of dream for my band😍😂
I’ve quiet learning music theory over and over again so many times because I get overwhelmed so easily. Your videos are helping me not get overwhelmed and learn things one by one. Im so thankful of your videos!
Such a great idea to make this video! It's hard to believe no one would think about doing it before. I wish it would exist back when I started to learn songs and harmony. Thanks a lot David for doing it with your usual crystal-like clarity
Absolutely brilliant. An entire topic delivered concisely, nothing omitted, in a clear, easy to understand format, with examples that help reinforce the concepts. Every question I ever had about chord notation has been answered. This is why I love your channel and your content.
I always enjoy the topics you choose and how you summarize the intricacies of music in a clear and concise way. You are a master teacher in my book.
For 13 chords, the most standard practice is to omit the 11th and/or 5th, not the 3rd. For major 11-chords, the 3rd is typically omitted, but to avoid confusion, this chord is now taught as "9sus4" in the US.
Sus
9sus4?
THANK YOU ive been searching for a comprehensive explanation of chord symbols and this just answered all my questions. I LOVE THIS VIDEO
I have also stumbled upon minor chords being symbolised by a lowercase letter, so basically D Minor just written as d
Me too, and I like it.
That’s weird! I’ve never seen that! Wouldn’t that get confusing with a Bb minor chord? It would just look like a double flat symbol (bb)
@@DavidBennettPiano It's common in Germany, where we use the letter H for the key of B and B for the key of Bflat xD
@@skorp5677 makes sense! 😃
@@DavidBennettPiano ... Well, 3 things: 1st, the flat symbol ♭ is not exactly like a b, plus the flat symbol was normally written in italics. 2nd, the sharp and flat symbols are usually put as a superscript, so in b♭, the ♭ symbol would be somehow elevated relative to the b. And finally, while I have seen both, the first ones that I encountered (when I was self-learning guitar from magazines that came with songs and chords and tabs), they came with the syllabic notes, so it was Do, Re, Mi (etc) for major vs do, re, mi for minor. Note that even if you had dob, that would not be any more or less confusing that Dob (and in fact you would have Do♭ with an elevated ♭). Plus, none of the note names has a b letter. But even with the letter notes, a b♭ (with an elevated ♭) is easy to tell from a bb or a ♭♭ (which would not make sense anyway... in most cases).
And stop complaining of confusing things after you just spent 16 minutes to explain that a Em(♭9)(add11)(♭13)/G can be written in like 20 different forms, all equally complicated 😉
Legend. I really admire how you keep your explanations concise, yet still clear and complete. That takes a lot of hard, smart work.
I plan on learning to compose, and I've always been bad at this stuff, so this is super helpful - thank you!
Great video, this is something that ive really worked on the last few months because i got tired of learning music on my guitar and having to look up what certain chords were. I never really remembered them other than their fingering but after really practicing them and thinking about it i can make any chord now in any inversion. It feels very liberating because i can play something in a few different ways depending on how you place the bass note in the chord and its helped me my melodies flow better. Its funny how those little "ah ha" moments really change how you look at something.
honestly thanks david. understanding certain chord sequences was something i struggled with but i sort of learned to live with. it is amazing that i finally understand them now and use the correct notes without guessing lol
😃😃😃😃
@@DavidBennettPiano You forgot the microtonal ones!!!
@@ValkyRiver Hmm, that is admittedly a developing field. Solfège could potentially be used with movable double sharps and flats.
This was so useful, thank you! I've been playing keys at my church for a while, which meant switching from sheet music to chord charts. It's sometimes been a challenge to work out exactly what a particular chord symbol means, especially when the same chord can be written differently, and my chord theory was very poor to begin with.
And now I'm switching to using number charts, which adds another layer of complexity lol.
Extremely helpful! You always explain it so clearly and analytically! Keep on going!
Wonderful! Removes a lot of mystery from chord naming. Thanks David!
It's worth mentioning that sometimes minor chords are not written as uppercase with "m", but as lowercase letters :)
For example here in Poland we commonly write minor chords like that.
This is excellent. I've been teaching music for years and this is some of the most clearly presented information I've run across. Very clear and easy to follow.
Brilliant. Again. In 16min you've summarised what its taken me 50 years to know (most of) starting as a self-taught guitarist and teaching myself very rudimentory keyboards (mainly to bash along with keyboard-led Beatles/McCartney songs) just based on curiosity about how multiple notes combine into interesting chords.
Best summary I've ever encountered! It really helps! Very cool!
That last one could also be spelled as a polychord (F over Em with a horizontal, not diagonal slash), but you’re right, you’d pretty certainly have to write the actual voicing out to get what you wanted.
Yes, polychords were the only major omission here, though I expect they’re probably fairly rare in this sort of fake book/Real Book notation. Not often you’ll find a Petrushka chord in a chord chart for Penny Lane!
here i thought it's both F and Em in first inversion played at the same time
i dunno what it's supposed to be written as
If you MUST write it on one line because your software doesn't support doing polychords with a horizontal bar, I think "E-/G and F/A" would be adequate. If you really felt it was necessary, you could add a margin note that "and" means both chords are to be played simultaneously.
Oi, we'd have to George Harrison it. There's a chord on a chord, don't have to ask Ringo if he modified any of them though.
David, you've done a Great Job here explaining Chord Symbols. Chords have always been my love, and my strong point in music. I sat for hours back in the early 70s studying Chord makeup (I'm not one for Solos) I would recommend to anyone wanting to write songs to really study Chords and to understand their sounds, they give so much Colour to songs. ThumbZup David 🎶👍👦👍🎶
The way the information is explained makes it easy to follow and the quiz at the end to make sure the information is understood. Great guide keep up the good work!
Excellent video. I recently extensively researched chord symbols, trying to make a consistent notation I could use with my students. (I did come up with a system.) The video is fully accurate. It is as close to a complete overview of this subject as anything you will find.
In “The Bob Ralson Touch” organ book, for Maj.7 chords, they use a 7 with a slash in it (as we write the number 7 in French cursive). For instance , Eb Maj.7 would read Eb7 (with a slash through the 7). I have more than a hundred music books and I have never seen that way of writing a Maj.7 chord anywhere else.
I've seen the horizonral ine through a 7, 9, 11, or 13 chord to mean that the chord has a major 7. I like this compact form.
My pet peeves are using "-" for minor and + or - for flat or sharp. + should always mean #5, in my universe, but I've seen 9+ mean #9, even if 7+ usually means #5.
14:00 that is clearly a C6add2add4
Or CM7 add4 add6
I liked it without even watching because I already know that it's a great video. You definetly answering my burning questions with your videos, thank you man !
This is absolute gold. Thanks so much!
Hi, Great topic!!!
In most all cases that use chord symbols [jazz, pop, etc.], the degree mark ( C° ) is played as a four-note chord (a stack of minor thirds). This means C in the bass and C, Eb, Gb, and A. On the rare occasion when you want a true three-note diminished chord, you should mark it as C minor (-5). This gets the best results from the player. True diminished chords (triads) show up mainly in hymns and classical music and are a rarity in jazz and pop.
Flat 11 chords don't really exist because a flat 11 is a major 3rd. If you need a major 3rd and minor 3rd, state it as a #9.
If you desire the flat 13 on top of the voicing, the notes are C in the bass and Bb, D, F, and Ab. If you don't want the Ab on the top of the voicing, it is really an augmented 5th, so in this case, the chord is C11 +5.
Because extended chords are almost always played as a four-note chord over a bass note, pay attention to how you want the chord to be voiced. In the case of C11, you need to think about the top note (F). Do you want it on top of the chord or somewhere in the middle. An 11 chord has the 7, 9, and 11 voiced as thirds and the 11 is on the top (C in the bass and a chord G, Bb, D, and F). If the same notes are needed, but the F note is NOT on the top, the best chord symbol would be C9 sus4.
To avoid omit5 chords, try to state them with a slash bass note. For example, in my opinion, A7 sus4 (omit5) is better stated as D sus4/A.
The chord that you describe at 13:10 is an [Emin & FMaj] / G.
Sometimes you have to choose between notating a chord for speed-reading in performance, or having it make sense theoretically. If the "omit 5" notation makes more sense in terms of functional harmony, then I'll call it that. But if the harmony is non-functional, then call it whatever you want, in which case I definitely go for "least effort for the performer".
A few nits:
"C11" is in practice a C9sus. Core of the sound being the 7sus, *without* the M3.
"C13" is in practice a C7add13 or C9add13. Core of the sound being the b7, M3, and 13, usually voiced in that order.
If you want both M3rd *and* 11th in a chord, use "add11". You almost only ever hear this on a basic triad.
That's true, but for a sus chord I'd rather use a C9sus instead of a C11. C11 can be confusing. It could be understood as a C9sus(add3) for some players. Also with a C11, it's not clear whether the 9th should be included or not (logically, yes), but with a C9sus, there is no doubt.
I don’t agree on his 13th harmony, usually 13th’s imply the 9th but no 11th. If we want the 11th we would write Csus13.
@@slapmyfunkybass That's true. However, "sus" implies that there are no 3rd (the 4th replaces the 3rd). So depending of what you want (3rd+4th or only 4th), it has to be more specific. When 3rd and 4th are both needed, I usually wrote C13(add11) or C13sus(add3). Either ways is fine. At least, it's not ambiguous. And yes, C13 by itself doesn't have a 4th in it. And it often implies a 9th as well, but not always. I've been in situation where a C13 with a 9th in it doesn't sound right. Depending of the harmony of some songs, the 9th tend to be minor (C13b9). Adding the flat 9th is better in that case, but still not the right sound. In that particular situation, the only voicing that works is a C13 without any 9th in it. I guess in that case the best would be to write it C13(omit 9th)
@@CyrilleBriegel I write Jazz orchestration and never really found a use for the 3rd and 11th with the 13th harmony. It’s just too difficult to arrange without a clash between the two intervals, even with spacing between them. Usually one or the other is enough. Yes, sus implies a lack of major or minor so the 3rd should always be omitted. It also, majority of the time, calls for resolution to the 3rd, either walking up or descending from the sus interval.
Yes, his 13th chord, not necessarily wrong, but I wouldn’t advise it. For me C13 implies the 3rd and no 11th, Csus13 implies no 3rd and the 11th. That’s how I would score it too.
@@slapmyfunkybass I agree, 3rd+4th only sound right for simple chords such as Csus(add3) or C7sus(add3). But you're right, having a 13th and a 9th on top of that is way too much. In that case, it's more likely a cluster!
Mad respect for the sponsors. Really fits what your audience loves, and its in the middle always so I know I have even more to see.
Ive been looking for a complete nice explanation like this for years, thank you very very much, really amazing job, very understandable and clear, congratulations, keep it up!
RIP to all the guitar players trying to play those upper chord extensions
perfect video man, just about 5 years too late in my case 😋 i'm a guitarist and i've noticed long ago that while *Csus2* and *Csus4* are commonly noted as such, people would not use the term *Cadd2* and *Cadd4* but rather *Cadd9* and *Cadd11* although most often it's really the 2 and 4 they're adding to the chord and not these _upper extensions_ that you would expect with 9 and 11 ... i will be extra clear from now on. makes life so much easier, especially when working with others and sharing music and knowledge. I know guys who have called Csus2 chords C9, and that's where it gets criminal ...
I was wondering something about these sus/add chords as well...
I think the 'wrap around' into a C9 or C11 is there to ensure the sound is distinct (add2 in particular is very dissonant). Also doesn't the 'sus' terminology imply a (functional) resolution is expected (sus 2 UP to 3; sus 4 DOWN to 3)? ...and if so, why don't we have a sus 7? ... the flat/maj 7 has just as strong a 'pull' to the tonic as the 2 and 4 do to the 3... don't they?
"It's all rather confusing, really" -Spike Milligan (Goon Show)
The difference between a sus2 chord and an add9 is the 3rd is still played in an add9 chord but no 7th is played.
The difference between a sus2 and a sus9 is the voicing.
For example, if you played a C chord you'd play a D one tone up from the root for sus2. For sus9 you'd play a D an octave plus a tone above the root.
Sus means don’t play the third
@@raidensama1511 it can also apply to the fifth
Think of them in terms of octaves. If the note in question lands in a single octave, it's a sus2 or sus4. If it lands in the next octave it's an add 9 or add 11. Same goes for 6 and 13..if the note added sits a minor 2nd (m2) away from the other note, then the note in the 1st octave is usually omitted because of the dissonance it creates...
Thanks for assembling the information in one video. Will park this in my watch list to refer to it every now and then.
Thank you David!
I actually learned a couple of things with this video! 🎉❤
I downloaded The Real Book a month ago and until now couldn't read 2% of the chords. This is a godsend!!! TY
😊😊😊
At 3:20 you could also write the chord as Ebm6/C or Ebm/C, it is just an inversed minor-6 chord, which are more commonly used (and therefore this notation makes it easier to see the function of the chord in the harmony)
Major 6 is an inversion of minor 7, minor 6 is an inversion of half diminished, both are commonly used wrongly as a result (if you're trying to maintain some sort of ii-V-I logic). C6/A and Am7 are identical, Cm6/A and Aø are identical. No need to put a 7 after a half-diminished symbol, as there's no point specifying the quality of the seventh degree _and then_ saying "oh yeah, add a seventh".
@@mal2ksc I get the ii-V-I Thing, it makes sense but because of how I learned harmony theory, the minor6 isnmore Common for me (and thats why I Said it i more logical). But why is the 7 in the halfdim redundant? A-C-Eb hast no G which is the 7th, so the 7 in A(b5)7 would add Something new iirc.
@@janneswille5567 How can you half-diminish a chord if there's no seventh present? That's why the 7 is redundant and often not included.
Really good format for showing the breakdown of chords. Thank you so much.
i am just starting jazz band at my high school, and this video is extremely helpful for me. Thank you for this ! def will be watching multiple times
when the music is sus
Underrated comment
do do do do do do do
1:48 😂
NOOOOOOOOO
Your videos are my absolute favourite kind of music theory videos. I feel like I’ve been able to understand so many things just from watching, and it actively makes a difference in my own music!
Dear Chocolatemess2000: Everyone should stick to the score -- read music properly.
*Cherish each note* the composer creates, rather than just bang pretty chores with riffs and arpeggios.
I can't believe i found this video i've been looking for a resource that compiles all chord symbols into something digestible and easy to comprehend. Thank you so much!!!
0:34 yo thanks for the shoutout bro
at this point chord symbols might as well become maths.. anyways, thank you so much for making this video!! i self taught myself piano (after a bad experience with piano lessons) and i’ve always been confused with chord symbols. this video just explains everything not only clearly, but with concise, simple-to-understand words! hopefully i can memorize these soon..
Fantastic video!
You clarified many of my recent doubts!
I needed this. Thank you so much!
Thanks a lot! I had some confusion when in academical harmony textbooks saw 6 chords as just 1st inversion of triads, that is, 6 chords with omitted 5. But I hope I got it all now.
That is from figured bass, an older system of notating chords from the 17th/18th century. 6 is short for 6-3. Put a 3 and a 6 above the bass note. 6-4 you put a 4 and a 6 above the bass note which would give you second inversion in the modern chord naming system. No numbers means add the regular 3 and 5 above the bass.
In his example of the C6 it can also be spelled as an Am7 1st inversion, but the 5th is not necessarily omitted. Or is it?
2:46 I've seen this chord being written as Cm(maj7) too
Great content as always. Glad you made a video explaining all of this.
Figuring fragments of this took me 10 years :)
As always your content is top notch clarity and richness
Omitting the 5 makes sense because it doesn’t really change the “feel” of the chord. But omitting the 3 for 11 chords is bizarre to me. The 3 is the essence of the chord. It gives it major or minor tonality. Unpopular opinion but C11 with no 3 is just Bb/C (or really Bbadd9/C)
But sometimes you want to avoid the major/minor sound - Zappa for example used a lot of sus2 and sus 4 because he wanted to be free to use either major or minor third when playing a solo over the chord changes.
Here's Ruth Underwood who played with Zappa showing an example - th-cam.com/video/e7Sq0chFjps/w-d-xo.html
It's because the clash between a major third and a perfect fourth or 11 is pretty harsh, it's considered the harshest dissonance in the entire scale. And usually it's not meant to sound quite as spicy as that. Likewise in an ordinary dominant 13 chords one also often omits the 11 because the rub between the dominant 7 and the 13 (or major sixth) gives it "enough" spice while the major third gives it a true dominant feel. And if the eleven was intended to be played instead of the third one might write 13sus11 or make a slash-chord. And also because it's really unusual to ever play more than 5 notes in a chord in actual practice, atleast not on a piano or guitarr. And then we have the fact that the natural 5th and the major third are the strongest overtones in the overtone series so they are sort of naturally implied anyway, and might even be heard from a strong base note, especially the 5th.
He also forgot to mention the rule about 6ths. What is meant with a 6 is always a major sixth, even if it's a minor chord. If you want a minor 6th you have to write a b6, and then you might aswell call it a major 7 chord with the third in the root. So for example an Am(b6) would be a Fmaj7/A.
@@stoferb876 the #11 works well when extending dominant and major chords wheras the 11 works when extending minor chords
@@bq4454 Yes I know. But then you usually have it written out. C13(#11) for example. And mostly you do include the 11 in minor chords. But then you might still leave some other notes out (like the 5th or the 9th are both optional in this chord) for reasons of texture (so that it sounds like a chord and not a cluster for example), taste (how crunchy do you want it to be) or voice-leading or practicality (what can you actually play on a guitar for example).
The one note you normally never leave out of the extensions are the extension itself, the dominant seven and the root ofcourse. And in minor chords also the minor third is mandatory, otherwise it wouldn't be a minor chord. So you actually should play at the very least the minor third and the eleven together in a minor 11 chord. If you have only four voices the mandatory notes for a minor 11 chord are the root, the minor third, the dominant 7 and the 11.
Sus chords aren’t major or minor, that’s why you can do it. When you get into orchestral arrangement it’s highly recommended to omit the 3rd with 11ths otherwise avoiding clashes is difficult.
So you showed us here a C7 (b11) at 5:37 but elevenths are usually used only as naturals (11) or sharpened (#11) given that a flattered eleventh would result in a major third of the chord. C7 (b11) = C7
Well yes, but actually no
Love this video. Super clear and helpful!
Thank you very much! I'm practicing guitar on my own and visualizing chord on a sheet music makes it much easier! There are very little videos about all the chords on a guitar.
That really helped to improve my understanding of chords!
I don't know if it's only me, but all of my teachers in college (in jazz) have always taught me that the 11th is never automatically included in a 13 chord when the chord has a major 3rd degree (in order to avoid a minor 9th interval between 3rd and 11th). So I was told that the 11th is only ever included in chords with a flat 3, or in sus chords, in which the 11th replaces the 3rd.
Similarly, I was taught that if you want to add an 11 to a 13 chord, it has to be a sharp 11 to avoid the min9 between the 3rd and natural 11.
@@dabekk111 Exactly! Lydian and lydian dominant produce some awesome sounds!:)
My rules of thumb: "C11" in practice is C9sus; the 3 is to be omitted. "C13" in practice is C7add13 with optional 9.
Us guitarists sort of have this done for us, the instrument's layout makes it sort of impossible to include 11 in a 13 chord voicing anyway, common voicings we're taught have root, 3, b7, 9, 13, sometimes omitting 9.
@@dabekk111 : Everyone should stick to the score -- read music properly.
*Cherish each note the composer creates,* rather than just bang pretty chores with riffs and arpeggios.
6th graders at 9:01: 😳🤣💀😱🤯💩🤡
Thank you very much for this. I will watch it bit by bit but I know it's gonna be so useful
What a wonderful video explaining this topic, learned so much. Love your videos David, thanks for this!
Thank you for the explanation! One minor mistake: at 6:14, the E11(b13) has a C flat in it, but it should be a C natural since the 13th degree of the E major scale is C sharp.
Haha, saw the same thing
E11(bb13)😱
Well spotted! I’ll make a little note of it in the pinned comment
I didn’t agree on his 13th harmony, if you’re omitting the 3rd it would be written as Csus13, if you omit the 11th it’s just C13. The problem doing it his way is there’s no way to tell the musician you want the 3rd and no 11th without it being more complex than it needs to be, C13(add 11, no 3rd)
5:58 this just looks scary. I don't even have that many fingers!
This is the video I was looking for all my life, thanks for exist
Literally amazing! Thank you so much :)
from 11:04 to the end in the audio track you’ve played Cm7add11, “the weird chord”, Cadd2, Cadd#4 x2 instead of Cadd2, Cadd#4, Cm7add11, “the weird chord” x2
The final chord could also be thought of as an Emin/G played alongside an F/C. But I'm not sure if there's a way to notate playing two chords right next to each other like that.
There is: "Em/G and F/A, tight". Tight means the entire thing exists within the span of a single octave. I wouldn't expect someone to interpret this correctly on the fly if they've never seen it before, but if they have time to look the chart over, this should make perfect sense.
@@mal2ksc good to know. And yeah, that seems impossible for sight reading
@@rome8180 I'd consider all the alternatives also impossible for sight reading as well though. So if none of the descriptors are going to be sight-readable, I choose to use the one that requires the least time to interpret, and I think a polychord delivers that.
This video is like actually insanely good I’ve watched through it all like 5 times
thanks for the explanation David!! just what I needed
1:37 SUS AMOGUS
i already knew a little kiddo would comment this
@@Mizai Hello, reimu
Do a flip
@@Mizai reimu gaming reimu gaming
Really excellent summary/review! Thanks.
The origin of a “sus”pension, and the reason why “sus” alone means sus4, is as a _delayed resolution_ - suspended specifically in time. The didn’t originate as standalone block chords, but as delayed voice-leading.
A *classic* example of a suspended fourth can be heard in the closing cadence of the first movement of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in Eb, BWV 998 (th-cam.com/video/VEoOToX_PuE/w-d-xo.html): You can hear the suspended fourth at time index 2;44, with its delayed resolution a second later.
A C-dominant-7 (C E G Bb), in Common-Practice harmony, resolves to an F-Major (F A C). Specifically, the C7’s Bb lowers down to the F-Major’s A, and the E goes up to the F.
The most common suspension is: E->F, G->F, C->C, but delaying the fall of the Bb to A, meaning that the fourth of the destination F-Major keyframe, the Bb, is still “suspended” - held over - from the previous C7 chord.
You could also thinking of it as “suspended” vertically, meaning in pitch, in that the Bb is “dangling” above its final resting A pitch. (Granted, what it’s suspended *from* is not clear in that analogy, but...)
you made an essay just to make us stop using sus memes
Nice try
BUT *WE WON'T STOP*
@@mikechad27, gosh, such “meme” chords are fine in themselves too. I’m just pointing out where they, and their name, originally came from.
@@mr88cet ok understandable
Finally a full video on this topic!
This video is so very interesting! Thank you for this! I absolutely love learning about music theory
I would add Q, for representing quartal voicings, and the fraction symbol to represent a chord played over another chord.
He could even just extend the last example to show how
F/A
--
Em/G
might be an even better description, and mention of the quartal notation could be shoehorned in when he touches on C7sus (omit 5).
Amazing video! I have a question though. The chord at 14:40 that you labelled G13(omit5), could you also describe is at F over Em (idk how you’d write that). I’ve heard people talking about stacking 2 different chords on top of each other and calling it smth like that I think 🤔
I was thinking the same. That chord is really an E-/G overlapping with an F/A, both played in open position.
Yeah. Personally, I find it to be much less of a headache to think of large chords as two smaller ones together.
So much appreciated - really well presented and easy to follow. Particularly enjoy the notation for each chord.
I just knew bits and pieces of naming the chords, but this cleared EVERYTHING. THANK YOU! New sub!
2:18 wait? I just wondered smth.. since a major chord can also be written as Xmaj, then Xmaj7 can be confused by X7 which has another chord meaning…
The fact that there is multiple ways to write a same chord is kinda disturbing 😅. But great video anyways!
That last chord sounds like a weirdly voiced F chord to me, the subdominant flavor is too strong for me to call it a G chord. If the G was an octave lower it would probably sound more like a dominant chord (a F/G specifically).
Fmaj7(#11)/G
Definitely a subdominant flavour. Well put
Fmaj7#11/G :)
He never tells us that this chord is in the key of C, so why should the subdominant flavor make you think it's an F chord? G can be a subdominant chord too.
@@KingstonCzajkowski That's true, but the key of C major is the only key for which that chord would be diatonic, and for C major the subdominant chord is F (technically by the same logic it could also be a VI chord for A minor, but the IV-I relation is stronger than the VI-i one, at least to my ears). Besides, if the chord was interpreted as an F chord it would have a major 7th and an augmented 4th/11th which are both typical of a subdominant chord, while if interpreted as a G chord it would have a dominant 7th and a perfect 4th/11th which are typical of a dominant chord. Since I heard it and keep hearing it as a subdominant chord (which is admittedly subjective) I am basically forced to think of it as an F chord, I don't think it would make much sense to think of it as a G subdominant chord.
Brilliant video, exactly what I needed thank you.
Great work! I have been looking for something like this since long time ago
It's a lot too much for me, but still a very informative video
Is it me, or are the sounds of the chords not matched up with the actual chords near the end?
At 11:40 for example, it sounds like the C(add2) chord, instead of the Cm7(add11) chord, and a couple of them before that also don't sound how it should. The actual Cadd2 chord, sounds completely different to how it should sound.
I noticed that the Cadd2 sounds similar to what the Cm7(add11) should sound like, which was weird.
Same thoughts, this video's C add2 sounded dark (unlike the actual Cadd2) which is how i noticed too
You're so underrated! thanks so much for all these theory lessons, even the sponsors are great!
You have no idea how helpful this is. Thank you, more videos like this please
Sure thing!
1:10 ok but what is a diminished chord? Is it a flat 5th?
Diminished chord is flat third and fifth. Basically a minor triad with a flat 5.
Example of a C diminished triad:
C
Eb
Gb
Just go up in minor thirds 👴🏻
Average unfunny joke: 1:36
I don't have any experience with music or music theory but this video is so clear and well put together, that even I could understand most things!