Using embellished chords is a great way to spice up a song. The following is a summary of the main points in this chapter.
Ninth chords contain five unique scale degrees and are formed by extending the pattern of notes in a seventh chord to include the ninth scale degree above the bass. Ninth chords are not frequently found in popular music due to the dissonance and complexity created by the chord's five distinct notes. However, by omitting the seventh scale degree relative to the bass, the ninth chord becomes an add9 chord, one chord that is extremely useful in popular music.
Major add9 chords have a distinctively sweet and harmonious sound to them and show up in genres where this sound is desirable (pop ballads, show tunes, and other “romantic” songs). Minor add9s have more dissonance than their major counterparts and are thus less common; however, they can still be used to create a dramatic air (see, for instance, the theme from The Young and the Restless earlier in this chapter).
Suspended chords are another modification to the basic chords you know. They are formed by taking a basic chord and altering it so that the middle scale degree of the chord (the third scale degree relative to the bass) is played one scale degree higher. In other words, rather than playing the third scale degree relative to the bass, you would play the fourth scale degree instead. The suspended note in i⁴ chords has a gravity associated with it that likes to resolve itself down by one scale degree in the next chord.
Eleventh chords are ninth chords with yet another note added; they contain six unique scale degrees. V¹¹ is the most common eleventh chord in popular music. It usually is played with the third and fifth scale degrees relative to the bass omitted. V¹¹ functions a lot like a V⁷ due to its strong pull to I; however, it lacks the harsher sound of V⁷, making it more suitable for ballad-like songs. Given this similarity, V¹¹ also functions well as a secondary chord, e.g., V¹¹/IV → IV.
In the next chapter we’ll take a break from introducing new theory and learn some creative techniques that songwriters use to write more interesting music.
Check for Understanding
For each of the following ⁴ chords, write out the scale degrees, identify which scale degree is the suspension, and name the scale degree that resolves the suspension.
iiₛᵤₛ₄
V⁷ₛᵤₛ₄
vi⁷ₛᵤₛ₄
Check for Understanding
For each of the following add9 chords, name the scale degree that is the “9.”
vi⁽ᵃᵈᵈ⁹⁾
IV⁽ᵃᵈᵈ⁹⁾
I⁽ᵃᵈᵈ⁹⁾
Check for Understanding
In this chapter, we learned that a V¹¹ chord is simply a IV chord with scale degree 5 added to its bass. What chord would you get if you took a IV chord and added scale degree 5 to the top of the chord instead of the bottom?
Even though the V¹¹ chord and the chord in the answer above have the same scale degrees, their functions are very different. Explain this difference.