The Chord That Shouldn't Work

[@LauraBlanco7]

I love chords that shouldn't work!! When you discover them by "mistake" is like a wonderful feeling, I don't know why. Very good video Aimee, I'm learning a lot with you :)

[@paulflute]

love Jacob's new title.. ;9)

[@7546andr]

150+ at least

[@toothlesstoe]

Sorabji's music is chock full of those types of chords.

[@DjangoHackJackEXE]

You would love Middle/Late Scriabin then.

[@princesspasta]

they are like magic :)

[@ChrisBandyJazz]

Really cool, love that sound! Here's are three other chords that "shouldn't work" that I discovered by accident: #1: Eb - Ab B D E G Resolves to Ebmaj13 (Eb - G Bb C D F). #2: Bb - F Ab B D - F# A# C# The upper triad moves down to E major (E G# B). Then everything resolves to Ebmaj13 (Eb - C D F G Bb). #3: F - Ab Bb Db E G Resolves to Fmaj9 (F - G A C E G). It's hard to beat the double diminished chord though! Learned this one from Kent Hewitt: Ab - Ab B D F - G Bb Db E In context: F/A [C on top] Ab dim (maj7,9,11,b13) [E on top] Gm11 [C on top] C13(b9)(b5) [A on top]

[@AimeeNolte]

+Chris Bandy nice ones! Thanks!

[@MiskyWilkshake]

If I'm reading those correctly, the first one's a rootless V13b9b5 - Imaj13 The second one is V7alt - SubV7#11b9 - Imaj13 The third one's really cool though. No idea how to classify that!

[@ChrisBandyJazz]

MiskyWilkshake Very nice! Those look right to me! Here's how I think of them: #1: E7(#9) / Eb #2: Gb | Bb7(b9) #3: Bb dim 7 | Fm Explanation: The first chord is the Bb dominant-diminished scale over the bass Eb. Since that scale contains the same tones as E dominant-diminished, the easiest name for the chord would be E7(#9) / Eb. The second chord comes from the Bb dominant-diminished scale, but with an added b13 (Gb). So you could call it Bb7(b9, #9, b13). Another option would be to call it a polychord: Gb | Bb7(b9). The third chord comes from taking Fmaj9 and suspending the 2, 3, and 5 by a half-step. Therefore you get Fm11(#5, maj7). If you want a polychord, you would get Bb dim7 | Fm. Love this kind of stuff! Seems to only sound good with piano or voice haha

[@ChrisBandyJazz]

awfulguitarplucker Cool! Impressed that you can play those on guitar haha!

[@theadventurousjb]

awfulguitarplucker a

[@nakedmambo]

Time write a song using only chords that shouldn't work.

[@masterllama321]

Sounds like you're describing Thelonious Monk

[@94mac]

Schoener or something i knows who you're talking about he did all dissonant things in the 20s

[@masterllama321]

Arnold Schoenberg... though he wasn't a jazz musician. Super deep music though. If you like him, check out his students, Alban Berg and Anton Webern

[@johnberkley6942]

If it sounded like it wasn't the right notes, it wasn't Monk! All his dissonances made musical sense.

[@masterllama321]

Certainly agree with you there! Though i've gotta say that to people who are not used to much dissonance, Monk may at first sound like he's playing the wrong notes. I took guess since I haven't seen the Ken Burns series in some years..

[@CristobalSanhuezaMusic]

voice leading is everything!!!!!!!

[@jolson88]

Definitely very important! This is one reason that a lot of movie soundtrack progressions sound great even though there doesn't appear to be a reason they should work when it comes to diatonic-based harmony like we are so used to working with (let's say, going from a C minor triad to E major triad). This fascination has me wanting to read the following book which evidently takes a deeper look at an alternative approach to music theory that emphasises voice leading: www.amazon.com/Audacious-Euphony-Chromatic-Harmony-Studies/dp/019977269X

[@marktyler3381]

Jason Olson Or check out June Lee's analysis of Jacob Collier.

[@bobvanluijt897]

This comment is waaaay more important than people realize (I think)...

[@AnAmericanComposer]

I like to sit at the piano and come up with really intense hyper-chords, and sometimes, with the proper voicing, you can create some really interesting sounds that actually work independently. One of my favorites is in the left hand to play what's basically a C7 without the third (C-G-Bb) and in the right hand a second-inversion G-Major chord, starting on the D directly above the left hand's Bb. So, you get C-G-Bb-D-G-B. It shouldn't work, with that augmented octave and all, but it does. It's also fun to create synthetic polychords that crush multiple sonorities into one area. For instance, playing B5/AM/Gm/C7: C-C-G-Bb-D-E-A-C#-E-F#-B-F#.

[@MiskyWilkshake]

I mean... it could just be that your not spelling according to function. If it resolves to C of F# for instance, it's likely that the Bb is actually an A# and what you've got there is G11#9.

[@pianojamie]

To add to the theorists, a Gsus chord could be voiced as Fmaj7/G, this is just a tritone sub of that Fmaj7 chord (ie the Bmaj7).

[@austinplays9891]

This is the best explanation I've seen so far!

[@MiskyWilkshake]

Traditionally we don't perform tritone substitutions on maj7 chords, since the reason tritone subs work is that they share the same tritone which gives the original chord it's function.

[@pianojamie]

I was waiting for somebody to point that out! Personally I sub maj7 chords quite a lot as a way of hopping to the opposite side of the circle, but I take the point it can clash if you are playing with others. I should say I have actually added this chord to my vocabulary as an Upper Structure III chord (US III).

[@LarryMonteforte]

+MiskyWilkshake I understand that from a traditional standpoint, however I personally find that major 7 tritone subs can sound good in the right context. For example a bIImaj7 sounds fine as a sub for the V. Actually now that I think about it, usually the sub sounds fine as a maj7 if it's subbing for a dominant 7. Gives a really smooth sound

[@masacatior]

Jamie Robinson Oh Gsus!

[@EmanuelFrias]

I somehow understand what you mean but after hearing so many songs and learning to play by ear I've learned to make that feeling happen when needed! Nice find!

[@OPTIONALWATCH]

When I was in my early twenties, I used to play chords on my guitar that I didn't learn from a book or anyone. I thought I was creating something new, but then youtube came along and I saw that they were being used in some forms. I have experimented with these odd chords on the piano as well. Great upload, it helps me create more ideas for progressions.

[@m.o.n.d.e.g.r.e.e.n]

love hearing your process about how you developed a repeatable form all the way from what you say was a mistake. human brains. YES

[@jaidonsieh8506]

I can already tell that if I had to have any teacher but the beloved piano teacher I had, it would have been you! I love when a teacher has so much enthusiasm to go with mine. Awesome video

[@pyro1324]

What I love with jazz is that theory just scratches the surface, there's so much depth and you never stop finding new aspects of your instrument.

[@LargoBarreiro]

I came with the same chord by mistake and realize it worked because both G7 and B work as Dominant chords for C. Voice leading is everything. Cool Video as usual

[@quinn479]

I came in expecting a chord progression I'd be able to explain, instead I had a concept that I could never quite put into words eloquently explained to me. Good video!

[@daendk]

Thanks so much for this. My stepdad, who can't read a note of music, played in a band in England for years, and learned so many of these lovely organic twists. My grandma, who taught piano at Wesleyan, sat with him for fun once and was amazed by some of his chords. I remember for one (unfortunately, I can't remember the chord, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was this) she said almost those exact words: "well, that chord shouldn't work". :)

[@tmmyt2005]

If you check out the music of Kurt Rosenwinkel and other modern jazz composers you'll encounter these types of things- major 7ths on dominant chords, major 3rds on minor chords, etc. Things that are theoretically "wrong". I once heard Kurt asked about this at a clinic and while he didn't really give a direct answer his pianist, Aaron Goldberg fielded the question and gave two explanations: 1.) What octave the note is in is a big factor and 2.) How it's voice led into the next chord.

[@DrRussInYourPocket]

Aimee you have a lovely voice! I feel like this chord's sound in that song illustrates the concept that context is EVERYTHING in music, and that a harmony may sound sour or awkward until it's placed in the right context, then it's sweet and touching. I'm a new subscriber and loving your videos. Thank you!

[@bendavies4072]

What a wonderful, impassioned presentation AND what way to prove that a b9 interval is not forbidden after all. Beautiful! Thank you.

[@toothlesstoe]

There wasn't a b9 in the chord she was explaining.

[@thecaucasianasian2171]

All of the best things in the world were mistakes. Just ask my parents.

[@johnd.4536]

The bridge to Take the A train has an e natural over an F7 which is a major 7 as an upper substitution. This can be written C/F7 The same chord as a G7 (D/G7) is voiced low to hogh GFBEADF#A (easier to leave out route). Natalie Boulanger taught Aaron Copeland and Quincy Jones these type of chords and Quincy Jones version of the Benny Golson classic Killer Joe uses an identical F/Bb7 voicing for the 2nd chord in the vamp. I like the B/G7 voicing very much. Thanks Aimee Nolte

[@Guitarmaster7272]

It has a specific sound to it. Adds depth and a little melancholy to the piece.

[@xlegiofalco]

Aimee, you are 100% right with everything you have described. In addition, I believe the dissonance is lessened due to equal temperament turning of the piano. Normally, adjacent F/F# played together sounds dissonant because they are only a few cents apart and the interference of the the overlapping wavelengths creates that mushy sound, but when spread over multiple octaves, the dissonance is lessened because octaves are not whole intervals apart (different by a factor of √2).

[@ElDalai]

F# goes towards G, which is the 5th of C major, the chord we are resolving to. Having the sharp seventh on G7 works because that F# is resolving to a chord tone of the C Major triad, in the same fashion Ab would work on G7b9 resolving towards C Major, it will tend to go to G, you could even use both in a chord and crazily, yet intelligently introduce all tensions and resolutions involving the entire chromatic scale. Nice video! Cheers! 🙂

[@OngakuConcept]

I'd argue that your explanation is, in itself, "theory," by the definition of what music theory is! Fantastic video, this is an interesting chord and I love the way the voice leading works.

[@Opalium]

I'm just a non-musician KZbinr passing through, and this comment section here is complete nonsense for me.

[@bopamcnaine1500]

Opalium i feel u

[@spawnofsteve]

Opalium And so many know-it-alls too lol

[@Tavenster4545]

Opalium don't worry, I'm a 7 year musician currently taking music theory, and I'm as lost as could be 🙃

[@MrDeevo]

Non musicians go away!

[@darkacademiac]

srjskam That’s wayyy too easy for me man

[@derek3418]

I have no idea about music. but, I love the contained excitement in this vid

[@MatkatMusic]

it has 4 leading tones that resolve, that's why it works. F# -> G, D#-> E, F-> E, B -> C. It would be cool to apply this concept of 3 leading-tones-resolving-to-2-chord-tones and see what other progressions work, that supposedly shouldn't. Also, it works pretty well because you're not playing that F as loud as the rest of the tones in the chord so that min9th interval isn't as strong as it should be.

[@AllenVanWert]

I would probably play B Hungarian minor over that chord as an option. I usually consider 5 note chords and up to be a scale or scale with notes avoided. Good insight about the reasons you feel it works in this context. Happy to see a good music helper that doesn't simply perpetuate nonsense and uses logic to sort things out for reality!

[@LuqmanFulmer]

G,B,D#,F,and A give you a G9(#5) (aka augmented dominant ninth chord). The B4 on top is suspended until it falls to the A4, until finally we arrive at a tonic chord. Most of time, simple concepts stacked together can explain harder ones. Fun video! Thanks!

[@Hansprive]

I think it sounds okay because it's really an inversed D7#9-9 (with an added 4 - the G - as the lowest chordnote and an omitted 1 - the D) chord you play. So the chord is built with G, C, D#, F#, B, F, because it's also based on the Dm pentatonic scale with D, (E), F, G, A, (B) and C. But saying that it could also be the C(m) bluesscale with the F, F# and G. I hope you understand what I mean? Main thing: it works! Thanks

[@mobiuslive3411]

Great polychord, thanks for sharing. I love minor 9ths that function well! The reason it intuivitely doesn't "work" is because we are used to deriving our harmony from a scale of some kind (usually a simple major or minor scale). Even the typical "out" alt7 chords (#9, #5, etc.) can be derived from diminished or other altered scales. But that paradigm stops at three notes all a half step apart. If you want a kind of music theory that takes you out of this limiting, albeit useful, way of thinking about harmony, check out Paul Hindemith's "The Craft of Composition". He provides a system that can explain how chords with all twelve chromatic notes in them can still function. It's a relatively easy read, too.

[@florianolebinski730]

The fact that it resolves to C major is why the F# note works so well despite technically clashing with the F natural. It kind of acts as a dreamy lydian passing tone bridging the gap between the two chords. Love it

[@peoplez129]

I think that this is true about all forms of creation: Self taught and experimentation is better than institutional learning. I've seen it in all of my hobbies, from 3D modelling to playing an instrument. I had more creativity and better results from experimentation before I followed the path on institutional learning. My sculptures were more creative before I used the established methods. I was using notes and finding complimentary ones that people who were professionally taught would never bother to try. Granted, I am better in general at these things than ever before, but the key is to keep experimenting, even if it leads you to a thousand failures.

[@PeterLaman]

Too many notes in the chord to play on guitar... :-(

[@Khayyam-vg9fw]

But not too many for two or more guitars to play!

[@audiescooter]

thats why i have a 7 string

[@ivanlydian6698]

Nop. You can play those chords on a regular 6 strings. :p

[@mikejuliano5323]

just play a g7 and use a b root... not that hard...

[@jonmichaelswift]

3X3442 Viola.

[@trombonemunroe]

The reason it works isn't really because the melodic note is on top. (It would work anyway.) It's because the F# (the major 7) not only half-tone resolves to the 5 of the C6 that follows it, but functions as the flat 5 of the ensuing chord.

[@leslieackerman4189]

Fascinating! Your creativity is astounding,

[@jakekeys88music]

That's pretty neat. Both of those chords lead to C, yet their dissonance isn't enough that it alters the resolution - it kind of enhances the tension getting there. And yes, the voice leading lends itself nicely in this case. I'm sure in a different context it would stand out a lot. I love having accidents like that. Thanks for sharing, Aimee!

[@milaberdenisvanberlekom4615]

One of the easiest ways I found to get 'impossible' chords is to stack major 7ths and fill in notes in between Start with D C# and C Add notes you like I first added F# and A# to get D C# F# A# B# Added a G# in the lower part if the voicing D G# C# F# A# B# It gets really frisky if you add an Eb on top of that! Scale is B# C# D Eb F# G# A# B# which is 4 chromatics and then half a whole tone scale. I also like B E A# D F# A D (doubling the melody note) I'm going to experiment with what you did here though! The minor 7 below and a major 7 on top instead of the other way around. Also Jacob Collier uses chords with both the minor and major 7 in 'you and I', though you might've known that already.

[@MichaelJohnMUSlC]

It's a passing polychord which you can find in all kinds of music but rarely notated and taught as such. But these passing polychords rarely last more then 1 beat. And in your chord the two dissonant notes are far apart making the polychord less harsh. I find the B chord to a C chord even more harsh because it violates traditional music theory with the parallel 5ths. A B+5 or Cdim is more commonly used in that type of melody line.

[@MiskyWilkshake]

Parallel perfect consonances are not disallowed, except when trying to maximise polyphony. They are not at all disharmonious, in fact it's their very harmoniousness which makes them unsuitable for polyphonic writing.

[@MichaelJohnMUSlC]

yes that's why I said 'traditional music theory'. Perfect parallels are heard all over the place in modern music

[@MiskyWilkshake]

Yeah, okay, but trying to shoehorn 'traditional music theory' into meaning 'voice-leading rules in counterpoint' is a bit of a stretch, don't you think?

[@choppertowers]

Lovely stuff, Aimee, and thank you for your inspiration. I often listen to some of your youtube stuff late in the evening, and then have a joyful hour or so of experimentation, purely from your ideas. Here's a great final chord for a ballad that I accidentally played once, and was surprised at its pleasing settled dissonance, (if you can have such a thing...), Eb major 7 chord, nicely spread, with a G major triad on top. Interesting that the dissonance is in the same relationship as your example, in mine a B natural at least one octave (try two as well...) above a Bb. Hope you like that one. Ian PS Many of these complex chords don't seem to work on digital piano anything like as well, as the harmonic interplay just can't happen... Which is a shame.

[@choppertowers]

I think that once you have a deep root, its third and one type of seventh placed on the piano, it will be the overwhelming body of harmony, and that other incidental notes placed a bit higher, or a lot higher, simply add interesting colours. The more dissonant they are, the higher up the piano they must go. Some harmonies defy "labelling" and cannot be reduced to Bb 13 sus 4, or whatever, they are the notes being played, whatever those notes might be, and those notes must be in the exact register on the instrument for the sound to be created. In which case we will have to write them on score for others to recreate. But at that point, is it still "jazz" which, by definition, is not defined.

[@-danR]

Dissonance and consonance have nothing to do with the surface-structure of letters and symbols, sharps and flats, and harmonic 'theory' written out in paragraphs in mouldering auld conservatory tomes. It has to with the frequency of beats caused by notes that are 'too' close together. As the interference beats come lower and lower below the threshold of perception of _pitch,_ those beats become irritating. It is a seat-of-the-pants physiology/audition phenomenon. What becomes interesting is how much those irritating beats are a component of the overall wall of sound created by the complexity of many-note chords. The irritation may (or may not) become a sort of 'piquancy', for want of a better term. The savor of a very ripe Camembert, or of a Stilton. And so then, some people would not like a very ripe Camembert, or a Stilton.

[@choppertowers]

Thank you for that explanation, I find it very interesting, especially the cheese metaphor. Regards

[@paxwallacejazz]

Ranges out better in some keys huh. Nice thanx. So do you include maj7 in chord scale? Do you omit a half step in solo inventory? Like Gmaj7+5 . Not at a piano as I write. Strongly polytonal. Like D/Eb where Eb is just a bass note well add G if you like. Or Fmaj7+5/Bb. Namaste

[@JonFrumTheFirst]

Spacing does wonders to make piano voicings work. A lot of current jazz theory doesn't explain anything - it just explains it away with 'altered' notes and chords. I think Aimee's right that the triad on top pulls the ear away from the dissonance, and then the spacing between G in the bass, F and F# allows the dissonance to mellow.

[@davidhoxit4274]

Thanks for exposing me to so many wonderful notes...I hope to catch up one day!

[@jessica-mh3os]

This means nothing to me but your voice sounds so excited and passionate about this!

[@aaronperez5539]

I love your excitement over mundane subjects.

[@JonnyOgg]

this ladies excitement makes me really happy

[@joshuaglennwilson]

What an amazing find! Thanks for sharing!

[@urzathehappy72]

Im combining this with your bebop 2 5 1 lesson to get a crazy descending practice pattern so when i reach the 1 i then play the V using this chord (dominant #5 clash 7) then repeat the pattern half step lower.

[@GeorgeZwierzchowskipianomusic]

It works because the d# and f# resolve to e and g in the next chord, so can be seen as passing notes from d and f to e and g. because of the parallel motion the f only needs to resolve to the in the left hand anyway. its also a perfect voicing with d flat as a sub so can be seen as a so called upper structure. like all modern harmony, most of these sounds came out of voice leading and not so much simple chord punching. as our ears grew accustomed to the dissonances that always resolved, resolving became un- necessary. the whole movement from f-f#-g is quite nice if one wants more voice movement within the same chord function. Great vids by the way.

[@BillHilton]

Thanks Amy - that was fascinating! [...rushes to piano to try it]

[@ajjivackovic1782]

It's because all of the notes resolve with a Semitone interval (except the G obvs and the melody note) the F nat resolves to E, the D# resolves to E, the F# resolves to G, and the B resolves to C.

[@MrCavityMan]

Thank you for continuing to be inspiring!

[@averageuser1166]

I love how passionate you sound. It made the video really enjoyable even though I don't know a thing about music.

[@rapinncapin123]

I discovered this chord too as well, but in an even more intense voicing. It makes for excellent tension and release.

[@joethebar1]

between you and rick, you've got the theory market cornered on the tube

[@jonathanlehmann2059]

I love this idea, such a cool way to modify a ii-V-I progression. To my ear, the chord that shouldn't work also makes a nice descending arpeggio.

[@AimeeNolte]

+Jonathan Lehmann thanks Jonathan!

[@havokmusicinc]

This is a great b15/diminished double octave sound. I'm a strong believer in alterations past the 13th for color in tonal harmony settings like this. In terms of lines you can play under this, treat the b15 as a blue note like the b5 of the blues scale and ornament around it just like you would with blues lines. Of course if you want, you can always play angular Dophy lines, spiral Lateef lines, symmetrical Messiaen lines, or whatever, but you don't have to play out if that's not to your taste

[@soundwithin1]

Is your crazy chord the Barry Harris chord that none of pianists at the master class knew??? Just wondering?? Harris' work probably holds no secrets for you. Thank you for your generosity, you give so much and so simply. You help us believe. Hearing is believing

[@toothlesstoe]

Now that I think about it, Ravel used all kinds of extended chords that "shouldn't work," including this particular chord, decades before they became mainstream in jazz. Well, he _is_ the figure that used straight up bitonality in some of his music, much to the consternation of music critics and contemporaries alike. People thought his Valse nobles et sentimentales was a parody in fact, when it was premiered in the 1911 composition competition. Truly a daring revolutionary.

[@eternalrainbow-cj3iu]

Also as another answer on your open question, Ed Bickert used E/C as the last chord going to the new chorus in "Have you met miss Jones?"(rethoric question) this Tune has sort of Coltrane changes befor the Coltrane changes existed...(Tad Demeron Turn)

[@whatno5090]

According to all known laws of music theory, there is no way this chord should be able to work. It's notes seem to conflict, and it is a combination of a 7th and a major. The chord, of course, works anyways. Because chords don't care what humans think.

[@veliulvinen]

I happened to leaf through an introductory "post-tonal" theory book just before watching this and what came to mind were sets that contained every possible interval among their members. For me, the chord in this video becomes even more interesting because of that (I love theories), as there are half-steps (F to F# to G), whole steps (D# to F to G), a minor third (D# to F#), major thirds (G to B to D#), a pure fourth (F# to B) and a tritone (F to B). Everything from a pure fifth onwards is already included when you count possible inversions. I would have loved it even without the G on the bottom, because then there would have been only one of each interval in the chord (a so called 4-Z29b set in this case). Also then we could regard the chord in question as a F lyd b9 (or B(add#11)) and as such a plagal, modal trick chord... But in the end, the most obvious sound that comes through the original is: G is on the bass and the harshest interval within the chord is the tritone between F and B => it's "function" can only be a dominant.

[@TheWhisperingCactus]

Damn, that's a nice sounding piano. Looks like the action and feel is just insane.

[@mrspuffoncrack1404]

I don't know why KZbin recommended this to me, I know nothing and have little interest in music theory, I have no idea what isn't working but good job lady! You did it! I'm not sure what, but you seem happy about it!

[@mrspuffoncrack1404]

(please don't read this sarcastically I like that you seem genuinely excited over this like idk what it is but yay)

[@AimeeNolte]

+CNN Come Find Me I'm glad KZbin recommended me to you! Thx for stopping by. :)

[@mstalcup]

You've got an augmented unison (F and F-sharp) The F, as in a typical dominant 7 chord, would tend to move downward to the note E (or at least a C major chord). The F-sharp in the right hand functions as a leading tone and tends to move upward to a G. My idea is that's why the dissonance works. Another chord that seems to defy analysis (in that it has no clear root) is F, B, E, A, C-sharp. That's one of my favorite chords.

[@toothlesstoe]

I think it would be closest to functioning as a G lydian-dominant13 (omit root, omit 5), with the G functioning merely as an implied root.

[@TheVoitel]

That’s a pretty simple chord. You can even explain this one with simple classic harmony: Read the chord as G-F-B-Eb-F#-B. This way it becomes a G Dominant 7 with two suspensions, once the fifth by the minor sixth, and once the fifteenth (i.e. the upper base tone) by a major fourteenth (i.e. the major 7). Some people will say though that suspensions may only be used in downward direction, but then, what do they know?

[@Christopher.Gontar]

Hi Aimee, I like to use that chord in All The Things You Are, at least when playing solo piano. I leave the minor seventh out in the bass, though. I call the resulting chord Maj7#5 and I like it as a dominant substitute. When I played All The Things You Are like that at Green Mill an old man said I sounded like I had "new ideas." Not so new after all! Chris

[@thiagobritomusic]

The power of the voice leading!!

[@musicwithmatt6531]

I found you can also get Ab/G7(omit 5th) resolve to G/C. it has a similar idea of a right hand triad resolving chromatically to the nearest triad with a left hand resolving from dominant to tonic.

[@modalmixture]

Ooh that #7 sounds so good tho when you voice lead it. Jacob Collier likes to say, it doesn't matter how you get there as long as you do it through good voice leading. It also sounds nice with a rising melody (E-F#-B).

[@TheImaxify]

This is a very interesting and lovely way to articulate jazz theory. Thanks!

[@Traffichogg]

The miracle of dissonance in a passing tone. This is such a neat chord to hear in that progression. I will sometimes take old church hymns ( I, IV, V type songs) and play with chords using everything in the (key) scale that the song is in. My cheat is to utilize the melody line and whatever note that may be - I'll play that with my pinky, and ask myself "OK, what's a cool chord in the scale where that note is played by my pinky". Sometimes it works, other times - not so much. But it gets ya thinking about what chords could be used.

[@somedude-tr1mj]

In a way of thinking described by Barry Harris, all those notes are part of the G dominant diminished scale; the G7 notes come from the dominant half, and the D# and F# notes could be seen as being borrowed from the diminished half of the scale (from Adim7). I think he does that kind of borrowing a lot, for color/dissonance, and then resolving it.

[@christopheribrahim7143]

NIce! Thought, for memorization reasons I guess I'd just memorize it as Maj 3 triad over a Dominant 7th chord. I think it sounds so nice because not only do you have the Dom 7th Interval between the root and the flat 7, but between your flat 7 and major 7 you have the interval of a major 7. It sounds like that F# is pulling super hard to resolve up to G.

[@keithfre_nl]

I too like the #7 in a dominant chord. You can leave it in place for a #4 over the I, or resolve it to the 5 over the I. A nice ending chord I've found in Eb is B triad over F (here the tonic of the song is the 3rd of the triad). If it's too dissonant the bass line can go F F# G so you end on a Gmaj7#5.

[@zackburkhart6521]

no comments on her beautiful playing style or her beautiful singing... wow

[@AntonJazz]

Thanks for the fun post, Aimee! Like you say, the chord is an unexpected combination of a standard V7→I cadence and what in classical music they call the common tone diminished, where io7→I. An example of common tone diminished resolution is the first two chords of the chorus of Spring is Here, which you could notate as Co7→Cmaj7 or, since B is in the melody, B/C→Cmaj7. To my ears, that's where your B major triad comes from. I have a blog post that talks about that if you're curious - use a search engine to search for "whispering ii-v" and it'll come up. Thanks again for the great work! Cheers!

[@AimeeNolte]

+Anton Schwartz you're right! That's a great explanation. Don't forget that F natural though.

[@1FatHappyBirthday]

It's the same exact sound that occurs when my cat walks on the piano.

[@toothlesstoe]

What a talented cat.

[@RedAnsel]

toothless toe wow you have more likes than the original comment

[@FTTPRO]

3:20 Doris Day - "I Remember You," For anyone else that was wondering what, "That song was!"

[@ekcentrik]

It's a lovely standard recorded by many great musicians, including Doris Day.

[@MicheleSalvetti]

I think it works because G7 obviously goes to C and B is like a "down-pitched version" of the C chord.. so if you put these two chords together you create more tension and when you play C it's like a double cadence

[@XxQueenChristinaxX]

I love chords, it makes melody so much better

[@scott.caitlinandrews2007]

I'm not at my keyboard right now (and won't be for a couple weeks), but I'd venture a guess that throwing an A in between the F and the lower B would make it set even better. I'm basing that on the presence of the F-Eb-Gb (F-D#-F#) in the middle of the chord, which could be evoking an F7b9 effect. Besides, making that upper voicing a B7 couldn't hurt, especially when A is a natural extension for the G7 as well.

[@LeeJordanMusic]

This was really cool! I'm gonna try to incorporate this into my own style

[@dr.brianjudedelimaphd743]

C diminished Major 7 over the dominant root.... could also apply to the 2nd bar of " I remember you " and the first bar of " misty"

[@toothlesstoe]

Some weird extended dominant chords I've experimented with lately includes: C#13 (#4, #15, omit 5), voiced starting from the second lowest C# upwards: C#-Fx-E#-B-D#-A#-Cx A13 (b9, #11, add nat.11) in the 6th inversion, starting from the second lowest D# moving upwards: D#-A-G-C#-E-G-Bb-D-F# and a crazy huge dominant chord (that can't be labeled accurately, as it takes up all 12 pitch classes) that's not really as dominant as it is a huge dissonant sonority [C#13 (#4, #15 add x3, #5, add #7, add x9, add x11, add x13) starting from the second lowest C# moving upwards: C#-E#(skip an octave)-B-D#-Fx-A#-Cx-Ex-Gx-B#-Dx-F#x-Ax) All can be transposed, of course.

[@AimeeNolte]

+toothless toe I hope you're following June Lee's channel. cool ideas, Toe.

[@themennissvids]

G7(b13, b15) works nicely as a notation. So does B/G7 if you want to treat it polychordaly. (which you seem to be doing in your explaination, treating it as a V7-I in the left hand and a VII-I in the right)

[@toothlesstoe]

b13, b15 doesn't fit the context of the music.

[@themennissvids]

How so? The enharmonic spelling is a little gross, but it gives the correct pitch classes.

[@toothlesstoe]

A b13 and b15 don't resolve.

[@ToniLeys]

Whoah! A wild augmented fifth with major AND minor sevenths appeared. That's cool!

[@joesatriani1200rulez]

I discovered this chord by mistake too, I'm a guitarist and was improvising over a G7#5 chord a while back and noticed if I swapped the F for F# for tension even though there's a fair bit of it happening you get A Bmajor triad, I played it and I actually really liked the sound of it, it shouldn't work but it does! As long as it's done in moderation!

[@russell_szabados]

Great video. This kind of reminds me of the first time I learned the spelling of the Hendrix/Purple Haze chord when I was in high school, the E7b9. I showed it to my piano teacher and I was amazed that it worked with a G# and a G natural (ok, F double-sharp). She - not a very pop or jazz friendly instructor - was like "Hmm, well it does, now doesn't it? Moving along..." LOL.

[@dibblethwaite]

Here's a similar one I got from a Gene Harris recording. A rootless Db9 with a C natural in it. F (below middle c) Cb, Eb, skip an octave then F, C natural, F. The right hand can resolve by going up a semitone in all parts. I think this works for because Cnatural is a perfect 5th above F and the voicing contains a lot of Fs. Also That C natural is already present in the harmonic series of the Lowest F so the spacing is helping too.

[@ethanhayward9624]

This was a Bill Evans thing, right? Rootless voicing LH with a 5th & octave in the RH, sometimes quote-unquote ignoring harmony. I feel like I've read that somewhere.

[@dibblethwaite]

I don't know about it being a Bill Evans thing. Rootless LH voicing and octaves in RH is very common. This is a variation, I guess. It sounds surprisingly consonant. The Maj7 just adds a tiny bit of dirtyness when voiced like this. To my ears at least.

[@gordonfrancisblaneyjr.4805]

Polychords are a wonderful thing. Understanding their relationship on a vertical level is one matter: understanding their relationship on a horizontal level is another. Often polychords that are well-to-do have common resolution chords. For example, G7 and Bmaj both share Emin as a resolution; Cmaj is another option as was discussed, because of the V - I relationship with the G7 and the lower chromatic approach to the tonic I chord. It's fascinating, but I wouldn't describe it as a music theorist as a chord that shouldn't work. Any chord can go to any chord, and the complex, difficult, and hard part as a theorist is the why part. I subscribed to your channel, however, after watching this video, because I like your general approach to education and piano performance.

[@Bigandrewm]

I once wrote a tune with that had as a result of orchestration a sustained passing chord Bb triad / Ab triad / F# root. Sounds awesome. But, that B triad/G7 thing is in music theory, just not super common theory. Your explanation is great, but I offer another: 12-ET can be thought of as "evening out" various microtones that can pop up when we tune chords truly. One such relationship that is we can consider that in your B/G7 is the harmonic 7th and the harmonic 15th; but it is hard to demonstrate unless you have a keyboard with pitch adjustment, or via the human voice if you can multi-track yourself or have a stellar group of singers who can really lock in chords, like a great barbershop quartet. The construction is: root, harmonic 7th (minor seventh -31 cents), major third (-14 cents), major 7th (-12 cents). It's glorious, and with some experimentation it's quickly apparent that this chord quickly loses its consonance when that harmonic 7th gets closer to 0 cents away from 12ET. For even more fun, voice the chord with those two 7ths right next to each other in that tuning.

[@Khayyam-vg9fw]

There's a whole load of this kind of colliding harmony (moving towards a single point of resolution) in the Adagio of Franz Schmidt's Third Symphony of 1928. The very first sound to occur is an F sharp (!) augmented triad played over a widely spaced D minor triad. It's not so much that "voice leading trumps harmony"; it's that the linear aspects of music override local vertical formations (qv. Schenker).

[@luisybarraaspichueta3405]

my view on this chord is that it's almost a phrygian dominant chord BUT the only difference is the F# of the B major triad (instead of natural F) . In a phrygian dominant chord (G7b9b13) the minor seventh (F) creates strong tension that leads to the third of C (E), and the b13 (G#) also creates a nice tension which collapses into the fifth of the C chord. However, the F# in B/G7 chord has some lydian feeling to it and creates even more tension around the fifth, which is then strongly accentuated. That's why the C69 chord fits so perfectly.

[@shkiwi1978]

Gorgeous! Amazing what you can do when you space voicing out over a couple of octaves! The further the spacing, the less dissonant :) Yes....voice leading is everything!

[@baloothedrummer]

Wooow your videos always blow mi mind. Thank You very much. Greetings from México

[@DJColdCutz_]

No idea why this was in my recommended videos, and I was very confused the whole time, but good video anyway! Felt smarter after!

[@WayneKitching]

When I was a student at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, a friend who was in a Christian band told me that he had heard of playing B over G from a guitarist in another band. They keyboardist in my friend's band, a girl who did a degree in classical music, totally refused to play that chord, because it didn't make any sense to her.

[@TZKeyz]

Nelson Riddle did unusual voicings similar to what you're talking about. He did it with strings. Check out the 4th (not the IV) chord (VI) in the verse of Stevie Wonder's "Sunshine Of My Life."

[@AimeeNolte]

+Tommy Zvoncheck the V of ii. Yeah. Love that one. Good call

[@AimeeNolte]

+Aimee Nolte Music to be clear however, there is no major seven in that chord. There is a flat nine and a sharp five if I remember correctly .

[@TZKeyz]

Actually a 13th b9. LH G#, F#, RH C, F, A. I think.

[@tommyguglielmo1194]

if you were in a cafe playing, i would have thought it was a missed note. unique sound

[@Cscdog]

It seems as though it's an accidental of sorts that works in the context of the song. I love it.