How to play 9, 11 and 13 chords

[@ethanschoof4953]

David i’m a guitarist but you’ve helped me a TON with branching out with my chord choices and understanding music theory as a whole concept, from building chords to different modes to slash chords and so on. Love your videos and can’t thank you enough.

[@captainautoflower4136]

Same. Music theory is so helpful on any instrument. I just got my first digital piano yesterday too so I’m excited to keep learning!

[@Yupppi]

Same here. Opened a whole new world to learn of different chord progressions and how modals change the chords of the key.

[@russell2910]

Yeah, but if you learn too much theory, you start to suck. Sometimes you just have to play the same scale over everything, just up and down the scale playing each note . Some people say they don't like it, but I think they are just jealous.

[@ChristianSmith-zf9tv]

@@russell2910so very wrong

[@russell2910]

@@ChristianSmith-zf9tv suck it

[@gitaaa7740]

David is the best music teacher! I wish he was around when I was young. I learn something from his videos all the time!

[@MattnUska]

I wish KZbin (and David) was around when I was young. Where I grew up there wasn’t a lot of musical knowledge. You had to go to big cities to learn everything we have easy access to now. I barely learned any music theory other than the basics until KZbin came around. I was a music major at a state university for three semesters and they only taught the basics. I gave up on it because I got bored.

[@pensivepenguin3000]

When I play the same things on my keyboard, it just never sounds as good as you. We often say in the guitar world that it’s all in the hands. I think it must be true in the keys world as well. I love that dreamy jazz piece you played at the end! I could’ve listened to that for hours

[@ShaharHarshuv]

I doubt it's your technique. Piano has very little variation in sound as a result of technique. It could either be the sound you are using for the piano, or literally just the way you use the chords in context. The jazz piece at the end used a lot of harmonic patterns not explained in this video.

[@sweeneyted]

Mate, we are so lucky to have resources like this. Really instructive, as ever - particularly in providing examples of suggested usage! Something that is missing from a lot of music theory content is the way one can apply the understanding, but this was really inspirational and helpful.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

😊😊😊

[@darrelldourte9455]

​@@DavidBennettPianoI have gone to using the 2nd minor chord as my guide to 9, 11, n 13. I've never had a "walking bass" left hand. Great instruction. Love your work with Beatles n Radiohead examples.

[@Drumtariano]

a good way to start experimenting with the "slash chord trick": If you want a 9 chord, play a seventh chord built on the 3rd of the original chord. If you want an 11, play a seventh chord on the fifth, and if you want a 13, play a seventh chord on the seventh.

[@CamiloSoto]

Even if this is not bulletproof for all kinds of chords, it's closer to what I expected to be in this video, thanks!

[@joeharris2659]

When you say a ‘seventh’ do you mean a minor seventh? Otherwise a C9 would be a E7/C, which includes a G#, which doesn’t belong.

[@keithklassen5320]

This is the kind of information that would make this video actually useful.

[@stereo123]

@@keithklassen5320 I don't get it, that is the whole point of the video, isnt it?

[@alamolalamol9426]

This is actually very useful. Love these 'hacks'. Thanks - will b trying this out.

[@CoinedIt]

Wow this was enlightening. I really like the examples of when to slot these chords in as that's what I struggle with the most.

[@RobyMBeki]

6:08 This is the first chord I use in my song Keen On You. It's such a great chord when played before G6. Also 12:00 the chord FMaj9, I've used that in Next Holidays as the first chord of the chorus, such a beautiful sound.

[@raularenaza3230]

JUST BRILLIANT! This is the best way to teach harmony without having to mess with sheet music. Straight to the point, David...!!! Many thanks also for speacking so nicely for the non natives... 5⭐ !!

[@fredhystair5789]

Invaluable content on this channel. Thanks for all the hard work.

[@jerrytracey6602]

Thank you, thank you, thank you! In one short video video you have unlocked what was, for me, the utter mystery of jazz piano chords. I have played blues guitar nearly all my life, but this has always eluded me when I started playing a keyboard; and when I hit on one of these chords accidentally when "mucking about" I can never work out how I did it or how to replicate it. Now I know!

[@sa-rq2xj]

This is so helpful!! Thank you David!

[@KalebPeters99]

This was a nice intro to the concept, but I would LOVE a more detailed sequel where you sketch out the actual scale-degree rules and why they work. Like how putting a major chord on the 2nd degree makes a 13(#11) chord etc etc

[@JohnDoe-fz7hz]

I´m speechless. Never heard it someone can explain it so perfectly. Thanks a lot

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Glad it helped!

[@gregoryspiteri1551]

This Video is awesome! It gave me a wealth of information to understand better Upper chord Extensions! Well done David!

[@tocov]

I thought this was going to be about how Slash uses chords lmaaaaaooo Great stuff as always regardless.

[@pensivepenguin3000]

You might be onto another video idea there lol. The sweet child o’ mine riff immediately comes to mind, where it’s based on a D chord shape

[@thomashunt9044]

Love your videos David! you make learning music theory really fun and are an inspiration to us all

[@willieeffinmac]

Excellent video. I’m primarily a guitarist but I’ve been practicing piano for a while and this is extremely helpful.

[@davidsummerville351]

Thanks for the slash chord chart. Very useful! Time stamp appox. 12:50

[@dontwasteachance]

This is a great lesson! Thank you for explaining the association between extended chords and slash chords! It was really valuable for me when you explained dropping the third and the fifth. Dropping the fifth is almost obvious but it never occurred to me to drop the third

[@divest_.2759]

Holy shit. This genuinely helped me put it into practice. Especially as I was watching the video and guessing what would make up the chords over time. Thank you!!!!

[@divest_.2759]

Leaving another comment for the algorithm!!!!!!!!

[@ironqueen_osrs]

This is amazing, I understand so much more about slash chords and when to use them. or how to use them! thank you!!

[@thepostapocalyptictrio4762]

I like to use 13ths as a substitute for 7ths or 9ths on the dominant chord in a blues. Using 9ths instead of 7ths in a blues is a classic. Thanks for teaching all this.

[@JackofCubes]

I love how this video was targeted to exactly my skill level and answered the questions ive been trying to figure out for a while. thank you!

[@everestjarvik5502]

My favorite place to use a #11 chord is as the bVI chord in a minor key - the #11 is the second degree of the key so resolving to it in the melody over the VI chord is absolutely brutal (in a good way haha)

[@luigiscazzari4724]

This is a very useful lesson for guitar players as well. Especially when one discovers prog rock.

[@jordisixx-vq2eu]

This is what I needed to help my smooth jazz improvisation and soloing with the upper keys plus these chords could be used to play as scales also

[@Lillebooooo]

Thank you for the info, david!

[@MarlonG562]

Goddamn this helps so much. I had no idea musicians would often times take out the 3rd and 5th of these chords to make it a bit more digestible. Thank you so much!

[@jayburd1875]

Finally it makes sense. Just subscribed to your channel. I can feel my musicality improving already.

[@Classic_H_Radio]

i was so happy when i figured this out. it all comes back around to the simple stuff

[@dukeofearl4117]

Thank you David. I’m a guitarist just picking up piano. I just finished a theory course and understand chords. I can see the application of this to improvising on the piano just like I do on guitar, but this looks easier because I can see the intervals on the keyboard.

[@stgodards]

I can't adequately describe how right up my street this stuff is. Thanks, David.

[@davidpope7431]

This is what I’ve been trying to figure out for some time now. Thanks!

[@BenIsFiguringitOut]

I’ve been using that G13 type of chord (tonic in C) for a long time, but never knew what the chord was called. Thanks for this video!

[@yaqxs]

If you want to start jazz accordion, this system of substitute upper extensions with different "basic" chords is extremely helpful with the base side of the instrument.

[@SproutyPottedPlant]

Just came back here to say thank you so much for this video, it has had a lasting impression on me! This has improved my chords at least 200 percent and has also taught me chords sound better all spaced out 😊 my Dreamcast/Sonic/ECCO style music now sounds like something you would find in a real game especially with those slash chords ❤️👍🌱

[@TigerRogers0660]

Great tutorial video David !! I'm experimenting writing songs with a couple of these upper chord extensions.

[@alastairdallas]

I was just on my way to discovering the slash chord trick on my own--talk about a lesson being perfectly timed. Thanks!

[@pAWNproductionsDE]

Using slash chords is essential on guitar since we're physically limited by which notes we can play, or how many. Also, on the rare occasions I use major 11 chords, I always swap the 4th and the 3rd. Just in general, I always swap the notes in a minor 9th to make it a major 7th, unless I'm specifically playing a dominant b9 chord.

[@Frank-in-NY]

Hey David...Thank you Thank You Thank You! I'm a guitar player, and play piano as well with limited skills. Though I have a pretty good understanding of Chords generally, voicing them on piano has been challenging. I tried to look for a rule of thumb, something like 'When playing a 9th chord drop the 5th include the flat 7th". Your explanation on building these voicings really helps!

[@bganzer3997]

Thank you, I love that. Would be great to have of these posts about layered chords

[@mikereinke4565]

Iron sharpens iron. Ive heard thpughts like this before, but you've made this much clearer. Thanks.

[@jkennan]

Brilliantly explained and beautifully played. Thanks very much.

[@estebanrodriguez9007]

Great video again. Keeps my love of music and writing alive.

[@bettyennin6335]

Thank you for simplifying this. God bless you

[@cakemartyr5794]

Excellent videos, thanks. I'm not a jazzer but you've really helped my understanding. Thanks.

[@composer7325]

Brilliant,David,this is excellent,thank you.Peter.

[@anthonyscott16]

Excellent lesson bro. I appreciate you sharing the knowledge

[@richiestarks609]

Superb explanation. So happy to have found this video. 👏🏼

[@davidsolomon3859]

That Fmaj7/G chord is the fourth chord of the main sequence of Joni Mitchell's "Coyote" from her "Hejira" album.The sequence is Cmaj9 then,F/G then E flat then Fmaj7/G .Beautiful!

[@barrycoulter6951]

Thx so much, guitar player here too…excellent insight on extensions..!

[@JohnnyTronny19841]

Tony Banks brought me into this world of chords - thank you!

[@panosmosproductions3230]

I mentioned this in the comment section of the video on the 2-5-1 chord progression, but didn’t really go into detail on it. But the Super Mario World Game over theme is a 2-5-1, and it uses upper chord extensions. For context this theme is in the key of F. The chords are Gm9, C13(b9)(b11), Fmaj9. But with the slash chord trick in mind, you could think of it as going Bbmaj7/G followed by Bbdim(maj7)/C, then ending on Am7/F, which is a simpler approach than what you actually hear in the actual soundtrack.

[@breckheck]

Funny you mention the SMW ending theme. I was just thinking that some of the chords David was playing sound just like parts from that theme (although transposed)

[@weepingscorpion8739]

C13b9bb11? Isn't the bb11 just the 10 or rather the 3rd? So C7b9add13? OK, maybe not neater but at least you avoid the bb, I suppose. :) But yeah, cool chord progression either way.

[@panosmosproductions3230]

Correction: the 11 isn’t a bb11. It’s just a b11.

[@weepingscorpion8739]

@@panosmosproductions3230 Ah, OK. That makes sense now. But no, wait, hang on... that's still enharmonious with 3? I don't know where my head was earlier but bb11 would be b3? 11 = 4, so in C that is F, so b11 is Fb or E and bb11 would be Fbb or Eb? Yeah, I know I'm "mincing notes" a bit here.

[@panosmosproductions3230]

I mentioned the slash chord approach In the main comment. The upper chord extension here gives you a Bbdim(maj7)/C, which is the slash chord approach to C13(b9)(b11). The fully stacked chord contains C E G Bb Db Fb-(E) A. The Bb Db and E make a Bbdim chord. That’s why both the 9 and 11 are flat. Since the diminished chord in the right hand is on the b7 in this C chord, the b9 is a minor 3rd above it, with the b11 a minor 3rd above that, as opposed to the regular 9 and 11, which themselves are a minor 3rd appart, while the 9 is a major 3rd above the b7.

[@alicialexists]

Thanks! That was very helpful.

[@paulromsky9527]

Great video as always. Dropping the 5th and 3rd is what I teach my students when I show them how to "fake" chords by drpoping the 5th for 9th and 11th chords, and maybe drop the 3rd as well for 13th chords... but Tertiary Harmony, I think keeping the 3rd is important because it does define the quality of the "intended" chord - maj/min/dim/aug/sus/dom and such.

[@llsnickers2372]

Thank you

[@J.D....]

I dont think its that common to omit the 3rd in a 13 chord, atleast in my experience. I would omit the 11 first, then the 9th. If you really want to have the 11 in there i would write it as 13(omit 3) or 13(11) or 13sus4. Since the 13 chord acts as a dominant, omiting the 3rd i.e., the leading tone seems counter intuitive, unless you are going for a suspended sound.

[@gregwfs]

Fully Agreed! The 3rd should always be included in a chord to determine major or minor, unless it is a suspended chord (sus2 or sus4) or a "power 5th" chord. I agree that the 11th should be first omitted in the 13th along with the 5th. A 13th chord can be played with just four notes, 1, 3, 7, 13(6) to get the intended "color"

[@zorkmarble]

I was puzzled by this. I’ve always understood that a chord without a 3rd can’t function as a dominant.

[@Andreas-tb1mc]

By leaving out the 3rd in a dominant chord you're removing that chord-defining tritone between the 3 and the 7. That said, I think it's our brains imagining that left out 3rd of the dominant chord, filling in that gap. So even without that 3 most people will still know it's the V, wanting to be resolved to I, just because we heard it too many times

[@Bluman2]

An easy way to turn a 7th chord into a 9th chord is to just move your thumb on the root note in the right hand up a whole step to the next note and keep playing the root in the left hand. May not be an "upper" chord extension but it still has the same function.

[@jogriffiths4797]

This is so well explained!

[@nick326697]

Brilliant as ever

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks!

[@spotishii]

Thanks david

[@mrapplefritter3117]

Really needed that comma

[@Norfolk-scottD3234]

Thanks, ive always wanted to play jazz piano

[@MartiA1973]

Priceless - thank you.

[@martymckay8978]

Great lesson!

[@panosmosproductions3230]

There’s an Ebmaj9(#11) chord at the end of the song Christmas is Coming; from Charley Brown.

[@gianul]

You are a great teacher!

[@slartibartfast1268]

Very well presented

[@peterbodofsnik9429]

That’s a game changer. Thx

[@dontylar8760]

Good lesson 👍

[@johnwallace2319]

so G7 is only G7 in the key of C?

[@jacopodolce684]

We love you

[@c14n_]

Lovely ending piece. Something to aspire to :)

[@slidenaway]

(Second edit - aw man I’m a victim of a title change lol. Was originally titled “how to play jazz chords” and my comment made more sense then) Wow! I don’t even care about jazz lol (sorry, it’s just never appealed to my ear, not my taste), but this was still fascinating! I can use jazz chords in my rock music if I want 😁 and now I’m pretty prepared to do so - thanks David!! EDIT - please don’t waste your breath recommending jazz for me 😂 I’m 40 years old, been obsessed with music for 30 years, I’ve given jazz plenty of chances and I don’t like jazz. It’s okay. It’s okay that some people’s ears just don’t like certain genres. I promise you it’s fine and no one needs to try to “fix” something. There’s nothing broken :)

[@michaelsuau293]

As someone who used to not care about jazz and is now trying to catch up, I say don't hesitate to dive in! In my humble opinion, jazz is the lineage and vocabulary that opens up virtually all other styles of music. If you're normally into rock, maybe check out some bluesy players. If you play piano, Oscar Peterson is a must! That dude SHREDS

[@pensivepenguin3000]

I’ll always love rock because that’s where I started, but I can’t understand how somebody says they don’t care about jazz, or they can’t find anything appealing about it. It would really be worth spending some time getting acquainted with it. It’s a gorgeous and hugely diverse genre

[@trivekz]

Listen to Genevieve by Andrew Gold. Kind of a soft rock mixed with jazz

[@bobthegreat297]

you see these chords in ALOT of other genres not just jazz

[@michaelsuau293]

@@bobthegreat297 i feel like this kind of harmonic vocabulary and perspective is one of the biggest impacts that jazz has had on the musical world as a whole. That's why learning it opens you up to many related styles like funk, blues, rock. Even genres like metal or bluegrass have had some influence here and there

[@seanonel]

3:01 I don’t like dropping the 3rd. I prefer to keep the 1, 3 and 7 and drop any or all of the 5, 9 and 11 extensions... For me, the 3rd is too important in its role of indicating the quality of the chord; although I guess that if the intention is to keep the chord sound ambiguous, then this is the way to go...

[@ElectricEddieDaus]

Hi David, I enjoyed your video and I understand the Technique that you're explaining. However, I think there is a slight miss here... I think the problem is most guys/gals will not look at a G13 chord on a sheet of music and say... Oh, No problem, that's an FMaj7/G. They most likely will still have to figure out the chord first from stacking 3rds to get to the G13 and then removing the 3rd & 5th as you say. Then if you look at what's left, just maybe you might realize that it's an FMaj7/G, but some still may not see or realize what's left is a Slash Chord = FMaj7/G. I don't think most people will be able to say, Oh a G13 chord, No Problem, that's an FMaj7/G right off the bat. So it may be a bit misleading for someone when they are watching you say to just use a Slash Chord to get a G9, G11, or G13 chord. They could be looking at it and say, how did he get FMaj7/G from a G13 Chord, especially if they are not familiar with chord extensions? Also, some of the other chords may be even more intimidating like a G9 from a Bm7(b5)/G... LOL... Just a point of reference that it may not be quite as easy as it looks. Otherwise Great video.. Thx ElectricEddie

[@BestFitSquareChannel]

Well done. Thank you.Best wishes.

[@LiliwalterZwide]

Good teacher

[@cjdennis149]

I kept being reminded of different Billy Joel songs while watching this video! I'm not a good musician and I know very little about theory (mostly from watching David Bennett Piano videos), but I'm guessing Billy Joel must use a lot of upper extensions in his music.

[@tubeo94]

4:32 this frame will be my poster. Thanks

[@theepisofdiabolos-dj5xh]

i love jazz harmony!!

[@charlych2406]

I love your content too much David

[@Antonio-ti2he]

Wow!!!! Thank you.

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks 😊

[@johnmac8084]

I'm intrigued that you leave out the 3rd David. Guitarists are used to leaving notes out of upper extended chords, but not usually the 3rd. The guide tones of a 7th chord are the 1, 3 & 7, or just the 3 & 7 if the bass has the 1. Upper extensions can be added to this, but might not all be stacked. Without the 3 the chord is neither major or minor. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on this.

[@QuasarEE]

It's an emptier sound which lets the listener intuit what's going on from the context.

[@johnmac8084]

@@QuasarEE Yes, of course, if the piano is accompanying, and the harmony is completed by others 😀

[@samappleby60]

End on a tune on VII/I. Well jazz!

[@brucesstreet8204]

Fmaj7/G is a G13sus4.

[@N4505]

I was looking for this comment

[@CharlesLambert-i5e]

This is so cool

[@christopherfryda]

I love this channel!

[@philburns5656]

So now that we know how these chords are played, it would be great to have guidelines for when to use them in compositions?! Let's say I have a basic chord structure, but I want to spice it up. Of course, I can just try. Or some things come from intuition. But are there "mechanisms" that help you find the "right" extensions better?

[@sanamusic]

Good stuff keep it up

[@MsHanniNanni]

really cool video! thanks :-)

[@majman446]

charles cornell actually talked about this a few weeks ago! much useful tho for people who watch you, but not him

[@kummer45]

The Lord provided THIS man for us to understand what sound IS. The LORD made this gift possible. This is what an educated musician looks like.

[@MattnUska]

For blues I tend to drop the 5th but leave the 3rd. So a C9 I would play E, Bb, D in the right hand and a C in the left hand. Or leave the root out (leave it to the bass player) and play melody with the right hand. The root can be implied in blues/jazz on piano and guitar. The 5th isn’t as important as the 3rd in my opinion.

[@josanders7686]

How can this theory be used if you play the chord in your left hand and melody in the right hand? Would you add the slash note to the melody? I play songs from the Real Book and many of them have the upper chord extensions. I'm trying to figure out the best way to add that extension.

[@povilasl5383]

yeah, I've understood upper chord extensions for the longest time, however, the biggest problem for me was learning to play it in all 12 keys with altered and normal extensions just seemed like way too much learning, but if I think about it as IV major/minor over the V root note, it makes it so much easier, but that only works for dominant chords - then we have to do major 9 and 13s and minor 9 (ive never heard minor 11th or 13th). If anybody has any song suggestions that use minor 11ths or 13ths please let me know.

[@12cmf]

It would be nice to publish the image of the slash chord conversions (from upper extensions) that was used in the video.

[@Overtune07]

David can you make another video on songs that are inspired by the Beatles?

[@davedesigning]

Have you looked at grip dissertation by Jared T Hall?

[@emanuellandeholm5657]

Nice! Question on notation: does X 13 always mean you have the 9 and the 11 too?

[@GizzyDillespee]

2:49 I'm sure everyone's different, but if I saw C13, I'd assume the 9 and 11 but not the 5 (and David said often not the 3, but I'd say sometimes not the 3). If I didn't want the 11 in the chord, then I'd call it a C69 chord... or a C6 if I also didn't want the 9. On a C11, if I only wanted the 11 and not the 9, then I'd call it a Csus4 or Cadd4, depending on whether I wanted the 3 in there. I hope that helped to clear it up rather than to add more confusion. If David answers and contradicts that in some way, then go with what he says.

[@Neil_SM]

Yes. The chord technically has all of the lower third notes that came before it, it just stacks a new one on top. For example, start with a c major chord. Then a C7 adds the (dominant) 7th on top of the triad. Next is a C9 which keeps all the notes in a C7 then adds the 9. The 11 keeps all those notes from the C9 and adds the 11 note. Then the 13 chord is basically including every note in the scale, because it has the notes 1 3 5 (flat)7 9 11 13. It’s just stacking another note on the C11 (which itself was stacking on the C9). That’s why it’s conventional to drop some notes out like the third and fifth in a 13 chord, or else it just sounds like a mess.