Mandolin has a pitch range that starts from G below middle C and spans 3 octaves or more. It's short string length means a person's hands can spread over more frets than larger instruments. Moving up the neck, the player will notice a greater ease of reach counteracted by cramped spaces, crowding fingers into miniature shapes to play chords that are easier down low on the neck. This necessitates … [Read more...]
Diminished and Half-Diminished Seven Chords
The diminished seven (1-b3-b5-bb7) and half diminished seven (1-b3-b5-b7) chords are built upon a diminished triad. Despite this similarity and despite the tendency of some musicians to treat these chords the same, the two can function very differently. Each can serve in a dominant function and resolve to a major or minor triad whose root is a half-step higher. However, the half diminished seven … [Read more...]
Tetrads – the 6 and 7 chords
While conventional harmony is based on the triad, the basic building block in jazz is the four note chord or tetrad, a basic triad with a 6th or 7th scale degree added. There are 6 basic tetrads that serve as these fundamental building blocks: three major six chords seventh chords (aka: dominant seventh or major-minor seventh) major seventh chords (aka: major seventh or major-major … [Read more...]
Altered Upper Tensions
C7b9 C^#11 … [Read more...]
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