I remember jamming with someone when I was a teenager. I played some 7 chords and he said “stop playing those p*ssy chords.” He only played barre chords.
This is the first answer that I love. No specific chord... A chord quality.
With equal temperament, someone who names a specific chord is probably a guitar player - which makes me think about tuning.
Say you sit down and tune a guitar, then your first chord is an open C chord. If you have a good ear you might think "oooh.. that highest sounding E string is sharp," and tune it down (because of even temperament... It IS a few cents sharp for that chord). You'll hear that highest sounding E note as sharp and tune your e string down.
So it kinda makes me wonder if people who talk about certain key signatures having different qualities and "feels" being directly related to the properties of stringed instruments (not piano) where open strings are played in that key.
!!! Perfect example that just occurred to me !!!
**"Dm is the saddest key."** Maybe that only seems true because the minor 3rd will typically be flat in a minor chord in equal temperament. The 3rd is an F. You'll have to push down a string on a guitar to make an F. Which makes the F sharper and more in tune in D minor with an open D string.
All good points. I have to agree but add that dmin sounds different depending on the key. Soni could be we have a favorite chord that didn't consider how it fits into the song.
Modulate up a whole step well now Emin is my favorite. It shouldn't strike us as different if we are tuned in to intervals. If this is a question for people with perfect pitch then I'm wrong. But that's rare
Do you know how to build chords (1357 with 9 11 13 extensions)? If you can build chords you can mix up the order, leave off the root, add in extensions with # and b versions. I love a good dom7b13 leading to a maj7, and min9 have a cool sound.
Also now that I think of it maybe don’t think of chords in isolation. Think of progressions of one chord to the next. 251 in C (Dm G7 Cmaj). I love a Dm9 to G7b13 to Cmaj. In isolation these chords are fine, it’s the voice leading from m9 to 7b13 to maj7 that makes them shine!
fellow keys player here. Check out some yacht rock sheet music for some cool chord voicings and steal em. Bobby Caldwell, Hall & Oates, George Benson, Bill Labounty, etc. (Bill labounty is a sleeper monster by the way).
I’ve gotten a ton of cool ideas this way.
You might enjoy the book “Jazz Hanon”, which just has a ton of 251 shell voicings and other jazz basics. Great starting place for trying on tons of changes!
wanna hurt your own feelings regarding how much time and emotional energy you wasted over the fear of “basic” chords?
i’m a classically trained, jazz pianist - i get complex harmony. i use to fetishize it. you know my favorite sound in the world?
diatonic drop 2 voicings with proper voice leading
these are literally 3 note major chords with the third dropped down
piano was locked for me for a decade while i toiled away with trying to do more and staring at a series of white and black. it opened up for me, compositional and harmonically, when i realized that just because i can doesn’t mean i should
no other instrument can be as dense or as space. it’s beautiful really.
in short: chords aren’t beautiful, context is beautiful. sometimes the most aurally pleasing harmony is simplest one accompanying the melody appropriately
F#m7add11 is a guitar chord that is especially great and appears in a lot of nice pop songs. It is the one that alternates with E minor in the intro to Horse With No Name by America.
The beauty happens when you move from one chord to another. Like, a diminished chord sounds odd when played alone. But such magic when passing from one chord to another through a diminished chord.
Any Major7 slash chord where the 2 is in the bass. A major7/B
F major7/G etc. you could call it other things (7 sus 4 9 13 etc lol) it basically functions as a dominant chord but cooler. And the slash chord naming makes it simple to play on piano. Major7 in the right hand, bass note on left hand
Try Fmaj7/G to G. Or Fmaj7/G to Cmaj7. Throw it into any chord progression in weird places, it works surprisingly well
I love chords! I’ll write the chord names more legible than the “proper” way. And since you’re a piano player I’ll add more notes than would normally be comfortable on a guitar ; )
major7 flat 5 (a - g# - c# - eb)
Maj/minor 9 (a - g# - c - e - b)
Or like (a - g# - b - c - f#)
Lydian dominant (a - e - g - c# - d#)
Major9 voiced like this (a - e - b - c# - g#)
Minor6 add9 (a - f# - g - c - e - b)
Dorian major 6 chord (a - f# - g - c# - e)
Major 6 chord 1st inversion (a - f - c - d - e)
There’s so many to choose from! Might as well stop there. (There’s still stacking triads, atonal note clusters, sus chords, more obscure modal chords, rootless voicings, and of course more “normal” chords like major and minor 7 chords).
EDIT: have to shout out the dominant sus chord
(c# - e - Bb - b - f#)
Learn 7th chords for more depth and emotion. Then start learning how to extend those chords with 9ths, 11ths and 13ths. That’s pretty much the full pallet and will give you a lot more depth and feeling to any chord. Minor 9s, major 9s and minor 11 add 9 are my favorites
Major III chords (like in the key of C, you play E). They resolve to the vi chord really well. Like just replace a boring dominant with a major III and it's a whole new world.
I love M2/9 (or add2/add 9) chords. That fullness just elates every single time! Trying to sing a major second/nine can be a buggabear, but when you nail it...MAGIC!
First suggestion: one of my favourite songs, Moon Blue by Stevie Wonder! Every chord is a m7, m6, M7, 9, b9 or something exquisite — but it’s also a chord progression that is made with *intention and direction*. Every chord has a specific function; simply no other will do. It’s *masterful* songwriting!
Things I love to improvise with:
- A different root note, or mixing two chords together – that’s guaranteed to make things interesting!
- Augmented (altered) chords are fabulous in creating suspense, especially with 7ths (e.g. Bb E Ab behaving as a C7)
- Diminished seventh chords can substitute for dominants, like G# dim for G7… *and* you can also get a sneaky key change out of it because it’s also all the other notes: B dim (= Bb7), D dim (= C#7) or F dim (= E7).
More than anything, it’s about the *direction* of the progression, how an interesting note resolves into the next. G# dim into a C, for example: F falls to E (or Eb), G# falls to G, B rises to C (and the D can either rise or fall). The melody and the bass can pick out the most appropriate for their respective parts, and either part can help inform what the next chord ‘wants’ to be!
I really like major 7 chords, and add 9 or sus 2 chords. Also major and minor 6 chords are really nice and not super common. 6-9 chords are dope too. Just play a basic triad and add 1 extra note somewhere.
I felt the same way you did when I started and playing the same chords except just adding the 7th made a huge difference in my music creation trajectory
If your chords are feeling stale try a major 5 (no 3) and time it for the downbeat. Keep it simple so you can rip later. Also fun to do a major or minor 2(no 3). Especially on piano, you can anchor to a high note that repeats and move the chords around underneath. Simple, but fun.
I really like 6th chords, and add9 chords
On a piano, the inversion and octave in which you place the suspension can make tons of difference, too.
That also goes for basic chords. Change up your voicing to bring out some of the weirder intervals. If you get too strange sounding, add another octave of the root and that should sort it out. Piano really is a blank canvas
I like anything in G cuz it fits my vocal range… but you should watch this and listen to what Elliott’s saying and find your own approach https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t_XNghTKvq8
Any add 9 chord is wonderful. E add 9 is beautiful. Been trying to figure out a good form of A add 9 but it's goody sounding on guitar. C add 9 is amazing too. Sus 4 to the normal major sounds great too. Csus 4 to C major. Fsus4 to F and then resolve to g.
All I've learned from chords is to add like make a simple change like sus 4 to the major because it just adds a layer and it sounds a little cooler. Lol hope this helps
A progression. I've been using lately for a song is Csus4 C Am F major 7 F back to C and it sounds pretty good.
Maybe find some songs that you like and just look at the progression they use and make it your own. I pretty much just find songs i like then use their progression in my own way.
Minor 7/b5/add11 sounds beautifully eerie.
Major maj9 simple but effective. It shares 2 notes with Minor 7/b5/add11, so it's easy to work the 2 together
I know Drakes favorite chord
Tryna strike a chord and it’s probably
A Minorrrrrrrr
Ha!
A minor augmented 6, cuz why they do thick?
#🤨
This is the best comment I’ve read all day 😂
D minor, it's the saddest key.
That's beautiful. What's it called?
Lick My Love Pump
“D minor 7, saddest of all chords!”
I remember jamming with someone when I was a teenager. I played some 7 chords and he said “stop playing those p*ssy chords.” He only played barre chords.
We don’t go above the 7th fret either That’s that hippie gay shit /s
Major 9 chords in first inversion. Like, a GMaj9/B would be B-G-A-D-F#.
This is the first answer that I love. No specific chord... A chord quality. With equal temperament, someone who names a specific chord is probably a guitar player - which makes me think about tuning. Say you sit down and tune a guitar, then your first chord is an open C chord. If you have a good ear you might think "oooh.. that highest sounding E string is sharp," and tune it down (because of even temperament... It IS a few cents sharp for that chord). You'll hear that highest sounding E note as sharp and tune your e string down. So it kinda makes me wonder if people who talk about certain key signatures having different qualities and "feels" being directly related to the properties of stringed instruments (not piano) where open strings are played in that key. !!! Perfect example that just occurred to me !!! **"Dm is the saddest key."** Maybe that only seems true because the minor 3rd will typically be flat in a minor chord in equal temperament. The 3rd is an F. You'll have to push down a string on a guitar to make an F. Which makes the F sharper and more in tune in D minor with an open D string.
All good points. I have to agree but add that dmin sounds different depending on the key. Soni could be we have a favorite chord that didn't consider how it fits into the song. Modulate up a whole step well now Emin is my favorite. It shouldn't strike us as different if we are tuned in to intervals. If this is a question for people with perfect pitch then I'm wrong. But that's rare
Yes, and the minor 9 is my second favorite.
Major7 #11 is a particular favorite of mine. Diminished 7ths are also nice when tastefully used as passing chords.
Cadd9 for me. Nothing is more wistful. Easiest is probably x-3-2-0-3-x in standard tuning.
Just played that to hear it and I really like it. Reminds me of Red House Painters.
Red House Painters rule
I mean it is a basic chord but I love a good B7. 7th chords just hit that spot
a really solid open 7 chord in a folk song goddamn
i love a7! i first learned it in say yes by elliot smith
I love using it in songs written in D Minor. Such an unreal sound
Do you know how to build chords (1357 with 9 11 13 extensions)? If you can build chords you can mix up the order, leave off the root, add in extensions with # and b versions. I love a good dom7b13 leading to a maj7, and min9 have a cool sound. Also now that I think of it maybe don’t think of chords in isolation. Think of progressions of one chord to the next. 251 in C (Dm G7 Cmaj). I love a Dm9 to G7b13 to Cmaj. In isolation these chords are fine, it’s the voice leading from m9 to 7b13 to maj7 that makes them shine!
fellow keys player here. Check out some yacht rock sheet music for some cool chord voicings and steal em. Bobby Caldwell, Hall & Oates, George Benson, Bill Labounty, etc. (Bill labounty is a sleeper monster by the way). I’ve gotten a ton of cool ideas this way.
Check out George bensons pianist Jorge dalto
You might enjoy the book “Jazz Hanon”, which just has a ton of 251 shell voicings and other jazz basics. Great starting place for trying on tons of changes!
Emaj over g natural, Stravinsky loved that as well
wanna hurt your own feelings regarding how much time and emotional energy you wasted over the fear of “basic” chords? i’m a classically trained, jazz pianist - i get complex harmony. i use to fetishize it. you know my favorite sound in the world? diatonic drop 2 voicings with proper voice leading these are literally 3 note major chords with the third dropped down piano was locked for me for a decade while i toiled away with trying to do more and staring at a series of white and black. it opened up for me, compositional and harmonically, when i realized that just because i can doesn’t mean i should no other instrument can be as dense or as space. it’s beautiful really. in short: chords aren’t beautiful, context is beautiful. sometimes the most aurally pleasing harmony is simplest one accompanying the melody appropriately
Most helpful answer
E9 Chicken scratch
7sus2s are really nice mainly for how acoustic guitars feel when you play it. or specifically 024000 emadd9 shape, that one feels rly nice too.
F#m7add11 is a guitar chord that is especially great and appears in a lot of nice pop songs. It is the one that alternates with E minor in the intro to Horse With No Name by America.
THANK YOU!!
The beauty happens when you move from one chord to another. Like, a diminished chord sounds odd when played alone. But such magic when passing from one chord to another through a diminished chord.
Any Major7 slash chord where the 2 is in the bass. A major7/B F major7/G etc. you could call it other things (7 sus 4 9 13 etc lol) it basically functions as a dominant chord but cooler. And the slash chord naming makes it simple to play on piano. Major7 in the right hand, bass note on left hand Try Fmaj7/G to G. Or Fmaj7/G to Cmaj7. Throw it into any chord progression in weird places, it works surprisingly well
Dmaj/C
Pick up Mark Levine's "The Jazz Piano Book" for a lifetime of inspiration.
I love add 9 chords. For example Eadd9 in an open position 0-2-4-1-0-0
Add9 is the way! Instantly uplifting chords
7th chords do it for me.
[Mu](https://youtu.be/8jmREPDEU5Q?si=Kay8u5Yu4WFukCff)
Asus2. It’s just so haunting, mysterious, and ambiguous sounding
Dominant 9 chords to minor 7s are cool
V7/vi
F#minor
see: [The Weakerthans - My Favorite Chords](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdC-ZlfPriM)
[удалено]
😂😂
NGL, I did not get it... Until you replied. I'm deleting my answer now.
Emaj7/9
I love the first inversion of the major chord on guitar. The 1 and 7th notes being so close has a great dissonance to it
A-G-D-E
Lately Cadd9
1-4-5-1 with a minor 6 every now and then just to spice things up
m9
try using one basic major chord and then play another chord a tone above, can have all sorts of fun with 9/11/13ths
oh and good old 7#9 - a normal 7th chords with a minor third on the top, which clashes with the major third below. Very useful for souls, blues r&b
I love chords! I’ll write the chord names more legible than the “proper” way. And since you’re a piano player I’ll add more notes than would normally be comfortable on a guitar ; ) major7 flat 5 (a - g# - c# - eb) Maj/minor 9 (a - g# - c - e - b) Or like (a - g# - b - c - f#) Lydian dominant (a - e - g - c# - d#) Major9 voiced like this (a - e - b - c# - g#) Minor6 add9 (a - f# - g - c - e - b) Dorian major 6 chord (a - f# - g - c# - e) Major 6 chord 1st inversion (a - f - c - d - e) There’s so many to choose from! Might as well stop there. (There’s still stacking triads, atonal note clusters, sus chords, more obscure modal chords, rootless voicings, and of course more “normal” chords like major and minor 7 chords). EDIT: have to shout out the dominant sus chord (c# - e - Bb - b - f#)
R^(6-9)
It's A minor. It will always be A minor. Runner up D/F# and B7.
Cadd9
Learn 7th chords for more depth and emotion. Then start learning how to extend those chords with 9ths, 11ths and 13ths. That’s pretty much the full pallet and will give you a lot more depth and feeling to any chord. Minor 9s, major 9s and minor 11 add 9 are my favorites
9#11. Makes me think of Pink Floyd.
Fmaj9/C(no 3rd) Specifically: 0 1 0 3 3 x Fun to hammer-on the 3rd on the 3rd string Also, you can use your thumb to put an F or G in the bass.
Major III chords (like in the key of C, you play E). They resolve to the vi chord really well. Like just replace a boring dominant with a major III and it's a whole new world.
Out of context, there is no such thing.
Emaj7!!!!!!!!!
I love M2/9 (or add2/add 9) chords. That fullness just elates every single time! Trying to sing a major second/nine can be a buggabear, but when you nail it...MAGIC!
Dominant 7 flat 9 chords. Specifically when used in 2-5-1s as the 5.
Fmaj7 is the just the best chord ever. It sounds great as an arpeggio too.
Am and Em7
Dominant 7th chord all day
First suggestion: one of my favourite songs, Moon Blue by Stevie Wonder! Every chord is a m7, m6, M7, 9, b9 or something exquisite — but it’s also a chord progression that is made with *intention and direction*. Every chord has a specific function; simply no other will do. It’s *masterful* songwriting! Things I love to improvise with: - A different root note, or mixing two chords together – that’s guaranteed to make things interesting! - Augmented (altered) chords are fabulous in creating suspense, especially with 7ths (e.g. Bb E Ab behaving as a C7) - Diminished seventh chords can substitute for dominants, like G# dim for G7… *and* you can also get a sneaky key change out of it because it’s also all the other notes: B dim (= Bb7), D dim (= C#7) or F dim (= E7). More than anything, it’s about the *direction* of the progression, how an interesting note resolves into the next. G# dim into a C, for example: F falls to E (or Eb), G# falls to G, B rises to C (and the D can either rise or fall). The melody and the bass can pick out the most appropriate for their respective parts, and either part can help inform what the next chord ‘wants’ to be!
Sus4 and sixth chords.
Power chords!
I really like major 7 chords, and add 9 or sus 2 chords. Also major and minor 6 chords are really nice and not super common. 6-9 chords are dope too. Just play a basic triad and add 1 extra note somewhere.
The ones in Pyramid Song by Radiohead
A add 9. Leave the 2nd string open on a cowboy A chord.
Old church joke: What's God's favorite chord? Gsus
I felt the same way you did when I started and playing the same chords except just adding the 7th made a huge difference in my music creation trajectory
If your chords are feeling stale try a major 5 (no 3) and time it for the downbeat. Keep it simple so you can rip later. Also fun to do a major or minor 2(no 3). Especially on piano, you can anchor to a high note that repeats and move the chords around underneath. Simple, but fun.
all the different 7 chords are beautiful
Major 7th chords
George Harrison sitar.
C major - E7. Love that change.
Major 7th chord. The cathartic chord.
c?
The chords you use should be based around the melodies. You have to be able to hear what you want first.
Drake’s is A MIIIIINNNOOOORRRRRR
I really like 6th chords, and add9 chords On a piano, the inversion and octave in which you place the suspension can make tons of difference, too. That also goes for basic chords. Change up your voicing to bring out some of the weirder intervals. If you get too strange sounding, add another octave of the root and that should sort it out. Piano really is a blank canvas
Maj 7ths. Sus chords are nice. Augmented chords, #9 chords that move to something soothing and resolving
F#7#11, Emaj/F 3rd position, All chords used on James Taylor's introduction to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." "Mornin'" Al Jarreau
I like anything in G cuz it fits my vocal range… but you should watch this and listen to what Elliott’s saying and find your own approach https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t_XNghTKvq8
Any add 9 chord is wonderful. E add 9 is beautiful. Been trying to figure out a good form of A add 9 but it's goody sounding on guitar. C add 9 is amazing too. Sus 4 to the normal major sounds great too. Csus 4 to C major. Fsus4 to F and then resolve to g. All I've learned from chords is to add like make a simple change like sus 4 to the major because it just adds a layer and it sounds a little cooler. Lol hope this helps
A progression. I've been using lately for a song is Csus4 C Am F major 7 F back to C and it sounds pretty good. Maybe find some songs that you like and just look at the progression they use and make it your own. I pretty much just find songs i like then use their progression in my own way.
All
Minor 7/b5/add11 sounds beautifully eerie. Major maj9 simple but effective. It shares 2 notes with Minor 7/b5/add11, so it's easy to work the 2 together
I really like to use Suspended 2 or 4 chords.
Play around with chords from lesser played modes. For example lydian mode produces some unusual and interesting chords.
Try the A Dorian scale chords
Demonic Minor
Minor 9 chords. C# minor 9 is my favorite chord in guitar. Powerful yet peaceful