Unlock Your Musical Potential

We explained how to construct traditional triad chords in Major & Minor scales

but what happens when you add notes to or substitute notes within these basic chords ?

These are called Chord Extensions or Chord Alterations, and referred to as Extended Chords & Altered Chords.

Chord Extensions / Extended Chords :

Adding notes to a basic triad chord to create a more complex and richer sound.

Chord Alterations / Altered Chords :

Substituting notes within a basic triad chord to create a new and different sound...

and/or

Raising or lowering individual notes within our chord by a semitone.

( see DOMINANT 7 in the chart below )

By extending or altering chords, you can create a wide range of new and interesting sounds, and add depth and complexity to your music.

It is a robust topic with a multitude of possibilities that can quickly get complicated due to context, notation, and terminology - and can ultimately affect the function of the chord within a key and a musical progression.

We'll keep it simple and touch on the basics, once again using C MAJOR and A minor as examples, though the theory can be applied to any Major or minor scale.

The following tables reflect the foundational elements of common Extensions and Alterations you are likely to encounter.

These include : The MAJOR 7 Chord / The DOMINANT 7 Chord / The add9 Chord / The Sus4 Chord / The minor 7 Chord

( note: our diatonic scale [ 1 through 7 ] repeats , resulting in the same tones and notes in the next octave.

This repetition allows for musical continuity, maintaining the key's structure while extending the pitch range )

Regardless of how deep you dive into the Musical Abyss ,

the Circle Of Fifths Music Theory Songwriting Tool & Chord Wheel by tooz & t

can help navigate you back to the surface !

Additionally, you can find notes needed to extend or alter the other chords in your key by treating the first note of your triad ( the root note ) as your 1 , and then counting up in the scale ( as it repeats ) from the root to find your 3rd / 5th / 7th / 9th, 11th etc.

There are some limitations to building these chords in each key however, as some notes needed to extend or alter Major and Minor chords may exist in one key and not the other, although the basic triads for each chord can be built from any key in which the primary chord exists.

Here are some additional examples :

When in doubt , refer to the MAJOR or minor Key in which your in which your primary chord serves as the TONIC. This will give you the most possibilities for altering chords and finding chord extensions for that chord.

And Remember..., context / notation is important !

A CMaj9 , C9, and Cadd9 have some commonality but are built in different ways. You don't need to learn or memorize every chord or chord extension, but experimenting with these chords will ultimately help you expand your musical horizons and add variety to your songs and compositions.

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