Knowledge base
music theory
What Is Voice Leading, and How Can Common Tones and Small Intervals Create Smoother Chord Changes?
Voice Leading and Chord Voicing: How to Create Smooth Harmonic MovementA chord progression is more than a sequence of harmonic blocks. It is also a collection of individual musical voices… read more
What Is Chord Voicing, and How Can the Arrangement of Notes Change the Sound of a Chord?
Chord Voicing Explained: How the Arrangement of Notes Changes a ChordTwo musicians can play exactly the same chord, using exactly the same notes, and produce remarkably different results. One version… read more
What Is a Thirteenth Chord, How Is C13 Constructed, and Why Are Some Chord Tones Omitted?
Thirteenth Chords Explained: The Richest Traditional Extended SonoritiesThirteenth chords represent the highest commonly used extension in traditional tertian harmony. They are built by continuing the… read more
What Are Ninth Chords, and What Is the Difference Between Cadd9, Cmaj9 and C9?
Ninth Chords Explained: Adding Depth and Colour to Seventh ChordsNinth chords extend the four-note structure of a seventh chord by adding another note above it. They are among the most widely used extended… read more
What Are the Five Main Types of Seventh Chords, and How Do They Function in Harmony?
Seventh Chords Explained: The Foundation of Extended HarmonyThe addition of a seventh transforms a simple triad into a richer and more expressive harmonic structure. Seventh chords are among the most… read more
What Is Extended Harmony, and How Do Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh and Thirteenth Chords Work?
Extended Harmony Explained: From Triads to Thirteenth ChordsA triad is the basic building block of much Western harmony. Three notes, arranged in a particular relationship, are enough to establish a… read more
What Are Italian, French and German Augmented-Sixth Chords, and How Do They Resolve to the Dominant?
Augmented-Sixth Chords: How Chromatic Harmony Intensifies the DominantAmong the most distinctive chromatic harmonies in tonal music are the augmented-sixth chords.
They are… read more
What Is the Neapolitan Chord, and How Does ♭II⁶ Resolve to the Dominant in C Minor?
The Neapolitan Chord: Creating Dramatic Tension Before the DominantSome chords are immediately recognisable because of the particular harmonic role they play.
The Neapolitan chord is one of them.
… read moreWhat Are Borrowed Chords in Music, and How Do iv, ♭VI and ♭VII Work in C Major?
Borrowed Chords: Using Modal Mixture in Major and Minor KeysA major-key progression does not have to use only chords derived from the major scale. Composers can introduce harmonies from the parallel minor,… read more
What Are Secondary Dominants in Music, and How Do V/V and V/ii Work?
Secondary Dominants: How to Create Temporary Harmonic GravityIn tonal music, the dominant chord has a particularly strong relationship with the tonic. It creates tension and expectation, encouraging the music to resolve… read more