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Chord Extentions

by Stefon Pizutto

Hello again, and welcome to my first webzine article for 2005. I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year and are ready to dive back into our continual study of the elusive creature we refer to simply as the electric bass. Once you have tuned up and gone through your usual warm-up routine, prepare yourself to forge ahead with a new and enlightening concept that challenges the ear as well as the mind.

In order to change the pace a bit, I thought we would discuss something that is often overlooked by musicians and bass players alike - chord extensions, also known as upper partials. Since we, as bass players, do not commonly play chords the way guitarists and piano players do, the theory and construction behind them can sometimes be confusing, therefore, I thought this would be a great opportunity for us to peek into the world of chord theory to help us gain a better understanding of the extensions that are often used to embellish the chords we outline in our playing.

For this particular study we are going to assume that everyone understands chord qualities and the intervals that are utilized to construct all of the common seventh chords (Major 7th, Dominant 7th, Major 7th #5, Augmented 7th, Minor 7th, Minor Major 7th, Minor 7th flat 5, Diminished 7th). If you are not familiar with these eight chord qualities, please review them before moving ahead with this exercise. All of them are explained in my book, Scales and Arpeggios for Electric Bass, available from bassbooks.com, or you can find your own source of information regarding chord construction and theory.

Upper partials, or chord extensions, are the members of the chord that are located above the octave. Since the quality of a chord is defined by its root, third, fifth, and seventh, the upper partials will be derived from the three remaining intervals of the scale that were not utilized to construct the foundation of the chord - in this case, the second, fourth, and sixth degrees of the scale.

To find the first upper partial of a chord, start on its seventh degree and move up a third so that you are playing the major second above the octave. This note is referred to as the ninth of the chord, since it is one scale degree beyond the octave. The ninth of a chord will either be a major, minor, or augmented third above the seventh, depending upon the quality of the chord and the type of ninth you have chosen to utilize.

By continuing up another third from the ninth to the perfect fourth above the octave, you will have reached the eleventh of the chord. Here again, the third between the ninth and the eleventh will either be major, minor, or augmented depending upon the quality of the chord you are dealing with and the type of ninth and eleventh you have chosen to utilize. This note is called the eleventh because it is three scale degrees above the octave.

The final chord extension, the thirteenth, is the major sixth of the chord played one octave higher, or the major sixth above the octave. The third between the eleventh and thirteenth will either be major, minor, or diminished depending upon the quality of the chord and the type of eleventh and thirteenth you have chosen to utilize. This note is called the thirteenth because it is five scale degrees above the octave. Be aware, we said this is the final degree of the chord because if we were to proceed up another third to the fifteenth, we would have returned to the root note again but two octaves higher. For this reason, we will focus on three upper partials - the ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth.

By taking a closer look at the upper partials and the intervals that they pair with from the scale, we see a pattern that enables us to quickly calculate the relationship between the two: the scale tone and its upper partial are always seven apart. If you have the scale tone and are trying to determine which upper partial it becomes, add seven to the number. If you have the upper partial and want to know which scale tone it came from, subtract seven from the number. The second and ninth are seven apart, the fourth and eleventh are seven apart, and the sixth and thirteenth are seven apart. This formula provides a quick, easy shortcut to finding upper partials.

Depending upon the quality of the chord you are working with, the type of upper partials that can be utilized may vary. Not all upper partials are natural, meaning unaltered. Certain chord qualities require specific upper partials to be utilized so that there is no dissonance between the upper partial and the lower members of the chord. Below is a chart showing the eight common chord qualities and the chord extensions that are most often associated with them. The paragraph that follows explains why certain chords require altered upper partials.

Major 7th - natural 9th, sharp 11th, natural 13th
Dominant 7th - flat, natural, or sharp 9th, sharp 11th, natural or flat 13th
Major 7th #5 - natural 9th, sharp 11th, no 13th
Augmented 7th - natural 9th, sharp 11th, no 13th
Minor 7th - natural 9th, natural 11th, natural 13th
Minor Major 7th - natural 9th, natural 11th, natural 13th
Minor 7th flat 5 - natural 9th, natural 11th, flat 13th
Diminished 7th - natural 9th, natural 11th, flat 13th

Beginning with the first upper partial, the ninth, every chord must utilize a natural ninth, which as we stated earlier, is the major second of the scale one octave higher. The only exception to this rule is the dominant chord, which can utilize a natural, sharp, or flat ninth. The flat ninth would be the minor second of the scale one octave higher while the sharp ninth would be the augmented second or minor third of the chord one octave higher. Be aware, if a natural ninth is placed on a dominant chord, no other ninth may be utilized.

In terms of the eleventh of the chord, either a natural or sharp eleventh will be utilized depending upon the quality of the chord's third. Generally, chords that contain a major third will take a sharp eleventh, while chords containing a minor third will take a natural eleventh. This is because the eleventh is the same note as the perfect fourth which is considered an "avoid note" on chords that have a major third. By sharping the fourth degree, or eleventh, you will have eliminated the half step between the third and fourth which was the source of the dissonance. Chords that have a minor third already have a whole step between the third and fourth degree and, therefore, do not require the use of an altered eleventh.

The last upper partial, the thirteenth, can either be natural or flat depending upon the quality of the chord's fifth degree. In general, chords that have a perfect fifth will utilize a natural thirteenth. The only exception to this rule is the dominant chord, which can take a natural or flat thirteenth. Chords whose fifth degree is flat, such as minor seventh flat five or diminished seventh, will most often take a flat thirteenth. Conversely, chords that have an augmented or raised fifth degree will omit the thirteenth altogether. This is because the sharp five would sound dissonant against the thirteenth, which, as we stated earlier, is the same note as the major sixth. The thirteenth cannot be flatted in this case because a flat thirteenth is the same note as the sharp fifth, which is already a member of the chord and, therefore, does not need to appear again.

A final note on chord extensions to keep in mind, is that intervals located above the octave are no longer referred to as major or minor as they were with the twelve basic intervals we have studied in the past. Instead, they are referred to as natural, sharp, or flat. This is because the terms "major" and "minor", for example, pertain to the quality of the chord itself. When naming a chord, state the quality of the chord first, then the degree of the chord extensions. For example, a C major chord that has an added ninth would be called C major ninth. Chords that extend all the way up to the thirteenth and do not contain any alterations in the ninth or eleventh degrees can be called by the chord name followed by the expression "thirteenth". For example, an A minor chord that extends to the thirteenth can be called A minor thirteenth. Although the ninth and eleventh degrees are included in the chord, they do not need to be mentioned in the title because they are natural and have not been altered. By playing a chord such as this all the way up to the thirteenth, you will have played every member of the scale arranged in thirds.

I hope you have enjoyed this study and benefited from the information we have discussed. Although we do not often play chords on the bass, we must still understand the basic construction and function of all of the common chords, regardless of the style of music we choose to pursue. My goal in writing this article was to help get you one step closer to chord fluency.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me via my website, www.stefonpizzuto.com. Until next time, best wishes and keep practicing!