In this video... So you can really hear how that upper structure triad opens things up when you
have that Dbm chord on top of the C7 that we talked about earlier. How balanced that is and
how colorful that is. It'd be akin to if you were a painter, not only discovering a new color, but
how to create new colors... What's up YouTube, mDecks Music here and thanks for joining us on our new
series dedicated to piano voicings, specifically piano voicings that use upper structures. Included
in the description below is a link to our website where you'll find a reading list and a free pdf of
all the content that we're going to discuss in this series... It is said that the average
piano player spends two to three hours daily searching for cool voicings over different chords
and harmonic progressions. Finding new voicings, cataloging, memorizing and playing them, in all
12 keys, is not an easy task! Let me show you the concept of building chords using upper structures,
how to think of them, how to find them, and most importantly how to practice them so that you can
add this very unique color to your musical palette. Okay, so what are upper structures? Upper structures
can create rich, complex yet incredibly balanced chord voicings. The concept is quite simple: you play
the basic sound of a chord on the left hand and a triad, or chordal, or some other simple structure, on
the right hand. The structure on your right hand is called an upper structure if it contains at least
one tension. We'll explain what tensions are later in the video. When playing using upper structures, the
trick is not to think in terms of just a chord but rather a chord and a chord scale pairing. So
what is a chord chord scale pairing? Simply put, a chord and a scale is a chord scale pairing if
they both share the same root and the chord is contained inside the scale. For example: a C major7
chord and a C Ionian mode, or major scale, is a chord scale pairing. But also C major7 and the
C Lydian mode is a chord chord scale pairing. If a chord in a progression is playing the role of
a specific harmonic function, then there probably is a best chord scale to pair with it. If a C major7
is the 1, then the best chord scale for it is Ionian. If C major7 is the 4, then Lydian would be
a better option. Otherwise any chord chord scale pairing is fair game when one is creating voicings.
So how is the chord chord scale pairing concept useful? And how do we apply it to upper
structures? A chord chord scale pairing will yield a bigger set of notes than a regular chord. C major7
is 4 notes (C, E G and B). C Ionian is 7 notes. A chord chord scale pairing allows any note in the
chromatic scale to be thoroughly classified into one of several categories. The two main categories
are outside notes and inside notes. Outside notes, as the name implies, are notes outside the chord
scale. And inside notes are notes in the chord scale. Inside notes can be further classified
into chord tones and tensions. Chord tones being notes in the chord and tensions being notes in
the chord scale but not in the court itself. We can further subcategorized chord tones and tensions
into even smaller groups. For example: chord tones can be further classified into roots (the root
of the chord), guide tones (the notes that contain the essence of the sound the 3rd and the 7th, also
altered fifths), other chord tones (non root and non guide tones that don't add much to the basic sound
of the chord). Intentions can be further classified into avoids -- these are notes that create too much
tension in the voicing and usually destroy the overall sound of the chord. Usually avoids our
a b9 above a guide tone. Non avoids -- these are notes that add color without destroying the chords
overall sound. So now when you see a chord symbo,l don't just think of the notes in that chord but
also the notes in the chord scale that you're gonna pair it with. For example: here's a C7 chord
in "When I Fall In Love." It is the 5-7 of 2. And the best chord scale will be mixolydian b9 b13.
The chord chord scale pairing I will use is a C7 and a C mixolydian b9 b13. All the notes
from the mixolydian b9 b13 are my inside notes. The chord tones are C, E, G and Bb. The
root is C. The guide tones are E and Bb. The tensions are Db, F and Ab. F is an avoid
tension because it creates a b9 interval with one of the guide tones. And Db and Ab are
allowed tensions. So can you find let's say a minor triad inside of the C7 C mixolydian b9 pairing
that contains at least one tension? If you said Db minor triad, you are correct! The notes in the
Db minor triad all belong to the mixolydian b9 b13. Db and Ab are non avoid
tensions and Fb -- which is the same note as E -- is a guide tone. Which brings me into an important point
in the video! In our example, Db major -- made up of Db, F, and Ab -- was the obvious triad to be
found over the second degree of mixolydian b9 b13. If we didn't look carefully we would
have missed that Db, E, Ab is also a triad since E is the enharmonic of Fb. And Db,
Fb, Ab is the Db minor triad! That's why it's better to look at scales and chords as
graphs over the circle of fifths! If you haven't seen our videos on the circle of fifths, I would
recommend you watch them because they show you how incredibly powerful the circle of fifths is.
Let me show you the C7 C mixolydian b9 b13 pairing inside of Tessitura Pro -- that uses
the circle of fifths to study and understand scales and modes. So here's the view with chord
tones versus tensions. Now if we drag a minor triad inside the mixolydian b9 b13, we
can see all possible ways that it fits. Tessitura now finds all possible minor triads inside the
mixolydian b9 b13, and there are three: on the b2 (which is Db minor, which is the
one we found already). Another one on the b7 (which is Bb minor inside the C mixolydian b9
b13). And one more on the four (which is F minor inside the C mixolydian b9 b13).
If we look at each of the triads individually, we can see that the Bb minor triad contains one chord
tone -- the b7 -- and two tensions -- the b9 and the 11--. But that 11 is an avoid tension
because it creates a b9 with the third of the chord. And that destroy is the sound quality of the
chord. The F minor triad has the same problem, and the Db minor is perfect. As you can see,
Tessitura is showing the Db minor triad as Db, E and Ab in the graph because it's
using the circle of fifths based on the pairing C7 C mixolydian b9 b13. And since
we'll be using the Db minor triad as an upper structure, positioning it above and separate from
the basic sound of the chord, we will create a dual sound which will be balanced and pleasant to the
ears. See, triads are very recognizable! T hey have their own cool sound. And putting them up there
apart from the other notes helps to conserve the original sound. So now we have the basic sound of
the C7 chord on the left by using the root and the two guide tones -- the 3rd and the 7th -- and the
cool sound of the minor triad on top, which we can still hear clearly and blends perfectly with the
C7 chord, since we have chosen it using a chord chord scale pairing. Isn't that cool?! Let's play
a few measures of "When I Fall In Love" using that Db minor triad on top of the C7 chord...
So you can really hear how that upper structure triad opens things up when you have that Db minor
chord on top of the C7 that we talked about earlier. How balanced that is and how colorful
that is! It be akin to if you are a painter not only discovering a new color but how to create
new colors! Now, let's try the Db major triad on top of the C7... yeah and you can hear how in
this context that really just does not work. And that's because of this interval... right there that
b9 we've been talking about a lot. Of course there's a b9 between the C and the Db, and
between the G and the Ab. But the E is the 3rd in the chord -- a guide tone -- and its purpose in life
is wanting to resolve to that F. When you play that F in the voicing you're already fulfilling
E's purpose, and the soul of the dominant chord is no more. Throughout the series we're going to keep
exploring upper structure triads, how to use them, how to find them, why they work and all that good
stuff. Don't forget to get the jazz piano chord voicings collection! It includes ALL possible upper
structure triads and quartals over minor7 and dominant chords, individually, and in a
IIm VII V7 progression. There are three volumes, with charts showing the upper structures
classified by tensions and avoid notes, circle of fifths graphs and exercises in every key for
every single upper structure triad and quartal! It's just like having a new palette of colors to
paint with for the rest of your life! As usual we appreciate your support! Thanks for watching! :)