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Unlike triads and some 7ths, extended chords typically have fewer desirable voicings, avoiding highly dissonant intervals such as m2 between notes. As mentioned above, notes are often omitted from the chord voicing to avoid such intervals. Additionally, voicings try to space out "tight" intervals. For example, rather than playing a A4 and a P5 in the same octave, the A4 is played an octave higher as the A11. Spacing out intervals is more important for the lower strings/frets than the higher ones. As pitch gets higher, our ears tolerate tighter intervals. The highest 3 strings may have stacked m2, M2, m3, and/or M3 intervals, while the lower strings have P5, m7, and M7 intervals, often skipping a string.
→Major 11th (Lydian)
{{Top-Level Crumbs|1}}
{{Lesson Crumbs|3}}
{{Advanced Lesson Crumbs|7}}
'''Extended Chords''' feature notes beyond the traditional triads, 7ths, and suspended 2nd/4ths. They are most commonly found in [[Jazz|jazz]], although some of the less complex ones can be seldomly found in other genres. The chords typically continue along the same route as the triads and 7ths, adding every other note from the root note. Although this goes past the octave, the number assigned to the additional notes continues to increment upwards from 7. For example, G B D F is a Dominant 7th; G B D F A is a Dominant 9th, G B D F A C is a Dominant 11th; and G B D F A C E is a Dominant 13th.
Harmonically, extended chords fall into the same functions as other chords: tonic, pre-dominant, and dominant. They are most commonly used as substitutes for traditional triad or 7th chords, assuming the function of the chord they replace.
Extended chords each have their own flavor, with each voicing have having its own sub-flavor. In addition to the interesting sounds they produce, they also serve for voice leading purposes by providing a greater variety of note choices in numerous voices, but particularly the soprano. Often the most extended note of the chord is altered ({{b}}/{{s}}'ed), slyly introducing chromatics into both harmonies and melodies.
= Notes on Voicing =
== Omitting Notes ==
Extended chords rarely feature all the notes, as that would make them quite dissonant. For example, a "full" 13th chord features every note in the scale. Also, as you can imagine, there are more variations of extended chords than triads or 7ths; as the number of notes in the chord increases, the number of permutations available based on {{f}}/{{s}}'ed notes increases exponentially. Some permutations simply sound awful and aren't used, or are enharmonic to other chords making them redundant. We will not list those below.
== Open Strings ==
I try to list basically every moveable voicing I can find. In practice, there are ''a lot'' more voicings for these chords, as they are often assisted by open string notes. I did not include chords that use open strings since they are specific to one chord, unable to be applied to chords with different root notes. If you are composing or arranging a piece and want to find the most comfortable voicing for a chord, it helps to write down the actual note names of the chord next to the interval relationship of the chord. For example:
For C{{9}}{{s}}11, the E and G are bolded because these notes can be played using open strings. For G{{9}}{{s}}11, G, B, D, and A can be played on open strings. Let's find a way to play it. We'll start by adding the open strings, then trying to find the other notes. For the G{{9}}{{s}}11, using the open A and G strings inverts the chord. For root position, we won't be able to use all the open strings, but we can still take advantage of some of them.
C9 #11 G9 #11 G9 #11 2 E o|-|-|-|-| F ||i|-|-|-| F ||i|-|-|-| F# |-|-|m|-| B o||-|-|-|-| C# ||-|m|-|-| G o|-|-|-|-| A ||-|m|-|-| G o||-|-|-|-| Bb |-|-|-|p| D o||-|-|-|-| D o||-|-|-|-| D |i|-|-|-| C# ||-|-|-|p| A o||-|-|-|-| C |-|-|-|r| G ||-|-|r|-| G ||-|-|t|-|
5
That C{{9}}{{s}}11 still a bit difficult, but if we omit the D (9th), it becomes a very simple voicing. For the G{{9}}{{s}}11, the chord shape above is pretty easy to play and includes all 6 notes of the chord. Unfortunately, the A11 and P5 are in the same octave, creating a m2 interval. Hence, the G{{9}}{{s}}11 voicing 2, which avoids any m2 intervals but drops the B (M3) of the chord.
== Omission from Arrangement ==
Extended chords generally apply to Jazz, in which guitar is often accompanied by bass and/or piano. This means the guitar may not be responsible for supplying every note of the chord. For instance, the bass may play the root note (or other bass note for an inversion). This allows the guitar to omit this note from the chord. Piano can take this even further, allowing the guitar to play as little as 2 notes of the chord.
Omitting notes makes fingering simpler and easier. Many of the shapes below that seem too difficult at first may be possible if 1 or 2 notes are omitted. I try to supply the fullest chords that I can, allowing you to omit notes at your discretion.
== Avoiding Dissonant Intervals ==
Unlike triads and some 7ths, extended chords typically have fewer desirable voicings, avoiding highly dissonant intervals such as m2 between notes. As mentioned above, notes are often omitted from the chord voicing to avoid such intervals. Additionally, voicings try to space out "tight" intervals. For example, rather than playing a A4 and a P5 in the same octave (creating a m2 interval), the A4 is played an octave higher as the A11 (producing a M7). Spacing out intervals is more important for the lower strings/frets than the higher ones. As pitch gets higher, our ears tolerate tighter intervals. The highest 3 strings may have stacked m2, M2, m3, and/or M3 intervals, while the lower strings have P5, m7, and M7 intervals, often skipping a string.
= Guitar Tone =
Because extended chords contain more intervals and thus harmonic complexity than triads and 7ths, they are typically played with an undistorted guitar tone. When distorted guitar wants to play an extended chord, it must often be separated between multiple instruments, or arpeggiated. Otherwise, they can sound very dissonant.
Jazz musicians also typically roll down the tone knob on their guitar to reduce overtones for a darker sound, as well as finger-picking instead of using a plectrum. This allows the complex interactions between the fundamental pitches to be more clearly heard. Remember that guitar is rich in overtones following the harmonic series, which adds not only octaves but P5, M3, and m7 intervals ''to each note''. Since many of the notes in a complex chord form 3rds, 5ths, and 7ths with other notes in the chord and there is a guarantee that around half of them will have differing qualities than the harmonic series, this can lead to extremely dissonant-sounding chords, even with perfect technique, tuning, and intonation.
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: '''Root{{7}}+9''' as in '''C{{7}}+9
Similar to the Dominant 9th, the '''Augmented 9th''' extends the Dominant 7th, but rather than adding the M9, it adds an A9 (same as a m3 from root). Thus, it contains both the m3 and M3 intervals in relation to the root note. As crazy and dissonant as that might sound, this chord is used fairly regularly, particularly in [[Blues |blues]] which makes use of the m3 as a blue note without necessarily abandoning use of the M3. It also appears in [[Jazz |jazz]] as well as [[Rock|rock]], being the main chord of Jimi Hendrix's ''Purple Haze''. It has an ambiguity to it that allows it to function in a number of roles, but will most commonly be found as the tonic in a Blues (or bluesy) progression.
The 5th is optional, which is pragmatic for fingering as seen below. While this drops the a pair of m3 intervals, the A9 interval is a m3 + an octave anyway. Since this chord has the potential for dissonance, dropping the 5th is recommended to make the chord more consonant and less complex.
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== Dominant 11th ==
: '''Root{{11}}''' - as in '''C{{11}}'''
Unlike the Diatonic 11th, the '''Dominant 11th''' uses the m7 note from the root. This makes the 7th, 9th, 11th triad a major triad. The root note below creates a suspended type feeling, getting a very dreamy quality to the chord, while it still serves a dominant function.
When used to replace a traditional dominant chord based on the 5th note of the scale, the dominant - tonic progression's voice leading becomes far different. For C Major, this would be G{{11}}, which is G (D) F A C. We are missing the M3 of the chord, which would be the leading tone B, and already have the root note C. Notice also, the entire sub-dominant triad built on the 4th note of the scale is present (F A C). Thus, such progressions will be much less tension-relieving than using a dominant triad, 7th, 9th, or 13th.
'''''R - <nowiki>[M3]</nowiki> - (P5) - m7 - M9 - P11'''''
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: '''Root{{9}}{{s}}11''' as in '''C{{9}}{{s}}11'''
The '''Dominant 11th chord''' uses the A11 rather than P11, making the interval between the M3 and A11 a M9 rather than a m9, a more harmonious interval, so we incorporate the 3rd into the chord. This The M3, along with the root , have a rich interaction on the augmented triad formed by the 7th, 9th, and 11th. It appears very similar to a Dominant 9th, just with a flatted 5th, and functions the same way. Compared to the dominant 11th, this chord can function more strongly in a dominant - tonic progression when the 11th chord is built upon the 5th note of the scale. For C Major, it would consist of G B F A C{{s}}. The M3 is the leading tone and naturally resolves to the tonic note (B - C). Similarly, the augmented 11th naturally resolves down a half-step to the tonic (C{{s}} - C). The 7th, 9th, and 11th of the chord are not the diatonic sub-dominant major triad (F A C) like they are in the dominant 11th, but an augmented triad (F A C{{s}}), which frees the chord from feeling like it has slight sub-dominant qualities, and makes it more dissonant, strengthening the resolution of the following tonic chord.
'''''R - M3 - (P5) - m7 - M9 - A11'''''
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: '''Root{{maj}}{{11}}''' as in '''C{{maj}}{{11}}'''
This chord is also called the '''Lydian chord''' because it infers the Lydian mode (major scale with {{s}}4th). (This is the diatonic 11th chord built upon the 4th note of the major scale (F A E G B in C Major).) This follows the circle of fifths clockwise from the root note, excluding the 4th note (M6) (C G D (A) E B F{{s}}).
'''''R - M3 - (P5) - M7 - M9 - A11'''''
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