Chord Tones
In this video, we look at how to make the sound of a chord by emphasizing its chord tones.
Discuss this tutorial here.
To make the sound of each chord, we identify which notes give it it's particular sound and character, and then emphasize those notes in our melodic line.
The 3 and 7 are different across each of the chords and are the strong chord tones. They are what give each chord its own distintive sound.
- play them on the strong beats of the bar (1 and 3)
- play them longer and/or louder
- play them with some kind of effect e.g. string bend on guitar, growl on sax
An analysis of the solo.
Some of the techniques used:
- Phrases start with chord tones (on the strong 1 beat).
- The 1 and 5 have a stable sound and can be used as musical commas and full stops.
- Notes are repeated for emphasis and to help establish the sound of a chord.
- The major 3 and minor 3 are constrasted to highlight the difference in sound between the Cmaj7 and Cmin7 chord.
- Notes are growled for emphasis.