Understanding Chord Extensions Beyond the Seventh

Okay, so we've talked briefly about the types of seventh chords and how we can incorporate that seventh degree into our improvisations.

Chord Extensions

What I wanted to discuss now is other extensions beyond the seventh. You may have come across these in charts for music that you've looked at or in the rock school books above the notation, just to let you know what chords are going on in the background.

You might have seen things like:

• G minor 9
• F11
• E7 sharp 9
• F13

These numbers are nothing to be scared of at all. They reference degrees of the scale that have been added to that chord to extend it, giving it a certain characteristic or color.

Example: A Minor 9

For example, if we take the A minor 9:

1. To find the ninth degree, we play through our natural minor scale up to the ninth degree:
   • 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
   • We arrive at the B note.

This means that the ninth degree of our A minor scale is a B. We can then add this note on top of our A minor chord or an A minor 7 chord.

This creates a great-sounding chord. Knowing that this note is featured in the chord allows you to emphasize it in your improvisation.

You could do something simple, like:

• Sliding into that note
• Starting off your phrase with that extended note of the chord

It might create a discordant tone, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. You can use that tension and resolve it to a stronger chord tone later in your phrase.

Alterations of the Ninth

The same concept applies to any of the other chords we talked about. They can be sharpened or flattened. For example, with E7 sharp 9:

• You would go through and sharpen the ninth by one semitone.
• If it's a flat nine, you'll flatten the ninth by one semitone.

Suspended Chords

The only other type of chord I want to briefly touch on is suspended chords.

• The word "suspended" means that we've taken the third out of the triad.

For instance, let's consider D sus 2:

• A D major chord usually has a root, a third, and a fifth in it.
• A D sus 2 replaces the third with the second degree of the scale.

To find the second degree:

1. Start on D and go up a tone.
2. You get to E, which is the second degree.

So, in our D major chord, we replace the third (F sharp) with E (the second), creating that chord sound.

Sus chords have a brilliant sound. Because we've replaced the third, they are neither major nor minor, giving them that slightly mysterious vibe.

Practical Application

These concepts are certainly something to consider in your improvisations or compositions. Be mindful of these extensions or alterations in the chords as you play, as they can enhance your lead playing.

With that, we've discussed a lot of different ideas for approaching improvisation. If you want more stylistically specific examples, check out the performance analysis of the other tutors in their performance pieces.

Wherever there's a development section, there will be great ideas on how to approach those developments and improvisations.

So good luck with that! Have fun and enjoy it, it's a fantastic skill to develop. Although it can be challenging, you'll have loads of fun along the way, I'm sure.

Best of luck with it all!