Chords are Musical Structures of 4 or More Tones

Chords are structures of 4 or more tones formed by adding the notes found at the 7th, 9th, 11th, or 13th degrees to the basic Triad Structure. Having shown, in Triads, how varying the 3rd and/or 5th of a triad results in altering its energy such that certain moods or emotions can be tweaked in the listener, imagine what emotional/alchemical possibilities the addition of another note - a note that can be either natural, flatted, or sharpened - can be achieved.

The tweak in emotion brought on by changing these structures within songs doesn't have to be abrupt or sudden.

Actually, only in rare cases do composers apply sudden or sharp changes. In movies, it may be applied judiciously for dramatic effect. A couple of my favorite movies demonstrating the importance of soundtrack to the overall production are "The Last Samurai" and "The Missing".

Most good composers and performers apply these Structural Qualities in subtle contexts to the effect of guiding the listener on what is ultimately a musical journey. The end results are not always as climactic as what happened in the story "Pied Piper of Hamlin" - a fictional story, yes, but a lot of fiction draws inspiration from fact.

Nevertheless, most composers want to connect and communicate with the listener. A song that stays on one chord only, or one quality(Major, Minor, Diminished) only, will leave a listener feeling unfulfilled and unsatisfied.

A song that moves through stages of tension and release before finally resolving at the end can leave a listener emotionally satisfied and hopefully grateful for the experience of hearing good music.

This is what composers and performers shoot for.

In jazz, however, and also in country and classical music, the importance of note structures, tone groupings, progressions, and movement is generally understood as vitally important to connecting the audience with the composition. This structure also serves as the collaborative tonal blueprint for the performers who then strive to compose original and meaningful solos.

For our discussion of Jazz Chords in the coming pages, we will take the Basic Triads and add the note found on the 7th degree of the scale. In the Key of C, using scale notes C D E F G A B, that would be the note B.

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