20a Discussion - Extended Tertian Harmonies and Non-chord Tones

Class Discussion

Sometimes a tone that doesn’t fit within a standard triad or seventh chord is so present that it is functionally a chord tone. These intervals above the root of the chord are written as a superscript in the lead sheet chord symbol. These are chords such as 9 chords, 11 chords, and 13 chords. As we know, when a seventh chord is labeled with just a letter and a number (C7), it implies that the seventh is dominant. In the same way, if a chord has only a letter and a number that implies an interval above the seventh, the quality of the seventh is assumed dominant (C9).

Class discussion 2021

How do we know if a note is a non-chord tone?

Rhythms and placement in the bar. If the notes are on the downbeat or repeated many times, it is likely a chord tone.

Do the notes fit if we stack thirds?

Function!

Look for non-chord tone patterns and how they move. Think neighbor tones or suspensions etc.

Extended Tertian Harmony and Non-chord tones

Extended harmony is anything beyond the seventh in a triadic chord. This includes 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths. Labeled G9, G11, and G13 (for dominant chords).

• G9 is G,B,D,F,A
• G11 is G,B,D,F,A,C
• G13 is G,B,D,F,A,C,E

If a non-chord tone doesn’t fit within our given possibilities, it’s most likely an extension. Your options for non-chord tones are:

• passing tone
• neighbor tone
• escape tone
• appogiatura
• suspension
• retardation
• pedal tone (pedal point)
• anticipation

If you have what looks like a G7, and you see an A, but it doesn’t fit into any of these non-chord tone motion options, you have a G9.

Dominant Ninth Chords

What are the differences between these chords?

1. V9
   • when you have just a 9 next to the V, it includes all the triadic tones up to the ninth.
   • in C, spelled G,B,D,F,A.
2. Vadd9
   • “add” means to add a note to the triadic harmony, in this case, you’re adding the 9th.
   • in C, spelled G,B,D,A.
   • also often grouped like G,A,B,D.
   • this is not the same as sub.
   • sub means to substitute a chord tone with the given note.
3. V9 65
   • still spelled like a V9 but in first inversion (of seventh chord inversions).
   • if the ninth is on the bottom, it’s probably not a ninth, but a pedal tone.
4. Vsub13
   • sub effects a chord tone, while add doesn’t.
   • though spelled the same as a iii6, it functions as the dominant so it is labelled Vsub13 (or Vsub6).
   • in C, spelled G,B,E.

A V9 chord is the combination of a V7 and a G#%7. In A, the lower 4 notes are E,G#,B,D (V7). The upper 4 notes are G#,B,D,F#.

• when spelling dominant extentions use the diatonic scale degrees in the key of the tonic.

ALL OF THIS BEING SAID, the ninth chord is a last resort. It is rare in the type of music that this system of tonal analysis was created to analyze. Extentions are used mainly for jazz, which is far out of our fixed system of analysis.

Whether you analyze a tone as an extention or non-chord tone is up to how you hear it. Just make sure you label the tone to match what your analysis says.

In the case of a b9, (in A minor) the chord symbol would be a E7(b9). In the roman numeral analysis you would write V9, because the b9 is naturally occuring in the key. It is altered in the parallel major (how we label dominant extentions) so it is labelled as E7(b9) in chord symbols.