Blog
January 21, 2023
Author: Nate May
Blog
Interval Names Explained Visually
Interval names (”perfect fourth,” “augmented sixth”) can be confusing at first. The key to understanding is 1) think in letter names, 2) put C in the middle. I’ll walk you through a simple visual explanation.
October 20, 2022
Chords
The Diminished Seventh
At times, this chord is simply a filled-out version of a diminished triad, and frequently serves the same transitional function.
October 31, 2021
Chords
The Half-Diminished Seventh
This chord is most likely to turn up in a jazz context as part of a ii-V progression leading to a minor chord (e.g. iiø7-V7alt-i).
October 27, 2021
Chords
The Minor Seventh
This chord serves an under-appreciated role in pop and electronic music.
October 25, 2021
Chords
The Major Seventh
This chord often has a yearning or breathy quality and shows up in less harmonically-restricted styles of pop, as well as in limited jazz and classical contexts.
October 20, 2021
Chords
The Dominant Seventh
The most common four-note chord in most contexts, the dominant seventh chord shows up more frequently than either the diminished or the augmented triads.
October 18, 2021
Chords
The Suspended Chord
When played as a “sus2” chord or a “sus 4” chord, it can behave in one of two ways: it can serve its stated purpose by suspending resolution to a more stable chord, or it can connote the open sound of an acoustic guitar.
October 13, 2021
Chords
The Augmented Triad
The augmented triad has the interesting quality of inverting onto itself—that is, if you take the triad in root position, and put the bottom note on the top, you get another augmented triad in root position.
October 11, 2021