Please help with Major and Minor chords besides the 1 3 5 and 1 b3 5!!!!!!

[Marcus12]

Hey Family,

I have been playing for a little over a year now.  And I know all of my major and minor chords in every key including adding the 7 wether it be dominant, major, or minor.  But I just can't seem to use 7 or 9 adding on to the basic major and minor chord for songs or progressions.  I know that there can be a number of reasons why I'm not able to.  However, can someone give me a little explanation on why you can or can not  use say a minor 7 in place of a basic minor chord?  Is it ICB (individual case basis)?

Here's kind of what I'm talking about.................(this is no type of progression or anything and probably would sound terrible...LOL)

C / C E G       C major chord  (why not C / C E G Bb) C7 chord

E / E Ab B      E major chord  (why not E / E Ab B Eb) EM7 chord

A / A C E       A minor chord  (why not A / A C E G) Am7 chord

G / G B D       G major chord  (why not G / G B D F#) GM7 chord

[BroAllan]

Hey Family,

I have been playing for a little over a year now.  And I know all of my major and minor chords in every key including adding the 7 wether it be dominant, major, or minor.  But I just can't seem to use 7 or 9 adding on to the basic major and minor chord for songs or progressions.  I know that there can be a number of reasons why I'm not able to.  However, can someone give me a little explanation on why you can or can not  use say a minor 7 in place of a basic minor chord?  Is it ICB (individual case basis)?

Here's kind of what I'm talking about.................(this is no type of progression or anything and probably would sound terrible...LOL)

C / C E G       C major chord  (why not C / C E G Bb) C7 chord

E / E Ab B      E major chord  (why not E / E Ab B Eb) EM7 chord

A / A C E       A minor chord  (why not A / A C E G) Am7 chord

G / G B D       G major chord  (why not G / G B D F#) GM7 chord

Hey Marcus,

In a nutshell, one of the beautiful things about music, is creativity! 

If a song calls for a "C" chord, (C-E-G), try playing a C7 or a CMaj7, or a C9...
If it calls for a "Am" chord, (A-C-E), try playing an Am7 or an Am9 instead.

Learn to develop your ear as to what chords can be used in place of others, and where you could substitute
one chord for another.

One quick example is the Dominant 7th chord.  This chord has a very strong pull to resolve to certain chords.
This is where the theory part comes in handy.  Let's say you're playing a song in the key of "C", the 1-4-5 progression would basically be the C, F, and G chords. Now by playing a C7 chord instead of a C major chord,
the pull to the 4 chord, (in this case the F chord), becomes very strong, therefore it would most likely be okay to use it in place of a C major chord.

On the other hand, if you're playing a C chord and the next chord is a Dm chord, now I might use the Cmaj7
in place of the C chord, and a Dm7 in place of the Dm chord.

More and more as you experiment with different chords, you'll find certain patterns keep showing up, ...
and you'll know when, and when not to substitute certain chords.

So you see my brother, it's basically just trying and see how you like the sound.  If you like it, keep it, if not, try something else.  After all, that's what creativity is all about, right? 

                              God bless you, as you continue to grow as a musician ... BroAllan 

[T-Block]

C / C E G       C major chord  (why not C / C E G Bb) C7 chord

E / E Ab B      E major chord  (why not E / E Ab B Eb) EM7 chord

A / A C E       A minor chord  (why not A / A C E G) Am7 chord

G / G B D       G major chord  (why not G / G B D F#) GM7 chord

For one, you first gotta look at what key you are in.  Next, you gotta look at where you going next.  If the chord before doesn't quite gel with the chord(s) to come, then your music isn't gonna flow like it should.  I'm all about creativity, but to just play random stuff w/out a purpose is in my opinion not a wise idea.

If you can alter those chords and make them sound good, then go for it man.  The sky is the limit!!!

[Joshua193]

For one, you first gotta look at what key you are in.  Next, you gotta look at where you going next.  If the chord before doesn't quite gel with the chord(s) to come, then your music isn't gonna flow like it should.  I'm all about creativity, but to just play random stuff w/out a purpose is in my opinion not a wise idea.

If you can alter those chords and make them sound good, then go for it man.  The sky is the limit!!!

[floaded27]

Hey Family,

I have been playing for a little over a year now.  And I know all of my major and minor chords in every key including adding the 7 wether it be dominant, major, or minor.  But I just can't seem to use 7 or 9 adding on to the basic major and minor chord for songs or progressions.  I know that there can be a number of reasons why I'm not able to.  However, can someone give me a little explanation on why you can or can not  use say a minor 7 in place of a basic minor chord?  Is it ICB (individual case basis)?

Here's kind of what I'm talking about.................(this is no type of progression or anything and probably would sound terrible...LOL)

C / C E G       C major chord  (why not C / C E G Bb) C7 chord

E / E Ab B      E major chord  (why not E / E Ab B Eb) EM7 chord

A / A C E       A minor chord  (why not A / A C E G) Am7 chord

G / G B D       G major chord  (why not G / G B D F#) GM7 chord

T-Block makes a point. This progression would probably sound off, not because you extended to 7th chords, but because of your use of majors and minors. For example, if the C is major, more that likely that E is minor. And if the E is major, more than likely the A would be major.

HOWEVER you could work outside the key signature using those maj9 chords.

But my experience, just about anywhere you have a major triad, you can throw in the b7 to make it a min7 chord, but the 9 smooths it out more so it doesnt always work. as for major chords, it takes care to know whether to make it a dominant chord or not. So care is needed to know whether to add the b7 or the 7. You can add the 9 almost anywhere.