Can anyone help me figure out what notes are optional

[dwest2419]

Can anyone help me figure out what notes or intervals are optional for chords that has more than four notes to them like: 9ths, 11ths, etc, etc...

Major 9th chord
1-3-5-7-9

Minor 9th chord
1-b3-5-b7-9

Major 13th chord
1-3-5-7-9-13

Minor 11th chord
1-b3-5-b7-9-11

Minor 13th chord
1-b3-5-b7-9-11-13

Minor 6add9 chord
1-b3-5-6-9

Dominant 9th chord
1-3-5-b7-9

Dominant 11th chord
1-3-5-b7-9-11

Dominant 13th chord
1-3-5-b7-9-13

Major 9#11 chord
1-3-5-7-9-#11

Major 13#11 chord
1-3-5-7-9-#11-13

Can someone place some of the intervals in parenthesis to notify which are optional, so that the chord can still be called (whatever the chord may be) even if it doesn't have all their notes in them?

[betnich]

Okay - I'll take a stab.

     Since the hand has five fingers, in theory one should be able to do up to a 9th chord (if all fingers on two hands are used, up to 10 notes). But in reality - assuming an handspan of a 9th on the keyboard -

Open voicings - up to 9th/11th chords - for a dominant chord -
(LH= 1-5 or 1-5-1, RH=3-5-b7-9, or 5-b7-9-11)

Closer mid-range voicings - up to 11ths or 13ths -
(LH= 1-3-5-b7, RH= 9-#11-13-1 
OR rootless 'tritone' - LH= 3-b7, RH= 5-9-#11-13)


Of course other combinations are possible with inversions, etc.

When leaving out notes in a complex chord, the Root 1 usually goes first (because it is most often played by the Bass player) followed by the 5th, 3rd, and whatever note clashes the most with the others...

[jonesl78]

3rd and 7th are almost always required to name a chord with an extension. Normally you only need 3 notes to name a chord unless it is altered. (i.e. #ll)  Everything else is optional.

Major 9th= 3-7-9
 
minor 9th= b3-b7-9

minor 13th = b3-b7-13

minor 11th = b3-b7-11

dominate 13=  3-b7-13

Major 9 #11 = 3-7-9-#11

major 13 #11 = 3-7-13-#11

minor 6add9 or minor6/9= b3-6-9 ( this is a unique chord with an added 9 that does not require the 7)

[T-Block]

For any non 7th chord: root, 3rd, extended note if applicable (2nd, 6th, add9, etc.)

For 7th and beyond chords: root, 3rd, 7th, extended note (9th, 11th, 13th)

There are chords where u have to play the 5th cuz it's the note being altered in the chord. But, for the most part, those notes above are the essential notes for any chord.