Now you can play big chords without having to memorize anything

Posted on 01 October 2008 See Comments | Post Comment

On yesterday’s radio show, I got a question from a fellow in Vallejo, California about polychords.

So today, I just want to take a second to explain what polychords are for those of you who missed the show.

First, it’s helpful to note what the word “poly” means.

It’s a greek prefix, meaning “many” so that should give us a hint as to what polychords are.

poly-chords
“many”-chords.

And that’s exactly what a polychord is…

It’s usually a bigger chord that consists of two or more smaller chords, one on top of the other.

You can also refer to this as “stacking” or “superimposing” one chord on top of the other.

So it really is that easy.

Let’s explore some examples:

What happens if you play a C major triad on your left and a G major triad on your right?

(C + E + G) + (G + B + D)

That’s basically stacking the 5-chord on top of the 1-chord.

Note: Since both chords have a G in it, you can choose to either use the left hand or the right hand.

Left hand: C + E Right hand: G + B + D

Left hand: C + E + G Right hand: B + D

(This chord is still not that huge so you can play it all with one hand: C + E + G + B + D).

This is a C major ninth chord.

C + E + G + B + D
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9

What if you changed all these chords to minor?

C minor on left and G minor on right?

C + Eb + G + Bb + D
1 + b3 + 5 + b7 + 9

This is a C minor 9 chord.

What if you played a C major triad on the left hand and a Bb major 7 on the right hand?

So that’s basically the 1-chord + b7 chord (”flat seventh chord”)

C + E + G + Bb + D + F + A
1 + 3 + 5 + b7 + 9 + 11 + 13

Wow! This is a huge chord. A “C13″

So basically, polychords are composed of smaller chords stacked on top of each other. Regardless of whether you’re playing a ninth, eleventh, or thirteenth chord, they can always be broken down to smaller chords because all of those extended chords are essentially polychords.

Why is this important to know? Well, for one, if you’re playing with a bass player, it’s helpful to know what you can play on your left hand and what might work well on your right hand. Then you can start inverting chords on either hand to make different combinations. From there, you can start altering chords and now you’ve just entered the world of “two-hand” altered chord voicings. It’s crazy indeed!

Rather than me continue to spoil things, how about we use the comments section below to come up with more polychords.

Here are some formulas. You can pick any key you want…

1-major + 5-major = 1-major 9 chord

1-minor + 5-minor = 1-minor 9 chord

1-major + 5-minor = 1-dominant 9 chord

1-minor + 5-major = 1-minor-major 9 chord

1-major + b7-major = 1-dominant 11 chord

…And the list goes on —

I’ll start the exercise off in the comments. Post any key you want!

I hope you enjoyed this lesson.

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Related posts:

1. What every musician should know about “chord stacking”…
2. Don’t be “skerrrrred” of diminished chords
3. The Power Of Using Superimposed Chords
4. Seventh Chords
5. The art of borrowing chords
6. Have you learned these harmonic minor seventh chords yet?
7. Yet another way to spice up your chords without knowing anything new

13 Comments For This Post

1. Jermaine says:
   October 1st, 2008 (comment#1)

   C major:

   C major + G major = C major 9
   C + E + G + B + D

   C minor + G minor = C minor 9
   C + Eb + G + Bb + D

   C major + G minor = C9 (also known as C dominant 9… works great on the 2-chord right before progression to a 5-chord in a “2-5-1″ progression)

   Who else wants to add to this list in another key?

2. BRIAN AKA TRUMUSIC1SOUL says:
   October 1st, 2008 (comment#2)

   Bb MAJ9
   Bb+D+F+A+C

   Bb MINOR 9TH
   Bb+Db+F+Ab+C

   Bb DOM 9TH
   Bb+D+F+Ab+C

   Bb min MAJ 9TH
   Bb+Db=F+A+C

   Bb DOM 11TH
   Bb+D+F+A+C+Eb

   MUCH NEEDED INFORMATION

   JERMAINE GRIGGS FOR PREZ……FUNK MUSIC FOR EVERY MAN, WOMAN, & CHILD!!!

3. Melissa says:
   October 1st, 2008 (comment#3)

   G major 9
   G + B + D + F# + A

   G minor 9

   G + Bb + D + F + A

   G 9

   G + B + D + F + A

   G min maj 9 ????

   G + Bb + D + F# A ????

   Thanks for this great info. By thinking in terms of all these chords as ” 1 chord plus 5 chord” i was able to call them up really fast. great help.

4. sangiwa eliamani says:
   October 1st, 2008 (comment#4)

   I am learning alot but not so much ready for alot of comments , before i make afool of myself.
   Anyway God bless you.

5. Jermaine says:
   October 1st, 2008 (comment#5)

   @Sangiwa: Don’t worry about making a fool of yourself. No one is a fool here. Participating is better than sitting back silent… trust me! Join in! Even if you’re wrong… you’ll get feedback and understand why.

   Take care,
   Jermaine

6. rayjohnson83 says:
   October 2nd, 2008 (comment#6)

   Let me take a shot at it………..lol

   F major9
   F + A + C + E + G

   F minor 9
   F + Ab + C + Eb + G

   F9
   F + A + C + Eb + G

   F minor-major 9
   F + Ab + C + E + G

   F11
   F + A + C + Eb + G + Bb

   F13
   F + A + C + Eb + G + Bb + D

7. Jermaine says:
   October 2nd, 2008 (comment#7)

   @Ray: You right on the money doc!

   So did breaking up the chords into smaller ones really help to know them faster?

8. chawk says:
   October 5th, 2008 (comment#8)

   E major

   E major + B major = E major9
   E+G#+B+D#+F#

   E minor + B minor = E minor9
   E+G+B+D+F#

   E major + B minor = E dom9
   E+G#+B+D+F#

9. Jermaine says:
   October 5th, 2008 (comment#9)

   @Chawk: Awesome.

   (P.S. - long time no see, where have ya been? :) )

10. chawk says:
    October 5th, 2008 (comment#10)

    I been reading and listening to your blog radio talk show. It’s all good! Keep doing what you’re doing. It’s not in vain.

11. Jermaine says:
    October 5th, 2008 (comment#11)

    Thanks Chawk! Are you a regular listener? If you haven’t already, call in one week so you can be live on the air. It’ll be fun!

12. chawk says:
    October 5th, 2008 (comment#12)

    I haven’t, I’ll keep listening for now. Your Q&A are hard! (smile) and I’m not there yet.

13. Tike says:
    January 22nd, 2009 (comment#13)

    C7+DMA7

    C7 DMAJ7
    C+Bb C#+E+A+A

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