• Chord Analysis: The Fmin7[add11] Chord

    in Chords & Progressions,Experienced players,General Music,Piano,Theory

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    The Fmin7[add11] chord was posted on our Facebook page (as the chord of the day):

    …and I’ll be honest, a lot of you all tried your best; especially those who came close to the answer by saying it’s an Fmin11 chord.

    Attention: If you’re yet to follow us on Facebook, please click over to our page, like and turn on your notification settings to be notified every time we post new contents.

    “What Is The Chord Of The Day?”

    We, on daily basis, post chords on our Facebook page and that’s what we call the Chord of the Day.

    Additionally, we also ask questions to let musicians all around the world tell us what chord they think it is and what chord it could likely be when played over another bass note.

    Here are some of the answers we got on the page:

    …and it seems (to me) that only one person wrote Fmin7add11 and that’s the correct answer for the Chord of the Day. So, let’s take a look at the Fmin7[add11] chord.

    Attention: The Chord of the Day is a voicing of the Fmin7[add11] chord and you’ll understand what I’m talking about at the end of this segment.

    The Name

    I’ll want us to breakdown the Fmin7[add11] chord:

    …into little and digestible proportions by looking at the following terms:

    F

    Minor

    Seventh

    [add11]

    Chord

    …let’s start with the F.

    “The F…”

    The root of the Chord of the Day:

    …is the F note:

    …and it’s because F is the root of the chord, that’s why it’s an F chord. So, the F:

    …in the Fmin7[add11] chord:

    …is the root of the chord.

    “The Minor…”

    The distance (aka – “interval”) between the first and third tones of the Fmin7[add11] chord:

    …which is between F and Ab:

    …is a minor third and chords with a minor third interval between the first and third tones are classified as minor chords.

    So, the Chord of the Day is a minor chord and can be reduced to a basic F minor chord:

    “The Seventh…”

    The minor seventh interval from F:

    …is Eb:

    So, Eb is simply the seventh and that’s what we can add to the F minor chord:

    …to produce the F minor seventh chord:

    For a moment, think about the F minor seventh chord:

    You can see that 80% of the notes in the Fmin7[add11] chord:

    …are  in the F minor seventh chord.

    Pop Quiz: “What Is The Seventh Chord Tone In The F Minor Seventh Chord?”

    The seventh chord tone of the F minor seventh chord:

    …is Eb:

    …and we have that same very Eb tone in the Fmin7[add11] chord:

    “The [add11]…”

    If we start counting the tones of the F major scale (two octaves):

    …from the F as the first:

    The eleventh tone would definitely be Bb:

    Let’s count:

    F (1), G (2), A (3), Bb (4), C (5), D (6), E (7), F (8), G (9), A (10), Bb (11),

    So, adding the eleventh (Bb):

    …to the F minor seventh chord:

    …produces the F minor seventh [add11] chord (which is written as the Fmin7[add11] chord):

    “The Chord…”

    Finally, it’s called a chord because all the notes are to be played together.

    Attention: The root of the word chord is from the old English word accord which means together.

    The Scale Source

    Although the Fmin7[add11] chord:

    …can be formed from the natural minor scale and a variety of other minor scales.

    However, for the purposes of this lesson, I would want us to see the Fmin7[add11] chord:

    …as an aggregate of the tones in the F minor pentatonic scale:

    Recommended Lesson: Discover The Shortcut To Playing Minor Pentatonic Scales.

    So, if you can play the minor pentatonic scale in any key, just press those same notes down and you’ll have the min7[add11] chord.

    It’s that easy!

    The Class Of Harmony

    The Fmin7[add11] chord:

    …is an added tone chord.

    So, although it has third intervals, it is a non-tertian chord and this is because of the second intervals between Ab and Bb:

    …then Bb and C:

    Attention: Tertian chords are chords that are built off only third intervals and the Fmin7[add11] chord, when played in root position, has a combination of second and third intervals.

    The Voicing Formula

    Here’s the Chord of the Day again:

    The Fmin7[add11] chord wasn’t played the regular way (in root position):

    …it was rather rearranged to create a voicing.

    Attention: Voicing is the consideration of the notes of a chord as voices and this consideration usually leads to the rearrangement of the notes of a chord (aka – “voices”) to create a voicing.

    So, the Chord of the Day is basically a rearrangement of the notes of the Fmin7[add11] chord:

    …played in such a way that the Fsus4 chord is played on the left hand:

    …while the third inversion of the F minor seventh chord is played on the right hand:

    So, it’s like Fmin7/Fsus4 and that’s another way to notate the Chord of the Day.

    Now, if you pick a key note, and play a minor seventh chord over a suspended fourth chord, you’ll have this same voicing of the min7[add11] chord.

    Let’s say we picked C:

    …and then we play the third inversion of the C minor seventh chord:

    …over the C suspended fourth chord:

    That would give us an overall Cmin7[add11] chord:

    “What Other Bass Notes Can Go With This Chord?”

    It’s possible to play the Fmin7[add11] chord over other bass notes like Db and Bb. Let’s go ahead and do that and see what it would produce.

    “Over Db…”

    If the Chord of the Day (which is the Fmin7[add11] chord):

    …is played over Db on the bass:

    This produces an overall Dbmaj9[add13] chord:

    “Over Bb…”

    Playing the Chord of the Day with a Bb on the bass:

    …produces an overall Bbdom9sus4 chord:

    Final Words

    I’m sure you’ve learned a couple of things in today’s chord analysis.

    Special appreciation goes to our founder, Jermaine Griggs (who is also my role-model) for the opportunity to share with you today on the Fmin7[add11] chord.

    Questions, suggestions, and contributions are anticipated and I’ll keep an eye in the comment section.

    See you tomorrow!

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    Onyemachi "Onye" Chuku is a Nigerian musicologist, pianist, and author. Inspired by his role model (Jermaine Griggs) who has become his mentor, what he started off as teaching musicians in his Aba-Nigeria neighborhood in April 2005 eventually morphed into an international career that has helped hundreds of thousands of musicians all around the world. Onye lives in Dubai and is currently the Head of Education at HearandPlay Music Group and the music consultant of the Gospel Music Training Center, all in California, USA.




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