Polychords are huge extended chords that consist of two or more smaller chords.
As your chords get bigger and bigger, you’ll spot smaller chords within.
These smaller chords present opportunities to explore other voicings.
For example, if you spot a C minor triad and an Eb major 7 in the same chord, this gives you countless ways to voice the chord… including two-hand versions:
- C minor (root) on left hand /// Eb major 7 (root) on right hand
- Eb major 7 (third inversion) on left /// C minor (first inversion) on right
- C minor (first inversion) on left /// Eb major 7 (2nd inversion) on right
And these are just three quick examples of dozens of possibilities.
So the first step is to simply spot as many chords as you can.
Once you’ve identified all the chords present, try inverting (rearranging) each chord, mixing and matching one with another. If there are 3 or 4 different chords present, focus on two, noting how they sound together.
This is a big game of trial and error.
So let’s try it…
How many chords can you spot in this C dominant 13 chord?
Answer:
- C major
- E diminished
- G minor
- Bb major
- D minor
- F major
- A minor
And to be honest, there are probably many more. I just went for the obvious ones.
*Also note: For the F major and A minor, just picture the chord repeating itself. So, in your head, you’re not just seeing F+A, you’re seeing F+A+C as if the chord has started back over at C. The same thing for the A minor chord. You’re not just seeing the single note “A” (because it is, indeed, the highest note). You’re seeing A+C+E (because the C+E are in the beginning of the chord).
Now that you have a list of chords, this should keep you busy mixing and matching the ones you want. Not all will work because some are dependent on each other but take some time to fool around with it… “trial n error” style!
You’ll be amazed at how far this idea of “polychords” takes ya!
Until next time —
Comments on this entry are closed.