Chords Between Minor And Major

THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL QUALITY OF ANY GIVEN CHORD IS ITS TONALITY...

We learn that major keys or chords have a ‘happy’ sound and that minors can sound ‘sad’ – though different mixtures of the two can, of course, provide a variety of results. However, chords do not need to be a binary choice between major or minor. In fact, during the ‘60s, players such as Pete Townshend discovered that ‘straight’ major or minor chords could sound jarring through a distorted amp, the complex harmonics giving the wrong kind of overload as they hit the amp’s circuit...

Enter the powerchord or ‘5’ chord – root and fifth only. Problem solved and a new genre created! Of course, things didn’t stop there. With or without an overdriven amp, players such as Townshend, Andy Summers and Alex Lifeson have all demonstrated that the root plus fifth formula can be expanded considerably without need to add a third – but still evoke a variety of moods.

EXAMPLE #3

Many would rush to call this a C# minor ninth chord, but this is probably because of subliminally hearing “Message In A Bottle” with its minor key vocals. This example is, in fact, another flavour of sus2, with no third to give a major or minor tonality. It’s complex stuff for such a minimal chord!

EXAMPLE #1

Sometimes referred to erroneously as an add9

(it isn’t, as there is no third), this Csus2 is a real favourite when major or minor would be too ‘grounded’ and specific in a chord progression. Alex Lifeson of Rush loves this one, though it appears in a wide cross-section of popular music, from Crowded House to Van Halen.

EXAMPLE #4

This E5 graces many Rush tunes, being a favourite of Alex Lifeson, who sought various ways to fill out the sound and harmony of the band with jangling distorted chords. Though he would employ major and minor thirds occasionally, this voicing is more typical and particularly distinctive to him.

EXAMPLE #2

One of the first ‘sus’ chords many of us learn, this Dsus4 substitutes the fourth (G in this case) for the third, be that major or minor. However, most guitarists will be most accustomed to hearing the ‘suspense’ of the sus4 ‘resolve’ to a major chord, think “Pinball Wizard” by The Who.

EXAMPLE #5

This Csus2 is quite a complex, dissonant one, particularly when played distorted. Add the open low E string and we’re veering back into Rush territory (think “Tom Sawyer”), but there are many applications for this. Nick Drake’s “River Man” contains some similarly dark, mysterious voicings, so do experiment.