{"id":1642,"date":"2014-08-13T17:00:20","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T15:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/?p=1642"},"modified":"2020-01-12T10:07:38","modified_gmt":"2020-01-12T09:07:38","slug":"upper-structure-triads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/upper-structure-triads\/","title":{"rendered":"Upper Structure Triads"},"content":{"rendered":"Upper structure triads are useful for bringing new elements into your solos and comping. Upper structure triads and superimposition are something that you will hear popping up all on recordings by just about every single well-known jazz musician. As with every new improvisational device, the most important part is getting your ear acclimated to this sound and internalizing the tonality. Once you make it part of your personal database of ideas, it will naturally work itself into your playing. In this lesson, you will learn which upper structure triads work best.<\/p>\n
Triads are a foundational element that every jazz guitarist should be completely familiar with.<\/p>\n
If you can\u2019t quickly find a triad voicing at any specific position on the fingerboard, it would be well worth taking the time to really get them down before you start using the applications in this lesson.<\/p>\n
Accessing a triad is a simple task, yet when carefully placed over a specific harmony they can result in some really sophisticated sounds.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/span>\nThe Upper Structure Triads of Cmaj7<\/h2>\n
Let’s start with the upper structure triads of the Cmaj7 chord.<\/p>\n
Here are the triads from the root on:<\/p>\n
![\"Upper](\"https:\/\/www.jazzguitar.be\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/upper_structure_triads.gif\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Some things to keep in mind:<\/p>\n
\n- The upper structure triad must contain at least one tension which is not an avoid note. Avoid notes only play a role in major chords.<\/li>\n
- An upper structure triad can be\u00a0major, minor, diminished or augmented.<\/li>\n
- You can use upper structure triads for\u00a0soloing\u00a0as well as for\u00a0comping.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\n\n| Triad<\/b><\/td>\n | Notes<\/b><\/td>\n | Played Over Cmaj7<\/td>\n | <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
\n| C<\/td>\n | C E G<\/td>\n | \n\n\n\n| 1<\/td>\n | 3<\/td>\n | 5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n | Not an upper structure triad because it contains only chord tones<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Em<\/td>\n | E G B<\/b><\/td>\n | \n\n\n\n| 3<\/td>\n | 5<\/td>\n | 7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n | Not an upper structure triad because it contains only chord tones<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| G<\/td>\n | G B D<\/b><\/td>\n | \n\n\n\n| 5<\/td>\n | 7<\/td>\n | 9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n | The first upper structure triad for Cmaj7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Bm(7)b5<\/td>\n | B D F<\/b><\/td>\n | \n\n\n\n| 7<\/td>\n | 9<\/td>\n | 11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n | Not a usable upper structure triad for Cmaj7 because it contains the avoid note (11) for C major<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Dm<\/td>\n | D F A<\/b><\/td>\n | \n\n\n\n| 9<\/td>\n | 11<\/td>\n | 13<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n | Not a usable upper structure triad for Cmaj7 because it contains the avoid note (11) for C major<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| F<\/td>\n | F A C<\/td>\n | \n\n\n\n| 11<\/td>\n | 13<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n | Not a usable upper structure triad for Cmaj7 because it contains the avoid note (11) for C major<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | \n| Am<\/td>\n | A C E<\/b><\/td>\n | \n\n\n\n| 13<\/td>\n | 1<\/td>\n | 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n | The second upper structure triad for Cmaj7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n <\/p>\n A List of Upper Structure Triads That Sound Good<\/h2>\nHere’s a list of upper structure triads that sound good to my taste.<\/p>\n I’ll do the first one with you so you can see how the list works:<\/p>\n | | | | | | | |