The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    I've always been intrigued by Dominant class chords where, despite their containing a tritone, have no inclination to a specific resolution in the usual way (non resolving Dom).

    But I can't believe I never noticed that even the commonly used m69 chord conceals a tritone, probably because it never appeared to have much tensional flux.

    How many other non Dominant class chords do we know of that contain these "stealth" tritones?

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    Not just m69 but plain old m6, too.

    Maj7#11

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
    Not just m69 but plain old m6, too.

    Maj7#11
    Indeed, Dom9=m7b5=m6 - the holy Jazz Trinity ... But when a m6 is contextualized as, say, im6 in a minor Blues, it doesn't function like it's brothers and sounds, well, stable?

    But yeah, the Maj7#11 is an even better example of a "stealth" tritone, and again, curiously stable... I expect I'll always find these to be fascinating sounds, or at least I hope I never get to the point where these chords sound banal to my ears.

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by princeplanet
    Indeed, Dom9=m7b5=m6 - the holy Jazz Trinity ... But when a m6 is contextualized as, say, im6 in a minor Blues, it doesn't function like it's brothers and sounds, well, stable?

    But yeah, the Maj7#11 is an even better example of a "stealth" tritone, and again, curiously stable... I expect I'll always find these to be fascinating sounds, or at least I hope I never get to the point where these chords sound banal to my ears.
    I believe it's a matter of exposure. Would JS Bach have thought a Maj7#11 was curiously stable? I don't think so.

  6. #5

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    the diminished scale has lots of tri tone flavors..it even has TWO tri tone scales

  7. #6
    I've come across them but can't remember, which chords contain 2 tritones?

  8. #7

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  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by ragman1
    Hehe, it's an article for beginners, fair enough, I guess I come across as being more naÍve than I thought!

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by princeplanet
    I've always been intrigued by Dominant class chords where, despite their containing a tritone, have no inclination to a specific resolution in the usual way (non resolving Dom).

    But I can't believe I never noticed that even the commonly used m69 chord conceals a tritone, probably because it never appeared to have much tensional flux.

    How many other non Dominant class chords do we know of that contain these "stealth" tritones?
    The question of why some chords with Tritones resolve and others don’t is based on where they are resolving to.

    G7 as the V7 in the key of C uses the tritone to resolve via half step contrary motion. B moves up a half step to C. F moves down a half step to E. By doing this we have resolved to our Tonic chord C.

    Not all chords with tritones will want to do this. Dmi6 as the tonic chord of D melodic minor has no desire to resolve anywhere. Also the B note does not have a half step to resolve to. The key of D melodic minor has a C# note which is a whole step, not a half step.

    If we think of Dmi6 as a Dorian chord then it can resolve in a similar fashion to C major. In this case though, it’s acting as a substitution for the G7 chord. (G9/D)

    Non resolving 7th chords also lack the pull to resolve even though they have a tritone. This is because by using contrary motion and resolving the tritone, we are forced to use chromatic notes that fall outside our key center.
    For example F7 in the key of C. It’s tritone is A and Eb. Resolving would force the A note to a Bb note which is chromatic to the C scale. Therefore it doesn’t give a satisfying resolution.


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  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by princeplanet
    I've come across them but can't remember, which chords contain 2 tritones?
    Most common would be
    dim7
    7b5

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
    I believe it's a matter of exposure. Would JS Bach have thought a Maj7#11 was curiously stable? I don't think so.
    Sharp eleventh is more stable than sharp four.

    Voicing can really iron out the dissonance. For instance a typical maj7#11 voicing on guitar goes 1 7 3 #4. The #11 is supported acoustically by the 7. Compare to the interval on its own.

    For classical harmony none of this is really considered, the tritone is invariably dissonant. That said I still feel composers were super aware of this stuff for orchestration and so on.

    Re: the OP and minor sixth chords I’m in two minds. I feel that they have that bluesy non resolving dissonance analogous to the way you might have a dominant chord for a tonic in jazz.

  13. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Christian Miller
    Most common would be
    dim7
    7b5
    Yeah that's it. Def a "resolving" chord. Cool how, say, G7b5 can resolve to C, F#, D or Ab maj. Surely the composers from the classical tradition would have exploited these sounds?

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by princeplanet
    Hehe, it's an article for beginners, fair enough, I guess I come across as being more naÍve than I thought!
    It's a little more than that. It covers every point made so far by posters here, including the difference between b5, #4 and #11, diminished chords, and the absence of tritones in the melodic minor scale (m6 chords). How much did you read?

    (I'm also not sure that in practical terms one needs more info than this. Or is yours only a theory exercise?)

  15. #14

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    In a jazz blues, there are four tritones involved. The move back to the I is considered resolved.

    G dom blues:

    F B - E Bb - F B - %
    E Bb - % - F B - G# D
    (Am7) - F# C - F B - F# C

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by ragman1
    the absence of tritones in the melodic minor scale (m6 chords). How much did you read?
    in the melodic minor scale the b3 and the 6 form a tritone, as well as the 4 and the maj7. subsequently chords from the IV, V, VI and VII degree of the MM all contain a tritone.

    and dom chords that include more than one tritone:

    C7b5, C7b9, C9b13, C13#9, C13b9b10#11 (four tritones)

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by princeplanet
    Yeah that's it. Def a "resolving" chord. Cool how, say, G7b5 can resolve to C, F#, D or Ab maj. Surely the composers from the classical tradition would have exploited these sounds?
    if you mean common practice, the main chord that’s like a ‘7b5’ is the French sixth, which usually moves down a half step to V, eg Ab7#11 G7

  18. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by ragman1
    It's a little more than that. It covers every point made so far by posters here, including the difference between b5, #4 and #11, diminished chords, and the absence of tritones in the melodic minor scale (m6 chords). How much did you read?

    (I'm also not sure that in practical terms one needs more info than this. Or is yours only a theory exercise?)
    No, not just for theory's sake, I'm just looking to repurpose some devices I've been working on that contain these kinds of chords. I think I even posted a thread last year (that you chimed in for IIRC) where I used Dm7b5 - G7b9b13 - Cm6 in place of it's relative Major's 2 - 5 - 1 to yield Fm6 - Bb7b9sus - Eb6#11.

    I just find it fascinating how the same chords placed in different contexts can be perceived so differently, especially chords containing tritones, or even "hidden" tritones. I know it's all just basic Jazz substitution 101, and that everything has already been "discovered" and exploited decades ago, but I like attacking this stuff from left field and enjoy finding my own subtle twists (like using various in-sen scales against the above progressions). I always get ideas after asking the forum some question or other, like seeking out chords with multiple tritones- that will keep me busy for the next few months!

  19. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by djg
    .... C13b9b10#11 (four tritones)
    Yes, the diminished scale contains the mother lode of tritones - but every inversion of itself sounds the same, so not of so much interest to myself regarding
    TT's in different "guises"...

    Curious, why did you include the "10", when omitting it would still imply the 3rd anyway? Why is it important to notate it an 8ve up?

  20. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by djg
    in the melodic minor scale the b3 and the 6 form a tritone, as well as the 4 and the maj7. subsequently chords from the IV, V, VI and VII degree of the MM all contain a tritone.
    Thanks, I am corrected. My fault, I quoted something without checking it. Just goes to show :-)

  21. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by princeplanet
    (that you chimed in for IIRC)
    In that case god knows what I said!

  22. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by ragman1
    In that case god knows what I said!
    You turned me onto the CMaj69#11 chord - never played one before!

  23. #22

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    speechless :-)

  24. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by princeplanet

    Curious, why did you include the "10", when omitting it would still imply the 3rd anyway? Why is it important to notate it an 8ve up?
    it#s a b10.

  25. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by djg
    it#s a b10.
    Ah, I should have looked closer. Still, never seen that before, so why not #9?

  26. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by princeplanet
    Ah, I should have looked closer. Still, never seen that before, so why not #9?
    because you cant have more than one 9 in a chord.