Impressed that everytime you "beg the question", we immediately cut to you addressing it and giving us a moment, then seemlessly integrating the next level of understanding. 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿💥
Cheers Alain, glad you enjoyed the lesson. Seems there's a lot of you guitarists who like learning theory stuff from pianists! Good to have you here! 👍
Facts. As a guitarist I find it amazingly streamlined learning theory concepts on the piano. The piano is fundamental imo if you want a better understanding of harmony.
@@michaelkeithsonI like learning theory from the pianist standpoint also. Most piano players even beginners have a better understanding of chords and musical movement than my guitar buddies. So I play both and teach my guitar friends also. Peace
Hi Michael, I cannot thank you enough for breaking things down sooooo well and - even for me - understandable and "usable" ... I really wish I found you years earlier ... because I often (still) struggle with "WHAT? ... HOW?" ... but with your explanationa analyses and "try it this or that way" some of the odd puzzle pieces fall into place ... 🥰
Hey Manfred! Thanks for the nice comment. It's really nice hear you've found some value in my videos and appreciate what I'm creating. Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙏
My guess regarding why the E7 to C isn't as strong of a cadence as the others is because the third of C (which is E) is what gives the chord its color, so its presence in the previous chord makes it more similar to it than the others (less tension prior to the resolution). That's perhaps also why the dominant third (in this case, E7), especially with a #9, can even be used as a substitution for the I chord in, for example, a I vi ii V progression. So, instead of C Am7 Dm7 G7, you get E7#9 Am7 Dm7 G7, which sounds quite cool.
I also feel like that since it's already so uncommon, my brain just automatically assumes the Bm7-E7b9 is going to end up at Am in some circle of 5ths progression (and im going to assume that most people feel similarly) so since there's already an established "path" for the vii7-IIIb9-... it would be difficult for a new use to become commonplace simply because people will chose more familiar options like backdoor or tritone sub edit: I saw another comment point this out, and mentioned that you can resolve E7 to C6 instead of C so you get that A which makes it a little more satisfying
I agree. The lack of a progression to the third of the scale (E) weakens the resolution. The resolutions are to the 1st and 5th notes of the scale, and that by parallel fourths (hidden parallel fifth to boot!), creating a perfect fifth that is meeting the existing third. Try that alone and compare it to the other three options, which do not start with any notes in common with the resolving chord. It "works" but is less interesting, though maybe useful as a deceptive cadence.
I keep wondering about the 'unique chords' and progression. My intention tells me the resolving chord are mostly half-tone apart from the 'unique chords' aka backdoor. Thanks to your video Mic. It clears my mind especially the theory who i have been wondering about. 10/10 really guide me! For sure i buy you a coffee!
I've been studying music (in my own time) best part of 30 years, and composing and arranging for at least 20 of them. The last 4 years has been devoted to Jazz arrangements and I can't believe I've only just come across the back door ii - V. You have just added another level to my toolbox. I've also found that some of your other videos have give me a deeper understanding on some of the other tools I already use. Keep up the efforts on educating those of us that study music in our own time. I shall certainly be buying you a coffee kind sir. 😁
A little tangent on the diminished talk: the vii dim7 chord is interchangeable with the V7b9 chord. Exactly the same chord, with a V note in the bass. Conversely, if you play a V7b9 chord and delete the root, you’re left with vii diminished 7. E.g., G7b9 without a root is Bdim7. That B diminished chord sounds cool over G7b9 and is easily repeatable.And the half whole diminished scale starting from the V note sounds really good, and it’s also fairly easy to play over this sound. Literally half note, whole note until you hit the octave and it starts over. For a G7 leading to C, it’s G,Ab,Bb,B, C#, D and so on. Yes it has 8 notes if you’re finding that confusing lol, I certainly did at first. You only need to learn 3 of them because the pattern starts over once you’ve gotten to the minor 3rd. Here’s a very practical way to think of half whole diminished: take the vi dim 7 chord, which is 4 notes, and give every note a half step leading tone below it. That’s the 8 note scale. If you use these chromatic leading tones to the chord tones of vii dim7 and mix it up a bit, you sound like Stan Getz, ta da! Dominant b9 is a bebop staple especially in any V dominant chord leading to minor 1. Half whole diminished is kind of a dark bebop dominant scale to me, with very little to remember ;) . Btw, vii dim 7 naturally leads up a half step to minor 1, not major, it’s just a darker version of V7 to 1 minor, used often in classical harmonic minor music. You can absolutely use V7b9 (or vii dim 7, again, same basic chord) to major 1, but that’s the kind of thing the band’s going to want to agree on, not exactly interchangeable sounds. In other words, you don’t always want dark V7b9 chords leading to major 1’s, as it’s nice to have simple major sounds to contrast with dark, more complex minor sounds. Learning to use diminished chords is weird but useful, and all the greats use it. It’s generally easy to do physically, or at least, it’s only 3 patterns to learn on any instrument. Diminished is its own thing, man, but it’s in the dominant family. That’s why a lot of people don’t like calling minor7b5 chords “half diminished.”They’re minor family chords, they don’t normally act as dominant. They’re not “diminished” at all, they’re just dark minor chords. Their function is subdominant, not dominant. That’s a lot of nerding there but I’m stuck on a plane, whattyagonnado.
This may be the single most interesting video on music theory that I've ever come across on youtube! Mind blown honestly 🤯 One question: is it common to use backdoor 2-5s and tritone sub 2-5s in sort of a secondary dominant fashion to lead to chords that aren't the 1 chord?
Hey Matthew! Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed it. In answer to your question, a backdoor cadence doesn’t typically get used to take us anywhere other than the tonic chord, but that doesn’t mean it can’t work like secondary dominants. Although, that being said, it is used like that in some jazz standards. So maybe it’s more of a stylistic thing! Don’t let ‘theory’ stop you from exploring and discovering sounds. Be lead by your ears, decide if you like it. Try it. |C |Bbm Eb7 |Fmaj7 G7b9 | C |
10:30 I wondered this exact thing when I first learned about the diminished chord. It's a nice sound! I suppose the movement by a third is just too weak to make the dominant do its job effectively.
Question at 10:34. E7b9 resolves so strongly to the relative minor (A) that going to C sounds weak. Using Bm7b5 to E7b9 makes the resolution in C stronger. But in my opinion, the root movement of a downward third doesn't sound very strong as a resolution. For some reason, when I hear the III chord, I expect to go away from the tonic, resolving to the tonic sounds kind of like giving up, just when the adventure starts! Great video, Michael!!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
I agree. Root movement E to C doesn’t sound strong as a resolution and also for me I just really associate E7 in C as subdominant functioning chord, moving away not towards C..usually to Am or F. Still, it could work as a ‘softer’ resolution in the right kind of song and the fact that it is rarely used might help to give a more original, distinctive sound.
Hey Chris, thanks for the comment. Agreed. I think because the E7 already has a strong diatonic resolution to Am moving to the C doesn't feel nearly as strong. Also because we already have the note E as a strong chord tone of the E7 we miss that resolution onto the E as the 3rd of the C chord in the way that the others (G7, Db7 and Bb7) all have. Thanks for sharing 👍
A couple things on the III7 - I resolution: Something very close to this resolution is found in the Kabalevsky Violin Concerto in C Major. In the third movement, there is a chain of these resolutions that marks a large cadence. The actual chords are F/D# C#m/E Am (and it’s later repeated up a minor third). While it is technically just a chromatic mediant resolution, it feels like a dominant and is treated like a dominant, clearly making it a substitution (the E in the bass helps a lot with this). The F/D# chord before it is a Ger6 in Am (and Ger6s are just tritone substitutions of II7 or V/V), but it also acts as the III7 of C#m. Since we have only have three diminished chords, C (Class 1), C# (Class 2), and D (Class 3), we can then analyze everything in relation to them. A dominant built on a note in Class 1 will include or imply the Class 2 diminished chord and resolve to a chord built on a note in Class 3. To connect this to the 2-5 and backdoor 2-5 (and other 2-5 variations), any chord built on a Class 2 will have subdominant function leading to a dominant function chord built on a Class 1 note, which will resolve to a chord built on a Class 3 note. In other words, in any given key, there are actually 8 tonic chords, 8 dominant chords, and 8 subdominant chords, although most music tends to limit focus to only a few of those tonic chords at a time (ex: modal interchange focuses on the relation of C to Cm, using the relative minor focuses on the relation of C to Am, and classical pieces in Cm often end their expositions in Eb).
@@michaelkeithson ...another bass player as well, though my secondary instrument is guitar, so I enjoy making sense of all that chordal goodness on the other 6 stringer. Great video, by the way. Subscribed and waiting for more music-nerd gems like this!
I feel like the best way to explain why the flat seven dominant works is because it’s really a minor plagal cadence. Borrowing from a parallel minor gives you plenty of harmonic nuance.
Just woke up and having my coffee when your video came out. Ngl, I got “wait, what?!?” moments. A lot. 🤣🤣 Thank you for sharing the knowledge man. Cheers
Subscribed. There are a lot of great channels on UA-cam that explain these topics, but this video makes me feel like I am fully understanding the topic, going to remember the concepts, and be able to generalize this knowledge to grow as a musician in general. So great, thank you.
Gonna have to watch this a couple more times to grok everything you’re sharing, but I wanted to show my gratitude for the work you put into the presentation. The visuals of the keyboard, the chord names, and the color highlight when the chord is played, really helped me to understand how one chord flows to another. I’ve been trying to step up my songwriting, and this is exactly what I needed to learn, ‘cause I’ve been playing with 2-5 variations, dim7’s, and aug5’s and how they feel as they resolve. My theory is a little weak, so, here’s this video to help me. !!! The tension and release, the sound of one path and resolution, compared with another, gives me cues of how to play with these changes to tell the emotional story inside a song. This lesson is filled with pearls. Thank you., Mr. Keithson.
This is why guitarist should go to pianist for theory lessons. Amazing how someone can explain all this in such a concise manner. You even managed to learn how to sight read (slowly) from doing this.
@somethingwongwai9679 I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary. True that many guitarists don’t know their notes all over the board but you can still fully understand this concept but applied through shapes and distances from the I. Different language to explain the same idea. Piano is better for directly seeing it. Guitars is better for easily moving this idea all over the place
I’m a classically trained pianist and music theory nerd…also play guitar and bass, mainly in the rock genre, but I’m always looking for ways to expand my musical vocabulary. I’ve never heard this concept explained so clearly! You truly have a gift, and your playing was a pleasure to listen to. Thank you.
I know! I have been a student of music my whole life and I haven’t been able to grasp the concepts as easily as when Michael explains them. Today on Thanksgiving here in New Hampshire I’m sitting at my piano watching the snow fall through my picture window and one of the things I am grateful for today is Michael Keithson!
It really fascinates me how different you can look at those chords and why they work, i arrived there and understood them just as the 2-5 of the parallel minor key.😌
Very thought provoking in it's mechanics of 2 elements moving up, moving down and how it draws the ear to the resolution. I have to rewind and listen a lot but, with the slow repetition the fog starts to clear. Also I really appreciate the way you segue into "tangents" like Modal Interchange here referring back to your previous videoes on those subjects to help build a concrete understanding of how these things are ...homogeneous(?)
1. Very good lesson. I was kind of researching a bit and was nearing some kind of conclusion like this myself but you really tied sooo many concepts up nicely and put a bow on them. 2. I subscribed and then realised your channel is woefully underrated. Hope to see you grow. Thanks for the videos!
8:25 - 10:57 … lol, stopped after the last section to work out that fourth dominant chord, myself. And the obvious answer without thinking too much about it is that the position of that ‘weak’ D that dissolves away, is costing us more as a ‘dissolving 7’ … ? Perhaps a ‘dissolving 5’ is the least of our problems, but a ‘dissolving 7’ is the most problematic (with the other 2 options being somewhere in-between?)? Very interesting … Food for thought …
I’m also a guitar player (now one of your Patreons). I must agree that you teaching is super, very easy to follow. I’m using a keyboard to do my music theory training and your explanations/examples are very good. Great. Thx!
I always wanted to know why and how it was called the 1 tone down chromatic chord that worked like a charm, FINALLY I figure out what it is and how it works, thank you!
I watch lots of theory vids on youtube and I find the ones you make are especially useful and easy to understand, and for free makes it a steal thanks mate
I’ve just recently come across you (so to speak) on t’interweb. I’m an amateur pianist with a bit of theory in my head. But you explain it so well. And your cuts to your smile and raised eyebrow make me laugh. Wish you well. Long may it continue.
When I learned about the minor 4 chord I just started using it all the time as a cheat code. Thanks for giving me part 2 to that so I can abuse it even more! I found while playing around that the Imaj7 chord sounds really nice too instead of the ii chord. ie: Ebmaj7 (instead of Fm7) Bb7 C if playing in C. It's fun picking up new lego pieces to build with even if I'm still playing about with duplo at my level
"Backdoor Progressions" got me to click on, watch and listen; didn't expect much. But actually you provided me with some very useful information and I appreciate the title of this video even more; one can imagine that if I'm knowing on someone's backdoor, the listener will perceive the ''knock' differently because it's just not expected. I just can't use it in some settings. 😂
@@michaelkeithson Don't forget to speak out at each video, there are always people who are interested but forget to do so! I can't wait to see how it all turns out!
I absolutely love these videos. Even as a guitar player who cant read or write music (surprise surprise) I feel like your explanations and humor make it so easy for me to understand musical concepts I can hear but can't quite understand yet. Thanks for all your effort you put into these videos man. Spot fuckin on
Another top notch video! Had to watch this one a few times, which I take as a sign of learning a lot of new things. Awesome, awesome content - please keep it coming!
We see this E7 going to C at the Jazz standard "ALONE TOGETHER". In the key of Dm, at measure 9, 10 and 11 we have: |B-7 E7| G-7 C7|Fmaj7| I didn't know how to explain and understand this part of the tune. Now I know, thanks to you!!❤
great video. to your aside question, i can't think of an example of that "side door" cadence either, though now i'll be on the lookout. my guess about its rarity is that it strongly suggests a move to the relative minor... in C, Bm7-E7 is the ii-V to Am. that relative minor has its own host of associations and complications, and the two common tones from the triads Am and CMaj weaken the surprise element. that said, i don't recall ever thinking about this, so yay.
Hey, thanks for the comment. I appreciate your take on it. 👍 I agree, I think there is already a stronger diatonic resolution to the Am so the movement to the C feels weak. Also, as lots of people have mentioned, we already have the 3rd of C in the E7 and so the lack of movement to the onto the 3rd weakens the impact of the resolution. Thanks for sharing man. 👍
I'm taking a shot at the question in the "little aside" using the idea of voice leading. Maybe it's because in the fourth alternative we don't get any semi-tone movement around the third of the tonic chord, whereas we do in the other three? Instead we get some nice chromatic movement down to the fifth of the I chord, but maybe that's just not as satisfying without the movement around the third. Plus, the III7 chord has already pre-resolved the third of I, unless you make it III7b9, which is really just bringing it back closer to the other progressions that seem to work better to begin with. Another issue: maybe we associate a root descending by thirds with the beginning and not the ending of a chord progression.
Cheers for the comment Hunter and sharing your views and insight. I like the way you're thinking about it. I definitely think there's something about the fact that the E (or third of the tonic) is already present so it feels like a pretty tame resolution. Thanks for sharing 🙏
Why does the progression work to create harmonic interest? The answer is because the Fm7 to Bb7 to C includes a Picardy third. The first two chords are progressing in the key of C minor, and ends with the tonic of C major. Don't be fooled by the key of Eb relationship to the Fm7, as ii min7. The C minor scale is "actively" implied. The minor third, Eb moves half a tone to the note, E (the major third).
Thanks! I saw some nice examples of Stevie Wonder's backdoor progressions before but this helped a lot to understand better what's going on and why it works.
Disclaimer! I wrote this comment before you started talking about it on the video! Still, my fingers hurt from typing it, so I’m not deleting all that hard work! If you build a diminished off of the 2nd, 4th, flat 6 or 7th degrees of a scale, you can lower *_any_* of the notes by a half step and all of them will resolve to the tonic. If we play an F diminished whilst in the key of C we can lower the F to E to give us a “median dominant” that ideally resolves to the relative minor root, but also does a good job of taking us to the tonic. Lowering the Ab by half a tone takes us to the diatonic dominant. Similarly, lowering the B to Bb takes us to the backdoor dominant and lowering the D to Db gives us the tritone substitution. Similarly going up from that diminished by a perfect fifth to (for example) C Diminished allows us to do the same thing with some really nice altered dominants all resolving to the tonic of C. Probably nothing new to you, but just stuff I discovered while I was mucking around... Very interesting, thanks mate.
Hey Michael, your lessons are always top notch! I've already shared your videos with many of my musician friends, you communicate concept and the ideas around it so clearly 😄
wonderful, as always. There are many videos on this subjet, but this is outstanding others! Steve Wonder was using a lot those backdoor dominants ;) Thanks a lot
About the E7-C: you’re right, this one is not being used at all. The other cadences (G7-C, Db7-C and Bb7-C) all have the important line F-E. This is not the case for the E7-C cadens. The E is the major 3rd of the C chord, arguably the most important chord tone. The E7 already contains the E, giving it away too soon. Also, think about III in C major: Em7. Why is this never used as a replacement for V, although it’s third related to it? Because it’s also third related to the tonic. It just sounds too much as a tonic. The same goes for the E7, although in a lesser degree.
Your point about the F-E line being most important is very interesting because it seems intuitive that the most important would be B-C since it resolves to the root. But in jazz you will often see the V7 replaced with a V7sus, replacing B with C. If B-C was most important, using a V7sus wouldn't make any sense because you are replacing the most tense note with the most resolved note, which would surely dissolve all tension. It doesn't however, because the most important line is not B-C but F-E. Additionally, in jazz you typically will resolve to Cmaj7, which contains a B, and occasionally even a Cmaj7#5, which contains a G#/Ab, but I can't think of any common resolutions that include an F.
@10:54 I literally have asked that question for years, why don't composers like to resolve tension chords by going up or down a major/minor third, when it works. Maybe not resolving it to the tonic since like you said it doesn't sound as strong, but you can definitely use it to lead to other chords in the composition, giving it a different sound that very few composers use.
I had the same question about the E7 resolving to C. I think I have an answer. A secondary dominant is expected to resolve to the major or minor chord a fourth up. B♭7 and D♭7 are not secondary dominants for any chord in C major, but E7 is the secondary dominant for Am. So when we hear E7 in C major, we expect an Am to follow. Going to C (or C6) may work, but it feels less complete than going to Am, so maybe a little disappointing? I think that is the important difference between E7 and both B♭7 and D♭7. One popular four-chord progression these days is C, E7, F, Fm. There the E7 does not go to Am. This is called a deceptive cadence. Am is expected, and the A note is there, along with the C, but instead of the Am chord, we get F as a surprise, but it does not end there. I think that is important - it isn't a resolution - so it then could go to G or G7 to resolve to C (pretty typical) or one might go the negative harmony route and use Fm6 or Dm7♭5 instead of G7, or just Fm (a nice intermediary for plagal resolution). For me, the B♭7 resolving to C has a kind of Picardy third feel to it, probably because one would expect E♭ (or E♭6 or Cm) so the E♮ brightens it up. The D♭7 fits perfectly between Dm7 and Cmaj7, and it has the same tritone as G7, so that works very well.
all this stuff about the dominants relating back to the same diminished chord reminds me of what i've been learning about barry harris's "family of dominants"
i’d love to see you try out a new series where you break down famous chord progressions. Easy by Mac Ayres has some really jazzy chords and i’d love to learn why the chords work and so on
8:08 … well, two “fall” and one rises, yeah? Checking all this on paper, you (at first blush) end up wondering (well, I did) why Tritone Substitutions don’t have an even stronger resolution than the ‘legit’ Dominant 7. The Tritone Substitution gives you 4 semitone movements (can’t get much smoother voice-leading than that?), 3 down and 1 up … though immediately, you then think: ah, 3/4 of that is ‘parallel motion’; that’s why it’s weak? 🤔 The ‘OG/legit’ Dominant 7 has one up and one down, and that’s from the 3rd and 7th to the 1st and 3rd … with the all-important 1 staying put but transforming into a nice stable 5, and the nice stable 5 (of the Dom 7) just dissolving away innocuously (or it could just become a M9 without detracting at all from our perfect cadence, I suppose?).
Thanks for watching Kieren and I appreciate your contribution to the conversation too! It's nice to see people pondering these things like I do! Cheers 👍
Seriously, you have a gift for teaching. It's amazing how you can make everything look simple.
Thanks man, really appreciate it. Glad you enjoyed it 👍
I agree 100%! Your material with the graphics and chord displays are very well presented. It makes it easy to follow the concepts you are teaching.
The Dominant seventh, Diminished seventh relationship is blowing my mind. lol. I've been playing with that one for a couple days.
Nice! Happy exploring Afi!
Impressed that everytime you "beg the question", we immediately cut to you addressing it and giving us a moment, then seemlessly integrating the next level of understanding. 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿💥
Ah, cheers Sean! I appreciate the nice comment. Thanks 🙏
I am a guitar player but I prefer a pianist like you explaining me these concepts. It's really a nice lesson.
Cheers Alain, glad you enjoyed the lesson. Seems there's a lot of you guitarists who like learning theory stuff from pianists! Good to have you here! 👍
Facts. As a guitarist I find it amazingly streamlined learning theory concepts on the piano. The piano is fundamental imo if you want a better understanding of harmony.
@@michaelkeithsonI like learning theory from the pianist standpoint also. Most piano players even beginners have a better understanding of chords and musical movement than my guitar buddies. So I play both and teach my guitar friends also. Peace
@@LawrinMaxwellsmpc500 Thanks for the comments man, glad you enjoyed the vid. Cheers
Yeah when learning about chords, I watch pianists. The chords their left hand play and right hands play can give some comping ideas.
Hi Michael, I cannot thank you enough for breaking things down sooooo well and - even for me - understandable and "usable" ... I really wish I found you years earlier ... because I often (still) struggle with "WHAT? ... HOW?" ... but with your explanationa analyses and "try it this or that way" some of the odd puzzle pieces fall into place ... 🥰
Hey Manfred! Thanks for the nice comment. It's really nice hear you've found some value in my videos and appreciate what I'm creating. Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙏
Honestly, I've been watching many UA-cam channels and this is one of the best channels.
Amazing video.
Thanks for sharing it.
🙏 Thanks Ruben, I really appreciate your comment. Thanks for watching 👍
My guess regarding why the E7 to C isn't as strong of a cadence as the others is because the third of C (which is E) is what gives the chord its color, so its presence in the previous chord makes it more similar to it than the others (less tension prior to the resolution). That's perhaps also why the dominant third (in this case, E7), especially with a #9, can even be used as a substitution for the I chord in, for example, a I vi ii V progression. So, instead of C Am7 Dm7 G7, you get E7#9 Am7 Dm7 G7, which sounds quite cool.
I also feel like that since it's already so uncommon, my brain just automatically assumes the Bm7-E7b9 is going to end up at Am in some circle of 5ths progression (and im going to assume that most people feel similarly) so since there's already an established "path" for the vii7-IIIb9-... it would be difficult for a new use to become commonplace simply because people will chose more familiar options like backdoor or tritone sub
edit: I saw another comment point this out, and mentioned that you can resolve E7 to C6 instead of C so you get that A which makes it a little more satisfying
@@nxyuu Sure, but the reason that works is because C6 is an inversion of Am7.
The same could be said of G7 though.
@@sus-kupp How so? G7 is GBDF.
I agree. The lack of a progression to the third of the scale (E) weakens the resolution. The resolutions are to the 1st and 5th notes of the scale, and that by parallel fourths (hidden parallel fifth to boot!), creating a perfect fifth that is meeting the existing third. Try that alone and compare it to the other three options, which do not start with any notes in common with the resolving chord. It "works" but is less interesting, though maybe useful as a deceptive cadence.
Wow.. didnt realize diminished chords really put in the work!
😂 Yep, gotta love those diminished chords holding everything together!
I keep wondering about the 'unique chords' and progression. My intention tells me the resolving chord are mostly half-tone apart from the 'unique chords' aka backdoor.
Thanks to your video Mic. It clears my mind especially the theory who i have been wondering about. 10/10 really guide me! For sure i buy you a coffee!
Glad you got some value from the video! 👍
I've been studying music (in my own time) best part of 30 years, and composing and arranging for at least 20 of them. The last 4 years has been devoted to Jazz arrangements and I can't believe I've only just come across the back door ii - V. You have just added another level to my toolbox. I've also found that some of your other videos have give me a deeper understanding on some of the other tools I already use. Keep up the efforts on educating those of us that study music in our own time.
I shall certainly be buying you a coffee kind sir. 😁
Hey Michael! Thanks for the nice comment. Really glad you're still able to get some value from the videos and enjoying them. Happy new year!
Part of the fun of watching and listening to your excellent videos is watching the 'like' count keep building as it plays.
❤️
A little tangent on the diminished talk: the vii dim7 chord is interchangeable with the V7b9 chord. Exactly the same chord, with a V note in the bass. Conversely, if you play a V7b9 chord and delete the root, you’re left with vii diminished 7. E.g., G7b9 without a root is Bdim7. That B diminished chord sounds cool over G7b9 and is easily repeatable.And the half whole diminished scale starting from the V note sounds really good, and it’s also fairly easy to play over this sound. Literally half note, whole note until you hit the octave and it starts over. For a G7 leading to C, it’s G,Ab,Bb,B, C#, D and so on. Yes it has 8 notes if you’re finding that confusing lol, I certainly did at first. You only need to learn 3 of them because the pattern starts over once you’ve gotten to the minor 3rd.
Here’s a very practical way to think of half whole diminished: take the vi dim 7 chord, which is 4 notes, and give every note a half step leading tone below it. That’s the 8 note scale. If you use these chromatic leading tones to the chord tones of vii dim7 and mix it up a bit, you sound like Stan Getz, ta da! Dominant b9 is a bebop staple especially in any V dominant chord leading to minor 1. Half whole diminished is kind of a dark bebop dominant scale to me, with very little to remember ;) .
Btw, vii dim 7 naturally leads up a half step to minor 1, not major, it’s just a darker version of V7 to 1 minor, used often in classical harmonic minor music.
You can absolutely use V7b9 (or vii dim 7, again, same basic chord) to major 1, but that’s the kind of thing the band’s going to want to agree on, not exactly interchangeable sounds. In other words, you don’t always want dark V7b9 chords leading to major 1’s, as it’s nice to have simple major sounds to contrast with dark, more complex minor sounds.
Learning to use diminished chords is weird but useful, and all the greats use it. It’s generally easy to do physically, or at least, it’s only 3 patterns to learn on any instrument.
Diminished is its own thing, man, but it’s in the dominant family. That’s why a lot of people don’t like calling minor7b5 chords “half diminished.”They’re minor family chords, they don’t normally act as dominant. They’re not “diminished” at all, they’re just dark minor chords. Their function is subdominant, not dominant.
That’s a lot of nerding there but I’m stuck on a plane, whattyagonnado.
Wow! Thank you for sharing Nick 🙏
This may be the single most interesting video on music theory that I've ever come across on youtube! Mind blown honestly 🤯 One question: is it common to use backdoor 2-5s and tritone sub 2-5s in sort of a secondary dominant fashion to lead to chords that aren't the 1 chord?
Hey Matthew! Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed it.
In answer to your question, a backdoor cadence doesn’t typically get used to take us anywhere other than the tonic chord, but that doesn’t mean it can’t work like secondary dominants.
Although, that being said, it is used like that in some jazz standards. So maybe it’s more of a stylistic thing!
Don’t let ‘theory’ stop you from exploring and discovering sounds. Be lead by your ears, decide if you like it. Try it.
|C |Bbm Eb7 |Fmaj7 G7b9 | C |
Just clicked and straight to the good stuff. No annoying intros or early self advertising. New sub here! Thanks for your hard work!
Cheers Gus, appreciate your comment and glad you found me! 👍
Lol same...just no nonsense..BOOM information!
10:30 I wondered this exact thing when I first learned about the diminished chord. It's a nice sound! I suppose the movement by a third is just too weak to make the dominant do its job effectively.
Question at 10:34. E7b9 resolves so strongly to the relative minor (A) that going to C sounds weak. Using Bm7b5 to E7b9 makes the resolution in C stronger. But in my opinion, the root movement of a downward third doesn't sound very strong as a resolution. For some reason, when I hear the III chord, I expect to go away from the tonic, resolving to the tonic sounds kind of like giving up, just when the adventure starts!
Great video, Michael!!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
I agree. Root movement E to C doesn’t sound strong as a resolution and also for me I just really associate E7 in C as subdominant functioning chord, moving away not towards C..usually to Am or F. Still, it could work as a ‘softer’ resolution in the right kind of song and the fact that it is rarely used might help to give a more original, distinctive sound.
Hey Chris, thanks for the comment. Agreed. I think because the E7 already has a strong diatonic resolution to Am moving to the C doesn't feel nearly as strong. Also because we already have the note E as a strong chord tone of the E7 we miss that resolution onto the E as the 3rd of the C chord in the way that the others (G7, Db7 and Bb7) all have. Thanks for sharing 👍
👍
A couple things on the III7 - I resolution:
Something very close to this resolution is found in the Kabalevsky Violin Concerto in C Major. In the third movement, there is a chain of these resolutions that marks a large cadence. The actual chords are F/D# C#m/E Am (and it’s later repeated up a minor third). While it is technically just a chromatic mediant resolution, it feels like a dominant and is treated like a dominant, clearly making it a substitution (the E in the bass helps a lot with this). The F/D# chord before it is a Ger6 in Am (and Ger6s are just tritone substitutions of II7 or V/V), but it also acts as the III7 of C#m.
Since we have only have three diminished chords, C (Class 1), C# (Class 2), and D (Class 3), we can then analyze everything in relation to them. A dominant built on a note in Class 1 will include or imply the Class 2 diminished chord and resolve to a chord built on a note in Class 3.
To connect this to the 2-5 and backdoor 2-5 (and other 2-5 variations), any chord built on a Class 2 will have subdominant function leading to a dominant function chord built on a Class 1 note, which will resolve to a chord built on a Class 3 note. In other words, in any given key, there are actually 8 tonic chords, 8 dominant chords, and 8 subdominant chords, although most music tends to limit focus to only a few of those tonic chords at a time (ex: modal interchange focuses on the relation of C to Cm, using the relative minor focuses on the relation of C to Am, and classical pieces in Cm often end their expositions in Eb).
As a bass player/composer that doesn't play keys and solely mucks around with midi, this is gold.
Awesome! Good to know I've got some bass players in here too! Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed the video 👍
@@michaelkeithsonbass and double bass player here as well
@@pgrvloik Nice! I love that most of my videos are somewhat instrument neutral and I get all you riff raff in here too! 😉😂
@@michaelkeithson ...another bass player as well, though my secondary instrument is guitar, so I enjoy making sense of all that chordal goodness on the other 6 stringer. Great video, by the way. Subscribed and waiting for more music-nerd gems like this!
@@Pete_Rocc Nice, thanks for the sub. Doing my best to knock out some more music-nerd gems 👍
I feel like the best way to explain why the flat seven dominant works is because it’s really a minor plagal cadence. Borrowing from a parallel minor gives you plenty of harmonic nuance.
Just woke up and having my coffee when your video came out. Ngl, I got “wait, what?!?” moments. A lot. 🤣🤣
Thank you for sharing the knowledge man. Cheers
😂 Cheers Danny! Glad you enjoyed it and appreciate the comment 👍
Is it worth going to music school when this info exists? This pedagogic talent is beyond what most higher education professors can provide.
Ah, thanks man. Really appreciate it, not sure it's true but appreciate it nonetheless. 🙏❤️
You have to go to music school for the parties! 🎉
I agree. It’s a really clear explanation.
@@jessrow1275 🙏
Music school is for making connections and getting an idea of where you stand in the pecking order
Subscribed. There are a lot of great channels on UA-cam that explain these topics, but this video makes me feel like I am fully understanding the topic, going to remember the concepts, and be able to generalize this knowledge to grow as a musician in general. So great, thank you.
Thanks for the sub and the nice comment🙏. Glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers
9:54 - This Part! Love the way you teach!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for taking the time to comment, much appreciated!
great video. a lot of the concepts you talk about here are discussed further by Barry Harris on his study called the family of four dominants.
Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing 👍
I look forward to all your videos.
Ah, thanks man. Appreciate you being here. 🙏
Gonna have to watch this a couple more times to grok everything you’re sharing, but I wanted to show my gratitude for the work you put into the presentation.
The visuals of the keyboard, the chord names, and the color highlight when the chord is played, really helped me to understand how one chord flows to another.
I’ve been trying to step up my songwriting, and this is exactly what I needed to learn, ‘cause I’ve been playing with 2-5 variations, dim7’s, and aug5’s and how they feel as they resolve. My theory is a little weak, so, here’s this video to help me. !!!
The tension and release, the sound of one path and resolution, compared with another, gives me cues of how to play with these changes to tell the emotional story inside a song. This lesson is filled with pearls.
Thank you., Mr. Keithson.
Mitchel! Thank you so much for your generous comment 🙏. I'm really glad to hear that you're getting some value from my videos. Cheers
This is why guitarist should go to pianist for theory lessons. Amazing how someone can explain all this in such a concise manner. You even managed to learn how to sight read (slowly) from doing this.
🙏 Thanks for the nice comment. Glad you enjoyed it 👍
@somethingwongwai9679 I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary. True that many guitarists don’t know their notes all over the board but you can still fully understand this concept but applied through shapes and distances from the I. Different language to explain the same idea. Piano is better for directly seeing it. Guitars is better for easily moving this idea all over the place
I’m a classically trained pianist and music theory nerd…also play guitar and bass, mainly in the rock genre, but I’m always looking for ways to expand my musical vocabulary. I’ve never heard this concept explained so clearly! You truly have a gift, and your playing was a pleasure to listen to. Thank you.
🙏 Thanks man, really appreciate the nice comment. Cheers.
I know! I have been a student of music my whole life and I haven’t been able to grasp the concepts as easily as when Michael explains them. Today on Thanksgiving here in New Hampshire I’m sitting at my piano watching the snow fall through my picture window and one of the things I am grateful for today is Michael Keithson!
It really fascinates me how different you can look at those chords and why they work, i arrived there and understood them just as the 2-5 of the parallel minor key.😌
Your an amazing instructor my man thank you sharing and giving us an in-depth analysis on this topic.
👍🏾 🔥 🔥
🙏 Thanks for the kind comment. Much appreciated. Glad you enjoyed the video. 👍
Hey Buddy! Your Teaching Is Exceptional.
You Deserve Five Stars....God Bless You
Cheers Jonathan, really appreciate your kind comment. Glad you enjoyed it 🙏
Thank you Michael, your lessons are very educational and entertaining at the same time.👌Great fun to watch and learn.
Thanks Bijan, that's really nice to hear. I appreciate you watching and leaving a comment. Thank you 🙏
Great video Michael. I love the graphics display as well.
Ie: Modal interchange C Major and C Natural Minor.
Thanks John! Appreciate the feedback, glad you enjoyed the video 👍
This reminds me the good times at the music college, it would be great to have you as a harmony teacher!
Cheers Eric, appreciate the comment 👍
You are doing a great job. I am learning a lot, and you are reinforcing what I previously learned. Keep up the good work 👏
Cheers Calvin, appreciate the support 👍
Very thought provoking in it's mechanics of 2 elements moving up, moving down and how it draws the ear to the resolution. I have to rewind and listen a lot but, with the slow repetition the fog starts to clear. Also I really appreciate the way you segue into "tangents" like Modal Interchange here referring back to your previous videoes on those subjects to help build a concrete understanding of how these things are ...homogeneous(?)
Thanks Richard, I appreciate your comment. Glad you're enjoying the vibe! 👍
So glad I found your channel
🙏 Thanks Jonathan! I'm glad you're here too!
this commentary is for support. thank you for those awesome lessons !
1. Very good lesson. I was kind of researching a bit and was nearing some kind of conclusion like this myself but you really tied sooo many concepts up nicely and put a bow on them.
2. I subscribed and then realised your channel is woefully underrated. Hope to see you grow.
Thanks for the videos!
🙏 Thanks Dylan! I really appreciate your kind comment. Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for the sub and sharing the love! ❤️
It's uncanny how I want to learn about some concept I don't know, and the day after that you upload a video of it, it's amazing
Your wish is my command Leòn!! 😉
Another banger. Awesome video. Thanks so much for what you do.
Cheers Don! You're very welcome. I appreciate you coming back for more! 👍
Just the right amount of confused and intrigued after that. Excellent content
Ha! Great comment Brad! Thanks for watching 👍
totally relate to your teaching. clear concise and basic fundamentals to complex theories.....bravo
Thanks man, that's nice to hear 🙏
Top notch thank you. I hope you're receiving compensation enough for your channel because I'm finding it incredibly valuable
Thanks Colin, really pleased to hear you're finding some value in the videos. 👍
8:25 - 10:57 … lol, stopped after the last section to work out that fourth dominant chord, myself. And the obvious answer without thinking too much about it is that the position of that ‘weak’ D that dissolves away, is costing us more as a ‘dissolving 7’ … ? Perhaps a ‘dissolving 5’ is the least of our problems, but a ‘dissolving 7’ is the most problematic (with the other 2 options being somewhere in-between?)? Very interesting … Food for thought …
I’m also a guitar player (now one of your Patreons). I must agree that you teaching is super, very easy to follow. I’m using a keyboard to do my music theory training and your explanations/examples are very good. Great. Thx!
Pelle! Thank you so much for your support! I'm glad you're finding some value from my videos. See over on Patreon! 🙏🥳
I always wanted to know why and how it was called the 1 tone down chromatic chord that worked like a charm, FINALLY I figure out what it is and how it works, thank you!
@@AmodeusR Thanks for the comment, glad you found the video useful. 👍
Fabulous content great delivery, you and Adam, the other talent, inspire music. Many thanks for your generosity.
Ah, cheers for the kind comment Nick, much appreciated 🙏
I watch lots of theory vids on youtube and I find the ones you make are especially useful and easy to understand, and for free makes it a steal thanks mate
🙏 Thanks Patrick, I really appreciate your generous comment. Really good to hear you're enjoying the content. Cheers.
Big fan of all your work, can't recommend you enough. Every video is an "Ahhh!" moment for me. Thanks, Michael!
🙏 Thanks Donovan, appreciate your comment. Glad you enjoyed this one too 👍
Your content is a godsend - clear, concise and to the point. Keep it up Michael
Thanks Samuel. Glad you're enjoying it 👍
Fantastic - best music theory on YT. So much insight and practical application. You are bossing it! 🙂
Thank you 🙏 Appreciate the kind comment.
the best teacher! Thanks Michael🥇
🙏😳 Thank you! I appreciate your kind words.
I’ve just recently come across you (so to speak) on t’interweb. I’m an amateur pianist with a bit of theory in my head. But you explain it so well. And your cuts to your smile and raised eyebrow make me laugh. Wish you well. Long may it continue.
Cheers Paul! I appreciate the nice comment. Glad you enjoyed the video! 👍
When I learned about the minor 4 chord I just started using it all the time as a cheat code. Thanks for giving me part 2 to that so I can abuse it even more! I found while playing around that the Imaj7 chord sounds really nice too instead of the ii chord. ie: Ebmaj7 (instead of Fm7) Bb7 C if playing in C. It's fun picking up new lego pieces to build with even if I'm still playing about with duplo at my level
Thanks for the comment! Yeah, that Ebmaj7 works nicely and it's all part of that modal interchange/borrowed chords that works so nicely. 👍
Music is math, math is music. Thank you. Great teacher - great teaching!
👍 You're very welcome Brad. Thanks for the comment 🙏
"Backdoor Progressions" got me to click on, watch and listen; didn't expect much. But actually you provided me with some very useful information and I appreciate the title of this video even more; one can imagine that if I'm knowing on someone's backdoor, the listener will perceive the ''knock' differently because it's just not expected. I just can't use it in some settings. 😂
😂Ha! Glad you stayed and got something out of it!
Love it. Never thought if using the iiidim instead of a I chord ❤
Hey Corentin, really appreciate the Patreon sub. Looking forward to connecting with people over there 🙏
@@michaelkeithson Don't forget to speak out at each video, there are always people who are interested but forget to do so! I can't wait to see how it all turns out!
I absolutely love these videos. Even as a guitar player who cant read or write music (surprise surprise) I feel like your explanations and humor make it so easy for me to understand musical concepts I can hear but can't quite understand yet. Thanks for all your effort you put into these videos man. Spot fuckin on
🙏 Thanks for the comment man, really nice to hear that. Cheers
Ive been thinking about it for a lot more than a second! Thanks!
great video on this topic, slowly connecting a few more dots because of it. well done and thank you!
Thank you, I'm glad it was helpful 👍
You are extremely underrated 😭😭😭❤️❤️I absolutely love your work,thankyou for everything
Thanks Yashasvi! You are very welcome. I really appreciate the kind words, thanks for sharing the love! ❤️
Not for long. Young man's coming up. And I'm rapt for him
@@personalwatching9312 ❤
Just another great lesson/video plenty of gems in this video. Thanks doesn’t seems like enough, I sincerely appreciate the knowledge
Thank you 🙏. And I sincerely appreciate the kind comment. It's really rewarding to know that other people are finding value in what I'm creating.
Michael, this video was recommended to me by UA-cam, I really enjoyed this content and it has given me some inspiration and new ideas. Thank you.
Peter! Praise to the UA-cam algorithm. I'm glad it brought you here too!! Glad you enjoyed it and that it's inspired you play. Happy exploring!!
Another top notch video! Had to watch this one a few times, which I take as a sign of learning a lot of new things. Awesome, awesome content - please keep it coming!
Cheers Ryan, pleased you enjoyed it. Thanks for support and suggestions on Patreon too, much appreciated 🙏
We see this E7 going to C at the Jazz standard "ALONE TOGETHER".
In the key of Dm, at measure 9, 10 and 11 we have:
|B-7 E7| G-7 C7|Fmaj7|
I didn't know how to explain and understand this part of the tune. Now I know, thanks to you!!❤
Thanks Marcel, appreciate the comment, thanks for watching 👍
great video. to your aside question, i can't think of an example of that "side door" cadence either, though now i'll be on the lookout. my guess about its rarity is that it strongly suggests a move to the relative minor... in C, Bm7-E7 is the ii-V to Am. that relative minor has its own host of associations and complications, and the two common tones from the triads Am and CMaj weaken the surprise element. that said, i don't recall ever thinking about this, so yay.
Hey, thanks for the comment. I appreciate your take on it. 👍
I agree, I think there is already a stronger diatonic resolution to the Am so the movement to the C feels weak. Also, as lots of people have mentioned, we already have the 3rd of C in the E7 and so the lack of movement to the onto the 3rd weakens the impact of the resolution.
Thanks for sharing man. 👍
As a guitarist this was one of this was an amazing lesson!
Cheers Christian, glad you enjoyed it 👍
Excellent content and presentation. I'll be referring my students to your channel. Keep up the great work.
Ah, cheers Jonathan! I appreciate the support and you sharing the love. Thank you 🙏
Man, you're good. Tons of stuff to learn - and your explanation is brilliant - as usual. Thanks!
Thanks Frank, always appreciate the support and encouragement! 🙏
I'm taking a shot at the question in the "little aside" using the idea of voice leading. Maybe it's because in the fourth alternative we don't get any semi-tone movement around the third of the tonic chord, whereas we do in the other three? Instead we get some nice chromatic movement down to the fifth of the I chord, but maybe that's just not as satisfying without the movement around the third. Plus, the III7 chord has already pre-resolved the third of I, unless you make it III7b9, which is really just bringing it back closer to the other progressions that seem to work better to begin with. Another issue: maybe we associate a root descending by thirds with the beginning and not the ending of a chord progression.
Cheers for the comment Hunter and sharing your views and insight. I like the way you're thinking about it. I definitely think there's something about the fact that the E (or third of the tonic) is already present so it feels like a pretty tame resolution. Thanks for sharing 🙏
Why does the progression work to create harmonic interest? The answer is because the Fm7 to Bb7 to C includes a Picardy third. The first two chords are progressing in the key of C minor, and ends with the tonic of C major. Don't be fooled by the key of Eb relationship to the Fm7, as ii min7. The C minor scale is "actively" implied. The minor third, Eb moves half a tone to the note, E (the major third).
Wow! Thank you sir... You're the youtubers I've been searching for all my life 😅🎉
I'm glad you found me too!! Thanks for being here. Glad you enjoyed the video 👍
Beguiling delivery. Understated humor. I just became a Patreon. Urge others to get on board.
Thank you David! 🙏 I really appreciate your comment and support. See you over on Patreon 🙏
Thanks! I saw some nice examples of Stevie Wonder's backdoor progressions before but this helped a lot to understand better what's going on and why it works.
Yeah, Stevie loves a backdoor progression 👍 Glad you found the video helpful.
Great. The graphics too are special.
🙏 Thanks
Another clearly explained concept. You make it look and sound easier than it is!😂😂Well done and thanks.
Ha! Thanks. It's not that hard really, theoretically. You got this 👊
Disclaimer! I wrote this comment before you started talking about it on the video! Still, my fingers hurt from typing it, so I’m not deleting all that hard work!
If you build a diminished off of the 2nd, 4th, flat 6 or 7th degrees of a scale, you can lower *_any_* of the notes by a half step and all of them will resolve to the tonic. If we play an F diminished whilst in the key of C we can lower the F to E to give us a “median dominant” that ideally resolves to the relative minor root, but also does a good job of taking us to the tonic. Lowering the Ab by half a tone takes us to the diatonic dominant. Similarly, lowering the B to Bb takes us to the backdoor dominant and lowering the D to Db gives us the tritone substitution. Similarly going up from that diminished by a perfect fifth to (for example) C Diminished allows us to do the same thing with some really nice altered dominants all resolving to the tonic of C.
Probably nothing new to you, but just stuff I discovered while I was mucking around...
Very interesting, thanks mate.
🤣😂 It's always useful to hear something from more than one perspective. Thanks for sharing!
I had 6 semesters of Music Theory. This is how it should be taught. 👍
🙏 Cheers Markus, glad you enjoyed it.
Hey Michael, your lessons are always top notch! I've already shared your videos with many of my musician friends, you communicate concept and the ideas around it so clearly 😄
Thanks man! Really appreciate your kind comment and appreciate you sharing the love and videos around. 🙏
wonderful, as always. There are many videos on this subjet, but this is outstanding others! Steve Wonder was using a lot those backdoor dominants ;) Thanks a lot
Cheers Fabio, always appreciate your support and encouragement. Yeah, Stevie loves a good backdoor progression!
@@michaelkeithson I think I've subscribed you channel when it has like 600 people, it's great seeing today it have more than 25k 👍 keep on rockin'
@@astrolappio Ah, that's so cool. So you're one of the OGs then! 600-25k, let's see if we can get to 100k!!
Clear and concise, well done!
Thanks man, appreciate it 👍
Great lesson, nice touch.
🙏 Thanks Ken, appreciate the comment 👍
Dreamy. So glad I watched this video.
I'm glad you watched it too! 😉👍
Newer subscriber here. Love and appreciate your channel. The diminished chord placed before the backdoor ii-V is a nice touch.
Cheers Curtis! Thanks for the sub 👍
This might actually be the best music theory channel ever existed.
So educational and sophisticated.
🙏 Thanks man, appreciate the nice comment. Glad you enjoyed it.
Backdoor Dominant, no Diddy.
😂😂😂
No you didn't Diddy 🤔?
No Doubt.
@@stuffnuns 😁
No cap.
About the E7-C: you’re right, this one is not being used at all. The other cadences (G7-C, Db7-C and Bb7-C) all have the important line F-E. This is not the case for the E7-C cadens. The E is the major 3rd of the C chord, arguably the most important chord tone. The E7 already contains the E, giving it away too soon.
Also, think about III in C major: Em7. Why is this never used as a replacement for V, although it’s third related to it? Because it’s also third related to the tonic. It just sounds too much as a tonic. The same goes for the E7, although in a lesser degree.
Your point about the F-E line being most important is very interesting because it seems intuitive that the most important would be B-C since it resolves to the root. But in jazz you will often see the V7 replaced with a V7sus, replacing B with C. If B-C was most important, using a V7sus wouldn't make any sense because you are replacing the most tense note with the most resolved note, which would surely dissolve all tension. It doesn't however, because the most important line is not B-C but F-E. Additionally, in jazz you typically will resolve to Cmaj7, which contains a B, and occasionally even a Cmaj7#5, which contains a G#/Ab, but I can't think of any common resolutions that include an F.
It's so beautiful to hear the resolutions!
@10:54 I literally have asked that question for years, why don't composers like to resolve tension chords by going up or down a major/minor third, when it works. Maybe not resolving it to the tonic since like you said it doesn't sound as strong, but you can definitely use it to lead to other chords in the composition, giving it a different sound that very few composers use.
Thank you for the clear to the point good stuff
No problem, thanks for watching 👍🏼
You're bringing us along nicely. Many thanks 👁️
Cheers Mike! 👍
I had the same question about the E7 resolving to C. I think I have an answer. A secondary dominant is expected to resolve to the major or minor chord a fourth up. B♭7 and D♭7 are not secondary dominants for any chord in C major, but E7 is the secondary dominant for Am. So when we hear E7 in C major, we expect an Am to follow. Going to C (or C6) may work, but it feels less complete than going to Am, so maybe a little disappointing? I think that is the important difference between E7 and both B♭7 and D♭7.
One popular four-chord progression these days is C, E7, F, Fm. There the E7 does not go to Am. This is called a deceptive cadence. Am is expected, and the A note is there, along with the C, but instead of the Am chord, we get F as a surprise, but it does not end there. I think that is important - it isn't a resolution - so it then could go to G or G7 to resolve to C (pretty typical) or one might go the negative harmony route and use Fm6 or Dm7♭5 instead of G7, or just Fm (a nice intermediary for plagal resolution).
For me, the B♭7 resolving to C has a kind of Picardy third feel to it, probably because one would expect E♭ (or E♭6 or Cm) so the E♮ brightens it up. The D♭7 fits perfectly between Dm7 and Cmaj7, and it has the same tritone as G7, so that works very well.
I should add that the negative harmony chord of G7 is exactly a rootless B♭7(9) chord.
all this stuff about the dominants relating back to the same diminished chord reminds me of what i've been learning about barry harris's "family of dominants"
Spot on. It's all connected! 👍
man THANK YOU. you explained all of this so well
You are very welcome! Thanks for the comment 👍
i’d love to see you try out a new series where you break down famous chord progressions. Easy by Mac Ayres has some really jazzy chords and i’d love to learn why the chords work and so on
Thanks for the suggestion. 👍
Good bless you Michael
8:08 … well, two “fall” and one rises, yeah? Checking all this on paper, you (at first blush) end up wondering (well, I did) why Tritone Substitutions don’t have an even stronger resolution than the ‘legit’ Dominant 7. The Tritone Substitution gives you 4 semitone movements (can’t get much smoother voice-leading than that?), 3 down and 1 up … though immediately, you then think: ah, 3/4 of that is ‘parallel motion’; that’s why it’s weak? 🤔 The ‘OG/legit’ Dominant 7 has one up and one down, and that’s from the 3rd and 7th to the 1st and 3rd … with the all-important 1 staying put but transforming into a nice stable 5, and the nice stable 5 (of the Dom 7) just dissolving away innocuously (or it could just become a M9 without detracting at all from our perfect cadence, I suppose?).
Thanks for watching Kieren and I appreciate your contribution to the conversation too! It's nice to see people pondering these things like I do! Cheers 👍
Another excellent lesson Michel! Thank you!
🙏 Thanks Paul! I appreciate your kind comment, thanks for watching.
Great stuff, as always, Michael! 👍
Cheers 🙏 Thanks for watching!