Chords & Omitting Less Important Notes

It is possible to omit certain notes from a chord without changing the sound of the chord. This idea makes it easier to play more complex chords, like extended chords 9th, 11th, and 13th, as it is super difficult and unrealistic to play every single note in these chords. That said, it is important to understand the role of each note in a chord in order to know which notes can be safely omitted.

The 3rd and 7th are the most important notes, because they define the sound of the chord. The 3rd defines your mode (major or minor), and without the 7th, it would not be a 7th chord but a major or minor chord. The root (lowest note) defines your key. For example, the root note of a “C major” chord would be “C”, or the root note of an “A minor” chord would be A. Context matters, therefore, the root can be omitted if another instrument, like the bass, is playing the root note.

The 5th does not define anything important and can be omitted without changing the sound of the chord. If you see a “no5” it means no 5th, you will leave out the 5th of the chord. Likewise, an “omit5” or “omit root” just means to leave out whatever note is after “omit”. For example, a Cmaj7 chord has the notes C, E, G, B. If you omit the 5th, you’re left with C, E, and B. The 9th, 11th, and 13th are even less important and can also be omitted. For example, a Cmaj13th chord (C, E, G, B, D, F, A) can have the 9th and 11th omitted with the 5th, so you would play notes C, E, B, A and it will still be a Cmaj13.

In this video, I take a melody with a common chord progression I-V-IV-I, and then I modify the progression. On an important side note: Sometimes you may want to use a common chord progression, and that’s okay. The reason we don’t get bored of common chord progressions is because of the detail; supporting harmonies, new melodies, different rhythms and tempos. All of these elements can be brought together to create unique-sounding music. So, when listening to the melody with the I-V-IV-I chord progression, take note of how the supporting vocal harmony, in particular, helps distract from the familiarity of the progression.

For the modified progression (vi-I-iii-V-V/V-I), I play it first with both hands, left hand plays the bass notes. Then, I play the right hand only with the omitted notes, so that you can hear how the basic character of a chord doesn’t change even when the 5th is omitted from the chord. #musicproduction #songwriting #musictheory