Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Chord of the Day #3: CΔ7#13 (?)

I don't have a good name for this chord, at least not off the top of my head. And not in the context where I suggest you use it. Here's CΔ7#13:

X3X300

It's basically just a C note, a major 3rd (E), and both a major and a flatted seventh degree. In order to avoid having to explain this (somehow) in the name of the chord, I renamed the ♭7 a #13 . This is a cluster voicing, in that it sounds three (or more) pitch classes that are next to each other in the chromatic scale: B♭, B, and C. Though the notes are not played consecutively in minor seconds, the bluesy dissonance it still pronounced. In fact, most other cluster voicings are too ugly for my ears, though I hear Nick Drake used them effectively.

I tend to play it in a turnaround for blues in E. Try this (preferably hammering on that major third note on the E):

E           E7/D     C#-9      CΔ7#13 B7#9
0XX100  X5645X  X4244X  X3X300 X2123X

I just made that up here on the ferry, so it may be garbage. Let me know. Note: I generally play fingerstyle, so you'll notice a lot of in-chord string gaps. Here's a close voicing of the same chord:

X3230X

Enjoy?

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