We live in a world of excess and without realizing it, we are constantly stressed out with option anxiety. Having too many options to choose from can make a person feel lost and ineffectual in life and in music. What does this have to do with music? Well, even our improvised lines can fall victim to information overload. I, (and I’m not alone in this) am most creative when some restrictions are imposed upon my musical pallet. It forces me to think creatively, look for patterns, and work the problem with an open mind. Therefore, I present to you, the appended triad. It is restricted to just 4 notes which will help you rely on your creativity rather than anxiety. I am a big fan of picking a major or minor triad and tacking on one note (usually a half step from one of the triad’s chord tones) and voila! Having a cool 4-note cell to play around with. Today’s example is a G major triad add Eb (a major triad with a flat 6th added). This is technically a tetrad but I prefer to think of it as a major triad with added note as it is easier to recall when improvising. We will apply this tetrad over an F Lydian b7 tonality (I’m speaking in tenor key). This tetrad can of course be implied over other chords as well (for example: C minor/major 7, A minor 7 b5 etc…). Just a few more quick examples of a major triad with a flat 6th added: -E major triad with C added: Sounds great over a D7#11 C+MAJ7 A harmonic/melodic minor tonality -E major triad with F added: G13b9 A harmonic minor tonality Any of 4 diminished scales starting on G#, B, D, or F (using the diminished scale which starts with a whole step). -E Major with G added: E major tonality E minor tonality -E minor triad with D# added: E minor/major 7 A13#11 There are many, many more possibilities. These are but a few quick ideas to get the brain thinking. Play around with the concept and see what you come up with.
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