Passing chord

Passing chord
Passing chord in B from across the circle of fifths (tritone, see also tritone substitution): B7 About this sound Play [1].
The circle of fifths drawn within the chromatic circle as a star dodecagon[2].

In music, a passing chord is, "a nondiatonic chord that connects, or passes between, the notes of two diatonic chords."[3] "Any chord that moves between one diatonic chord and another one nearby may be loosely termed a passing chord. A diatonic passing chord may be inserted into a pre-existing progression that moves by a third in order to create more movement."[4] "'Inbetween chords' that help you get from one chord to another are called passing chords."[5]

For example in the chord progression[4]:

|Cmaj7     |Em7      |Dm7    |G7   |

the diatonic passing chord (Dm7) may be inserted:

|Cmaj7 Dm7 |Em7      |Dm7    |G7   |

or the chromatic passing chord (Ebm7) may be inserted:

|Cmaj7     |Em7 Ebm7 |Dm7    |G7   |

A chromatic passing chord is, "a chord that is not in the harmonized scale"[6].

Passing chords may be consonant or dissonant[7] and may include flat fifth substitution, scalewise substitution, dominant minor substitution, approach chords, and bass-line-directed substitution[5].

See also

Sources

  1. ^ Shanaphy and Knowlton (1990). The Do It Yourself Handbook for Keyboard Playing, p.68. ISBN 0943748003.
  2. ^ McCartin, Brian J. (1998). "Prelude to Musical Geometry", p. 364. The College Mathematics Journal 29, no. 5 (November): 354–70. (abstract) (JSTOR).
  3. ^ Wyatt and Schroeder (2002). Hal Leonard Pocket Music Theory: A Comprehensive and Convenient Source for All Musicians, p.144. ISBN 063404771X.
  4. ^ a b Rawlins and Bahha (2005). Jazzology: The Encyclopedia of Jazz Theory for All Musicians, p.104. ISBN 0634086782.
  5. ^ a b Sokolow, Fred (2002). Jazzing It Up, p.9. ISBN 0793591120.
  6. ^ Berle, Arnie (1995). Understanding Chord Progressions for Guitar: Compact Music Guides Series, p.34. ISBN 0825614880.
  7. ^ Alfred White, William (1911). Harmony and Ear-Training, p.158. Silver, Burdett & Company.