The Power of Triads Vanier College 2011 By Dr. Brandon Bernstein www.brandon-bernstein.

com

Triads have been the harmonic infrastructure in music for the last five hundred years. Many of the great classical composers of all time have used triads as a cornerstone in their compositions. However, some of us are not too impressed with triads as they pertain to jazz we are eager to learn !th chords and chords that contain e"tensions. #$hhh%%%the !th chords and their luscious colors&. $fter all, !th chords are the meat and potatoes of the jazz repertoire. $s jazz musicians we are way too hip for triads right' Thin( again%% learning your triads well can offer fresh new sounds and perspectives on improvising and comping that one may have never thought possible. )e will begin by reviewing both closed position triads and open position, #spread&, triads in all (eys. *or now, all the e"amples involve just a + major triad however, every e"ample should be practiced with minor, augmented, and diminished triads in all (eys. ,racticing these e"amples will dramatically improve your awareness of your instrument. $s mentioned, the triads are to be practiced in every (ey, and in all inversions. recommend practicing the triads by going around the .ircle of *ifths with a metronome. /tart with he triad in root position, then 0st inversion, 1nd inversion, and finish bac( at root position. Then go cloc(wise around the .ircle of *ifths until you have gone through all (eys. The great thing about this e"ercise is that you begin to (now your instrument and basic music theory on a much deeper level. )hen that e"ercise begins to feel very comfortable, challenge yourself by trying to apply triads to your favorite standards. ,ractice this e"ercise by playing continual half notes using only triads through the standard. Try to use voice leading techni2ues #going to your nearest voice in the melody& and use different string sets through the e"ercise. 3e"t, try to create continual 4th note lines using only triads. This is a lot more challenging then you may thin(. #$ll of a sudden your improvisation sounds li(e a 5ach study&. .ontinue to apply this e"ercise to many songs until you can freely improvise in this fashion without hesitation. 5elow is an e"ample of the e"ercise based on 6erome 7erns standard Yesterdays and 6ohn .oltranes Giant Steps. Have fun8 www.brandon%bernstein.com

Ma or Triads !oot Position

Ma or Triads 1st "n#ersion

Ma or Triads 2nd "n#ersion

Minor Triads !oot Position

Minor Triads 1st "n#ersion

Minor Triads 2nd "n#ersion

Diminished Triads !oot Position

Diminished Triads 1st "n#ersion

Diminished Triads 2nd "n#ersion

$%gmented Triads &'ymmetrical($ll "n#ersions)

Triad Practice Techni*%es + Major Triad #9o the same e"ercise with minor, augmented, and diminished triads.& 0. ,lay each inversion including the octave. 5egin each triad with the lowest possible voicing.

1. Try the same e"ercises using these spread triad voicings.

:. 3ow practice both closed position triads and spread triads using suspensions. The Three suspensions we will use are ;%<, =%:, and 1%0. ,ractice utilizing the techni2ues discussed in e"ercises 0 and e"ercise 1.

/uspensions in Triad .losed ,osition >oicings

/uspensions in Triad /pread >oicings

,ractice all of these e"ercises in all (eys. $s mentioned earlier, practice all of these e"amples with major, minor, augmented, and diminished triads.

5ased on the .hanges of Yesterdays Example 1: Half Notes

*or seventh chords simply reduce the !th chord to its triad without the seventh. #?"ample@ 9 Minor ! just play 9 Minor triad&.

5ased on the .hanges of Yesterdays Example 2: 8th note exercise

Triad Pairs 5y definition, a triad pair is two sets of triads that do not share a common note. ?"ample@ . major and 9 major triads are a triad pair because they do not share any of the same notes. )hen you combine both triads, one ;%note scale is formed #sometimes referred to as a he"atonic scaleA., ?, +, 9, *B, $&. $ . major triad and + major triad combined would not be considered a triad pair because both . and + major triads contain the note + forming a five note scale. -nstead of si" separate notes #., ?, +, #+&, 5, 9&. )hat - li(e about triad pairs is that they can be a fairly easy tool to comprehend when soloing or comping. There is a wide palette of colors you can get by combining two triads together. 9epending on what triads you pic( to put together, you can have very CinD or CoutD sounds. -n this issue, we will e"amine the application of combining a major triad to another major triad a whole step apart. ?". # . Major triad and a 9 major triad&. *or the sa(e of clarity - will use the same two triads in all my e"amples. However, please practice all the e"amples in every (ey. The application of combining a major triad to another major triad a whole step apart can be used in many harmonies. The most common use is probably to get a Eydian sound over a major! or dominant ! chords. 5elow is a list of possible chords to use the .F9 triads with. C(D
Cmaj7 C7#11 Bbmaj7#5 D7sus A-7 F#7alt Emin7b5 (9) Gmaj7sus Gmin/maj7

The playing e"amples below are ways of practicing the .F9 triads and are meant to help familiarize you with triads on your instrument. - have written out a few e"amples in two measure phrases. .ontinue each pattern as far as your instrument with allow. The e"amples gradually get more comple". $t ?"ample ! the triad pairs become more challenging and some are grouped in odd accented patterns . -n my opinion, they are more melodic and creative in sound. - only wrote the first two measures of each phrase to give you the basic idea of the pattern. - encourage you to come up with your own e"amples. $gain, please practice the e"amples in all (eys. Two boo(s that are fantastic and e"plore many of the possibilities of triad pairs are Intervallic Improvisation by )alt )eis(opf and 6erry 5ergonzis Inside Improvisation: Hexatonics. Have fun and enjoy. -f you have any 2uestions feel free to contact me at www.brandon%bernstein.com.

+,.1 ascending triad tri-lets

+,.2 descending triad tri-lets

+,.. ascending(descending triads

+,./ descending triads

+,.0 ascending triads w(re-eated note

+,.1 descending triads w(re-eated note

+,. 2 melodic e,am-les

3ow we will loo( at another commonly used triad pair, the triad pair of a minor chord and major chord a half step apart. #?"ample@ 5 minor and . major&. )hen you combine the notes of both of these triads you get the following he"atonic scale 5,9,*B,.,?,+. This triad pair can be used over the following chords. B-(C
Cmaj7 F#-7b5 D7 D7sus A-7 F#7alt B-7 (phry ian) Gmaj7sus

- have written a few e"ample patterns combining these triads. )hen wor(ing with triad pairs, be inventive and dont be afraid to come up with your own patterns. )ith some imagination and creativity you can get some really beautiful melodies and ideas for improvisation . $gain, please practice the e"amples in all (eys.

+,am-le 1. !e-eated starting note triad se*%ence ascending

+,am-le 2. !e-eated 2nd note triad se*%ence descending

+,am-le .. Melodic se*%ence beginning with lea- &triads dis-laced)

+,am-le /. Triad -air se*%ence b%ilt on /ths

The Power of Triads Concordia 3ni#ersity 2010 By Dr. Brandon Bernstein www.brandon-bernstein.com