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Enhancing The Submediant ChordIn the last part (full contents here), we added a 5th chord (vi) to our foundation chord scale. Just as with previous chords we've added, let's explore some alternative uses of this vi chord to give us more variation in our diatonic songwriting. Spicing up the minor submediantAs we learned in the last part, the submediant is naturally a minor chord. As well as playing the basic minor chord forms (e.g. the minor barre and open chord shapes), we can try adding tones to this basic minor triad.vi as a minor 7th chord Minor 7th chords give the basic minor triad more depth. You can learn several ways to play a minor 7th chord, and the theory behind it, in the chords section on the main site, but here's a couple of examples... Click to hear >
And an example with the vi minor 7th chord rooted on the low E string (using an E shape barre chord)... Click to hear >
The idea is to experiment with different types of minor chord you learn in the chords section. For example, how does a minor 9th (e.g. Am9) chord sound in the vi position? You don't even need to know chord theory, just add and remove fingers/notes to the standard barre and open fingerings you learn and hear if the modifications sound good in that position! You can see that, as we learn how to enhance/modify each chord in the scale we're building, we can put it all together and make the progression as a whole more interesting and tone-rich. This brings out natural harmonies embedded within the chord sequences we pull out of the scale. In turn this can help you pick out vocal and lead phrases to complement the chord progression. More on this later in our songwriting journey. The major VI chordJust as we learned we could turn the minor ii chord into a major II chord, the same applies for vi.The major VI chord is most commonly associated with jazz music, and you'll hear why in examples below. It gives the submediant a completely different sound, although its function becomes slightly more limited. This is where you need to experiment and use your ears to judge what sounds good and what perhaps sounds "out of place". I can't show you every possible chord combination unfortunately! For example, a movement from V to VI might sound too disjointed, whereas a movement from I to VI flows better. The most common way to use the major VI chord is to enhance it by using a dominant 7th chord (e.g. A7, B7, D7 etc.), just like the V chord, so with this in mind... Click to hear >
Another great and distinctly jazzy way to enhance the VI7 chord is to augment it (making it VIaug7)... Click to hear >
In fact, any dominant 7th based chord works well in this position. Remember, all these chord types can be learned in the chords section! Keep experimenting!The more I ii/II IV/iv V vi/VI combinations you can play around with, in any key, the more your ear will be trained to the intrinsic function of this scale as a whole.While at the moment it may seem a little constrained, that won't be an issue once you begin to see it in the context of what you can play around this scale. All these chord positions will become marker points within a larger musical expression. However, it's important not to forget that some of the most loved music out there uses just the chord positions from this scale, with no "outside chords". See you in the next part!  < Guitar Songwriting Contents
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