Cheers Alain, glad you enjoyed the lesson. Seems there's a lot of you guitarists who like learning theory stuff from pianists! Good to have you here! 👍
Facts. As a guitarist I find it amazingly streamlined learning theory concepts on the piano. The piano is fundamental imo if you want a better understanding of harmony.
@@michaelkeithsonI like learning theory from the pianist standpoint also. Most piano players even beginners have a better understanding of chords and musical movement than my guitar buddies. So I play both and teach my guitar friends also. Peace
Hi Michael, I cannot thank you enough for breaking things down sooooo well and - even for me - understandable and "usable" ... I really wish I found you years earlier ... because I often (still) struggle with "WHAT? ... HOW?" ... but with your explanationa analyses and "try it this or that way" some of the odd puzzle pieces fall into place ... 🥰
Hey Manfred! Thanks for the nice comment. It's really nice hear you've found some value in my videos and appreciate what I'm creating. Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙏
A little tangent on the diminished talk: the vii dim7 chord is interchangeable with the V7b9 chord. Exactly the same chord, with a V note in the bass. Conversely, if you play a V7b9 chord and delete the root, you’re left with vii diminished 7. E.g., G7b9 without a root is Bdim7. That B diminished chord sounds cool over G7b9 and is easily repeatable.And the half whole diminished scale starting from the V note sounds really good, and it’s also fairly easy to play over this sound. Literally half note, whole note until you hit the octave and it starts over. For a G7 leading to C, it’s G,Ab,Bb,B, C#, D and so on. Yes it has 8 notes if you’re finding that confusing lol, I certainly did at first. You only need to learn 3 of them because the pattern starts over once you’ve gotten to the minor 3rd. Here’s a very practical way to think of half whole diminished: take the vi dim 7 chord, which is 4 notes, and give every note a half step leading tone below it. That’s the 8 note scale. If you use these chromatic leading tones to the chord tones of vii dim7 and mix it up a bit, you sound like Stan Getz, ta da! Dominant b9 is a bebop staple especially in any V dominant chord leading to minor 1. Half whole diminished is kind of a dark bebop dominant scale to me, with very little to remember ;) . Btw, vii dim 7 naturally leads up a half step to minor 1, not major, it’s just a darker version of V7 to 1 minor, used often in classical harmonic minor music. You can absolutely use V7b9 (or vii dim 7, again, same basic chord) to major 1, but that’s the kind of thing the band’s going to want to agree on, not exactly interchangeable sounds. In other words, you don’t always want dark V7b9 chords leading to major 1’s, as it’s nice to have simple major sounds to contrast with dark, more complex minor sounds. Learning to use diminished chords is weird but useful, and all the greats use it. It’s generally easy to do physically, or at least, it’s only 3 patterns to learn on any instrument. Diminished is its own thing, man, but it’s in the dominant family. That’s why a lot of people don’t like calling minor7b5 chords “half diminished.”They’re minor family chords, they don’t normally act as dominant. They’re not “diminished” at all, they’re just dark minor chords. Their function is subdominant, not dominant. That’s a lot of nerding there but I’m stuck on a plane, whattyagonnado.
Just woke up and having my coffee when your video came out. Ngl, I got “wait, what?!?” moments. A lot. 🤣🤣 Thank you for sharing the knowledge man. Cheers
Impressed that everytime you "beg the question", we immediately cut to you addressing it and giving us a moment, then seemlessly integrating the next level of understanding. 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿💥
I always wanted to know why and how it was called the 1 tone down chromatic chord that worked like a charm, FINALLY I figure out what it is and how it works, thank you!
I’ve just recently come across you (so to speak) on t’interweb. I’m an amateur pianist with a bit of theory in my head. But you explain it so well. And your cuts to your smile and raised eyebrow make me laugh. Wish you well. Long may it continue.
Subscribed. There are a lot of great channels on RUclips that explain these topics, but this video makes me feel like I am fully understanding the topic, going to remember the concepts, and be able to generalize this knowledge to grow as a musician in general. So great, thank you.
Gonna have to watch this a couple more times to grok everything you’re sharing, but I wanted to show my gratitude for the work you put into the presentation. The visuals of the keyboard, the chord names, and the color highlight when the chord is played, really helped me to understand how one chord flows to another. I’ve been trying to step up my songwriting, and this is exactly what I needed to learn, ‘cause I’ve been playing with 2-5 variations, dim7’s, and aug5’s and how they feel as they resolve. My theory is a little weak, so, here’s this video to help me. !!! The tension and release, the sound of one path and resolution, compared with another, gives me cues of how to play with these changes to tell the emotional story inside a song. This lesson is filled with pearls. Thank you., Mr. Keithson.
I’m also a guitar player (now one of your Patreons). I must agree that you teaching is super, very easy to follow. I’m using a keyboard to do my music theory training and your explanations/examples are very good. Great. Thx!
It really fascinates me how different you can look at those chords and why they work, i arrived there and understood them just as the 2-5 of the parallel minor key.😌
"Backdoor Progressions" got me to click on, watch and listen; didn't expect much. But actually you provided me with some very useful information and I appreciate the title of this video even more; one can imagine that if I'm knowing on someone's backdoor, the listener will perceive the ''knock' differently because it's just not expected. I just can't use it in some settings. 😂
@@michaelkeithson ...another bass player as well, though my secondary instrument is guitar, so I enjoy making sense of all that chordal goodness on the other 6 stringer. Great video, by the way. Subscribed and waiting for more music-nerd gems like this!
all this stuff about the dominants relating back to the same diminished chord reminds me of what i've been learning about barry harris's "family of dominants"
I feel like the best way to explain why the flat seven dominant works is because it’s really a minor plagal cadence. Borrowing from a parallel minor gives you plenty of harmonic nuance.
When I learned about the minor 4 chord I just started using it all the time as a cheat code. Thanks for giving me part 2 to that so I can abuse it even more! I found while playing around that the Imaj7 chord sounds really nice too instead of the ii chord. ie: Ebmaj7 (instead of Fm7) Bb7 C if playing in C. It's fun picking up new lego pieces to build with even if I'm still playing about with duplo at my level
Very thought provoking in it's mechanics of 2 elements moving up, moving down and how it draws the ear to the resolution. I have to rewind and listen a lot but, with the slow repetition the fog starts to clear. Also I really appreciate the way you segue into "tangents" like Modal Interchange here referring back to your previous videoes on those subjects to help build a concrete understanding of how these things are ...homogeneous(?)
We see this E7 going to C at the Jazz standard "ALONE TOGETHER". In the key of Dm, at measure 9, 10 and 11 we have: |B-7 E7| G-7 C7|Fmaj7| I didn't know how to explain and understand this part of the tune. Now I know, thanks to you!!❤
great video. to your aside question, i can't think of an example of that "side door" cadence either, though now i'll be on the lookout. my guess about its rarity is that it strongly suggests a move to the relative minor... in C, Bm7-E7 is the ii-V to Am. that relative minor has its own host of associations and complications, and the two common tones from the triads Am and CMaj weaken the surprise element. that said, i don't recall ever thinking about this, so yay.
Hey, thanks for the comment. I appreciate your take on it. 👍 I agree, I think there is already a stronger diatonic resolution to the Am so the movement to the C feels weak. Also, as lots of people have mentioned, we already have the 3rd of C in the E7 and so the lack of movement to the onto the 3rd weakens the impact of the resolution. Thanks for sharing man. 👍
I watch lots of theory vids on youtube and I find the ones you make are especially useful and easy to understand, and for free makes it a steal thanks mate
1. Very good lesson. I was kind of researching a bit and was nearing some kind of conclusion like this myself but you really tied sooo many concepts up nicely and put a bow on them. 2. I subscribed and then realised your channel is woefully underrated. Hope to see you grow. Thanks for the videos!
My guess regarding why the E7 to C isn't as strong of a cadence as the others is because the third of C (which is E) is what gives the chord its color, so its presence in the previous chord makes it more similar to it than the others (less tension prior to the resolution). That's perhaps also why the dominant third (in this case, E7), especially with a #9, can even be used as a substitution for the I chord in, for example, a I vi ii V progression. So, instead of C Am7 Dm7 G7, you get E7#9 Am7 Dm7 G7, which sounds quite cool.
I also feel like that since it's already so uncommon, my brain just automatically assumes the Bm7-E7b9 is going to end up at Am in some circle of 5ths progression (and im going to assume that most people feel similarly) so since there's already an established "path" for the vii7-IIIb9-... it would be difficult for a new use to become commonplace simply because people will chose more familiar options like backdoor or tritone sub edit: I saw another comment point this out, and mentioned that you can resolve E7 to C6 instead of C so you get that A which makes it a little more satisfying
I agree. The lack of a progression to the third of the scale (E) weakens the resolution. The resolutions are to the 1st and 5th notes of the scale, and that by parallel fourths (hidden parallel fifth to boot!), creating a perfect fifth that is meeting the existing third. Try that alone and compare it to the other three options, which do not start with any notes in common with the resolving chord. It "works" but is less interesting, though maybe useful as a deceptive cadence.
I absolutely love these videos. Even as a guitar player who cant read or write music (surprise surprise) I feel like your explanations and humor make it so easy for me to understand musical concepts I can hear but can't quite understand yet. Thanks for all your effort you put into these videos man. Spot fuckin on
Why does the progression work to create harmonic interest? The answer is because the Fm7 to Bb7 to C includes a Picardy third. The first two chords are progressing in the key of C minor, and ends with the tonic of C major. Don't be fooled by the key of Eb relationship to the Fm7, as ii min7. The C minor scale is "actively" implied. The minor third, Eb moves half a tone to the note, E (the major third).
Ha! Thanks. I appreciate the support and you sharing the love. Would be great to see that 30k come that quickly but I'm not holding out much hope! Appreciate you and your encouragement. Thanks 🙏
Disclaimer! I wrote this comment before you started talking about it on the video! Still, my fingers hurt from typing it, so I’m not deleting all that hard work! If you build a diminished off of the 2nd, 4th, flat 6 or 7th degrees of a scale, you can lower *_any_* of the notes by a half step and all of them will resolve to the tonic. If we play an F diminished whilst in the key of C we can lower the F to E to give us a “median dominant” that ideally resolves to the relative minor root, but also does a good job of taking us to the tonic. Lowering the Ab by half a tone takes us to the diatonic dominant. Similarly, lowering the B to Bb takes us to the backdoor dominant and lowering the D to Db gives us the tritone substitution. Similarly going up from that diminished by a perfect fifth to (for example) C Diminished allows us to do the same thing with some really nice altered dominants all resolving to the tonic of C. Probably nothing new to you, but just stuff I discovered while I was mucking around... Very interesting, thanks mate.
I’d also just like to add that every video of yours I watch I end up sitting down and coming up with new ideas or exploring different voicings/progressions. Brilliant, thank you!
Thanks man, that's really nice to hear. I appreciate you taking the time to share the love. It's great to know that the vids are inspiring you to play and explore. Cheers.
A couple things on the III7 - I resolution: Something very close to this resolution is found in the Kabalevsky Violin Concerto in C Major. In the third movement, there is a chain of these resolutions that marks a large cadence. The actual chords are F/D# C#m/E Am (and it’s later repeated up a minor third). While it is technically just a chromatic mediant resolution, it feels like a dominant and is treated like a dominant, clearly making it a substitution (the E in the bass helps a lot with this). The F/D# chord before it is a Ger6 in Am (and Ger6s are just tritone substitutions of II7 or V/V), but it also acts as the III7 of C#m. Since we have only have three diminished chords, C (Class 1), C# (Class 2), and D (Class 3), we can then analyze everything in relation to them. A dominant built on a note in Class 1 will include or imply the Class 2 diminished chord and resolve to a chord built on a note in Class 3. To connect this to the 2-5 and backdoor 2-5 (and other 2-5 variations), any chord built on a Class 2 will have subdominant function leading to a dominant function chord built on a Class 1 note, which will resolve to a chord built on a Class 3 note. In other words, in any given key, there are actually 8 tonic chords, 8 dominant chords, and 8 subdominant chords, although most music tends to limit focus to only a few of those tonic chords at a time (ex: modal interchange focuses on the relation of C to Cm, using the relative minor focuses on the relation of C to Am, and classical pieces in Cm often end their expositions in Eb).
I’m a classically trained pianist and music theory nerd…also play guitar and bass, mainly in the rock genre, but I’m always looking for ways to expand my musical vocabulary. I’ve never heard this concept explained so clearly! You truly have a gift, and your playing was a pleasure to listen to. Thank you.
8:25 - 10:57 … lol, stopped after the last section to work out that fourth dominant chord, myself. And the obvious answer without thinking too much about it is that the position of that ‘weak’ D that dissolves away, is costing us more as a ‘dissolving 7’ … ? Perhaps a ‘dissolving 5’ is the least of our problems, but a ‘dissolving 7’ is the most problematic (with the other 2 options being somewhere in-between?)? Very interesting … Food for thought …
Question at 10:34. E7b9 resolves so strongly to the relative minor (A) that going to C sounds weak. Using Bm7b5 to E7b9 makes the resolution in C stronger. But in my opinion, the root movement of a downward third doesn't sound very strong as a resolution. For some reason, when I hear the III chord, I expect to go away from the tonic, resolving to the tonic sounds kind of like giving up, just when the adventure starts! Great video, Michael!!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
I agree. Root movement E to C doesn’t sound strong as a resolution and also for me I just really associate E7 in C as subdominant functioning chord, moving away not towards C..usually to Am or F. Still, it could work as a ‘softer’ resolution in the right kind of song and the fact that it is rarely used might help to give a more original, distinctive sound.
Hey Chris, thanks for the comment. Agreed. I think because the E7 already has a strong diatonic resolution to Am moving to the C doesn't feel nearly as strong. Also because we already have the note E as a strong chord tone of the E7 we miss that resolution onto the E as the 3rd of the C chord in the way that the others (G7, Db7 and Bb7) all have. Thanks for sharing 👍
Thanks! I saw some nice examples of Stevie Wonder's backdoor progressions before but this helped a lot to understand better what's going on and why it works.
i’d love to see you try out a new series where you break down famous chord progressions. Easy by Mac Ayres has some really jazzy chords and i’d love to learn why the chords work and so on
@@michaelkeithson Don't forget to speak out at each video, there are always people who are interested but forget to do so! I can't wait to see how it all turns out!
Another top notch video! Had to watch this one a few times, which I take as a sign of learning a lot of new things. Awesome, awesome content - please keep it coming!
Hey Michael, your lessons are always top notch! I've already shared your videos with many of my musician friends, you communicate concept and the ideas around it so clearly 😄
wonderful, as always. There are many videos on this subjet, but this is outstanding others! Steve Wonder was using a lot those backdoor dominants ;) Thanks a lot
I'm taking a shot at the question in the "little aside" using the idea of voice leading. Maybe it's because in the fourth alternative we don't get any semi-tone movement around the third of the tonic chord, whereas we do in the other three? Instead we get some nice chromatic movement down to the fifth of the I chord, but maybe that's just not as satisfying without the movement around the third. Plus, the III7 chord has already pre-resolved the third of I, unless you make it III7b9, which is really just bringing it back closer to the other progressions that seem to work better to begin with. Another issue: maybe we associate a root descending by thirds with the beginning and not the ending of a chord progression.
Cheers for the comment Hunter and sharing your views and insight. I like the way you're thinking about it. I definitely think there's something about the fact that the E (or third of the tonic) is already present so it feels like a pretty tame resolution. Thanks for sharing 🙏
I love your videos! Your explanations are so crystal clear. Small correction, the cadence V-I that you referred to is called an authentic cadence. However, there are perfect authentic cadences, but that’s a qualifier. The type of cadence itself is called authentic.
@@michaelkeithson You’re among the best music educators on RUclips, and I learn quite a bit from you, especially when it comes to the nuts and bolts of functional harmony, which, in case you couldn’t already tell, is my jam! Haha! I’m sorry that our first interaction is me making a correction, but I’d much rather offer a minor correction to someone who otherwise knows their shit really well, than try to educate someone who has no clue what they’re talking about, and there are no shortage of people like that on here. I concede that I don’t know whether or not ‘perfect cadence’ has come into the vernacular over the years, it may have, in which case, I wouldn’t object to the use of it, but I think I’d still object to it coming into use in the first place. Don’t get me started on 6/9 chords! Haha. Anyway, you’re great and I love what you do. Thank you for the excellent content!
@@TheAdultInTheRoom74 No worries man, we're all eternal students and I'm fully aware that I don't know everything so it's good to have some course corrections when it's required. Pleased to hear you're enjoying the content, especially as you seem to be someone who already has a good grasp on a lot of this stuff. Cheers
as far as the "little aside" goes... I think the E7 to C sounds weaker than the others is because the E is the Tonic in the sub and the third in the C... without any half step movement in the 3rd of the C, it weakens it a lot
Thanks Gregg! Yeah, I think you're right, also because the E7 is already the dominant chord with a diatonic resolution (Am) it has a stronger pull to the A than the C so it's not as pleasing.
Nice job. As to the Bm7-E7b9-C, and "Why don't we see it," I think it is associated with resolving to Am (which is relative). If you resolve E7b9 to C6 by adding the A, the solutuion is much stronger. My two cents anyway. You are a good teacher. I feel as if we are having a conversation...
Also, no pull from F to E in E7 to C, which I think has the strongest resolution, after the LT resolution. The E already being in the chord and sustaining into the C chord feels softer than when the F and B pull in contrasting semitone movement.
I had the same question about the E7 resolving to C. I think I have an answer. A secondary dominant is expected to resolve to the major or minor chord a fourth up. B♭7 and D♭7 are not secondary dominants for any chord in C major, but E7 is the secondary dominant for Am. So when we hear E7 in C major, we expect an Am to follow. Going to C (or C6) may work, but it feels less complete than going to Am, so maybe a little disappointing? I think that is the important difference between E7 and both B♭7 and D♭7. One popular four-chord progression these days is C, E7, F, Fm. There the E7 does not go to Am. This is called a deceptive cadence. Am is expected, and the A note is there, along with the C, but instead of the Am chord, we get F as a surprise, but it does not end there. I think that is important - it isn't a resolution - so it then could go to G or G7 to resolve to C (pretty typical) or one might go the negative harmony route and use Fm6 or Dm7♭5 instead of G7, or just Fm (a nice intermediary for plagal resolution). For me, the B♭7 resolving to C has a kind of Picardy third feel to it, probably because one would expect E♭ (or E♭6 or Cm) so the E♮ brightens it up. The D♭7 fits perfectly between Dm7 and Cmaj7, and it has the same tritone as G7, so that works very well.
@10:54 I literally have asked that question for years, why don't composers like to resolve tension chords by going up or down a major/minor third, when it works. Maybe not resolving it to the tonic since like you said it doesn't sound as strong, but you can definitely use it to lead to other chords in the composition, giving it a different sound that very few composers use.
Seriously, you have a gift for teaching. It's amazing how you can make everything look simple.
Thanks man, really appreciate it. Glad you enjoyed it 👍
I agree 100%! Your material with the graphics and chord displays are very well presented. It makes it easy to follow the concepts you are teaching.
I am a guitar player but I prefer a pianist like you explaining me these concepts. It's really a nice lesson.
Cheers Alain, glad you enjoyed the lesson. Seems there's a lot of you guitarists who like learning theory stuff from pianists! Good to have you here! 👍
Facts. As a guitarist I find it amazingly streamlined learning theory concepts on the piano. The piano is fundamental imo if you want a better understanding of harmony.
@@michaelkeithsonI like learning theory from the pianist standpoint also. Most piano players even beginners have a better understanding of chords and musical movement than my guitar buddies. So I play both and teach my guitar friends also. Peace
@@LawrinMaxwellsmpc500 Thanks for the comments man, glad you enjoyed the vid. Cheers
Yeah when learning about chords, I watch pianists. The chords their left hand play and right hands play can give some comping ideas.
Part of the fun of watching and listening to your excellent videos is watching the 'like' count keep building as it plays.
❤️
Hi Michael, I cannot thank you enough for breaking things down sooooo well and - even for me - understandable and "usable" ... I really wish I found you years earlier ... because I often (still) struggle with "WHAT? ... HOW?" ... but with your explanationa analyses and "try it this or that way" some of the odd puzzle pieces fall into place ... 🥰
Hey Manfred! Thanks for the nice comment. It's really nice hear you've found some value in my videos and appreciate what I'm creating. Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙏
Wow.. didnt realize diminished chords really put in the work!
😂 Yep, gotta love those diminished chords holding everything together!
Honestly, I've been watching many RUclips channels and this is one of the best channels.
Amazing video.
Thanks for sharing it.
🙏 Thanks Ruben, I really appreciate your comment. Thanks for watching 👍
A little tangent on the diminished talk: the vii dim7 chord is interchangeable with the V7b9 chord. Exactly the same chord, with a V note in the bass. Conversely, if you play a V7b9 chord and delete the root, you’re left with vii diminished 7. E.g., G7b9 without a root is Bdim7. That B diminished chord sounds cool over G7b9 and is easily repeatable.And the half whole diminished scale starting from the V note sounds really good, and it’s also fairly easy to play over this sound. Literally half note, whole note until you hit the octave and it starts over. For a G7 leading to C, it’s G,Ab,Bb,B, C#, D and so on. Yes it has 8 notes if you’re finding that confusing lol, I certainly did at first. You only need to learn 3 of them because the pattern starts over once you’ve gotten to the minor 3rd.
Here’s a very practical way to think of half whole diminished: take the vi dim 7 chord, which is 4 notes, and give every note a half step leading tone below it. That’s the 8 note scale. If you use these chromatic leading tones to the chord tones of vii dim7 and mix it up a bit, you sound like Stan Getz, ta da! Dominant b9 is a bebop staple especially in any V dominant chord leading to minor 1. Half whole diminished is kind of a dark bebop dominant scale to me, with very little to remember ;) .
Btw, vii dim 7 naturally leads up a half step to minor 1, not major, it’s just a darker version of V7 to 1 minor, used often in classical harmonic minor music.
You can absolutely use V7b9 (or vii dim 7, again, same basic chord) to major 1, but that’s the kind of thing the band’s going to want to agree on, not exactly interchangeable sounds. In other words, you don’t always want dark V7b9 chords leading to major 1’s, as it’s nice to have simple major sounds to contrast with dark, more complex minor sounds.
Learning to use diminished chords is weird but useful, and all the greats use it. It’s generally easy to do physically, or at least, it’s only 3 patterns to learn on any instrument.
Diminished is its own thing, man, but it’s in the dominant family. That’s why a lot of people don’t like calling minor7b5 chords “half diminished.”They’re minor family chords, they don’t normally act as dominant. They’re not “diminished” at all, they’re just dark minor chords. Their function is subdominant, not dominant.
That’s a lot of nerding there but I’m stuck on a plane, whattyagonnado.
Wow! Thank you for sharing Nick 🙏
Just woke up and having my coffee when your video came out. Ngl, I got “wait, what?!?” moments. A lot. 🤣🤣
Thank you for sharing the knowledge man. Cheers
😂 Cheers Danny! Glad you enjoyed it and appreciate the comment 👍
Impressed that everytime you "beg the question", we immediately cut to you addressing it and giving us a moment, then seemlessly integrating the next level of understanding. 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿💥
Ah, cheers Sean! I appreciate the nice comment. Thanks 🙏
I always wanted to know why and how it was called the 1 tone down chromatic chord that worked like a charm, FINALLY I figure out what it is and how it works, thank you!
@@AmodeusR Thanks for the comment, glad you found the video useful. 👍
Just clicked and straight to the good stuff. No annoying intros or early self advertising. New sub here! Thanks for your hard work!
Cheers Gus, appreciate your comment and glad you found me! 👍
Lol same...just no nonsense..BOOM information!
I’ve just recently come across you (so to speak) on t’interweb. I’m an amateur pianist with a bit of theory in my head. But you explain it so well. And your cuts to your smile and raised eyebrow make me laugh. Wish you well. Long may it continue.
Cheers Paul! I appreciate the nice comment. Glad you enjoyed the video! 👍
Subscribed. There are a lot of great channels on RUclips that explain these topics, but this video makes me feel like I am fully understanding the topic, going to remember the concepts, and be able to generalize this knowledge to grow as a musician in general. So great, thank you.
Thanks for the sub and the nice comment🙏. Glad you enjoyed the video. Cheers
Gonna have to watch this a couple more times to grok everything you’re sharing, but I wanted to show my gratitude for the work you put into the presentation.
The visuals of the keyboard, the chord names, and the color highlight when the chord is played, really helped me to understand how one chord flows to another.
I’ve been trying to step up my songwriting, and this is exactly what I needed to learn, ‘cause I’ve been playing with 2-5 variations, dim7’s, and aug5’s and how they feel as they resolve. My theory is a little weak, so, here’s this video to help me. !!!
The tension and release, the sound of one path and resolution, compared with another, gives me cues of how to play with these changes to tell the emotional story inside a song. This lesson is filled with pearls.
Thank you., Mr. Keithson.
Mitchel! Thank you so much for your generous comment 🙏. I'm really glad to hear that you're getting some value from my videos. Cheers
Beguiling delivery. Understated humor. I just became a Patreon. Urge others to get on board.
Thank you David! 🙏 I really appreciate your comment and support. See you over on Patreon 🙏
totally relate to your teaching. clear concise and basic fundamentals to complex theories.....bravo
Thanks man, that's nice to hear 🙏
I’m also a guitar player (now one of your Patreons). I must agree that you teaching is super, very easy to follow. I’m using a keyboard to do my music theory training and your explanations/examples are very good. Great. Thx!
Pelle! Thank you so much for your support! I'm glad you're finding some value from my videos. See over on Patreon! 🙏🥳
It's uncanny how I want to learn about some concept I don't know, and the day after that you upload a video of it, it's amazing
Your wish is my command Leòn!! 😉
Top notch thank you. I hope you're receiving compensation enough for your channel because I'm finding it incredibly valuable
Thanks Colin, really pleased to hear you're finding some value in the videos. 👍
Hey Buddy! Your Teaching Is Exceptional.
You Deserve Five Stars....God Bless You
Cheers Jonathan, really appreciate your kind comment. Glad you enjoyed it 🙏
I look forward to all your videos.
Ah, thanks man. Appreciate you being here. 🙏
It really fascinates me how different you can look at those chords and why they work, i arrived there and understood them just as the 2-5 of the parallel minor key.😌
This reminds me the good times at the music college, it would be great to have you as a harmony teacher!
Cheers Eric, appreciate the comment 👍
"Backdoor Progressions" got me to click on, watch and listen; didn't expect much. But actually you provided me with some very useful information and I appreciate the title of this video even more; one can imagine that if I'm knowing on someone's backdoor, the listener will perceive the ''knock' differently because it's just not expected. I just can't use it in some settings. 😂
😂Ha! Glad you stayed and got something out of it!
Your an amazing instructor my man thank you sharing and giving us an in-depth analysis on this topic.
👍🏾 🔥 🔥
🙏 Thanks for the kind comment. Much appreciated. Glad you enjoyed the video. 👍
As a bass player/composer that doesn't play keys and solely mucks around with midi, this is gold.
Awesome! Good to know I've got some bass players in here too! Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed the video 👍
@@michaelkeithsonbass and double bass player here as well
@@pgrvloik Nice! I love that most of my videos are somewhat instrument neutral and I get all you riff raff in here too! 😉😂
@@michaelkeithson ...another bass player as well, though my secondary instrument is guitar, so I enjoy making sense of all that chordal goodness on the other 6 stringer. Great video, by the way. Subscribed and waiting for more music-nerd gems like this!
@@Pete_Rocc Nice, thanks for the sub. Doing my best to knock out some more music-nerd gems 👍
all this stuff about the dominants relating back to the same diminished chord reminds me of what i've been learning about barry harris's "family of dominants"
Spot on. It's all connected! 👍
9:54 - This Part! Love the way you teach!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for taking the time to comment, much appreciated!
I feel like the best way to explain why the flat seven dominant works is because it’s really a minor plagal cadence. Borrowing from a parallel minor gives you plenty of harmonic nuance.
this commentary is for support. thank you for those awesome lessons !
Thank you Michael, your lessons are very educational and entertaining at the same time.👌Great fun to watch and learn.
Thanks Bijan, that's really nice to hear. I appreciate you watching and leaving a comment. Thank you 🙏
When I learned about the minor 4 chord I just started using it all the time as a cheat code. Thanks for giving me part 2 to that so I can abuse it even more! I found while playing around that the Imaj7 chord sounds really nice too instead of the ii chord. ie: Ebmaj7 (instead of Fm7) Bb7 C if playing in C. It's fun picking up new lego pieces to build with even if I'm still playing about with duplo at my level
Thanks for the comment! Yeah, that Ebmaj7 works nicely and it's all part of that modal interchange/borrowed chords that works so nicely. 👍
great video. a lot of the concepts you talk about here are discussed further by Barry Harris on his study called the family of four dominants.
Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing 👍
Very thought provoking in it's mechanics of 2 elements moving up, moving down and how it draws the ear to the resolution. I have to rewind and listen a lot but, with the slow repetition the fog starts to clear. Also I really appreciate the way you segue into "tangents" like Modal Interchange here referring back to your previous videoes on those subjects to help build a concrete understanding of how these things are ...homogeneous(?)
Thanks Richard, I appreciate your comment. Glad you're enjoying the vibe! 👍
Music is math, math is music. Thank you. Great teacher - great teaching!
👍 You're very welcome Brad. Thanks for the comment 🙏
As a guitarist this was one of this was an amazing lesson!
Cheers Christian, glad you enjoyed it 👍
We see this E7 going to C at the Jazz standard "ALONE TOGETHER".
In the key of Dm, at measure 9, 10 and 11 we have:
|B-7 E7| G-7 C7|Fmaj7|
I didn't know how to explain and understand this part of the tune. Now I know, thanks to you!!❤
Thanks Marcel, appreciate the comment, thanks for watching 👍
Just the right amount of confused and intrigued after that. Excellent content
Ha! Great comment Brad! Thanks for watching 👍
great video. to your aside question, i can't think of an example of that "side door" cadence either, though now i'll be on the lookout. my guess about its rarity is that it strongly suggests a move to the relative minor... in C, Bm7-E7 is the ii-V to Am. that relative minor has its own host of associations and complications, and the two common tones from the triads Am and CMaj weaken the surprise element. that said, i don't recall ever thinking about this, so yay.
Hey, thanks for the comment. I appreciate your take on it. 👍
I agree, I think there is already a stronger diatonic resolution to the Am so the movement to the C feels weak. Also, as lots of people have mentioned, we already have the 3rd of C in the E7 and so the lack of movement to the onto the 3rd weakens the impact of the resolution.
Thanks for sharing man. 👍
I watch lots of theory vids on youtube and I find the ones you make are especially useful and easy to understand, and for free makes it a steal thanks mate
🙏 Thanks Patrick, I really appreciate your generous comment. Really good to hear you're enjoying the content. Cheers.
You are doing a great job. I am learning a lot, and you are reinforcing what I previously learned. Keep up the good work 👏
Cheers Calvin, appreciate the support 👍
Great video Michael. I love the graphics display as well.
Ie: Modal interchange C Major and C Natural Minor.
Thanks John! Appreciate the feedback, glad you enjoyed the video 👍
1. Very good lesson. I was kind of researching a bit and was nearing some kind of conclusion like this myself but you really tied sooo many concepts up nicely and put a bow on them.
2. I subscribed and then realised your channel is woefully underrated. Hope to see you grow.
Thanks for the videos!
🙏 Thanks Dylan! I really appreciate your kind comment. Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for the sub and sharing the love! ❤️
great video on this topic, slowly connecting a few more dots because of it. well done and thank you!
Thank you, I'm glad it was helpful 👍
You are extremely underrated 😭😭😭❤️❤️I absolutely love your work,thankyou for everything
Thanks Yashasvi! You are very welcome. I really appreciate the kind words, thanks for sharing the love! ❤️
Not for long. Young man's coming up. And I'm rapt for him
@@personalwatching9312 ❤
My guess regarding why the E7 to C isn't as strong of a cadence as the others is because the third of C (which is E) is what gives the chord its color, so its presence in the previous chord makes it more similar to it than the others (less tension prior to the resolution). That's perhaps also why the dominant third (in this case, E7), especially with a #9, can even be used as a substitution for the I chord in, for example, a I vi ii V progression. So, instead of C Am7 Dm7 G7, you get E7#9 Am7 Dm7 G7, which sounds quite cool.
I also feel like that since it's already so uncommon, my brain just automatically assumes the Bm7-E7b9 is going to end up at Am in some circle of 5ths progression (and im going to assume that most people feel similarly) so since there's already an established "path" for the vii7-IIIb9-... it would be difficult for a new use to become commonplace simply because people will chose more familiar options like backdoor or tritone sub
edit: I saw another comment point this out, and mentioned that you can resolve E7 to C6 instead of C so you get that A which makes it a little more satisfying
@@nxyuu Sure, but the reason that works is because C6 is an inversion of Am7.
The same could be said of G7 though.
@@sus-kupp How so? G7 is GBDF.
I agree. The lack of a progression to the third of the scale (E) weakens the resolution. The resolutions are to the 1st and 5th notes of the scale, and that by parallel fourths (hidden parallel fifth to boot!), creating a perfect fifth that is meeting the existing third. Try that alone and compare it to the other three options, which do not start with any notes in common with the resolving chord. It "works" but is less interesting, though maybe useful as a deceptive cadence.
I absolutely love these videos. Even as a guitar player who cant read or write music (surprise surprise) I feel like your explanations and humor make it so easy for me to understand musical concepts I can hear but can't quite understand yet. Thanks for all your effort you put into these videos man. Spot fuckin on
🙏 Thanks for the comment man, really nice to hear that. Cheers
Your content is a godsend - clear, concise and to the point. Keep it up Michael
Thanks Samuel. Glad you're enjoying it 👍
Excellent content and presentation. I'll be referring my students to your channel. Keep up the great work.
Ah, cheers Jonathan! I appreciate the support and you sharing the love. Thank you 🙏
Seeing it as Modal Interchange: that’s cool.
Examples: some really nice ones in there … No shortage of ‘Pixar vibes’. 😉
Another banger. Awesome video. Thanks so much for what you do.
Cheers Don! You're very welcome. I appreciate you coming back for more! 👍
Fabulous content great delivery, you and Adam, the other talent, inspire music. Many thanks for your generosity.
Ah, cheers for the kind comment Nick, much appreciated 🙏
Why does the progression work to create harmonic interest? The answer is because the Fm7 to Bb7 to C includes a Picardy third. The first two chords are progressing in the key of C minor, and ends with the tonic of C major. Don't be fooled by the key of Eb relationship to the Fm7, as ii min7. The C minor scale is "actively" implied. The minor third, Eb moves half a tone to the note, E (the major third).
Ok EVERYONE SHARE THIS ON THEIR NEWS FEED. LETS GET MICHAEL TO 30K THIS WEEKEND
Ha! Thanks. I appreciate the support and you sharing the love. Would be great to see that 30k come that quickly but I'm not holding out much hope! Appreciate you and your encouragement. Thanks 🙏
Is it worth going to music school when this info exists? This pedagogic talent is beyond what most higher education professors can provide.
Ah, thanks man. Really appreciate it, not sure it's true but appreciate it nonetheless. 🙏❤️
You have to go to music school for the parties! 🎉
I agree. It’s a really clear explanation.
@@jessrow1275 🙏
Music school is for making connections and getting an idea of where you stand in the pecking order
Big fan of all your work, can't recommend you enough. Every video is an "Ahhh!" moment for me. Thanks, Michael!
🙏 Thanks Donovan, appreciate your comment. Glad you enjoyed this one too 👍
Disclaimer! I wrote this comment before you started talking about it on the video! Still, my fingers hurt from typing it, so I’m not deleting all that hard work!
If you build a diminished off of the 2nd, 4th, flat 6 or 7th degrees of a scale, you can lower *_any_* of the notes by a half step and all of them will resolve to the tonic. If we play an F diminished whilst in the key of C we can lower the F to E to give us a “median dominant” that ideally resolves to the relative minor root, but also does a good job of taking us to the tonic. Lowering the Ab by half a tone takes us to the diatonic dominant. Similarly, lowering the B to Bb takes us to the backdoor dominant and lowering the D to Db gives us the tritone substitution. Similarly going up from that diminished by a perfect fifth to (for example) C Diminished allows us to do the same thing with some really nice altered dominants all resolving to the tonic of C.
Probably nothing new to you, but just stuff I discovered while I was mucking around...
Very interesting, thanks mate.
🤣😂 It's always useful to hear something from more than one perspective. Thanks for sharing!
man THANK YOU. you explained all of this so well
You are very welcome! Thanks for the comment 👍
the best teacher! Thanks Michael🥇
🙏😳 Thank you! I appreciate your kind words.
Ive been thinking about it for a lot more than a second! Thanks!
Michael, this video was recommended to me by RUclips, I really enjoyed this content and it has given me some inspiration and new ideas. Thank you.
Peter! Praise to the RUclips algorithm. I'm glad it brought you here too!! Glad you enjoyed it and that it's inspired you play. Happy exploring!!
Wow! Thank you sir... You're the youtubers I've been searching for all my life 😅🎉
I'm glad you found me too!! Thanks for being here. Glad you enjoyed the video 👍
Fantastic - best music theory on YT. So much insight and practical application. You are bossing it! 🙂
Thank you 🙏 Appreciate the kind comment.
Fuck yes another video!
Your channel is becoming my new favorite place to go and further my understanding of super nerdy harmony stuff 😇
I’d also just like to add that every video of yours I watch I end up sitting down and coming up with new ideas or exploring different voicings/progressions. Brilliant, thank you!
Thanks man, that's really nice to hear. I appreciate you taking the time to share the love. It's great to know that the vids are inspiring you to play and explore. Cheers.
A couple things on the III7 - I resolution:
Something very close to this resolution is found in the Kabalevsky Violin Concerto in C Major. In the third movement, there is a chain of these resolutions that marks a large cadence. The actual chords are F/D# C#m/E Am (and it’s later repeated up a minor third). While it is technically just a chromatic mediant resolution, it feels like a dominant and is treated like a dominant, clearly making it a substitution (the E in the bass helps a lot with this). The F/D# chord before it is a Ger6 in Am (and Ger6s are just tritone substitutions of II7 or V/V), but it also acts as the III7 of C#m.
Since we have only have three diminished chords, C (Class 1), C# (Class 2), and D (Class 3), we can then analyze everything in relation to them. A dominant built on a note in Class 1 will include or imply the Class 2 diminished chord and resolve to a chord built on a note in Class 3.
To connect this to the 2-5 and backdoor 2-5 (and other 2-5 variations), any chord built on a Class 2 will have subdominant function leading to a dominant function chord built on a Class 1 note, which will resolve to a chord built on a Class 3 note. In other words, in any given key, there are actually 8 tonic chords, 8 dominant chords, and 8 subdominant chords, although most music tends to limit focus to only a few of those tonic chords at a time (ex: modal interchange focuses on the relation of C to Cm, using the relative minor focuses on the relation of C to Am, and classical pieces in Cm often end their expositions in Eb).
It's so beautiful to hear the resolutions!
Another clearly explained concept. You make it look and sound easier than it is!😂😂Well done and thanks.
Ha! Thanks. It's not that hard really, theoretically. You got this 👊
I’m a classically trained pianist and music theory nerd…also play guitar and bass, mainly in the rock genre, but I’m always looking for ways to expand my musical vocabulary. I’ve never heard this concept explained so clearly! You truly have a gift, and your playing was a pleasure to listen to. Thank you.
🙏 Thanks man, really appreciate the nice comment. Cheers.
8:25 - 10:57 … lol, stopped after the last section to work out that fourth dominant chord, myself. And the obvious answer without thinking too much about it is that the position of that ‘weak’ D that dissolves away, is costing us more as a ‘dissolving 7’ … ? Perhaps a ‘dissolving 5’ is the least of our problems, but a ‘dissolving 7’ is the most problematic (with the other 2 options being somewhere in-between?)? Very interesting … Food for thought …
Great. The graphics too are special.
🙏 Thanks
Question at 10:34. E7b9 resolves so strongly to the relative minor (A) that going to C sounds weak. Using Bm7b5 to E7b9 makes the resolution in C stronger. But in my opinion, the root movement of a downward third doesn't sound very strong as a resolution. For some reason, when I hear the III chord, I expect to go away from the tonic, resolving to the tonic sounds kind of like giving up, just when the adventure starts!
Great video, Michael!!! 👍👍👍👍👍👍
I agree. Root movement E to C doesn’t sound strong as a resolution and also for me I just really associate E7 in C as subdominant functioning chord, moving away not towards C..usually to Am or F. Still, it could work as a ‘softer’ resolution in the right kind of song and the fact that it is rarely used might help to give a more original, distinctive sound.
Hey Chris, thanks for the comment. Agreed. I think because the E7 already has a strong diatonic resolution to Am moving to the C doesn't feel nearly as strong. Also because we already have the note E as a strong chord tone of the E7 we miss that resolution onto the E as the 3rd of the C chord in the way that the others (G7, Db7 and Bb7) all have. Thanks for sharing 👍
👍
Thanks! I saw some nice examples of Stevie Wonder's backdoor progressions before but this helped a lot to understand better what's going on and why it works.
Yeah, Stevie loves a backdoor progression 👍 Glad you found the video helpful.
Dreamy. So glad I watched this video.
I'm glad you watched it too! 😉👍
I had 6 semesters of Music Theory. This is how it should be taught. 👍
🙏 Cheers Markus, glad you enjoyed it.
i’d love to see you try out a new series where you break down famous chord progressions. Easy by Mac Ayres has some really jazzy chords and i’d love to learn why the chords work and so on
Thanks for the suggestion. 👍
Just another great lesson/video plenty of gems in this video. Thanks doesn’t seems like enough, I sincerely appreciate the knowledge
Thank you 🙏. And I sincerely appreciate the kind comment. It's really rewarding to know that other people are finding value in what I'm creating.
Love it. Never thought if using the iiidim instead of a I chord ❤
Hey Corentin, really appreciate the Patreon sub. Looking forward to connecting with people over there 🙏
@@michaelkeithson Don't forget to speak out at each video, there are always people who are interested but forget to do so! I can't wait to see how it all turns out!
Another top notch video! Had to watch this one a few times, which I take as a sign of learning a lot of new things. Awesome, awesome content - please keep it coming!
Cheers Ryan, pleased you enjoyed it. Thanks for support and suggestions on Patreon too, much appreciated 🙏
Good bless you Michael
Man, you're good. Tons of stuff to learn - and your explanation is brilliant - as usual. Thanks!
Thanks Frank, always appreciate the support and encouragement! 🙏
Hey Michael, your lessons are always top notch! I've already shared your videos with many of my musician friends, you communicate concept and the ideas around it so clearly 😄
Thanks man! Really appreciate your kind comment and appreciate you sharing the love and videos around. 🙏
wonderful, as always. There are many videos on this subjet, but this is outstanding others! Steve Wonder was using a lot those backdoor dominants ;) Thanks a lot
Cheers Fabio, always appreciate your support and encouragement. Yeah, Stevie loves a good backdoor progression!
@@michaelkeithson I think I've subscribed you channel when it has like 600 people, it's great seeing today it have more than 25k 👍 keep on rockin'
@@astrolappio Ah, that's so cool. So you're one of the OGs then! 600-25k, let's see if we can get to 100k!!
Great lesson, nice touch.
🙏 Thanks Ken, appreciate the comment 👍
I'm taking a shot at the question in the "little aside" using the idea of voice leading. Maybe it's because in the fourth alternative we don't get any semi-tone movement around the third of the tonic chord, whereas we do in the other three? Instead we get some nice chromatic movement down to the fifth of the I chord, but maybe that's just not as satisfying without the movement around the third. Plus, the III7 chord has already pre-resolved the third of I, unless you make it III7b9, which is really just bringing it back closer to the other progressions that seem to work better to begin with. Another issue: maybe we associate a root descending by thirds with the beginning and not the ending of a chord progression.
Cheers for the comment Hunter and sharing your views and insight. I like the way you're thinking about it. I definitely think there's something about the fact that the E (or third of the tonic) is already present so it feels like a pretty tame resolution. Thanks for sharing 🙏
Thank you for the clear to the point good stuff
No problem, thanks for watching 👍🏼
Another excellent lesson Michel! Thank you!
🙏 Thanks Paul! I appreciate your kind comment, thanks for watching.
I love your videos! Your explanations are so crystal clear. Small correction, the cadence V-I that you referred to is called an authentic cadence. However, there are perfect authentic cadences, but that’s a qualifier. The type of cadence itself is called authentic.
Thanks man, glad you're enjoying the videos. Thanks for the correction, I wasn't aware of that, good to know 👍
@@michaelkeithson You’re among the best music educators on RUclips, and I learn quite a bit from you, especially when it comes to the nuts and bolts of functional harmony, which, in case you couldn’t already tell, is my jam! Haha! I’m sorry that our first interaction is me making a correction, but I’d much rather offer a minor correction to someone who otherwise knows their shit really well, than try to educate someone who has no clue what they’re talking about, and there are no shortage of people like that on here. I concede that I don’t know whether or not ‘perfect cadence’ has come into the vernacular over the years, it may have, in which case, I wouldn’t object to the use of it, but I think I’d still object to it coming into use in the first place. Don’t get me started on 6/9 chords! Haha. Anyway, you’re great and I love what you do. Thank you for the excellent content!
@@TheAdultInTheRoom74 No worries man, we're all eternal students and I'm fully aware that I don't know everything so it's good to have some course corrections when it's required.
Pleased to hear you're enjoying the content, especially as you seem to be someone who already has a good grasp on a lot of this stuff. Cheers
Clear and concise, well done!
Thanks man, appreciate it 👍
You're bringing us along nicely. Many thanks 👁️
Cheers Mike! 👍
Hope you explain blackadder chord someday!
Newer subscriber here. Love and appreciate your channel. The diminished chord placed before the backdoor ii-V is a nice touch.
Cheers Curtis! Thanks for the sub 👍
5:33 really got me
Great explanation
🙏👍🎹🎵
as far as the "little aside" goes... I think the E7 to C sounds weaker than the others is because the E is the Tonic in the sub and the third in the C... without any half step movement in the 3rd of the C, it weakens it a lot
Thanks Gregg! Yeah, I think you're right, also because the E7 is already the dominant chord with a diatonic resolution (Am) it has a stronger pull to the A than the C so it's not as pleasing.
Nice job. As to the Bm7-E7b9-C, and "Why don't we see it," I think it is associated with resolving to Am (which is relative). If you resolve E7b9 to C6 by adding the A, the solutuion is much stronger. My two cents anyway.
You are a good teacher. I feel as if we are having a conversation...
Also, no pull from F to E in E7 to C, which I think has the strongest resolution, after the LT resolution. The E already being in the chord and sustaining into the C chord feels softer than when the F and B pull in contrasting semitone movement.
I had the same question about the E7 resolving to C. I think I have an answer. A secondary dominant is expected to resolve to the major or minor chord a fourth up. B♭7 and D♭7 are not secondary dominants for any chord in C major, but E7 is the secondary dominant for Am. So when we hear E7 in C major, we expect an Am to follow. Going to C (or C6) may work, but it feels less complete than going to Am, so maybe a little disappointing? I think that is the important difference between E7 and both B♭7 and D♭7.
One popular four-chord progression these days is C, E7, F, Fm. There the E7 does not go to Am. This is called a deceptive cadence. Am is expected, and the A note is there, along with the C, but instead of the Am chord, we get F as a surprise, but it does not end there. I think that is important - it isn't a resolution - so it then could go to G or G7 to resolve to C (pretty typical) or one might go the negative harmony route and use Fm6 or Dm7♭5 instead of G7, or just Fm (a nice intermediary for plagal resolution).
For me, the B♭7 resolving to C has a kind of Picardy third feel to it, probably because one would expect E♭ (or E♭6 or Cm) so the E♮ brightens it up. The D♭7 fits perfectly between Dm7 and Cmaj7, and it has the same tritone as G7, so that works very well.
I should add that the negative harmony chord of G7 is exactly a rootless B♭7(9) chord.
You can resolve the E7b9 into C6 chord which is the more typical tonic chord in older jazz.
Thanks Jon! Appreciate the comment 👍 Thanks for watching
Thank you very much
It was very useful ❤
Brilliantly explained.
🙏 Thank you.
@10:54 I literally have asked that question for years, why don't composers like to resolve tension chords by going up or down a major/minor third, when it works. Maybe not resolving it to the tonic since like you said it doesn't sound as strong, but you can definitely use it to lead to other chords in the composition, giving it a different sound that very few composers use.