An
added tone chord is a
triadicIn music and music theory, a triad is a three-note chord that can be stacked in thirds. Its members, when actually stacked in thirds, from lowest pitched tone to highest, are called:*the Root...
chordIn music and music theory a chord is a set of three or more different notes from a specific key that sound simultaneously. Chords constructed of three notes are described as triads and consist of two intervals. The technical name for triad chords is tertian sonorities and is understood to be chords...
with an extra "added" note, such as the added
sixthSixth can refer to:* Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution-Music:*Interval*Major sixth*Minor sixthThe submediant, and the chord built on the submediant, is often simply called the sixth as it is the sixth scale degree....
. This includes chords with an added thirteenth and farther "extensions", but that do not include the intervening thirds as in an
extended chordIn music, extended chords are tertian chords or triads with notes extended, or added, beyond the seventh. Ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords are extended chords...
. The concept of added tones is further convenient in that all notes may be related to familiar chords .
An added sixth chord ends songs including
NirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
's "
Smells Like Teen Spirit"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's 1991 breakthrough album Nevermind...
", Hank Williams' "
Hey, Good Lookin'"Hey Good Lookin" is a 1951 song written and recorded by Hank Williams, and his version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. Since its original 1951 recording, it has been covered by a variety of artists.-Content:...
",
Carl PerkinsCarl Lee Perkins was an American "rockabilly" musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee beginning during 1954...
' "
Movie Magg"Movie Magg" is a rockabilly song written by Carl Perkins at the age of thirteen. It was based on the true story of Perkins' girlfriend Maggie and their occasional trips to the movies at the weekends. Being the son of a poor sharecropper, Perkins did not have a car to drive Maggie to the picture...
" and "
Blue Suede Shoes"Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955. The 12-bar blues is considered one of the first rockabilly records and incorporated elements of blues, country and pop music of the time....
",
Ronnie HawkinsRonald "Ronnie" Hawkins is a rock and roll musician. He is a cousin to fellow rockabilly artist Dale Hawkins. Known as "Rompin' Ronnie" Hawkins or "The Hawk," he was a key player in the 1960s rock scene in Toronto, Canada and his career has spanned 50 years. During that time, Hawkins has performed...
' "Red Hot",
Chuck BerryCharles Edward "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.Chuck Berry is one of the pioneers of rock and roll music...
's "
Rock and Roll Music"Rock and Roll Music" is a song written and originally recorded by Chuck Berry which became a hit single in 1957, reaching #8 in the U.S. chart, and was later covered by many artists, notably The Beatles and The Beach Boys....
",
Scotty MooreWinfield Scott "Scotty" Moore III is an American guitarist. He is best known for his backing of Elvis Presley in the first part of his career, between 1954 and the beginning of Elvis' Hollywood years...
's accompaniment in
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
's "
That's All Right (Mama)"That's All Right" is the name of the first single released by Elvis Presley, written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup as "That's All Right, Mama"...
", and the
BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
' "
She Loves You"She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney based on an idea by McCartney, originally recorded by The Beatles for release as a single in 1963...
" and "
Ballad of John and Yoko"The Ballad of John and Yoko" is a song released by The Beatles as a single in May 1969. Primarily written by John Lennon, the song was attributed, as was the custom, to the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team...
."
The thirds in a
mixed third chord, also
split-third chord, a chord which includes as its third both the major and minor third (for a chord on C: C E E G), are usually separated by an octave or more .
An
added tone chord is a
triadicIn music and music theory, a triad is a three-note chord that can be stacked in thirds. Its members, when actually stacked in thirds, from lowest pitched tone to highest, are called:*the Root...
chordIn music and music theory a chord is a set of three or more different notes from a specific key that sound simultaneously. Chords constructed of three notes are described as triads and consist of two intervals. The technical name for triad chords is tertian sonorities and is understood to be chords...
with an extra "added" note, such as the added
sixthSixth can refer to:* Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution-Music:*Interval*Major sixth*Minor sixthThe submediant, and the chord built on the submediant, is often simply called the sixth as it is the sixth scale degree....
. This includes chords with an added thirteenth and farther "extensions", but that do not include the intervening thirds as in an
extended chordIn music, extended chords are tertian chords or triads with notes extended, or added, beyond the seventh. Ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords are extended chords...
. The concept of added tones is further convenient in that all notes may be related to familiar chords .
An added sixth chord ends songs including
NirvanaIn sramanic thought, Nirvana is the state of being free from suffering. It is an important concept in Buddhism and Jainism....
's "
Smells Like Teen Spirit"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana. It is the opening track and lead single from the band's 1991 breakthrough album Nevermind...
", Hank Williams' "
Hey, Good Lookin'"Hey Good Lookin" is a 1951 song written and recorded by Hank Williams, and his version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001. Since its original 1951 recording, it has been covered by a variety of artists.-Content:...
",
Carl PerkinsCarl Lee Perkins was an American "rockabilly" musician who recorded most notably at Sun Records Studio in Memphis, Tennessee beginning during 1954...
' "
Movie Magg"Movie Magg" is a rockabilly song written by Carl Perkins at the age of thirteen. It was based on the true story of Perkins' girlfriend Maggie and their occasional trips to the movies at the weekends. Being the son of a poor sharecropper, Perkins did not have a car to drive Maggie to the picture...
" and "
Blue Suede Shoes"Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955. The 12-bar blues is considered one of the first rockabilly records and incorporated elements of blues, country and pop music of the time....
",
Ronnie HawkinsRonald "Ronnie" Hawkins is a rock and roll musician. He is a cousin to fellow rockabilly artist Dale Hawkins. Known as "Rompin' Ronnie" Hawkins or "The Hawk," he was a key player in the 1960s rock scene in Toronto, Canada and his career has spanned 50 years. During that time, Hawkins has performed...
' "Red Hot",
Chuck BerryCharles Edward "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.Chuck Berry is one of the pioneers of rock and roll music...
's "
Rock and Roll Music"Rock and Roll Music" is a song written and originally recorded by Chuck Berry which became a hit single in 1957, reaching #8 in the U.S. chart, and was later covered by many artists, notably The Beatles and The Beach Boys....
",
Scotty MooreWinfield Scott "Scotty" Moore III is an American guitarist. He is best known for his backing of Elvis Presley in the first part of his career, between 1954 and the beginning of Elvis' Hollywood years...
's accompaniment in
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
's "
That's All Right (Mama)"That's All Right" is the name of the first single released by Elvis Presley, written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup as "That's All Right, Mama"...
", and the
BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
' "
She Loves You"She Loves You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney based on an idea by McCartney, originally recorded by The Beatles for release as a single in 1963...
" and "
Ballad of John and Yoko"The Ballad of John and Yoko" is a song released by The Beatles as a single in May 1969. Primarily written by John Lennon, the song was attributed, as was the custom, to the Lennon/McCartney songwriting team...
."
The thirds in a
mixed third chord, also
split-third chord, a chord which includes as its third both the major and minor third (for a chord on C: C E E G), are usually separated by an octave or more . While a minor chord placed over a major chord of the same root (creating a tension of 9) is somewhat common, a major chord placed over a minor chord of the same root (creating a tension of 11) is generally a taboo and can be rarely used in very specific context, such as for programmatic or humorous purposes.
An example of an added tone chord may be found in Igor Stravinsky's
Symphony of Psalms (see Marquis 1964) while an added tone (G) chord with
mixed thirds, a major third and minor third, by William Schuman (ibid).
An added tone, such as that added a perfect fourth below the root, may suggest
polytonalityThe musical use of more than one key simultaneously is polytonality. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time.A well-known, controversial example is the fanfare at the beginning of the second tableau of Igor Stravinsky's ballet, Petrushka...
(ibid) and the practice of adding tones may have led to superimposing chords and tonalities though added tone chords have most often been used as more intense substitutes for traditional chords . For instance a minor chord that includes a major second interval while still retaining its minor third holds a great deal more dramatic tension due to the very close intervals of the major 2nd and minor 3rd. An A major chord with an added major second sounds very distinct from its basic triad counterpart.