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In music, the dominant 79 chord ("dominant seven sharp nine" or "dominant seven sharp ninth") is a chord built by combining a
dominant seventh In music theory, a dominant seventh chord, or major minor seventh chord, is a seventh chord, usually built on the fifth degree of the major scale, and composed of a root, major third, perfect fifth, and minor seventh. Thus it is a major triad t ...
, which includes a major third above the root, with an
augmented second In classical music from Western culture, an augmented second is an interval that, in equal temperament, is sonically equivalent to a minor third, spanning three semitones, and is created by widening a major second by a chromatic semitone.Ben ...
, which is the same pitch, albeit given a different note name, as the minor third degree above the root. This chord is used in many forms of contemporary popular music, including
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
, funk, R&B, rock and pop. As a
dominant chord In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree () of the diatonic scale. It is called the ''dominant'' because it is second in importance to the first scale degree, the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the dominant note is sung as "So ...
in diatonic harmony, it most commonly functions as a turnaround chord, returning to the tonic. The chord is also sometimes colloquially known, among pop and rock guitarists, as the "Hendrix chord" or "Purple Haze chord", nicknamed for guitarist Jimi Hendrix,Shapiro, Harry and Caesar Glebbeek (1995). ''Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy'', p.144. . who showed a preference for the chord and did a great deal to popularize its use in mainstream rock music.The 'Hendrix Chord'
", ''Fender.com''. Accessed 29 February 2012.
When used by
The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
it has been called the "Gretty chord" although this can refer to a distinct six-string version.


Spelling and notation

There are two main ways to spell the chord, depending on the musical style, kind of musical notation (score or chord symbols), and personal taste. One consists of a dominant seventh chord with an added minor third placed one or more octaves over the major third (a minor tenth); the other, more common, consists of a dominant seventh chord with an added augmented ninth. The former can be written in popular chord symbol notation systems as 710 and the latter as 79. 7b10 is unorthodox way to write but it is in use on some contexts. Sometimes, in publications which include both scores and chord symbols, the score is notated with a both natural and flattened third, while the chord symbol has the sharpened ninth. Other more uncommon notations and names include major/minor or 7 (add min 3). Kenn Stephenson says that in rock music the sharp ninth spelling is much more prevalent than the split third version.


Nature of the chord

The 79 is an altered chord, and it is one option when seeing the chord symbol 7alt. It is functionally a dominant chord and thus "wants" to resolve to the tonic in diatonic harmony. Stuart Isacoff has called the chord "funky" or "bluesy" because of the tension "generated between the major third and the augmented ninth"; while Doug Munro deems it "jazzy" rather than bluesy. Eric Starr says, "the sharp nine tends to be edgier, bluesier, and meaner sounding han the flat nine" In jazz, 79 chords, along with 79 chords, are often employed as the dominant chord in a minor ii–V–I turnaround. For example, a ii–V–I in C minor could be played as: Dm75 – G79 – Cm7. The 79 represents a major divergence from the world of tertian chord theory, where chords are stacks of major and
minor third In music theory, a minor third is a musical interval that encompasses three half steps, or semitones. Staff notation represents the minor third as encompassing three staff positions (see: interval number). The minor third is one of two com ...
s. The 79 does not satisfy that definition, as the interval between the
minor seventh In music theory, a minor seventh is one of two musical intervals that span seven staff positions. It is ''minor'' because it is the smaller of the two sevenths, spanning ten semitones. The major seventh spans eleven. For example, the interval fr ...
and
augmented ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
is an augmented third. The same also pertains to the rarer M79, where the interval between the
major seventh In music from Western culture, a seventh is a musical interval encompassing seven staff positions (see Interval number for more details), and the major seventh is one of two commonly occurring sevenths. It is qualified as ''major'' because it i ...
and
minor ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...
is a
diminished third In classical music from Western culture, a diminished third () is the musical interval produced by narrowing a minor third by a chromatic semitone.Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I'', p.54. . For instance, the inte ...
. Rather than fully allow the inclusion of diminished and augmented thirds into the theory, a typical solution in jazz is to define chords as stacks of chordal degrees, where each degree has some range of selection from which to take its note or notes. Thus, for example, the ninth is available in flat, natural, sharp, and flat-and-sharp "alt" styles.


History


Classical

The
English cadence In classical music Music theory, theory, the English cadence is a contrapuntal pattern particular to the authentic or perfect Cadence (music), cadence. It features a flattened seventh Degree (music), scale degree against the dominant chord, which i ...
is a distinctive
contrapuntal In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...
pattern particular to the authentic or perfect
cadence In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (199 ...
described as archaic or old-fashioned sounding. This pattern was primarily used by
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
composers of the
High Renaissance In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...
and
Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...
periods. The hallmark of this device is the
dissonant In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive Sound, sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness ...
augmented octave In Western tonal music theory, an augmented octave is the sum of a perfect octave and an augmented unison or chromatic semitone. It is the interval between two notes, with the same note letter on staff positions an octave apart, whose altera ...
(compound
augmented unison In modern Western tonal music theory an augmented unison or augmented prime is the interval between two notes on the same staff position, or denoted by the same note letter, whose alterations cause them, in ordinary equal temperament, to be o ...
) produced by a
false relation A false relation (also known as cross-relation, non-harmonic relation) is the name of a type of dissonance that sometimes occurs in polyphonic music, most commonly in vocal music of the Renaissance. The term describes a "chromatic contradiction" ...
between the split seventh scale degree. The English cadence is a type of full close featuring the blue seventh against the
dominant chord In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree () of the diatonic scale. It is called the ''dominant'' because it is second in importance to the first scale degree, the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the dominant note is sung as "So ...
which in C would be B and G-B-D. The dominant 79 chord appears in impressionist classical music. An example can be heard in Claude Debussy's ''Feuilles Mortes'', from his second book of Préludes (1913). There, the unresolved, dissonant ninth chords (at least a "C7" with a "split third" and "added minor ninth") help create, according to Richard Bass, an "utterly sad, desolate character" throughout the piece. This chord can also be found in
serial music In music, serialism is a method of composition using series of pitches, rhythms, dynamics, timbres or other musical elements. Serialism began primarily with Arnold Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique, though some of his contemporaries were als ...
. For example, the '' Elektronische Musik vom Freitag aus Licht'' (1991–94) by
Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th and early 21st-century ...
, from an
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
composed using formula technique, concludes on this chord.


Jazz and blues

The dominant 79 chord is usually found in blues contexts because in a
blues scale Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the African- ...
a minor third (
blue note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...
) in the melody is usually played against a dominant seventh chord. The third of the dominant chord is the seventh degree of the scale. The chord was used in popular music as far back as the
bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...
era of the 1940s, and it appears with some regularity in blues and rhythm-and-blues of the 1950s and 1960s.


Pop and rock


Hendrix chord

While this sonority has been previously used in
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
and related styles, one particular voicing of this chord is commonly called the "Hendrix Chord" by rock guitarists. This is because it was a favorite of Jimi Hendrix, who did a great deal to popularize its use in mainstream rock music. The most notable Hendrix song that features the 79 chord is " Purple Haze", while it is also implied in "
Foxy Lady "Foxy Lady" (or alternatively "Foxey Lady") is a song by the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It first appeared on their 1967 debut album ''Are You Experienced'' and was later issued as their third single in the U.S. with the alternate spelling. It is o ...
",Roby, Steven (2002). ''Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix'', p.32. .Perry, John (2004). ''Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland'', p.120-121. . both on his 1967 album '' Are You Experienced?''. When performing "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" live, Hendrix later used not only E79, the sharpened ninth chord on the tonic, but also D79 and C79 chords, the
subtonic In music, the subtonic is the degree of a musical scale which is a whole step below the tonic note. In a major key, it is a lowered, or flattened, seventh scale degree (). It appears as the seventh scale degree in the natural minor and descendin ...
and
submediant In music, the submediant is the sixth degree () of a diatonic scale. The submediant ("lower mediant") is named thus because it is halfway between tonic and subdominant ("lower dominant") or because its position below the tonic is symmetrical to ...
. This harmonic device is one of many factors that, according to Gleebeek and Spairo, contribute to "the dirty, raw, metallic, angular sounds of ..Hendrix songs". It is an example of how he embellished chords "to add new colours to the music, often derived from his own roots in black music". "In essence," John Perry writes, the Hendrix chord is "the whole of the blues scale condensed into a single chord."


Other musicians

The chord is heard quietly at the end of the bridge in Santo and Johnny's 1959 instrumental hit "
Sleep Walk Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of low ...
". It was also used more prominently by the Beatles in songs such as " The Word" and "
Taxman "Taxman" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album '' Revolver''. Written by the group's lead guitarist, George Harrison, with some lyrical assistance from John Lennon, it protests against the higher level of progre ...
". McCartney called this a "great ham-fisted jazz chord" that was taught to them by Jim Gretty, who worked at Hessey's music shop in Whitechapel, central Liverpool. George Harrison uses it as the penultimate chord of his solo on "
Till There Was You "Till There Was You" is a show tune written in 1950 by Meredith Willson, originally entitled "Till I Met You." It was originally recorded October 25, 1950, by Meredith Willson & his Orchestra and Eileen Wilson. The song was retitled and used ...
". The chord (a D79) can also be heard in Pink Floyd's " Breathe", and more prominently in "
Shine On You Crazy Diamond "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" is a nine-part Pink Floyd composition written by David Gilmour, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright. It appeared on Pink Floyd's 1975 concept album ''Wish You Were Here''. The song is written about and dedicated to Syd B ...
", both before and after the final guitar solo, before the vocals come in. The chord is favored by
Pixies A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...
lead guitarist
Joey Santiago Joseph Alberto Santiago (born June 10, 1965) is a Filipino-American guitarist and composer. Active since 1986, Santiago is best known as the lead guitarist for the American alternative rock band Pixies. After the band's breakup in 1993, Santiag ...
, with D79, reminiscent of the opening to " A Hard Day's Night", opening and being called the "secret ingredient" of the song "
Here Comes Your Man "Here Comes Your Man" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies, written and sung by the band's frontman Black Francis. Produced by Gil Norton, it was released as the second single from the group's second album '' Doolittle'' in June ...
". A "brutally scraped" F79 features in the chorus of "
Tame Tame may refer to: *Taming, the act of training wild animals *River Tame, Greater Manchester *River Tame, West Midlands and the Tame Valley * Tame, Arauca, a Colombian town and municipality * "Tame" (song), a song by the Pixies from their 1989 al ...
" against the three chord rhythm guitar part's D, C, and F chords. Use as a primary or tonic chord in funk and disco of the 1970s includes
Heatwave A heat wave, or heatwave, is a period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity, especially in oceanic climate countries. While definitions vary, a heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in th ...
's " Boogie Nights". Stevie Ray Vaughan, a devotee of Hendrix, used the chord extensively. For example, the main riff of his song " Scuttle Buttin'" uses both the E79 and the B79 as part of a 12-bar blues progression.
Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...
referred to it as the "Hold It" chord after the
Bill Doggett William Ballard Doggett (February 16, 1916 – November 13, 1996) was an American pianist and organist. He began his career playing swing music before transitioning into rhythm and blues. Best known for his instrumental compositions "Honky Tonk" ...
song. This was also a name used by
John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951), sometimes referred to as "Sco", is an American guitarist and composer whose music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention in th ...
.


Notes


References

Sources * * * *


Further reading

*Hanford, John.
With the Power of Soul: Jimi Hendrix in Band of Gypsys.
' Ph.D. dissertation, University of Washington, 2003. * *Van der Bliek, Rob.
The Hendrix Chord: Blues, Flexible Pitch Relationships, and Self-standing Harmony
" ''Popular Music'' 26:2 (May 2007), pp 343–364. {{Chords, state=collapsed Altered chords Extended chords Jimi Hendrix