In my previous article, I examined the use of the 'tritone' or 'spider' scale to add color to one’s sound when resolving into the tonic chord within a V to I progression.
I theorized that the spider scale (itself a map of diminished arpeggios over the fretboard) functioned predominantly as an 'extension' or 'chord stack' in relation to the major V chord within harmonic minor or an altered natural minor scale.
I concluded that the V chord appeared to be seat to the ‘diabolical’ element within the Western musical system. The V chord's link to the darker, more atonal sounds of the diminished chords (and Locrian modes) makes it well-suited for experimentation with outside notes, chromatics, accidentals, diminished scales, and all those sounds that deviate from standard musical conventions.
The V chord represents the point at which the fabric of musical structure begins to unravel, only to be pulled back together again through resolution into the tonic. It thus tends to be a highly useful place in compositions to surprise the listener with unexpected twists that hook them in and maintain their interest.
Given it's utility, any musician or composer could benefit from increased insight into how to make use of the V chord. Towards this end, the current article explores the use of ‘chromatic embellishment’ over the V chord as a substitute for the more linear 'tritone' or 'spider' scale, which quickly grows tiring and is easily overdone.
The thesis here is that use of chromatic embellishment on the V chord is a way to further enhance compositions by adding color within V to I progressions within minor keys. The current work thus builds on the ideas in the prior article.
Recap of Previous Lesson
As a refresher, the previous article discussed the spider scale, tritone scale, or diminished 7th arpeggio scale as a tool to be played largely over the V chord.
Despite being called a 'scale,' the spider scale actually models the structure of the diminished arpeggios of harmonic minor all over the fingerboard. These arpeggios reside on the 7th and 2nd scale degrees of harmonic minor.
If you start the scale somewhere other than a root note, you play a different ‘inversion’ of either of the two main diminished arpeggios (i.e., the vii° or the ii° ). Technically the '7th' in both these arpeggios is a 'diminished 7th' or a '♭♭7', which in the case of the vii° chord is also the flat 5 note contained in the ii° chord. Both diminished chords are strung together to form an underlying diminished structure.
The ‘spider scale’ or diminished arpeggio structure is depicted in the following diagram:
The root note spider scale is generally supposed to start on the 3rd degree of the major V chord in whichever (minor) key you are playing. You could, however, also start the spider scale on any note within the above diagram, assuming the root note starts on the 3rd of the V chord. The spider scale is best theorized as starting on the 3rd of the V chord, however, since the leading tone resides on this degree and the spider scale is a tool to help 'lead into' the tonic and resolve chord progressions.
To demonstrate the functionality of the spider scale in relation to the major V chord is the following example. This sequence shows a V to I progression in A minor. Here the major V chord is an E major chord. The spider scale is stacked onto the 3rd scale degree of the E major chord, which in this case is a G# note.
As you can hear, the spider scale harmonizes beautifully with the major V chord when it is stacked onto the 3rd scale degree of the E major chord (the G# leading tone).
'Chromaticizing' the Spider Scale
It is not difficult to see how the spider scale can be chromaticsized. The spider scale itself crawls up the fingerboard in 2-note per string symmetrical patterns that contain an ugly and dissonant flat 5 interval.
The atonal nature of the spider scale just seems conducive to use of outside notes, especially when resolving into the tonic as we saw above. Those two little half step gaps in the spider scale just scream 'chromatic' and beg to be filled in.
The following example tests the functionality of the spider scale as a opportunity to use chromatic 'embellishment' or 'ornamentation' to add color to the sound when resolving a major V chord into the tonic within a minor key.
The following example simply 'fills in the blanks' of the two empty half-step boxes within the spider scale. The result is the 'chromaticized' version of the spider scale.
As the listener can hear, the chromatic scale appears to work quite well as a substitute for the spider scale when played over the V chord. In the above example, a few notes are even missing from the pure chromatic scale, but it still sounds good.
The above example suggests that the theory here is a useful method for utilizing the spider and chromatic scales in songwriting. Let's now see how the chromaticized spider scale functions within a more elaborate example mimicking a real composition.
Cycle of Fourths with Chromatic Embellishment on V Chord
A common progression (and musical exercise) found in both classical and pop music is a progression referred to as the ‘cycle of fourths’.
The progression typically involves starting on the tonic chord within a key, and then moving up a fourth (the same as moving down a fifth). The process of moving upwards in perfect fourths repeats until arriving at the major V chord and then resolving into the tonic (often with spider scale extension).
The reasons the cycle of fourths progression is important are so numerous that many lengthy works could be written on it. The progression is featured in numerous classical pieces and shred guitar songs.
For our purposes here, the progression is useful because it highlights the fact that chord progressions tend to ‘work’ when the songwriter moves in fourths and fifths. In practical terms, this means if you are writing a song and you immediately want a chord that will sound good, then picking a chord either a fourth of fifth above or below the one you’re currently playing would be a good guess.
The example here will explore a ‘classical’ sounding version of the cycle of fourths, because it helps examine the functionality of chromaticizing the spider scale and playing it over the V chord in a minor key. The cycle of fourths exercise lends itself well to this test because it ends with a major V chord resolving into the tonic.
I’ve titled the following study, “Cycle of Fourth with Chromatic Embellishment.” It is in the key of A minor, which features no sharps or flats in the key signature. The (altered) major V chord within A minor is an E major chord, which adds a G# accidental when the V chord plays. See the following depiction and audio.
The piece takes the generic cycle of fourths progression and applies ‘shred guitar’ picking patterns for each chord. Note that the piece sounds ‘neoclassical’.
Notice that the V chord tends to steal the show. It features colorful runs on the chromatic scale, which serves as a highly effective substitute for the standard spider scale. Notice that the chromatic runs have a regal quality and convey virtuosity. The chromatics generally sounds better than the depressing spider scale.
Additionally, as theorized, like the spider scale, notice that the chromatic scale tends to make sense when started on the leading tone, or the 3rd of the V chord (in this case a G#). It tends to work in a similar way and is similar in nature to the spider scale, since it features notes that are outside of the normal key signature.
Conclusion
The current article builds on the ideas presented in my previous lesson by examining ways the V chord lends itself to creative experimentation, including outside notes, dissonant tones, and other musical qualities that might be deemed 'diabolical'.
It should be clear from the example presented here that the V chord lends itself well to the use of chromatics as a tool to add color to one's sound. For those who did not already possess these insights, this article should provide a new compositional tool that can assist in future songwriting endeavors.
'Till next time.
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