Thanks, mate. Appreciate the encouragement. I look forward to being a credit on the liner notes of your first platinum album.

@Tim Mars I would not avoid them, generally, no, unless I am worried about giving away too much of the sound of the dominant chord in a ii-V pattern. To wit: Cm6 to F7, one is already hearing the ACEb of the F7 chord in Cm6 chord, and maybe it weakens the change

Is it cause the 3rd/10 is resolving tension from the 4th?

+Neon Dazzle Thanks Neon. Will do :)

No worries, mate. Happy to help.

Haha, yep, exactly right. No worries, Max. Thanks for the comment.

+ThisNameIsG That's awesome to hear. No worries. Thanks for the comment.

Thanks, mate :)

It is debated whether one should consider the raised 6th of the Dorian Mode an avoid note. It does not fit the pattern of being a minor nineth above a chord tone. And also, as you mention, the raised sixth gives Dorian its characteristic sound. But the b2 gives Phrygian and Locrian their characters as well, and they are considered avoid notes. I think the notion of avoid notes is a little flawed, but I do think it is worth considering dissonances against chord tones as something to pay special attention to. When I learned theory I did not learn about avoid notes, but rather got to know the sounds of all the tension relative to a given chord or mode. I always looked at the notion of avoiding notes with some suspicion, but now I see that it is a great way to organize my ear and thinking around the different effects of pitches against chords.

+hangroover Thanks, hangroover.

+rufnsluf rufsluf Thanks, rufsluf. Glad you like it.

+Daniel b Hey Daniel. Definitely start with the 'Jazz Chords' Playlist. I cover the basics there. Otherwise each playlist is loosely designed to be standalone. But I would watch them in the following order: 1. Jazz Chords 2. Jazz Scales 3. Jazz Improvisation Techniques 4. Jazz Chord Voicings 5. Jazz Chord Progressions 6. Jazz Piano Techniques Let me know what you think.

The topics are related. Avoid notes are just unavailable tensions but from the point of view of a scale. They are synonymous really. The exception is the 13 on the Dm7 chord. Some people think this is an avoid note (as it creates a triton interval with the 3rd), while some people think it's fine. Similarly, some people think a m13 chord is a bit dissonant while others think it's ok. I personally think it sounds great, but it's for you to decide. Generally, when we talk about avoid notes we use the major scale modes (Ionian, Dorian, etc.). But the idea can be expanded further to other scales. So it's the same concept really, just applied to chord and scales respectively. The chord-scale concept just tells you which scales can be used over which chords. If a scale includes an 'unavailable tension' in it, then consider that note an 'avoid note' which you can use, but should not overemphasise. Hope that made a bit more sense!

Hi Eran, Glad you find the videos helpful. To your points: 1. Altering a chord (e.g. playing a CMaj7#11) does not necessarily change the key or tonal centre. This depends more on the actual underlying chord progression. If you had a II-V-I in C Major, so Dm7 | G7 | CMaj7, this is obviously in the key of C Major, all the chords are acting functionally and are clearly leading to the tonic chord (CMaj7). If you extend and alter these chord, they still retain their original function and still sound like they are leading towards CMaj7. So a chord progression like: Dm7b5 | G7b9b13 | CMaj7#11, does NOT sound like it is in the key of EbMaj | Ab melodic minor | G Major. This is especially the case if you still use the C Major scale to improvise over these chords. Even though each of these chords is derived from a different key (i.e. not C Major) the chord progression as a whole still sounds like it is moving towards a CMaj7 chord, but just with colourful chords. If, on the other hand, you had a non-functional and more ambiguous chord progression that wasn't obviously in a particular key, like F#m7 | EbMaj7 | Dm7 | CMaj7. And then you played a CMaj7#11 instead of a CMaj7 and used the G Major scale to improvise over the chord, then perhaps the chord will sound like it is in G Major rather than C Major. But non-functional chord progressions are much more flexible and fluid. Does this make sense to you? Happy to explain any of the above if something didn't make sense. 2. If it's easier for you to think in 'keys' then do so. There's no problem with this. Thinking in 'modes' is convenient because it allows you to allocate every single chord a particular scale. So taking a II-V-I in C again we have: Dm7 | G7 | CMaj7 We can improvise over this chord progression using only the C Major Scale. It's probably easier to think of the 'key' of C Major rather than the modes of 'D Dorian, G Mixolydian and C Ionian.' But this is pretty simplistic. We usually want to play more interesting scales over these chords. So instead we could play: Dm7 - play D Aeolian mode (G Major) G7 - play G Altered mode (Ab melodic minor) CMaj7 - play C Lydian Augmented mode (A melodic minor) When you do this, I find it simpler to think in terms of 'modes' rather than 'keys'. So you don't have to remember that you can play A melodic minor over a CMaj7 chord. Instead you think 'I can play C Lydian Augmented mode - That means the C Major Scale with a #4 (Lydian) and a #5 (Augmented)'. Even though it's the same notes, it's sometimes simpler to remember a particular mode rather than the key the mode was derived from. Having said that, if you find it easier to think in terms of 'keys' that's perfectly fine. Let me know if any of that didn't make sense.

+Janis Mittelstaedt Hi Janis, So the short answer is that it only works upwards. The long answer is this: 1. The interval of a flat 9th (1 octave + 1 semitone) is considered very dissonant. So if you voice the CMaj7 by playing B, C an octave higher, E, G it sounds very jarring because it creates a flat 9 interval between the B and the C. The Maj 7th interval is less jarring. So by playing the F above the CMaj7 chord you are creating a flat 9 interval between the E and the F. 2. F is not considered part of the 'overtone series' (AKA harmonic series) of the C and so sounds like a 'wrong note'. This is a bit technical, but essentially the harmonics of the other notes in the chord/strings do not reach F. 3. Avoid notes are subjective. Just because 'theory' tells you that the F is an avoid note, you might disagree and think other notes sound more 'wrong' over a CMaj7 chord. Let me know if that helped.

+Walk That Bass It helped a ton, thanks! :)

The iii minor is different from a ii minor, which is different from a vi minor, etc.. The iii minor can have a 9, but unless it is a minor nine it leaves the scale effectively behaving like a vi chord of a different scale. If it uses the nine that is diatonic it would be the minor nine, which would be an avoid note for its being a minor nine above the root of the chord. So either way, there is something tricky about placing the nine on a iii minor chord.

Thanks. Could you play a rootless chord to avoid this dissonance?

If you drop the root of the chord you would not hear the dissonance, but you might also not hear that it is a iii chord. Taking Em7(b9) as an example. discard the root and you have F G B D, which is the same as a G7 chord.

Ah ok thanks

It is not a tritone above C (that would be an F#), but F natural is part ot the scale's tritone between B natural and itself. But I do not think this accounts for its status as an avoider. For that, you got its dissonance against the 5th of the a minor triad.

Because min9 is more dissonant than #11 (Not only because minor second is more dissonant than the diminished fifth, but because #11 is inside the overtone series)

Do you mean Dorian and Aeolian? But yes, an avoid note is always one semitone ABOVE a chord tone (1, 3, 5, or 7) - it doesn't count if it's below. This is because the solo is usually played higher than chords and if you play an avoid note an octave above the chord you create a flat 9 interval with a chord tone, which is considered a very dissonant and unacceptable interval. (e.g. playing an F one octave about a C chord (which clashes with the 3rd - E)).

Yes I did, sorry. Many thanks for the explanation. Also explains why a maj7 is ok.

Hi alemanito, Firstly, avoid notes are very subjective. Musicians disagree about what constitutes an avoid note. This is especially the case with the B over a Dm7. Some people think it is an avoid note, some people think it is not. I actually think it's ok. This extends to the idea of 'available tensions'. Some people think the 13th over a minor chord is an available tension and some people with it is not an available tension. Secondly, a Dm6 chord functions a little bit differently to a Dm7 chord. As you can see from the video, avoid notes depend on the degree of the chord in a particular key (i.e. is it a ii chord or a vi chord, etc). Generally speaking, a Dm7 functions as a ii in a ii-V. While a Dm6 (or a Dm69 for that matter - another sweet and pretty chord) functions as a tonic minor. That is a Dm6 chord would generally be played as the tonic chord in the key of D minor and NOT as the ii chord in the key of C Major, so the relevant avoid note may not apply. And thirdly, if the note is in the chord, it is not an avoid note. For example, the 4 is an avoid note over a V7 chord (so C is an avoid note over G7). But if you play a G7sus (which includes the C) then the C is no longer an avoid note. Does all that make sense to you? Sorry, it's a little bit difficult to explain.

yes, it's getting clearer. it's not easy to explain, cause it's a very context-sensitive subject. thanks for the clarification. I have in mind a m6 chord on the 4th degree of a major scale. so you can also explain it with the borrowed chords theory. I will think about your explication and experiment a bit later. thank you very much!

+alemanito84 the 13th on a minor 7 chord is, IMO, an available tension in some cases, for the reason that you gave. The tritone interval between it and the 3rd kinda implies the primary dominant (G7 in C major), which would interfere with the sound of the chord. It can be used, but it isn't nearly as useful as the 11th on the minor 7th chord.

Yep, I completely agree. I lean towards saying that it is an available tension, if used carefully (i.e. in such a way as it does not sound like a G7). Having said that all notes are 'available' if used carefully and in the appropriate context.

Because of the Perfect 5th between that and the 7th.

Or Is it because B is the 6th note in D dorian?

Hi Jordan. Each chord has it's own specific avoid note. So the avoid note for CMaj7 is F. The avoid note for Dm7 is B. B is not an avoid note for the chord CMaj7 - by definition it is a chord tone therefore it cannot be an avoid note. If you want to think in terms of scale degrees - then the 4th of the tonic chord is an avoid note. And the 6th of the supertonic (Two Chord) is an avoid note. And so on. It's best to think in terms of the Major key here rather than in modes. Don't think of Dm7 as being in D Dorian. Think of Dm7 being the 2 chord of the key of C Major. Does that make sense?

I am still confused with the second Approx rule: 2. Minor Chord - Avoid 6th when we are in C major key, I understand that the supertonic seventh chord is Dm7, but it consists of 2nd, 4th. 6th, and 8th/octave notes in C major, I don't understand what the rule means by avoid 6th for minor chord because the avoid note is B(the 7th note in C major), but how is B in relation to Dm7 a 6th note? or Maybe I am just having touble undertanding what you mean by 6th.

maybe avoid 6th means avoid the note thats a major 6th away from D(root note)? if you are playing any sort of D minor chord?

For some reason I didn't connect 4th. 6th with interval I thought the approx rule was based on the order of notes in the scale. Thanks!

Avoid notes are generally more applicable when improvising diatonically. However, if you're improvising over a particular chord - there are some notes which create little tension (chord tones) and some notes which create lots of tension (one semitone above a chord tone, called an avoid note). Even when improvising chromatically, you want to create and resolve tension throughout your improvisation. You do this by playing dissonant notes and then resolving to less dissonant notes. I go over this in a bit more detail in this video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jeB8daRm0Km0Yas.html

Wow, dude! I'd like to see you explain this complicated topic as clearly and concisely as he just did. This is not a video on bebop, nor is it on creating good melodies. It is strictly about avoid notes, and it explains them better than anything else I've seen. Also, did you watch the whole video? He said precisely what you did--that the avoid notes can still be used as passing tones.

Yeah, I get some really...let's say, 'passionate'...comments occasionally. I should probably preface all my videos by saying that all these theories are more suggestions rather than rules.

Yes exactly, it's not about philosophic questions but about simple tricks that ease improvising for beginners. Just saying "every note is great as long as you play it in the right way at the right time" doesn't contain any useful information!

It depends who you ask. Personally, I think the 6th in Dm is fine. But some people think it is an avoid note because it creates a tritone interval between the 3rd and the 6th and so sounds a little bit too much like a dominant chord. It's largely subjective though.

@@WalkThatBass Thanks for the video. I've been looking at a good number of Scott Hamilton's transcriptions and note that nearly all of his 6th notes that are played over a (dorian) minor 7 chord are played as b6. This may have less to do with dissonance and more with preserving the integrity of the progression. So, in Dm7 > G7 prog., by playing a Bb over the Dm7 he is saving the 'fresh' guide tone B for the G7. Another reason why the Bb is included in his Dm7 chord runs may be because he chooses one of two common substitutions for Dm7: Fmaj7 or Bbmaj7. Hamilton will also play a #4 (G#) on the Dm7 and shortly after land on the G of G7. Again, in a Am7 D7 G7 C prog. he'll play an F on the Am7 in order to save the F# for the D7.

It's easy. The virtual chord tones briefly pop in and out of existence and entangle themselves to an avoid note. But the position and duration of the avoid note cannot be simultaneously measured so we cannot know the harmonic superposition of the frequency until we hear it, and only then will we know if Schrödinger's cat is alive or dead. See. Easy.

Walk That Bass you're very quickly becoming my favorite musical KZfaq presence, and this comment certainly helped to cement that

I would say this cat (Walk That Bass) is definitely alive, baby!