Thanks, Seth. Yeah, I suppose if you click on a 20 min video called 'Phrygian Chords', you're probably after some dry and heavy theory :)

I don´t really know if I was after a dry and heavy theory lesson when starting to watch this video - I started it just out of curiosity, to find out, if there was something in it I could use/didn´t know, but then watching it it became more and more exciting for me keeping on listening and getting new informations about which scales to use...

That's Matthew. Glad it helped :)

That's exactly what got me here too!

@@jimkangas4176 also what brought me here ha! Glad im not the only one

Cheers, Josemaria. Thanks for the comment.

Thanks, Claymor. Yeah, people overthink this chord. It's just a dominant substitute. No need for all the fancy names :)

No worries. Oh, and apologies for the late reply. I was on holiday for the last month.

Thanks, Alex.

+PTbodybuilder Thanks, PTbodybuilder.

+Oliver Grey No worries. Hope it was what you were after.

everything and more!

Thanks, mate.

I thought the same thing! I was like don't forget about Loc :"

Locrian is called a diminished mode because of the flat 5.

Thanks, The Ibanover. Noted. And yeah, you're right. Technically, I should have avoided that flat 9 interval between the E and F. I was just a little clumsy with my voicing (or just got distracted by trying to explain the concept so didn't voice it as well as I should have). Apologies. And no offence taken. My playing certainly isn't perfect. I do not have nearly as much time as I would like to practice; unfortunately work and life get in the way. Thanks for the comment.

Well, I'm really relieved. Thanks Man. I try to practice as much as I can.

+Ryan D Hey, Ryan. Yeah, exactly. And there's a reason for that. An E Phryg is really a G13 with an E in the base. And a Db7 is just a tritone substitution of the G7. So they are all very much all related.

Ahah! So it's even better than I thought. 3 sweet chords for the price of 1!

I read Mark Levine's Jazz Piano book, too, it is fabulous!!!

+Mops Samson I completely understand, Mops. Your English is perfectly fine. And yes, you're right about the modulation, that can sound very interesting. An E7 substitute chord derived from the key of C Major is quite a strange and curious idea. I too started with Classical and moved onto Jazz; it is a little different and takes a bit of time to get the hang of it. But anyway, glad this video helped.

The same as my experience. I recall not really understanding the Phrygian chord explanation in the Mark Levine book, but this video has just made it crystal clear. Thank you Walk That Bass.

No worries, Julian :)

+Julian Lambert ditto

Mops Samson : Nothing surprising about modulating to the relative key center as major, the III7 is used all the time. What the underlying theory we need to know says is that dominants a minor third apart substitute for each other. In C they are G7 E7 Dd7 Bb7. If you hold and analyse that you will quickly find Bb7 the bVII of C minor (the famous Backdoor Progression) and the Db7 (the tritone substitution). And with a little bit of thought some other interesting connections...

Much appreciated :)

An inversion of maj7 will give you a Phrygian sound, too.

Largely, yes. The first few videos explains how to build jazz chords (extensions, alterations, available tensions). A few videos explain how to use jazz chords (passing chords, chord substitutions, harmonic rhythm). And the last few discuss particular jazz chords (sus chords, phrygian chords, slash chords). So I try to cover how to build and use chords and then explain some specific ones.

Thank you! Your videos are really helpful :)

Hey Kris, This is a complex topic, so all good. So: 1. For a minor 7 chord, an Avoid Note is a note one semitone above a chord tone. So yes, the F would be an avoid note over an Em7 chord. You're not allowed to have Em7b9 chords. 2. But Dominant chords are a little bit different. A dominant chord is already quite dissonant because of that tritone between its 3rd and 7th. Dominant chords only have avoid notes one semitone above their guide tones (3rd & 7th). So a b9 above the root is actually ok for a dominant chord. You're allowed to have E7b9 chords, for example. So a b9 is an available tension over a dominant chord. Now precisely because we cannot have b9's over m7 chords, we turn the Em7 into an Esusb9 (or E7susb9) chord. So we in effect turn the Em7 chord into an E7 chord and thus turn the F from an 'avoid note' to an 'available tension'. This is the whole point of the phrygian chord. Because we can't have an Em7b9 chord, we turn it into an E7susb9, so the F is now an available tension. You are allowed to use F over an E7 or E phrygian chord. It will still sound dissonant, but a bit of dissonance over an already dissonant chord is ok. Does that make sense? If you haven't already check out my video on available tensions, where I discuss exactly this about dominant chords: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gbGbZKt92MjNZ3U.html On your other point, I like to differentiate between 'chord tension' and 'voicing tension'. So, technically, a m7 chord cannot have a b9. It is not an 'available tension' over this chord. If you play an Em7b9, it will not really sound like a minor chord anymore. It'll sound like some kind of diminished or poly chord or something. So regardless of how you voice it, it is not an allowable chord. I call this 'chord tension'. On the other hand, you can voice perfectly reasonable chords in a really dissonant way. For example you could voice a CMaj7 as: B C E G - where the semitone interval between the B and the C will create a very dissonant sound. I call this 'voicing tension' or 'dissonance arising from voicing' because the chord itself is perfectly fine - CMaj7 is an allowable chord. This is what happens when you move the E down an octave to remove the b9 interval with the F. The voicing tension will be reduced. It will be a less dissonant voicing. So going back to our Em7b9 chord. You can drop the E down an octave and therefore remove the 'voicing tension' - i.e. there is no more b9 interval between the E and the F. But you will retain the 'chord tension' or 'chord dissonance' because an F is still not an available tension over an E and so the chord will not sound like an Em7 chord. I touch on this topic here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p7SWmZN_v8-8c2w.html Does that largely answer your questions?

I don't have a question - just wanted to say that your videos are amazing, and the effort your put into even your comment responses are unmatched. You are a blessing, thank you so, so much

Thanks, mate. Just trying to do what I can.

Walk That Bass that was amazing, and the chord tension vs voicing tension got it to click perfectly - thank you!!

No worries. Just glad it made sense :)

Than the c is the Root and you create a c maj 9. The e min 7 is contained and the tension is less.

Because it is a semitone (or flat 9) above the 5th (B). The definition of an avoid note is just a note that is a semitone above a chord tone - so C above B. It just means it clashes a bit with the underlying harmony as a b9 or semitone interval is quite dissonant.

ah ok! got it! hehe thanks for the reply!

Hi,An avoid note is a note that is one semitone above a chord tone (I've got a separate video on this). They are generally avoided because they create a dissonant interval with a chord tone. The F is a semitone above the E in an Em7 chord, ergo it is an avoid note. You can play the F, but treat it as a quick passing note and don't linger too long on it. The note F clashes over a Em7 chord (and a CMaj7 chord for the same reason).