What are “Color Tones” And How Are They Used In Piano Playing?
What are “Color Tones” And How Are They Used In Piano Playing?
Good morning. This is Duane and today I’d like to take a look at color tones. Did you know that color tones can add so much interest to your piano playing without even improving your technique at all? It can just add a lot of interest. Most people play without color tones. In other words, they just use the notes of the cord, whatever it is, if they’re playing the C cord. They just use those three notes, C, E and G and that’s fine.
If you want a little interest then there’s a number of crayons that you can color with on the piano. One color tone is called the six tone. A six, okay? You simply add the sixth note of the scale to the cord. If you’re playing the C cord than just add the A and you have a six cord. That sweetens up the sound, it’s not that it’s better than playing pure cord. It’s not, I use playing pure cords too but if I want this kind of sound than I use a six cord, okay? Lots of uses for six cord.
Then there’s a major seventh and that sounds like this. That’s a major seventh, right there. I’m playing the F cord but I’m putting a major seventh. It just gives it, I don’t know a sleepy feeling or maybe a nostalgic feeling or something like that. If you like that sound, just put it major sevenths into your cords. Now you can play them in the left hand or you can play them in the right hand or you can play both. I like to spread out my cords so that maybe I’ll be playing a pure C cord in the left hand but I’ll be playing the major seventh in the right hand. You can voice the cords with two hands or just one hand as you wish, okay?
Then there’s the ninth cord, there’s two kinds of ninth cords. The ninth cord is the ninth and a flatted ninth but here’s a ninth cord. Here’s a flatted ninth. Okay? Nice sound and it tightens it up a good deal. That’s the flatted ninth above C, if I’m playing C I’m using the flat not the ninth but the flatted ninth, okay? That’s a flatted ninth cord and there’s the … Like I said a major ninth cord, which includes the major seventh as well as the ninth.
Then there’s such a thing as a flatted fifth. Let me continue on that song. There’s a flatted fifth, there’s a D seventh and the fifth is flatted and I got the ninth. That’s usually resolved but not always.
Then there’s an 11th cord, which has a seventh and a ninth plus the 11th. Usually it’s a that note instead of that note. That’s kind of a suspension so if you like that sound.
Then of course, there’s a 13th, which includes the seventh, ninth, 11th and 13th or you can leave the 11th out or you can raise the 11th. I like that sound with a normal natural 11th inning in the 13th. There’s the ninth.
Anyways, there’s a lot of opportunities for color tones in your piano playing. I’d just like you to investigate putting a six in, putting a major seventh in, putting a major ninth and a regular ninth and a flatted ninth and then the 11th and 13th and then you can make a lot of interesting cords that way by spreading it out between the two hands.
I’ll do a video soon on voicing. Voicing is these subject of how to position cords on the keyboard. I’ll do that at a separate time so just some ideas on color tones, how to color on the piano without crayons. If you enjoy this kind of thing, come on over to piano and sign up for a newsletter and you’ll get little lessons like that, most every other day or so and also tune into my YouTube … Come to my YouTube channel where I have lots of new videos, okay?
Do that, all right? Thank you and we’ll see you tomorrow. Bye-bye for now.