Triads--Rack 'em and Stack 'em!

This tip deals with expanding your usage of colors through combinations of triads. I've taken an FMaj7 chord below and broken it into seven different triads. Each of those triads is built upon a chord tone of the FMaj7, including the extensions of the 9th, #11th, and 13th.

Any one of these triads sounds great over an FMaj7 chord. One exercise I like to do is to isolate one of these triads over the FMaj7 chord and explore the sound-colors it produces. That way I get my ear used to hearing each color so I can get it into my improvisations faster. Combinations of triads also work well. For example, the FMaj and GMaj triads really bring the Lydian sound out of the FMaj7 chord.

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The next step in this color exploration project is to stack the triads as a continuous arpeggio. What you see below here is an FMaj7 stacked with all of the extensions. Just continue up the arpeggio in 3rds (major and minor) until you've played through them all.

I've written these stacked 3rds arpeggios on each scale degree. Please note that because I'm using the #11 (B-natural) in this key, I'm super-imposing the key of C for my FMaj7 sound. 

There are some really great angles on harmony in studying this FMaj7 chord in this way. The idea is to open your ears to new harmonic pathways around the instrument (bearing in mind that the instrument is not only your physical instrument, but your mental one as well!). 


Can you think of any other applications for these stacked harmonies? Share your ideas below!


Happy practicing!!